Course profile: This is a one-term course focused on close reading of Anglo-American literature, chiefly prose. Save for
several exceptions, it explores the writings of contemporary authors. The criteria for selecting the seminar texts are their
content, format and the language in which they are written, so that they are best suited for in-class close reading. The texts
are analyzed through the prism of both traditional and modern critical methodology, fomented by what has become known as
RWCT (Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking) methodology.
Last update: ZENISEK/PEDF.CUNI.CZ (03.10.2016)
Profil kurzu: Kurz studenty seznámí s různými druhy tzv. řízeného čtení seminárních textů, které tvoří kratší angloamerické prózy a básně.Mezi rozhodující kritéria při výběru seminárních materiálů patří jak obsah, tak i rozsah a jazyk daného díla, neboť hlavní náplní seminářů je tzv. "close reading" (detailní četba vybraných textů). Analýza textů vychází jak z tradičních kritických postupů, tak z moderních (pragmatičtěji zaměřených) metod, jejichž cílem je
především rozvíjení kritického myšlení a jazykových dovedností studentů. Jedná se jmenovitě o metody RWCT (Reading
and Writing for Critical Thinking, tedy "Čtení a psaní ke kritickému myšlení".
Literature -
Last update: Mgr. Jakub Ženíšek, Ph.D. (28.10.2019)
Recommended literature: Abrams, M. H. The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition, London: Oxford University Press, 1953 Kravis, J., (Ed.) Teaching Literature: Writers and Teachers Talking. Cork: Cork UP, 1995 Shrodes, C., Finestone, H., Shugrue, M. The Conscious Reader, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1985 Di Yanni R. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama and the Essay, 2nd edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Inc., 1990 Holman, C.H., Harmon, W. A Handbook to Literature, 5th edition, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986 Haus, C. H., Scholes R., Comley, N. R., Silverman, M. Elements of Literature: Essay, Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Film, 4th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991 Roberts, E. V., Jacobs, H. E. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1986
Last update: ZENISEK/PEDF.CUNI.CZ (03.10.2016)
Doporučená literatura: Abrams, M. H. The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition, London: Oxford University Press, 1953 Kravis, J., (Ed.) Teaching Literature: Writers and Teachers Talking. Cork: Cork UP, 1995 Shrodes, C., Finestone, H., Shugrue, M. The Conscious Reader, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1985 Di Yanni R. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama and the Essay, 2nd edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Inc., 1990 Holman, C.H., Harmon, W. A Handbook to Literature, 5th edition, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986 Haus, C. H., Scholes R., Comley, N. R., Silverman, M. Elements of Literature: Essay, Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Film, 4th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991 Roberts, E. V., Jacobs, H. E. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1986
Syllabus -
Last update: ZENISEK/PEDF.CUNI.CZ (03.10.2016)
Syllabus
Week 1
Intro - Analogies and contrasts
Benjamin Zephaniah: Miss World
William Shakespeare: Sonnet 130
Jane Austen:Pride and Prejudice
Week 2
Roald Dahl: Edward the Conqueror Focus: narrative structure, narrator´s credibility
Week 3
Somerset Maugham: The Verger
Charles Johnson: Oxherding Tale
Focus: reading for instruction, a cautionary tale
Week 4
Julian Barnes: The Visitors (A History of the World in 10½ Chapters)
Focus: full and limited omniscience, altruism vs. self-interest
Weeks 5-6
Kurt Vonnegut: Who Am I This Time
Andre Dubus: The Fat Girl
Focus: analogies and contrasts, narrative authority
Credit requirements: 80% attendance (2 unexplained absences are permissible); Either a short handwritten essay (400 words) written against the clock at the end of the term, or a longer typewritten essay (1200 words) on one of the assigned topics.
Last update: ZENISEK/PEDF.CUNI.CZ (03.10.2016)
Požadavky k zápočtu: 80% účast na seminářích (tj. povolené jsou 2 neomluvené absence)
Kvalifikační práce: Student může psát buď velmi krátkou esej (400 slov) přímo v hodině (vypisuji minimálně dva různé termíny), nebo odevzdat delší esej (a 1200 slov) psanou doma.
Learning resources
Last update: ZENISEK/PEDF.CUNI.CZ (03.10.2016)
To access the reading assignments for seminars and other course materials, pls. go to:
