 |
 |
 |
|
Modern
Czech Literature
|
|
|
 |
TWO HOURS PER WEEK
During this course,
students are encouraged to draw comparisons between the works of Czech
and American authors. A familiarity with the works of Poe, Hawthorne,
Melville, Twain, Heller and Styron will be helpful in making the whole
project more exciting. The following is a list of Czech authors who
facilitate a cross-cultural approach and who simultaneously represent
the three main streams of modern Czech literature - (1) published officially
in the former Czechoslovakia (Capek, Seifert); (2) written in exile
(Kundera, Lustig, Skvorecky); and (3) samizdat writers (Havel, Klima).
Furthermore, writers who are represented in more than one way (Hrabal,
Seifert) will also be examined. Film screenings and slide shows are
an essential part of the course. With the additional insight and diverse
interpretations that various visual media offer, students are introduced
to modern Czech literature within its historical and socio-cultural
context. Films like Welles' The Trial, Menzel's Larks On a String, Postriziny,
My Sweet Little Village or Herz's The Cremator are relevant to the program.
Course requirements:
As already mentioned, films are an integral part of the course and will be used either in-class or put on reserve. Additional works by the above mentioned authors and books related to the subject matter of the seminars, as well as English language anthologies of Czech literature are also available. During the course students are introduced to specific literary problems within their historical context. Students are expected to finish reading books according to the schedule, participate in class discussion and write two essays. A final exam consisting of an in-class written essay on given topics completes credit and grade requirements.
Week
1.
Prague - city of three cultures?
Kafka's thoughts are constantly referred upon in the works that will follow. His works inspired many schools of interpretation: the psychoanalytical, the existentialist, the Judeo-Christian. A Czech reading of his works is presented; it is based on what his work meant for Czech readers and critics at various times.
READING: Franz Kafka:
The Trial 
"See you when the war is over at 6 p.m. at the Chalice pub - or maybe a bit later ..." - Grotesqueness and irony in Czech literature.
This 
classical
work can be read as a series of hilarious events, as a document of the
last days of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, as an anti-war novel within
the context of the writings of the Lost Generation or as the story of
an average man, craving (similarly to Heller's Yossarian) for mere survival.
READING: Jaroslav Hasek: The Good Soldier Svejk (selected chapters)
"I am you and you are me." - The psychological novel as a new phenomenon in Czech fiction Capek's keen interest in common man and search for understanding the trivial issues of life make him one of the most interesting humanistic writer-philosophers. The seminar is accompanied by a slide show of pictures, book covers, illustrations and cartoons made his brother, Josef Capek. Through these, the student is better able to follow the Capek brothers' ideas of modern art and bold anti-fascist orientation in the 30's.
READING: Karel Capek: Hordubal, Meteor, An Ordinary Life (trilogy)
Prize
can be called the Czech national poet of the 20th century. In this seminar,
slides of various works of applied arts (typography, architecture, collages)
will illustrate the collective creative efforts of the Devetsil group, active
in the 30-ies.
"What becomes of a man facing evil, darkness and despair?"
This seminar concentrates
on the devastating power of fear on the human psyche and its impact on
both the public and private lives of people - whether victims or privileged
ones. A
screening of
The Cremator and Transport from Paradise will enrich the seminar.
READING: Arnost Lustig: Night and Hope
FILM: Juraj Herz: The Cremator
"Healthy spirit smells of stupidity."
- Metamorphoses of postwar reality The life story of a man awakening from his communist dreams helps to understand the atmosphere of the 50's. In Kundera's first novel it is already possible to observe his typical structure formula and the musical quality of his texts.
READING: Milan
Kundera: The Joke
Doubts, fear and confusion This less known piece of Klima's writing is an interesting study in absurdity and well illustrates his reverence for Kafka and his bizarre world - albeit, in quite different times.
READING: Ivan Klima: Klara and two gentlemen
Mid-term exam
"The labyrinth of the world and the paradise of the heart" - the story of a strange journey Non-heroic hero in a totalitarian regime
Probably the most famous and controversial of Hrabal's works is an excellent source for understanding Czech-German relations - and much more. The seminar also focuses on Hrabal's narrative style and special farcical effects. Films by J. Menzel based on Hrabal's works complement this class.
READING: Bohumil Hrabal: I Served the King of England
Freedom and exile in Canada - the confrontation of two cultures
This novel offers a close examination of cultural similarities. For this seminar a good knowledge of American literature is important. Skvorecky´s book offers an interesting comparison between traditional Czech and American ways of interpreting fiction.
READING: Josef Skvorecky: The Engineer of Human Souls
Prague love story? - On hatred, compassion, common sense, Catholicism and patriotism One of the most amazing modern Czech "love stories" takes us to the period of WW II. Sporhertka, a main character and sometimes narrator, is a plain, wise and kind "human" being who possesses a nurturing sense of humor and frugal vocabulary.
READING: Radoslav Nenadal: Caretaker's Daughter
The absurd drama of an absurd life.
Through Ferdinand Vanek, the main character of these three one-act plays one can get a good understanding of life in Czech society in the 70's and 80's. Techniques of absurd drama will be examined on the basis of selected texts.
READING: Vaclav
Havel: Three Vanek
Plays
FGhosts both good and evil
In this book of short stories a rich world of vivid imagination is hidden in which it is impossible to distinguish between reality and dream.
READING: Eda Kriseova: Collarbone of a Bat
On rebellion and denial
In what is probably
her best film, dedicated to those "who are upset only by the sight of
trampled food", Chytilova addresses
similar issues like Anthony Burgess in his Clockwork Orange - cynical
games of alienated young people and their free choice of being 'moral
and good'.
FILM: Vera Chytilova: The Daisies
 |
