American Literature 1 (BA 2nd year, teacher training)
The aim of this seminar is to introduce the most significant American authors of the 19th century through the analysis of works by Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain and Stephen Crane. The course will focus on representative poems, short stories and novels and will also feature group discussion of essays that have influenced mainstream American thought and writing.
American Literature 2 (BA 2nd year, teacher training)
The aim of this course is to investigate the problematic relationship of the individual with the social and psychological challenges of the 20th century, as represented in a selection from the required readings list for the end-term examination in 20th-century American literature. The seminar will focus on the factors that influence or determine the individual’s place in the universe based on the various literary movements of the period (Existentialism, Modernism, Post-Modernism, Beat Culture). The building blocks of identity, such as race, gender, ethnicity, age, and social background will be discussed based on social constructionist principles.
American Literature 4: Women Writers of the American South (BA 3rd year, teacher training)
The aim of this seminar is to present an overview of the literary output of the Southern states in the 20th century, focusing on women writers who have made their presence felt on the literary scene since the Southern Renaissance. Based on the analysis of short stories by Zora Neale Hurston, Caroline Gordon, Catherine Anne Porter, Eudora Welty, Flannery O’Connor, Carson McCullers, Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, the peculiarities of Southern fiction will be discussed in terms of the position of women writers and the differences between Southern and mainstream American writing.
American Literature 4: The American Short Story in the 20th century (BA 3rd year, teacher training)
The aim of this course is to introduce a variety of short story genres and give an overview of the classics (Faulkner and Hemingway) and the new voices that appeared in the second half of the 20th century (for example, science fiction, cyberpunk, Chicano, and Native American short stories). The course will provide insight into social, racial and ethnic factors influencing subjectivity, gender and the relationship between individual and power. The course will also focus on the visual representations of these genres in popular culture (for instance, the figure of the hard-boiled detective in Film Noir, the idealized image of the noble savage, or the cyberpunk world that provided the inspiration for The Matrix trilogy).
Genre Studies: Reading Novels and Film Adaptations (BA 3rd year, American Studies Track)
The aim of the course is to familiarize students with the reading of film texts and give an introduction to adaptation theory through the analysis of classic American novels and their film adaptations. The course will investigate the possible definitions of adaptation, the various strategies used in page-to-screen adapting, the question of censorship, and the influence of Hollywood. The critical background will not be restricted to fidelity criticism, but will also highlight the author/auteur debate, discuss genres, audiences, mise-en-scene, etc.
American Popular Culture (American Studies MA)
The aim of this course is to give an introduction to the theoretical background of Popular Culture and put theory into practice through the discussion of typical pop culture genres, such as chick lit, science fiction, the western, cyberpunk, television series or fandom studies. The position of pop culture in academia and everyday life will also be considered, as well as its changing evaluation ranging from escapist trash to serious works reflecting on the postmodern condition and pivotal questions of the 21st century, such as gender, race, ethnicity and identity construction.
American Popular Culture (teacher training)
The aim of this course is to give an introduction to the theoretical background of Popular Culture and illustrate it through the discussion of some of the typical pop culture genres, like romance, science fiction or the western, as well as including aspects of contemporary culture, for instance, fandom studies. Putting theory into practice, the course will focus on how popular culture can be used in the classroom. Students will collectively build a repository of classroom activities based on pop culture genres (comics, music, film, video games, etc.) through the term. Classes will have a hands-on component, teaching materials will be researched and evaluated in small groups, therefore active participation will be required for the course to function properly.
Masculinity and Femininity in American Fiction and Film (American Studies MA)
The aim of this course is to give an introduction to the social constructionist approach to gender and illustrate the problematic articulation of gender, race, age and social background through the discussion of short stories, novels and plays. Stereotyping in the visual representation of gender will also be explored in the film adaptation of some of these works and in popular culture as well. The concepts of social and personal identity, hegemonic masculinity, contingent identity, gender naturalization will be introduced and witnessed in practice. On a practical note, content analysis and the formulation of research questions will be incorporated, based on findings of empirical research.
Representations of the American South (American Studies MA)
The aim of this course is to provide an overview of the representations of the American South through significant literary texts and films that give insight into region-specific problems, like racism, the KKK, the influence of the Civil War and the plantation myth. These works will be used to explore the construction of Southern regional identity, and the geographical variety within the region, presenting both historical and social change taking place during the 20th century. This will be accomplished through the discussion of classics that have shaped the image of the South, like the first feature film, Birth of a Nation (1915) and Faulkner short stories, and contemporary representations, like Jesmyn Ward’s 2011 novel Salvage the Bones, which describes the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, and the movie 12 Years a Slave, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2013.
The Language of Advertising (Business Specialization)
This course will investigate how and why advertisements work. We will look at different strategies and techniques in advertising, discuss why some of them are more or less successful than others and how this social phenomenon is related to popular culture in general. The course focuses on putting into practice the theory covered in the set texts and will require students to demonstrate their new skills by designing an advertisement for the end-term presentation.
English in Advertising and the Media (Business Specialization)
The aim of this course is to guide students through the steps of an empirical research project, covering the difference between quantitative and qualitative research, questionnaire compilation, interpreting findings, presentation of the project and writing a research report. The research project will be based on the course Advertising (BA 2nd year) and will examine how efficient viewers find the various components of advertisements covered in the previous semester. The course will also provide practice materials for the relevant vocabulary, as well as help with business presentation and writing. The empirical research component will be relevant aid for writing business specialization theses by outlining and putting into practice the research methodology.