LMKB_a439 Autobiographical Memory and Narrative

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2022
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Prof. Jens Brockmeier, PhD (lecturer), Mgr. Zuzana Fonioková, Ph.D. (deputy)
Mgr. Zuzana Fonioková, Ph.D. (alternate examiner)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Petr Bubeníček, Ph.D.
Department of Czech Literature – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Veronika Bromová, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Czech Literature – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 5. 9. 10:00–12:40 B2.32, Tue 6. 9. 10:00–12:40 B2.32, Wed 7. 9. 10:00–12:40 B2.32
Prerequisites
SOUHLAS
ability to read texts and follow lectures and discussions in English
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 3/25, only registered: 0/25, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Western cultures have increasingly become autobiographical cultures. Never before have so many autobiographies been written and produced; never before has there been such a wide spectrum of genres and media – traditional, digital, and performative; never before have so many people been concerned with telling their individual past and its meaning for the present. And never before have practices of autobiography been so intimately connected with the idea of self-exploration and, in fact, of self-construction. This course explores the role of narrative in this process. It takes a closer look at the narrative shape of autobiographical memory and identity.
Learning outcomes
Upon completing the course, students will: - have acquired basic knowledge of various approaches to the study of memory and remembering; - be familiar with questions related to memory, narrative, and identity; - have an awareness of the history of self-representation; - be able to reflect on their own autobiographical narratives.
Syllabus
  • 1st Class September 5, 10:00 -13:00
  • • Introduction: Memory, narrative, and the autobiographical process (Lecture & discussion)
  • • Self and identity as idea and social practices (Discussion)
  • • Visual and narrative identity (Photovoice) All participants are expected to bring to this class (via memory stick or any other electronic media) 2 photographic self-portraits/selfies/ photographs of themselves, one of which is recent, the other one from the past.
  • Background (optional) reading: Beyond the archive: Memory, narrative, and the autobiographical process, Chap 1
  • 2nd Class September 6, 10:00 - 13:00
  • • The rhetoric of public self-presentation (Group work)
  • • The autobiographical process: The case of literature (Text analysis)
  • • Creating a memory of oneself (Critical discussion).
  • Reading (required): Beyond the Archive: Memory, narrative, and the autobiographical process, Chap 6 [Creating a memory of oneself: Narrative identity, pp. 171-202]
  • 3rd Class September 7, 10:00 - 13:00
  • • Difficult memories: The story of Oswald and Linda (Text/Transcript analysis).
  • • What makes me “me”? (Lecture & discussion)
  • • Between art and life: What is the self in a self-portrait? (Photovoice)
  • • Summary
  • All participants are expected to bring to this class (via memory stick or any other electronic media) photographs of 1-2 artistic portraits or self-portraits – whether paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, media works, or other artistic creations (historical or contemporary) that can be photographed.
Literature
    required literature
  • Brockmeier, Jens (2018). Beyond the archive: Memory, narrative, and the autobiographical process. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press.
    recommended literature
  • Narrative and identitystudies in autobiography, self and culture. Edited by Jens Brockmeier - Donal Carbaugh. [Great Britain]: John Benjamins Pub. Co, 2001, vi, 307 p. ISBN 9027226415. info
Teaching methods
seminars, discussions, pre-class reading
Assessment methods
Students are expected to participate in at least two days' classes (ideally all classes). As a final assignment, students will hand in reports (in English or in Czech, about 600 words each) on two days of their own choice. Each report will include a critical summary of the assigned reading, the main ideas discussed in class, and the student's own reflection. Please upload your assignment in the Study materials section of the course in the IS. Deadline for submissions: 30 September, 2022
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
Teacher's information
Jens Brockmeier (The American University of Paris), September 5-7, 2022 (Mon, Tue, Wed 10:00-13:00, room B2.32) The two assigned chapters from prof. Brockmeier's book are available in the Study materials. The whole book is available in the faculty library.
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