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Lecturer(s)
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Peprník Michal, prof. PhDr. Dr.
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Woock Elizabeth Allyn, Mgr. PhD.
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Course content
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Literary Terms: Fantasy and Imagination, fantastic, animism, the Uncanny, the Marvellous, the sublime, horror, terror, paranormal mode, The Old and New Weird Genres: myth, fairy tale, legend, Gothic novel, ghost story, horror, fantastic literature, fantasy Theoretical approaches: psychological (Freud, Jung), structuralist (Propp, Todorov, Jackson, Attebery, Wolf) The reading program includes samples from the work of authors such as Bram Stoker, H. P. Lovecraft, J.R.R. Tolkien, Frank Herbert, Ursula Le Guin, J. K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, China Miéville.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Monologic Lecture(Interpretation, Training), Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook)
- Homework for Teaching
- 25 hours per semester
- Preparation for the Course Credit
- 24 hours per semester
- Attendace
- 26 hours per semester
- Semestral Work
- 25 hours per semester
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Learning outcomes
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Chapters in American Literature: Narrative Space - Thursdays 13:15-14:45, room 3.16 by Elizabeth Woock This course explores how narrative space functions as an active, meaning-producing force in American literature, moving beyond setting-as-backdrop to investigate space as a dimension shaped by social power, embodied experience, and affective charge. Through twelve 90-minute sessions structured across three modules, students first build a theoretical vocabularyincluding Lefebvre's triad of perceived/conceived/lived space, phenomenology's emphasis on embodied perception, Foucault's heterotopias, and critical cartography's exposure of power in mappingthen apply these frameworks to analyze American literary texts spanning from Edgar Allan Poe's Gothic architecture to William Faulkner's fragmented spatial forms, from Gloria Anzaldúa's borderlands to Toni Morrison's haunted houses, and from Don DeLillo's late-capitalist landscapes to William Gibson's cyberspace (ok, we're fudging the American focus a little bit by including Gibson, but it's worth it). Examples will also include different media as they become relevant: film, music videos, comics, and games. The final module introduces affect theoryAhmed's sticky emotions, Berlant's cruel optimism, Böhme's atmospheric spaces, and Derrida's hauntology among othersto examine how narrative environments generate felt intensities that exceed plot and character. By integrating spatial theory, literary analysis, and affect studies, students develop a layered method for reading space as simultaneously produced politically, experienced phenomenologically, and charged affectively; the course culminates in original essays and collaborative projects that demonstrate how attending to narrative space reveals dimensions of meaningfrom historical trauma to racialized geography to the uncanny persistence of memorythat traditional character- or plot-centered readings might miss. As a seminar, each class meeting will offer an orienting short lecture to present the relevant mix of ideas for the day, build on the reading, then the students will dive into analytical and creative activities to practice the concepts presented in the homework and the lectures. This course has two tiers of engagement, one for bachelor's students, and one for master's students. While the initial lecture material will be the same for both tiers, master's students will have extended reading and more difficult assignments to make sure they're still challenged. The bachelor's level tier is accessible also to first-year students.
Understanding of the development of Anglo-American fantastic literature as a specific genre of literature as well a response to social and cultural transformations. Developing contemporary literary terminology in the area of theories of the fantastic. Developing various theoretical approaches to fantastic literature.
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Prerequisites
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The prerequisite is a knowledge of English and an interest in fantasy literature.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Essay, Student performance
- 5 brief assignments (min. half a page, max. 1 page, 400-700 words) - to be posted through Moodle 24 hours before the respective class. The topics are available on Moodle. - comparative essay (3-4 pg.) or a presentation on a given topic. The essay should compare two texts from the course program (similarities and differences in the conception of plot, characters, setting, motifs (the texts must reveal striking similarities), use at least two sources of academic criticism. Quotes from texts and criticism are expected and properly referenced (Chicago Manual of Style). - knowledge of reading - max. 2 absences
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Recommended literature
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Botting, Fred. (2014). Gothic. Abingdon.
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Hogle, Jerrold E. (2010). Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction.
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James, Edward. (2012). The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature. Cambridge UP.
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Peprník, Michal. (2003). Metamorfóza jako kulturní metafora. Olomouc.
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Sandner, David M., ed. (2004). Fantastic Literature: A Critical Reader. Praeger.
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Todorov, Tzvetan. (2010). Úvod do fantastické literatury. Praha.
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