Course: British Literature I

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Course title British Literature I
Course code KAA/BBRL1
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Seminar
Level of course Bachelor
Year of study not specified
Semester Summer
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)
  • Kohlová Petra, Mgr.
  • Vít Ladislav, PhDr. Ph.D.
Course content
Old English Literature: Folklore, heroic epic, elegies. Texts: riddles, Beowulf. Early Medieval Poetry and Prose. Texts: Arthurian legends (selection). Late Medieval Poetry and Prose. Text: G. Chaucer: Canterbury Tales (selection). Early Renaissance Poetry and Prose. Texts: T. More, T. Wyatt, H. Howard (selection). Elizabethan Poetry and Prose. Texts: P. Sidney, W. Shakespeare, Sir W. Raleigh (selection). Drama until 1600. Text: W. Shakespeare: Othello. Poetry and Prose 1600 - 1660. Texts: F. Bacon, B. Jonson, J. Donne, G. Herbert, R. Herrick, J. Milton (selection). Restoration and Classicism. Texts: J. Dryden, A. Pope, S. Johnson (selection). Beginnings of the Novel. J. Addison, R. Steele, J. Swift, H. Fielding. Text: D. Defoe: Moll Flanders. Sentimentalism and Pre-Romanticism. Texts: S. Richardson, E. Young, T. Gray, W. Blake (selection). Romanticism: Texts: W. Wordsworth, S.T. Coleridge (selection). Gothic Novel: H. Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, Text: M. Shelley: Frankenstein.

Learning activities and teaching methods
Monologic (reading, lecture, briefing), Dialogic (discussion, interview, brainstorming), Work with text (with textbook, with book), Stimulating activities (simulation, games, drama)
  • Participation in classes - 39 hours per semester
  • Home preparation for classes - 55 hours per semester
  • Preparation of a presentation (report) in a foreign language - 3 hours per semester
  • Preparation for a credit (assessment) - 20 hours per semester
Learning outcomes
The aim of the course is to introduce students to classic works, authors and periods of British literature from its beginnings until the 18th century (following periods under focus in BBRL2/EBRL2). Lectures provide a chronological overview of individual phases of literary development, their specific features and overlap. Seminars complement the lectures and stress reading of representative materials, their analysis and interpretation in the context of not only British literature, but also cultural and socio-political events.
Students will acquire textual and analytical literary competence in literary areas. In terms of learning competences, they will acquire an overview of the historical development of British literature, main authors and works, together with their contextualization within the period of their making. Regular guided analyses of seminary texts establish the ability to work with literary works independently and critically.
Prerequisites
unspecified

Assessment methods and criteria
Written examination

- Attendance (3 missed classes max.) - Active participation preparation for seminars - Cooperation in a team presentation - detailed knowledge of all texts assigned for the seminars - Final written test (ability to discuss 3 assigned primary texts [see below] + knowledge based on lectures, seminars and relevant parts of Paul Poplawski: English Literature in Context - see below) in case of remote learning - lectures and seminars are online in real time respecting the schedule through MS Teams. - materials for seminars available in Moodle (except for book-length texts) - active participation in seminars - participation in team presentation - detailed knowledge of all texts assigned for each seminar - final written test (ability to discuss 3 assigned primary texts [see below] + knowledge based on lectures, seminars and relevant parts of Paul Poplawski: English Literature in Context - see below) primary texts: 1/ The Seafarer 2/ Chaucer: selection from Canterbury Tales - General Prologue, Knight's Tale, Wife of Bath's Tale. 3/ Wordsworth: Michael Relevant parts of Poplawski (pagination = 2017 edition): 1/ Medieval English - Literary Overview 30-45, Readings 64-85, 2/ The Renaissance - Literary Overview 129-150, Readings 161-182, 3/ The Restoration and 18th century - Literary overview 218-236, Readings 251-268, 4/ The Romantic Period - Literary Overview 293-312, Readings 333-351. Test structure and requirements: total number of points = 60 page 1: theory (authors, works, periods, terms) and chronology (e.g. timeline), maximum 30 points, minimum to pass: 15 points (50%) page 2: interpretation of Poplawski and readings (seminar and self-study), maximum 30 points, minimum to pass: 15 points (50%) overall passmark: 42 points (70%)
Recommended literature
  • DRABBLE, Margaret, ed. The Oxford companion to English literature. 6th ed.. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
  • FORD, Boris. New Pelican guide to English literature: The Age of Shakespeare. London: Penguin Books, 1982.
  • GREENBLATT, Stephen. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume. II.. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2012.
  • POPLAWSKI, Paul. English Literature in Context. Cambridge: CUP, 2008. ISBN 9780521549288.
  • Sanders, Andrew. The short Oxford history of English literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-19-926338-8.
  • STEVENS, David. Romanticicsm. Cambridge: CUP, 2004.


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