Possible Areas of Topics for Undergraduate Thesis

Anglick jazyk se zamenm na vzdlvn

Deadline for topic registration: June 17, 2011.

Faculty members to approach regarding specific academic areas: Linguistics Grammar - PhDr. Jarmila Petrlkov, Ph.D. Lexicology - Mgr. Nadda Stakov Phonetics and Phonology - Libue Slavkov, M.A., CSc. Anna teflov British Literature Mgr. Magdalna Potokov, Ph.D. Doc. Justin Quinn, Ph.D. American Literature Brad Vice, Ph.D. Doc. Justin Quinn, Ph.D. Cultural Studies British Studies - Mgr. Andrew Tollet, M.Litt. American Studies - Brad Vice, Ph.D. The following areas are just possible/recommended topics for your undergraduate thesis. In case, you would like to pursue an original topic (one that is not listed here), contact a possible adviser and discuss the topic with her/him.

Linguistics Grammar PhDr. Jarmila Petrlkov, Ph.D. (Students interested in one /some of the topics are welcome to meet her and discuss the matter with her.) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Means of the expression of secondary predications within an English sentence. The competition of the gerundial and infinitive clauses in the function of subject of an English sentence. The competition of the gerund and the to-infinitive in the function object of the verbs of aspect start / begin. The occurrence and function of impersonal it in the function of subject (or object) of an English sentence. The comparison of the English indefinite article and the existential quantifier some in the function of markers of non-generic indefinite reference (with respect to the occurrence of the indefinite pronoun njak in Czech). The function and semantics of the possessive case of an English noun and its Czech equivalents. Complements in the structure of an English sentence; obligatory and optional subject and object complements with respect to the Czech notion of doplnk. Ways of expressing epistemic (extrinsic) modality in English: in the light of theoretical knowledge drawn from reference books, the student takes ones own research of means of the expression of various degrees of probability in English. The material for the actual analysis will be excerpted from works of British or American contemporary fiction.

Lexicology and other Mgr. Nadda Stakov 1. 2. 3. 4. Analysis of language means used in English texts with humorous effects Phonological, grammatical and lexical differences of British and American English Stylistic peculiarities of various types of British newspapers The problem of political correctness in English and Czech investigation of the relevant literature and description of various approaches

1. Identification and description of lexical means used in a work by a British or American author 2. Identification and description of lexical means used in texts of English newspapers 3. Identification and description of lexical means used in texts of an English magazine 4. Lexical interference of English and Czech risks of translation related to the phenomenon of false friends an analysis of a particular text 5. Euphemisms in general English communication and journalism and politics 6. Multiword lexical units with transferred meaning in English and Czech (sayings, similes and proverbs) 7. Word-formation processes in English and Czech (common and specific features) 8. An analysis of lexical units of a particular English text from the word-formation point of view (focus on compounding, affixation and conversion) 9. An analysis of lexical units of a particular English text from the word-formation point of view (focus on transition and contact points of word-formation processes) 10. An analysis of lexical units of a particular English text from the word-formation point of view (focus on shortening processes)

Note: Topics 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9 and 10 can be processed by more students because they are based on different primary sources for the description and analysis.

Phonetics and other Libue Slavkov, M.A., CSc. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Comparison of English and Czech Intonation English Syllables and Rhythm How do Czech people perceive (English Speaking) Foreigners? Foreign Languages taught in Czech schools survey Intonation and Word-order (comparative study) EFL and ELF in the Czech context: (Sociolinguistics rather than Pedagogy)

Miscellaneous Anna teflov 1. 2. 3. 4. Neologisms: How are new words created in English? Diminutive forms in English. The changes and development of English spelling. The changes and development of English grammar.

