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

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 – Canada (Prof. Elena Lamberti, Course Coordinator):

The first module focuses on Canada and investigates the passage from colonial to postcolonial scenarios, questioning the making of diverse cultural and literary canons and trends. The course will therefore probe what was once defined as “the Canadian nobody”, unveiling it as an original yet complex reality that today stands at the forefront of new literary, cultural, transmedia and ethical challenges.

Main themes: Probing the (old and new) Canadian Mosaic; Postcolonial Canada; Canadian Renaissance; Canadian Postmodernism; Indigenous Voices; Canadian Literature and the 21^st Century.

Among the writers discussed are: Hugh MacLennan; Margaret Atwood; Timothy Findley; Leonard Cohen; Michael Ondaatje; Nino Ricci; Barry Callaghan; Douglas Coupland; Sheila Heiti; Leanne Betasmosake Simpson; Waubgeshig Rice; Cherie Dimaline; Richards Wagamese; Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas.

A detailed list of primary and secondary sources will be available when classes start.

Part 2 – USA (Prof. Chiara Patrizi, Course Co-Coordinator):

The second module focuses on the USA and investigates how literature portrayed and contributed to the cultural changes and socio-political struggles of the Post-45 period—from the Civil Rights Era to Postmodernism. The course will put literature in dialogues with other arts/media to tackle issues and concerns that are paramount to understand the challenges that the United States is facing at the beginning of the 21^st century.

Main themes: Postmodern temporalities; Intersectionality in Contemporary US Literature; literature and civil rights; African American Literature between the 20th and 21st centuries.

Among the writers discussed are: Paul Auster; James Baldwin; Toni Cade Bambara; Don DeLillo; Ralph Ellison; Cormac McCarthy; Carson McCullers; Toni Morrison; Flannery O’ Connor; Thomas Pynchon; Rivers Solomon; Kurt Vonnegut; Jesmyn Ward; Richard Wright.

A detailed list of primary and secondary sources will be available when classes start.

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 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.

This course will feature a series of guest scholars and professionals to encourage the dialogue between literature and civic society so to widen our knowledge of learning and training opportunities available nationally or internationally. The list of featured guests will available when classes start.

 

Readings/Bibliography

A detailed list of primary and secondary sources will be available when classes start.

Teaching methods

Students’ active participations is strongly encouraged.

Assessment methods

The final exam is structured in two parts:

1. Class presentation (or, as an alternative, oral exam). Class presentations will run at the end of the second module.
2. 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 Chiara Patrizi