American Literature of the 20th Century - OB2301014

• Title: Americká literatura 20. st.
• Guaranteed by: Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury (41-KAJL)
• Faculty: Faculty of Education
• Actual: from 2019
• Semester: summer
• E-Credits: 2
• Examination process: summer s.:
• Hours per week, examination: summer s.:1/2, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: unknown / unknown (unknown)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Additional information: http://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=2326
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment; priority enrollment if the course is part of the study plan
• Guarantor: doc. PhDr. Josef Grmela, CSc.; Mgr. Jakub Ženíšek, Ph.D.
• Pre-requisite : OB2301013
• Interchangeability : OPBA2A117A
• Is pre-requisite for: OSOZ2A, OSOZ2BB, OSOZ2B, OSOZ2AA

Annotation

English

Last update: Mgr. Jakub Ženíšek, Ph.D. (18.05.2019)

This course aims to give the students a general outline of the most significant events in American literature, focusing largely, but not exclusively, on canonical authors. These seminars complement lectures which reside in presenting a particular literary movement, including its social and cultural background. These are then followed by a close reading session which focuses on the selected seminar texts (novels, short stories, plays, extracts etc.).

Czech

Last update: Mgr. Jakub Ženíšek, Ph.D. (18.05.2019)

Předmět "Americká literatura II" chronologicky navazuje na kurz "Americká literatura I" , tzn. také představuje komplementární celek, v jehož přednáškové části se student zevrubně seznámí s vývojem americké literatury od začátku 20. století až do dnešní doby, včetně historického a sociálního pozadí. Díky vetší fragmentarizaci a pluralitě v tomto časovém období již přednášková část v takové míře nepředkládá větší jednolité celky, byť i zde je patrná snaha používat vybrané texty coby literární reflexi jistého historického období nebo alespoň coby čitelnou demonstraci konkrétního literárního směru (americký modernismus apod.). Na přednášku tedy i zde navazuje řízené čtení zadaných seminárních textů v angličtině, které lze vnímat jako průvodní materiál k přednáškovému výkladu.

Literature

English

Last update: Mgr. Jakub Ženíšek, Ph.D. (18.05.2019)

Secondary sources

Procházka, M., Quinn, J., Ulmanová, H., Roraback, E. Lectures on American Literature. Praha, 2002

Ruland, R., Bradbury, M. From Puritanism to Postmodernism,New York: Viking Penguin, 1991

Van Spanckeren, K. Outline of American Literature – revised edition. US Information Agency, 1994

Bradbury, M.. The Modern American Novel: New Revised Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.

Lauter, P., Yarborough, R., Bayer, J., Molesworth, C., Cheung, K. The Heath Anthology of American literature: Volume D, 2008

Gates, H.L., McKay, N. The Norton Anthology of African-American Literature,New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 199

Bercovitch, S. (ed.). The Cambridge History of American Literature.Cambridge, 1994.

Bradbury, M.:. The Modern American Novel, Oxford: O.U.P, 1992.

Elliott, E. et al, (Eds.) Columbia Literary History of the United States, Columbia University Press, 1988-2001.

Hendin, J. (ed.). A Concise Companion to Postwar American Culture and Literature. Londýn, 2004.

Minter, D. A Cultural History of the American Novel,Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity Press, 1996

Czech

Last update: Mgr. Jakub Ženíšek, Ph.D. (18.05.2019)

Procházka, M., Quinn, J., Ulmanová, H., Roraback, E. Lectures on American Literature. Praha, 2002

Ruland, R., Bradbury, M. From Puritanism to Postmodernism,New York: Viking Penguin, 1991

Van Spanckeren, K. Outline of American Literature – revised edition. US Information Agency, 1994

Bradbury, M.. The Modern American Novel: New Revised Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.

Lauter, P., Yarborough, R., Bayer, J., Molesworth, C., Cheung, K. The Heath Anthology of American literature: Volume D, 2008

Gates, H.L., McKay, N. The Norton Anthology of African-American Literature,New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 199

Bercovitch, S. (ed.). The Cambridge History of American Literature.Cambridge, 1994.

Bradbury, M.:. The Modern American Novel, Oxford: O.U.P, 1992.

Elliott, E. et al, (Eds.) Columbia Literary History of the United States, Columbia University Press, 1988-2001.

Hendin, J. (ed.). A Concise Companion to Postwar American Culture and Literature. Londýn, 2004.

Minter, D. A Cultural History of the American Novel,Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity Press, 1996

Syllabus

Last update: Mgr. Jakub Ženíšek, Ph.D. (18.05.2019)

Week 1

Lecture: 20^th centuryUS poetry

Reading assignment: Ezra Pound, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Brooks

 

Week 2

Lecture: American Modernism I

Reading assignment: William Faulkner: Barn Burning; A Rose for Emily

Ernest Hemingway: A Clean Well-Lighted Place, Hills Like White Elephants

 

Week 3

Lecture: American Modernism II (Jazz Age)

Reading assignment: F.S. Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

 

Week 4

Lecture: Southern Gothic I

Reading assignment: Flannery O´Connor, Good Country People, A Late Encounter with the Enemy

 

Week 5

Lecture1: Southern Gothic II; Lecture 2: Beat Generation

Reading assignment: Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (3 excerpts)

Reading assignment: Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1 excerpt)

 

Week 6

Lecture: American drama I

Reading assignment: Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman

 

Week 7

Lecture: American drama II, Drama of the Absurd

Reading assignment: TennesseeWilliams, Streetcar Named Desire

Reading assignment: Edward Albee, The Zoo Story

 

Week 8

Lecture: Jewish American Literature

Reading assignment: Phillip Roth, Defender of the Faith

Reading assignment: Bernard Malamud, Armistice

 

Week 9

Lecture: African American Literature

Reading assignment: Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye

 

Week 10

Lecture: Reflection of war inUSliterature

Reading assignment: David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars (film + 6 excerpts)

 

Week 11

Lecture: US Postmodernism

Reading assignment: Michael Cunningham, Snow Falling on Cedars (film + 5 excerpts)

Course completion requirements

English

Last update: Mgr. Jakub Ženíšek, Ph.D. (18.05.2019)

Requirements: 80% attendance (2 unexplained absences are permissible);
Written & oral exam. The tests are downloadable from Moodle at: https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=2326

Czech

Last update: Mgr. Jakub Ženíšek, Ph.D. (18.05.2019)

Požadavky pro absolvování kurzu: 80% docházka;
Písemná & ústní zkouška. Podrobná ukázka tří variant textu se nachází v Moodlu na adrese: https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=2326