Course: Older American Literature

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Course title Older American Literature
Course code UAN/0SAML
Organizational form of instruction Seminar
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter
Number of ECTS credits 4
Language of instruction English
Status of course Compulsory
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Course availability The course is available to visiting students
Lecturer(s)
  • Kovářová Kateřina, Mgr. Ph.D.
  • Machová Mariana, doc. PhDr. Ph.D.
Course content
1. Introduction 2. Puritan roots 3. Transcendentalism 4.-7. Herman Melville 8. Early African American fiction 9.-10. Local Color 11. Turn of the century 12. Native American fiction 13. Conclusion

Learning activities and teaching methods
Monologic (reading, lecture, briefing), Dialogic (discussion, interview, brainstorming), Work with text (with textbook, with book)
Learning outcomes
The course is a loose follow-up to the BA programme course History of American Literature I, further developing its topics. It deals with some of the key themes of older American literature in relationship to American literary tradition. The students are encouraged to adopt not only a simple diachronic view of literary history, but also to look for more complex relationships between works and periods, and to perceive literature in a broader cultural context.
Reading, interpretation, discussion.
Prerequisites
The prerequisite for this seminar is the completion of a basic academic course on American literature.

Assessment methods and criteria
Student performance assessment, Test

Attendance (max. 3 absences) Active participation in class Reading of assigned texts Essay proposal Written essay of 1,500-2,000 words (1 revision) Essay consultation Specific details are available in the programme of the course published in Moodle in the first week of the semester.
Recommended literature
  • The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Volume A: Beginnings to 1820. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2012.
  • The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Volume B: 1820?1865. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2012.
  • The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Volume C: 1865?1914. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2012.
  • Bercovitch, S. The Puritan Origins of the American Self. Yale: Yale University Press, 2011.
  • Bremer, F. First Founders: American Puritans and Puritanism in an Atlantic World. Durham: University of New Hampshire, 2012.
  • Franklin, B. Colonial Literature 1607?1776. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2010.
  • Philips J., Ladd, A. L. Romanticism and Transcendentalism (1800?1860). New York: Infobase Publishing, 2006.
  • Procházka M. (et al.). Lectures on American Literature. Prague: Karolinum, 2002.
  • Tindall, G. B., Shi, D. E. America: a narrative history. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1993.
  • Vietto, A. Early American Literature 1776?1820. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2010.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester