ENG/FL 223
Contemporary World Literature I

Images of Prague

Summer I, 2009

Dr. Helga G. Braunbeck

Helga_Braunbeck@ncsu.edu
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~hgb/
Office Hours: TBA

Course web site for enrolled students:
http://vista.ncsu.edu
(have pop-ups enabled and Java installed)

Catalog Description

Twentieth-century literature of some of the following cultures: Russian, Eastern European, Western European, Latin American, Canadian, Australian.

No Prerequisites.

GEP Lists: Humanities, and Global Knowledge.
GER Lists: Humanities and Social Sciences: Literature, non-English-speaking culture. For CHASS Majors: Literature II.

Course Description: Images of Prague

Prague – the “Golden City”, the “Magical City”, the multi-ethnic city, the city of Franz Kafka and Milan Kundera, the city of towers, bridges and statues, the center of Bohemian and Czech cultural history, a place of oppression, of the “Velvet Revolution” and a writer-president, the metropolis and tourist attraction that has inspired countless residents and visitors to write about her: all these faces of Prague as reflected in literature and some films will be the focus of our class. We will read legends and stories about the origin and development of Prague and then immerse ourselves in literary works from the 20th century: texts by Czech authors such as Franz Kafka, Jaroslav Hašek, Karel Čapek, Bohumil Hrabal, Milan Kundera, Václav Havel, and by other European authors who have written on Prague, such as Sylvie Germain and John Banville. We will watch films on the Golem legend, Kafka, and literary adaptations such as The Trial.

On a background of the cultural and political history of Prague and its region, we will investigate topics like these: How do literary and filmic works portray the city? What role does the cityscape play for representing and constructing individual, regional or national identity? How does literature or film participate in the creation of the symbolic or historical meaning that is attached to specific locations, buildings, or statues? How did and do writers, travelers, politicians, tourists, film directors relate to the city of Prague, the region of Bohemia and the Czech nation-state? How do statues, marionettes, puppets, and robots figure in the cultural history of Prague?

On our excursions we will visit places that make an appearance in the texts and films or that can inform us about the writers, e.g. Vyšehrad - the legendary ruin of the old castle; Hradčany - the new castle complex; the Kafka Museum; literary cafés; and many other locations.

By the end of this course you should be familiar with Prague/Bohemian/Czech cultural and political history and with the texts of some major Czech and European writers. You should be able to see how writers and movie directors map a certain place onto their fictional works and how these works reflect historical events and societal developments. And you should have reflected and written in a journal about how your own relationship to the city of Prague has developed over the course of your visit.

Student Learning Outcomes

As a successful student by the end of the course you should be able to:

• demonstrate familiarity with the history of Prague, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic
• describe how a literary text reflects its historical context
• identify the literary and rhetorical devices employed in a text, such as point of view, irony, satire, imagery, etc., and relate them to the content of the text and its cultural and historical contexts
• discuss, orally and in writing, selected 20th century literary texts about Prague and their continuing aesthetic validity or challenge
• analyze and interpret the literary portrayal of the city of Prague, the region of Bohemia, and the Czech nation in selected literary texts and films, including cultural, societal, political, and historical aspects
• write a coherent essay on given topics about these texts and their contexts, supporting arguments with evidence (quotes) from the literary texts.

Texts

Required

Richard Burton, Prague: A Cultural History (Northampton, MA: Interlink, 2006), $15.00
Paul Wilson, ed., Prague: A Traveler's Literary Companion (Berkely, CA: Whereabouts Press, 1995), $14.95.
Franz Kafka, The Trial, translated by Breon Mitchell (New York: Schocken, 1999), $19.95.
Karel Čapek, R.U.R. - Rossum's Universal Robots (New York: Penguin, 2004), $ 10.00
Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being (New York: HarperCollins, 2009), $16.99
Sylvie Germain, The Weeping Woman on the Streets of Prague, translated by Judith Landry (Cambs, GB: Dedalus, 1993), $10.99.

Course Requirements and Evaluation

Class Preparation and Participation
For your participation in class, your grade will be determined using the following criteria:
A = you are well prepared and participate actively; you are attentive, respond when called upon and volunteer often with pertinent questions and comments.
B = you are usually prepared and always respond when called on; you volunteer on occasion.
C= you show evidence of being unprepared; you have some trouble when called on and do not volunteer often.
D = you are unprepared and/or inattentive; you never volunteer; you come to class late and/or leave early.
F= you exhibit a lack of concern for the class; you sleep in class; your behaviour may have a negative effect on the class.
Group Discussions: The above evaluation criteria also apply to group work. Be a good team member in partner work or small group activities. Turn your chair to create an easy setting for interaction with your partner(s). Volunteer information, keep the work moving along, but don’t dominate. Help your partners, if they are having a more difficult time (helping others is an excellent way to learn for yourself!). In order to be a good team player you need to be well prepared for class. Each member of a group should take notes about the ideas generated in the group and be prepared to give a report to the class.

