ANGLO-AMERICAN LITERATURE 2 MOD. 1

The course is part of the BA in Languages, Civilization and the Science of Language and aims at providing an introduction to the history of American literature through textual and cultural analysis.
The course aims at stimulating student to reflect on the evolution of literary language, forms and genres and to provide them with methods for analyzing texts and contextualizing them from a cultural-historical viewpoint. This will prepare students for advanced studies in both the literary and the cultural fields.

The learning outcomes of these course entail developing:
1. Good knowledge of the history of American literature from the colonial era to the American Renaissance;
2. Ability to apply such knowledge to the textual and cultural analysis of a literary text;
3. Ability to formulate critical hypotheses and judgments;
4. Communication skills and appropriate terminology;
5. Autonomous reading of handbooks and suggested materials.

Good knowledge of written and spoken English (≥ B2)

The aim of this course is to introduce students to American literature and its key texts and authors, from colonial period to the beginning of the 19th century. The course specifically focuses on the idea of "America" as a geographical and rhetorical construction, from Columbus up till the 1820s.

Mandatory readings:
Selected readings available on moodle:
Christopher Columbus, a selection
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, a selection
John Smith, a selection
William Bradford, a selection
John Winthrop, a selection
Mary Rowlandson, a selection
J. Hector St. John De Crèvecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer (III, extracts)
Thomas Jefferson, a selection
Olaudah Equiano, a selection from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of …
James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans

Secondary sources:
Fink, Guido et al. Storia della letteratura americana. Firenze: Sansoni, 1996. A selection.
Tzvetan Todorov. La conquista dell’America. Parte prima.
Greil Marcus and Werner Sollors, eds. A New Literary History of America. A selection.

ORAL EXAM:
1) evaluation of the knowledge of notions of literary history
2) identification and analysis of excerpts from literary texts, made to evaluate the ability of making critical judgments while analyzing and contextualizing a text
3) questions on further required readings for non attending students.

Lectures and class discussion

Italian

ATTENTION:
This course is assessed together with Prof. Francescato's part of American Literature 2. This module is part of the 12-credit course in Anglo-American Literature 2 and cannot be taken separately. Students also need to take module 2.

written and oral