31055 - Anglo-American Literature 1

Learning outcomes

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

Course contents

INTRODUCTION TO THE LITERATURE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The course is divided into two parts, with a single final exam.

The first part offers an introduction to American literature from its origins to the present day, focusing on questions of identity and the making of shared and divided memories. Classics and foundational texts will be compared to outline the symbolic and mythological models that have characterized the development of complex and heterogeneous realities united by ideal and idealized projects.

In this course, literature is investigated through an ongoing dialogue with other forms of communication and artistic expression, including new media, cinema, photography, and the visual arts. The concepts of identity, memory, community, inner/outer landscape constitute paradigmatic themes for exploring the evolving mentalities underlying the complex identity processes of what has long been defined as "the new world."

These are some of the topics covered in class:

• Discovery / Conquest / Invention of America.
• The Puritan Roots of North American Literature.
• American Mythologies: The Frontier.
• Transcendentalism and the American Renaissance: Eco-criticism, Self-Reliance, New Canons.
• The Civil War: Slavery, Freedom, Human Rights.
• The "Gilded Age": Realism, Naturalism, Regionalism.
• The Modernist Period: From Europe to America.
• The Second Half of the Twentieth Century: Literature, War, Society
• Post-9/11 Narratives.

The second part focuses on the analysis of (old and new) classics of American literature to share reading practices and methods useful for preparing for the final exam. Among the works proposed for this academic year are:

• Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (1850)
• Mark Twain, The adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884/5)
• Francis Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925)
  
• Philip Roth, The Plot Against America (2004)
• Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad (2016)

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.

 

Readings/Bibliography

Preparation for the oral exam combines materials from two different bibliographical lists: i) handbook to acquire a general knowledge of the North American literary history; ii) texts to develop critical knowledge of selected authors and themes (texts chosen by the students to customize their own reading list). For details, see the two lists here below:

i) General knowledge:

In view of the final exam students must choose one among the handbooks listed here below, either in Italian or in English:

• C. Iuli, P. Loreto (eds), La letteratura degli Stati Uniti. Carocci Editore, 2017
• G. Fink, M. Maffi, F. Minganti, B. Tarozzi, Storia della letteratura americana (nuova edizione), Firenze: Sansoni (1991) 2013
• E. Emory (ed), The Columbia Literary History of the United States, Columbia U.P., 1988

ii) Thematic knowledge:

In view of the final exam, students must also select at least two (2) primary sources (novels, memoirs, poem collections, travelogues) and at least two (2) secondary sources (critical essays/books; films; multimedia sources. IMPORTANT: one of the two secondary sources MUST be an academic one). A reading list of both primary/secondary sources will be posted on the Virtuale Platform in due course.

 

Teaching methods

Students’ active participations is strongly encouraged. 

Assessment methods

The FINAL EXAM consists of an interview (circa 15/20 minutes, either in Italian or in English). Students must demonstrate good knowledge of the main lines of development in the history of American literature; they must also demonstrate the ability to critically read the literary works examined and be able to contextualize them in the American scenarios.

 

Teaching tools

Traditional and Multimedia tools

Links to further information

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

Office hours

See the website of Elena Lamberti