C9130 - LETTERATURE ANGLO-AMERICANE (LM)

Learning outcomes

Students deepen their study of Anglo-American literatures with particular attention to the relationship between literary texts and their historical, artistic, technological, linguistic, and plurilingual contexts.They acquire and apply practical methodologies for the analysis of literary productions, exploring them through a proactive dialogue between traditional forms and new narrative formats. The course promotes an intercultural perspective that recognises the diversity of North American literary productions and values their educational potential (teaching of Anglo-American literatures, training and professional development of learners in the field, lifelong learning education).

Course contents

"Narrating Conflicts from North America: History, Memory, Testimony, Dissent."

Was there once peace? Has there ever been peace in North America? And what does "peace" mean for North America?

Starting from these questions, the course explores how North American literature has narrated the conflicts of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It will do so based on an important premise: none of the conflicts that took place during this period were fought on North American soil. Yet, American (and Canadian) literature and media have helped create forms and representations of war capable of dominating the national and transnational imagination. Why?

To answer this question, we will examine various literary genres (short stories, novels, biographies/autobiographies, graphic novels, memoirs, poetry) and diverse expressive codes (from cinema to photography, documentary, and reportage) to reflect on how North American productions have contributed to "making history" (literary and otherwise), sparking complex and controversial debates about what it means to bear witness to and remember conflicts.

These are some of the topics that will be addressed during the lectures:

• Methodological issues: (divided/shared) memory and cultural trauma; responsibility to bear witness; telling the unspeakable; subjectivity/objectivity on war; narrating/interpreting war; rewrite History (uchronias, dystopias, utopias).
• The two world wars: birth of a (literary) superpower.
• The Spanish Civil War: conflicts, ideologies, new media.
• The atomic age: cold war, hot media.
• The twenty-first century: back to the past?

Please Note: This course is organized as part of the sustainability phase of the European Project “PERFORMIGRATIONS: People Are the Territory”, in the frame of the spin-off research project “WeTell: Storytelling and Civic Awareness” (https://site.unibo.it/wetell/en ) and in collaboration with the literary portal https://site.unibo.it/canadausa . 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.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities: It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ) and with the course director in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination. Any specific requests must be made within 15 days of the exam date by sending an email to the instructor and cc'ing the email address disabili@unibo.it (for students with disabilities) or dsa@unibo.it (for students with DSA).

Readings/Bibliography

The bibliography will be updated weekly; students will be able to customize their selection, respecting the minimum number of readings required for the final exam (see the "Final Exam" section of this program).

This is an initial selection:

PRIMARY SOURCES

S. Crane, The Red Badge of Courage (1895); E. Hemingway, “Soldier’s Home” (1924); E. Hemingway, Fiesta. The Sun Also Rises (1926); E. Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms (1929); E. Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940); F.S. Fitzgerald, "May Day" (1920); F.S. Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925); J. Dos Passos, Three Soldiers (1922); J. Dos Passos, Manhattan Transfer (1925); e.e. cummings, The Enormous Room (1922); G. Stein, Wars I Have Seen (1945); D. Parker, “Soldiers of the Republic” (1938); D. Parker, “The Lovely Leave” (1943); M. Okubo, Citizen 13660; J. Gould Cozzens, Guard of Honor (1948); N. Mailer, The Naked and the Dead (1949); J. Jones, From Here to Eternity (1951); M. Gellhorn, The Face of War (1959); J. Heller, Catch-22 (1961); K. Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969); T. Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow (1973); Robert O'Connor, Buffalo Soldiers (1993); P. Roth, American Pastoral (1997); W. Gibson, Patter Recognition (2003); P. Roth, The Plot Against America (2004); A. Spiegelman, In the Shadow of No Towers (2004); H. Benedict, Sand Queen (2011); K. Powers, The Yellow Birds (2012); D. DeLillo, Falling Man (2007)

SECONDARY SOURCES

J. Alexander, Trauma: A Social Theory (Polity Press, 1012); M. Arioli, “A (not so) Forgotten War: The Korean Conflict as a Turning Point in the History of the War Comics Genre”, Iperstoria n. 19 (2022), pp. 312-333; M. Arioli, Buone, sporche e dimenticate. Guerre a stelle e strisce (Agorà, 2023); E. Lamberti, “The Experience of War and the Search for Identity in US Narratives of WWI and WWI” (in Memories and Representations of War, Edited by E. Lamberti, V. Fortunati, Rodopi, 2009, pp. 115-128); K. Hodking, S. Radstone, Contested Pasts: The Politics of Memory (Routledge, 2003); D. Pick, War Machine: The Rationalisation of Slaughter in the Modern Age (Yale U.P., 1993); A. Erll, A. Nunning, Cultural Memory Studies (De Gruyter, 2008); S. Pesce, “Film and War Imaginary: The Hollywood Combat and Cultural Memory of WWII”, (in Memories and Representations of War, Edited by E. Lamberti, V. Fortunati, Rodopi, 2009, pp. 223-234); D.A. Daso (ed), The Price of Freedom: Americans at War (Marquand Books Inc, 2004)

 

Teaching methods

The course consists of two weekly lectures. Attendance is not mandatory, but it is strongly encouraged. Lectures are opportunities for dialogue, discussion, and sharing critical thinking, because this is also what humanities are for: cultivating free will and creativity through dialogue between instructor and students.

Assessment methods

The final exam consists of two parts:

a) Oral Exam.

Students can choose between:

Class presentations in English, focusing on one of the themes discussed in class, and based in the reading of at least two primary and two secondary sources. They can be individual or in groups (maximum 4 people): 15 minutes + 5 minutes for discussion. Class presentations will be held in December 2026 and must be scheduled with the instructor by the first week of November 2026.

Alternatively, students can choose to take an oral exam on one of the exam dates indicated on AlmaEsami (further details in part b, here below).

b) Written Exam

For students who choose the class presentation: A report in English (3,500-4,000 words) based on the theme discussed in the class presentation. The report will be guided by questions provided by the instructor at the end of the course.

For students who choose the oral exam: Essay in English (3,500-4,000 words). Students must select their focus and construct a customized bibliography, under the instructor's supervision, consisting of at least two primary sources and four secondary sources (of which a maximum of two non-literary sources, such as films, television series, video games, music, etc.). Essays will be evaluated based on methodology, consistent critical thinking, and a working hypothesis in line with the course themes. Particularly appreciated are: Student’s ability to reorganize course materials into an original critical discourse/perspective; sound reference to American literature, history and culture; Quality and property of the written language (English). Important: the essay must be submitted at least ten (10) days before the oral exam.

IMPORTANT: AI can be a useful tool to support individual study with in-depth analysis, summaries, and self-assessment. It can be used to prepare presentations, but students must explicitly explain how it was used (prompts, etc.). It cannot be used to write the essay (except for final editing; again, this must be clearly stated).

 

Teaching tools

In-person lectures with multimedia support and presentations posted on the course's virtual platform.

Links to further information

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

Office hours

See the website of Elena Lamberti