Media, film, theatre: Southern Gothic 2510-f2ENG1S-MFT-SG

Southern Gothic
Week 1: Introduction (syllabus, requirements, logistics, etc.). Key concepts: The American South, Gothic, Southern Gothic. Characteristics of Southern Gothic. Introduction to the selected authors and texts.
Week 2: Transmedia storytelling. Theory and practice.
Week 3: Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839) – discussion of the text
Week 4: Reinventions of “The Fall of the House of Ushe” across media (film, video, blog, etc.)
Week 5: William Faulkner (1897–1962) “A Rose for Emily” (1930) – discussion of the text
Week 6: Mapping out transmedial afterlives of “A Rose for Emily”
Week 7: Carson McCullers (1917–1967) The Ballad of the Sad Café (1951) – discussion of the text
Week 8: Discussion of the film adaptation of The Ballad of the Sad Café (1991) directed by Simon Callow
Week 9: Reassessment and refining of key concepts: Southern Gothic, Transmedia. An in-class test on the three texts and their adaptations discussed in previous weeks
Week 10: Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) “Parker's Back” (1965) – discussion of the text
Week 11: Tracing contexts of “Parker's Back”
Week 12: Toni Morrrison (1931–2019) Beloved (1987) – discussion of the text
Week 13: Mapping out authorial commentaries on Beloved.
Week 14: Discussion of the possibilities of sharing the results of students’ research in digital media (blogs, videos, comments, social media, etc.)
Week 15: Reassessment of Transmedia theory and practice. An essay on Southern Gothic literature in the context of transmedia is due.

Total student workload

Contact hours with teacher: - participation in seminar - 30 hrs - consultations - 5 hrs Self-study hours: - preparation for the seminar: research - 5 hrs - writing essays - 5 hrs - reading literature- 30 hrs Altogether: 75 hrs (5 ECTS)

Learning outcomes - knowledge

The student W1: has advanced knowledge of Southern Gothic as a literary phenomenon (including its historical, social, and political contexts) and of selected representatives of this genre (K_W08). W2: is acquainted with the afterlife of Southern Gothic in other media (old and new) (K_W09).

Learning outcomes - skills

The student U1: is able to present and defend interpretations of selected texts of Southern Gothic, using advanced theoretical concepts (K_U07). U2: has advanced skills in formulating and testing of hypotheses concerning transmedial migrations of literary texts (K_U07).

Learning outcomes - social competencies

The student K1: understands the significance of literary tradition and seeks to keep it alive by means of sharing the results of research in digital media (K_K03).

Teaching methods

- problem-based lecture - project work - seminar - exchange and discussion methods

Exploratory teaching methods

- biographical
- brainstorming
- seminar

Online teaching methods

- methods developing reflexive thinking
- cooperation-based methods
- exchange and discussion methods

Prerequisites

Candidates should be familiar with the history of American literature and literary theory

Course coordinators

Mirosława Buchholtz

Assessment criteria

Assessment methods:
- short research projects (W1, W2)
- an in-class test, an essay (U1, U2)
- activity (K1, U1, U2)

Assessment criteria:
12 x 5 points for activity (short research projects and discussion of concepts, placing research results on the Internet).
2 x 20 points for an in-class test and an essay. Weeks: 9 and 15, respectively

fail 0- 59 pts (0-59 %)
satisfactory 60-69 pts (60-69 %)
satisfactory plus 70-75 pts (70-75 %)
good 76-85 pts (76-85 %)
good plus 86-90 pts (86-90 %)
very good 91-100 pts (91-100 %)

Practical placement

not applicable

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 2510-f2ENG1S-MFT-SG in USOSweb