For over two centuries European and North American literature has been understood through the framework of the nation. This was galvanized by the Romantic idea that literary texts should be written in the writer’s mother tongue, thus rejecting a longer and more widespread practice of writing in lingua francas (in Europe, in Latin, but elsewhere in Akkadian, Aramaic, Sanskrit, and Arabic). Now that English has become a global lingua franca, the opportunity arises again to explore the connections between nation, language and literature, as much prose and poetry by writers for whom English is not their first language. This course will begin by examining with applied linguistics, introducing some of the central lingua franca concepts and also some of issues associated with English as a lingua franca (Kachru’s circles, similects, koinéization, standardized forms, pidgins, and creole). We will then consider second-language anglophone writers such as Yiyun Li, Ha Jin, Aleksandar Hemon, Jhumpa Lahiri, Jaroslav Kalfař, Xiaolu Guo, China Miéville, among others. Finally, we will explore writers who cannot easily be identified as either L1 or L2 anglophones (in past iterations of this course, we've looked at Anita Brookner, Eva Hoffman, Daljit Nagra).
Last update: Quinn Justin, doc., Ph.D. (31.01.2023)
Course completion requirements
Please observe deadlines for the online work, as the responses and discussions are dependent on your timely submission of work. I will rarely respond to individual submissions but rather will upload video or text that responds more generally, highlighting the important issues and asking you to look at assignments that have been done well. If you miss more than two assignments/F2F sessions, then you will not be eligible for a credit. Please note that any plagiarism will result in course failure, and may be referred for disciplinary action.
To receive 5 ECTS, Erasmus students will have to fulfill the requirements above and also write an essay of 1000 words by January 15. The essay should be a critical review of the course (did the course fulfill its stated aims? what would you change in the syllabus? why? etc.).
Last update: Quinn Justin, doc., Ph.D. (01.10.2021)
Syllabus
The course is run on Google Classroom, and you have to be logged in there from the first week of the semester. This is a platform for sharing materials. Most of our classes will be in person. Please email the instructor at justin.quinn@ff.cuni.cz for an invitation.
Last update: Quinn Justin, doc., Ph.D. (05.02.2023)