Essays and Final Paper
You will write three short essays, each one about 2 - 3 pages long, and one final paper, about 5 - 6 pages long. Use 1” margins on all sides, 12 pt. Arial/Helvetica font, double-spaced, with page numbers. I am most interested in your own original ideas, not someone else’s, nor in a paraphrase of my comments from class, our class-discussions, or the readings themselves. Pay attention to good organization and logical transitions between paragraphs. Base your arguments on close readings; give concrete examples (quotes) from the texts to support your arguments and document the source, with page numbers; avoid vague impressions and over-generalization. Do not use excessively long quotations to fill up the pages. If you use ideas or quotes from critical literature (books, articles, internet, etc.), you need to document your sources and give proper credit to someone else’s ideas (whether you quote directly or rephrase their ideas)—otherwise you violate academic honesty and commit plagiarism (see below for policy). Do not make someone else’s ideas the major focus of your essay or paper. For the format of footnotes and bibliography, refer to the guidelines posted on the VISTA class web site. Topics are posted there as well. Essays are due at the beginning of the class period. Email submissions and late submissions will only be accepted with my permission.

Journal
Throughout the semester you will write a journal in which you collect impressions and ideas resulting both from your readings and your encounters with the city of Prague. Include pictures, too! Your journal can either be on paper (typed) or posted online. I will evaluate how carefully you reflect on the texts and the city and the connections you are able to establish between them, and how well you present your journal to the reader (illustrations!). Make several entries every week! A loose leaf folder will be best for collecting your journal entries and pictures, or post them online.

Final Presentation
You will present to the whole class about a topic you've pursued in your essays, your final paper, or your journal. Expand the topic and present it freely (only a few flash cards allowed) with the help of visuals.

Grading scale (in %)

Class Attendance Policy

Regular attendance is a university requirement. For every unexcused absence in excess of 2 classes, your semester grade could be reduced by 1 point. If you accumulate 4 or more unexcused absences your semester grade will be F. If you miss more than 10 minutes of a class period (unless pre-approved by me), it will count as an absence, but I encourage you to still attend the class so as not to miss the material. If you have to miss a class for a compelling reason, please inform me about it beforehand or as soon as possible after the absence. You will still be expected to be prepared for the next class; contact a class mate for information on the missed material and any assignments. For information about what qualifies as an excused absence, please consult: http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/academic_regulations/attend/reg.htm

Credit Only Policy

If you are taking this course for "CR only ", you need to do ALL the work for a grade and all other policies (except audit policy) also apply. In order for you to receive a "CR" (credit), you will need to make a semester grade of C- or better. Please be aware that a CR course will not count for your GER or GEP requirement (if you need it for that purpose) and that it will also not count for your German Studies Major or German Minor.

Audit Policy

In order to receive an "audit" for this course you need to attend at least 10 of the 12 class sessions and attend at least one session in the last week of the semester. You should also prepare the material to be covered, so you can actively participate in the class discussions and group activities. You do not need to hand in any work, write the essays, the journal and final paper, or do the presentations - however, you may do so, if you wish. Contact the instructor if you have questions.

The official NC State Policy on Grading (and CR, Audit, Incompletes, etc.) can be found here: http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/grades_undergrad/REG02.50.3.php

Policy on Late Assignments

Late assignments may receive lower grades: one day late = one grade lower, two days late = two grades lower, etc. Exception: pre-approved or approved late submission or lateness in connection with an excused absence. I strongly encourage you to communicate with me about any problems you’re having. I usually work with my students on helping them catch up and get on track again, if there are serious reasons beyond their control for having missed assignments. Being overworked, forgetting, etc. are NOT reasons that would qualify. As for technical difficulties with electronic submission, we will address that problem together, but please allow a little extra time when submitting your work electronically, so it will arrive on time.

Incomplete Policy

Incompletes (IN) will be assigned at the instructor's discretion in line with university policies on grading: http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/grades_undergrad/REG02.50.3.php

Students with Disabilities

Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with Disability Services for Students at 1900 Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509, 515-7653, for information see http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/offices/affirm_action/dss/.
For more information on NC State's policy on working with students with disabilities, please see the Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Regulation (REG02.20.1) at: http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/courses_undergrad/REG02.20.1.php.

Academic Integrity Policy

Human interaction and effective communication function on the basis of trust. An atmosphere of trust, honesty and respect for each other fosters educational progress and success. Please do not give me any reason to be suspicious of your honesty. You are to do your own work on all class assigments, presentations, projects, and exams, unless it is a designated pair or group assigment. That also means not incorporating others’ ideas and selling them as your own—this is called plagiarism. Whether you take ideas (verbatim or just as an idea) from books, the internet, or other sources does not matter: you need to acknowledge their source if they are not your own. The NC State Library has an online Plagiarism Tutorial at: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/scc/tutorial/plagiarism/index.html
Please ask me about anything that remains unclear. Violations of academic integrity (plagiarism, cheating, etc.) will be prosecuted according to NC State’s policy on academic integrity, posted at: http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/provost/info/hat/current/appendix/appen_l.html

Semester Schedule

For information on what texts or websites to read and prepare for each class, you need to check the respective "Lesson" on the VISTA course website! This schedule just lists our topics and the due dates for work to be handed in or posted.

All submissions of homework are due on the date under which they are listed, at the beginning of the class period. Movies will be shown outside of class (times TBA), then discussed in class on the days listed. The study abroad semester is six weeks long, with two long sessions per week (about 3 hours each session, or a split of a 2 1/2 and a 3 1/2 hours session), for a total of 12 sessions.

Last updated: August 10, 2009