31353 - Anglo-American Literature 3

Learning outcomes

Students will learn the literary history of the period at stake; they will acquire useful literary tools to analyze fictional productions and question them in relation to the complex and heterogeneous North American realities.

Course contents

NORTH AMERICA AND NEW CULTURAL GEOGRAPHIES: 1950-2020

This course proposes a journey across North American literary and cultural productions relating to the period 1950-2020. From the second Red Scare to the Vietnam War to 9/11, from Postmodern Fiction to World Literature, we will cross read Canadian and American ‘old’ and ‘new’ classics to investigate the making of today globalized and interconnected realities.

IMPORTANT: The course is structured into two modules of 30 hours each; the course directors will work in synergy and there will a unique final exam (see here below).

Part 1 (Prof. Elena Lamberti):

Main themes: Young rebels in/of the Tranquilized 1950s; Good wars & bad wars: from WWII to Vietnam; Canadian Renaissance; New voices from Canada; Writing after 9/11

Part 2 (Prof. Marco Petrelli):

Main themes: Postmodern fiction; Literature and/as Politics: from the Civil Rights Movement to Environmental activism; Women Literature from Eudora Welty to Jesmyn Ward; Popular literature: hard-boiled, sci-fi, horror; Contemporary American music and literature.

Please Notice: This course is organized as part of the sustainability phase of the European Project “PERFORMIGRATIONS: People Are the Territory” (www.performigratios.eu), in the frame of the research project “WeTell: Storytelling and Civic Awareness” (https://site.unibo.it/wetell/en) and in collaboration with the literary portal www.canadausa.net. The main goal is to encourage a new global mentality, deeply rooted in the humanities, so to reorient today geopolitics and create a happier and more just world. No knowledge is useful if it leads to satisfy only a few people’s urgent needs, be that material or emotional; knowledge is useful if it induces us to question our communal existence, helping us to learn how to act upon our community in responsible ways, in turn leading to a truly shared happiness.

Important: EVERYBODY IS WELCOME AND DIVERSITY (IN ALL ITS FORMS) IS WELCOME TOO.

This course features a series of guest scholars. The complete schedule will be available at the beginning of the teaching term.

Readings/Bibliography

In view of the final exam, students will be able to customize their reading list, as well as their themes for class presentation and essay under the supervision of the course directors.

 

Suggested "background" readings:

• C. Iuli, P. Loreto (eds), La letteratura degli Stati Uniti. Carocci Editore, 2017 (chapters 11-16).

• G. Fink, M. Maffi, F. Minganti, B. Tarozzi, Storia della letteratura americana (nuova edizione), Firenze: Sansoni (1991) 2013 (From chapter IV)

• Emory Elliott, (General Editor), The Columbia Literary History of the United States, New York: Columbia U.P., 1988 (Part V – 1945 to the present).

• P. Simonetti, Paranoia Blues, trame del Postmodern americano. Roma: Aracne Editrice 2015.

• Richard J. Lane, The Routledge Concise History of Canadian Literature, Routledge, 2011 (Chapters 1, 2, 3).

• The Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature, Edited by Eva-Marie Kroller, Cambridge U.P. 2004 (Chapters 1, 3, 4). 

• Antonelli, Sara e Mariani, Giorgio. Il Novecento USA: narrazioni e culture del secolo Americano, Roma, Carocci, 2009;

Teaching methods

Students’ active participations is strongly encouraged. Therefore, in addition to the lecture format, group work will be scheduled to create a vibrant and interactive educational environment.

Assessment methods

The final exam is structured in three parts:

1. Review of a book/film/TV series (to be delivered by March 30/03/2020)
2. Class presentation
3. Final essay of 3000-3500 words, in English.

Teaching tools

Traditional and Multimedia tools

Links to further information

https://site.unibo.it/wetell/en

Office hours

See the website of Elena Lamberti

See the website of Marco Petrelli