ANNOUNCEMENTS: In the summer semester 2026, the course will be taking place in the classroom K026 at Tajovského 51 (Faculty of Arts, Department of English and American Studies) on THURSDAYS AT 13.00 (1 PM).

Attendance and assessment: You can track your performance and missed classes here.

During the introduction class, I will ask everyone whether you are okay with this record-keeping system.

If you, at any point during the semester, decide that you want me to keep your course records private instead, do not hesitate to e-mail or come see me.

 

(If a link on this page stops working, do not hesitate to let me know.)

 

Course completion conditions:

1)     Attendance – You are allowed to miss 2 classes for whatever reason. You do not have to provide any confirmation of your incapacity.

2)     In-class performance – coming prepared, paying attention, asking relevant questions & your ability to respond.

3) Optional assignment (5 points): listening comprehension. Deadline: 5 May (e-mail it to me and don't forget to sign the document with your name).

4)     Final assignment (during the exam period) – You will write a 2-page argumentative essay in-class (CLICK ON THAT LINK AND ACTUALLY READ IT SO THAT YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO) analysing one of these songs:

1. a) The Offspring: The Kids aren't Alright
2. b) Lana Del Rey: Live or Die
3. c) Ghost: Mary on a Cross

How to approach this task: Close-read the lyrics and listen to the song. 

Note: This used to be a home assignment but, due plagiarism and the inappropriate use of AI, the essay will be written in-class.

 

Listen to the song. Start with briefly introducing the band and point out any details that may have influenced the ideas in the song (political situation, generational expectations, social norms, country of origin...). Try to interpret what it means, support your ideas with arguments and cite from the lyrics. Yes, you may consult the existing interpretations of the selected song, cite it, and comment on it (whether you agree or not, and why).

 

Example (an essay analysing Emily Autumn’s song Thank God I’m Pretty):

/title/ Beauty – a blessing or a curse?

 

Emily Autumn is an American musician and writer. Her music combines classical music, cabaret, electronica, and glam rock. In her novel entitled The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, she draws on her actual experience as she suffers from the bipolar disorder, which is characterised by alternating periods of depression and abnormally elevated moods.

...

The song "Thank God I'm pretty" is from her album Opheliac, which refers to Shakespeare's Ophelia as a archetype of a self-destructive woman. As Emily Autumn has explained, she felt connection to this character. 

...

"Thank God I'm pretty
Every skill I ever have will be in question"

 …

/explaining the meaning/ The first line is obviously ironical, the narrator is not thankful for having to deal with the consequences of being pretty. She refers to the fact that beautiful women are often automatically expected to be dumb. 

 …

/my opinion on the topic/ In my opinion, expecting women to be a priori dumb is a manifestation of misogyny. 

Conclusion: Based on the analysis presented, Emily Autumn considers being beautiful a curse because it shifts everyone’s attention from who she is as a person.

 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilie_Autumn

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder

 

 

What will be assessed:

- essay title (think of a creative, but clear and interesting title, don’t name it after the song)

- composition (introduction, first sentence introducing the argument addressed in the following paragraph)

- argumentation (provide evidence for your statement)

- sources

- grammar (do not use contracted verb forms such as “don’t”, this is a seminar paper, which requires certain extent of formality; correct tenses, correctly used broad vocabulary)

- conclusion (sum up what you learned)

 

Expectations

It is your job to research facts from different viewpoints to build your argumentation.

The discussion topics are available in advance (see above). Make notes at home (detailing your arguments and sources) and bring them to the class.

Course completion conditions:

40 points: preparation of arguments for the discussion topics at home + active participation in discussion

30 points: argumentative essay (structuring your ideas, grammar) 

30 points: oral exam (short talk about one of the topics discussed during seminars)

  

Debate topics

Note that due to holidays, academic events, and force majeur, the syllabus may shift.

“Love at first sight exists.”

“School kids are getting dumber every year”

"Sex education, yes or no? And if, when and how?"

“Students in Slovakia should pay for university education.”

“Euthanasia should be permitted.”

“The Internet should be censored to curb hate speech.”

“Religion has a rightful place in university education”

“It is our obligation to reproduce for the sake of the human race”

"Do we need feminism?"

“Opioids should only be prescribed to patients undergoing palliative care.”

____________________________________________________________

“Psychopaths deserve second chances like everyone else”

“It is acceptable when the film adaptation completely differs from the book”

 “AI will replace people who specialise in languages shortly”

“Politics are part of civic education and have a rightful place at universities”

 

Recommended literature:

PRESENTATION: HOW ACADEMIC DEBATE WORKS

Hewings, Martin. English Grammar in Use Advanced. Cambridge University Press, 2013.

ROACH, Peter. English Phonetics and Phonology. A Practical Course. Cambridge University Press, 4th edition, 2009.

ŠTULAJTEROVÁ, A. – JESENSKÁ, P. 2013. English Stylistics. Banská Bystrica: Univerzita Mateja Bela Elektronická príručka E-Morphology v Moodle. https://lms.umb.sk/login/index.php

McCRAE, John - BOARDMAN, Roy. 1993. Reading Between The Lines: Integrated Language and Literature Activities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993