British Literature PhDr. Magdalna Potokov, Ph.D. 1. 2. 3. 4. Shakespeare on Stage and Screen Arthurian Themes in Victorian Poetry and Culture Jane Austens Juvenilia (Love and Frienship, Lady Susan etc.) 19th Century Horror Fiction

Doc. Justin Quinn, Ph.D. 1. Nationalism in the Poetry of W. B. Yeats 2. Nature in the Poetry of William Wordsworth, John Keats, or Percy Bysshe Shelley 3. Social Criticism in the novels of Charles Dickens 4. Fate in the novels of Thomas Hardy

If you wish to explore other than listed topics, contact a Brit literature professor and discuss your ideas with them.

American Literature Doc. Justin Quinn, Ph.D. 1. 2. 3. 4. History in the novels of Nathaniel Hawthorne Ecology in the work of Henry David Thoreau America in the novels of Henry James Misanthropy in the novels of Mark Twain

5. Egotism in the poetry of either Walt Whitman or Emily Dickinson

Brad Vice, Ph.D. 1. Puritan Colonialism: The author should explore the history, culture, and ideology of the American Puritans and place them in a larger American context. The author may wish to consult the literature of Anne Bradstreet, Edward Taylor, William Bradford, or Jonathan Edwards. 2. Independence : The author should explore the history and ideology behind the Enlightenment American, placing particular emphasis on notions of political and personal Independence . The author may wish to consult the works of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. 3. Romantic America . The author should write about post enlightenment values of the early 19th Century and explore broad cultural movements such a Transcendentalism and The Great Awakening. The author may wish to consult the works of R.W. Emerson, E. A. Poe, Herman Melville, and Nathanial Hawthorn. 4. Civil War and Emancipation: The author should place the events leading up to The American Civil War, as well as the war itself, in their cultural, social, and political context. Some writers may wish to focus particularly on the black struggle for emancipation. Aside from historical sources the author may wish to consult authors such and Walt Whitman and Fredrick Douglas. 5. The Gilded Age. The author should e xplore the historical, cultural, and social changes brought about by the end of the Civil War on Victorian America and should focus on differences between the Industrial North and the Agrarian South both before and after The American Civil War. The author may wish to consult the works of Samuel Longhorn Clemens. (Mark Twain) 6. American Naturalism. The author should explore the impact of the rapidly changing scientific, political, and economic theories such as Evolution and Social Darwinism on the culture landscape of America in the late 19th and early 20th century. The author may wish to consult the works Henry James and Stephen Crane. 7. American Modernism. The author should explore the radical social and economic changes occurring in American culture between the first and second world wars. The exploration may concentrate on one or more interrelated cultural events such as the Great Depression, the Jazz Age, The Harlem Renaissance, etc. The author may wish to consult the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck William Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston. 8. Postwar America . The author should explore the desire for increased uniformity in American culture after the second world war. The thesis may focus on the return to traditional social roles for women and people of color, the development of The Cold War, the development of the suburbs and other aspects of postwar consumer culture, as well the rise of politically reactionary movements such as McCarthyism. The author may wish to consult the works of Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. 9. American Counter Culture. The author should explore the counter culture movements represented by the 1950s Beat Generation as well as the larger more varied counter culture generation of the 1960s. The author may wish to concentrate on one or more interrelated movements, such as the protesting of the war in Vietnam , the rise of feminism, and the struggle for racial civil rights. The author may wish to consult the works of authors such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. 10. Postmodern America . The author should explore the social, political, and spiritual fragmentation brought about by culture of late capitalism pervasive in the latter half of the 20 th

Century. The author may wish to concentrate on one or more subjects such as the end of The Cold War or the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The author may wish to consult the works of Thomas Pynchon or Don DeLillo.

British Cultural Studies Mgr. Andrew Tollet, M.Litt. 1. Analyse the life and legacy of one of the following: Queen Boudicca Owain Glyndr Oliver Cromwell Florence Nightingale Margaret Thatcher Sir Paul McCartney 2. Politics Choose one of the major political parties in Britain and trace its historical development 3. Nationalism in Britain Scotland Wales 4. The British press Serious v. popular press (e.g. select a series of articles from a particular field sport, politics, editorials etc and compare the language used)