Masterpieces and Bestsellers of the Central European Literatures in the Comperative Perspective

obowiązkowe

Central Europe in the International Perspective

II stopień

Course aims:

- acquainting the students with the masterpieces of Central European literature connected with reference to the general context of historical and cultural change,

- improving of analytical and interpretative skills with a particular stress on historical specificity of texts, comparative approach and evaluation of literary works,

- practicing of usage of historical and aesthetic categories,

- seeking proficiency in using such categories as an author’s biography, literary era (with a stress put on Polish literary periodization), literary current, style, genre, aesthetic terms (irony, grotesque, tragedy, realism, symbolism, expressionism etc.),

- practicing of unassisted oral presentations and written papers in English.

I rok

Lecture with a multimedia presentation, problem-based lecture, discussions, text-based work, group work.

8

Course learning content:

- presentation of Central European literature in chronological and typological termins; presenting the most important writers and their works, with particular emphasis on texts considered literary masterpieces,

- showing the relations of Central Europeang literature with periods and trends in European literature, highlighting the planes of identification and differentiation,

- the scope, place and significance of selected texts of Central Europeang literature against the background of national, Slavic, European and world culture,

- presentation of the discussed literary phenomena from a historical-literary, comperative and interdisciplinary perspective (in relation to other texts of culture),

- discussion of the presented literature in the light of critical literary studies,

- analysis and interpretation of texts classified as masterpieces of Central European literature.

Reading list:

Lives of the Serbian Saints, eds. W. Sparrow-Simpson, W. Lowther Clarke, London – New York 1921.

An Anthology of Serbian Literature, eds. V. Mihailovich, B. Mikasinovic, Bloomington 2007.

An Anthology of Bulgarian Literature, ed. I. Mladinov, Bloomington 2007.

An Anthology of Croatian Literature, ed. H. R. Cooper, Bloomington 2011.

Lightning from the Depths: an Anthology of Albanian Poetry, ed. and trans. R. Elsie, J. Mathie-Heck, Evanston 2008.

Balkan Beauty, Balkan Blood: Modern Albanian Short Stories, ed. and trans. R. Elsie, Evanston 2006.

S. Schwandner-Sievers, B. Fischer, Albanian Identities: Myth and History, Bloomington 2002.

G. Calinescu, History of Romanian Literature, Paris 1988.

The Vanishing Point that Whistles. An Anthology of Contemporary Romanian Poetry, ed. P. Doru, trans. A. Sorkin, C. Serea, Greenfield 2011.

An Anthology of Greek Prose, ed. D. Russell, Oxford 1991.

M. Todorova, Imagining the Balkans, New York 1997.

The Macedonian issue: the power of culture, the culture of power, ed. B. Zieliński, Poznań 2003.

Barac, History of Yugoslav Literature, Ann Arbor 1976.

Ch. Moser, History of Bulgarian Literature: 865-1944, the Hague 1972.

V. Tapkova-Zaimova, A. Miltenova, Historical and Apocalyptic Literature in Byzantium and Medieval Bulgaria, trans. M. Paneva, M. Lilova, Sofia 2011.

„Kafka. Kwartalnik Środkowoeuropejski” (wybrane numery).

Bakuła B., Historia i komparatystyka. Szkice o literaturze i kulturze Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej XX wieku, Poznań 2000.

Bobrownicka M., Pogranicza w centrum Europy, Kraków 2003.

Czyżewski K., Linia powrotu. Zapiski z pogranicza, Sejny 2008.

Fiut A., Być (albo nie być) Środkowoeuropejczykiem, Kraków 1999.

Hrabal, Kundera, Havel… Antologia czeskiego eseju, oprac. J. Baluch, Kraków 2001.

Kardyni-Pelikánová K., Osobliwości środkowoeuropejskiej przestrzeni literackiej: ironiczni moraliści i ludyczni myśliciele, „Porównania” nr 8, 2011, s. 17–32.

Kiss C.G., Lekcja Europy Środkowej, Kraków 2009.

Kroutvor J., Europa Środkowa: anegdota i historia, w: Hrabal, Kundera, Havel… Antologia czeskiego eseju, oprac. J. Baluch, Kraków 2001.

Miłosz Cz., Rodzinna Europa, Paryż 1959.

Narodowy i ponadnarodowy model kultury. Europa Środkowa i Półwysep Bałkański, red. B. Zieliński, Poznań 2002.

Problemy tożsamości kulturowej w krajach słowiańskich, t. 1, 2, 3, red. J. Goszczyńska, Warszawa 2003–2005.

Zieliński B., Europa Środkowa, czyli Arkadia, Atlantyda i Jeruzalem, [w:] Narodowy i ponadnarodowy model kultury, red. B. Zieliński, Poznań 2002.

On successful completion of this course, a student will be able to:

- point the masterpieces and the most prominent works, name in general terms the eras they belong to and the literary work’s place in the cultural tradition,

- analyze and interpret the prominent literary works in the context of the eras they belong to and with engagement of selected methodologies,

- use the methods of analysis, interpretation and evaluation of literary works during the reading process and establish what signles out a work to be named a masterpiece in a given culture,

- use literary works as a source of knowledge about history and societies,

- establish the significance of the works discussed in class for the national tradition and their role in the self-identification and national identity building processes,

- point at the waysmasterpieces function within social circulation (their place in didactics, quotations, theatrical and film adaptations etc.) and is aware of the consequent place they hold in the general consciousness.

Assessment criteria:

very good (bdb; 5,0): a very good knowledge of the works discussed in class and additional texts selected and covered unassisted by a student; a very good skill of referring the problems they carry with reference to the basic literary terminology, a very good knowledge of the relevant philosophical and aesthetical ideas and of history and culture of selected eras, a great analytical and interpretative skill, a very good ability in practicing various form of scholarly presentation (participation in discussion, research paper).

good plus (+db; 4,5): as above with slight shortcomings in analysis and interpretation of the literary work and some gaps if knowledge concerning the covered philosophical and historical contexts for the works covered in class.

good (db; 4,0): a broader range of shortcomings possible, slightly lesser knowledge of the works covered in class and their historical context, a lower skill of recapitulating their main ideas and greater shortcomings in the research paper.

satisfactory plus (+dst; 3,5):, a satisfactory knowledge of the works discussed in class and additional texts selected and covered unassisted by a student; a satisfactory skill of referring the problems they carry with reference to the basic literary and methodological terminology a satisfactory analytical and interpretative skill proven also in the research paper.

satisfactory (dst; 3,0): a satisfactory knowledge of the works discussed in class and additional texts selected and covered unassisted by a student; a satisfactory skill of referring the problems they carry with reference to the basic literary and methodological terminology, a much smaller knowledge on the historical contexts, broadly speaking simplified analytical and interpretative skills documented by the research paper.

unsatisfactory (ndst; 2,0): an unsatisfactory of the masterpieces of Polish literaturę, a lack of skill in abridging the problems they touch, a lack of knowledge on their historical context and therefore the foundations for any required interpretative actions; a student cannot be admitted for the oral exam if he or she has not earned a positive grade for the research paper.