ANGLO-AMERICAN LITERATURE 1

This is the first course of American Literature for the students who have chosen the "literary and cultural" curriculum, and the only course of literature for the students who have chosen the other two curricula. The course aims to introduce students to American Literature of the 20th century and to some key concepts for the interpretation of the Unites States, such as the notion of "American Dream", melting pot and multiculturalism.
The educational goals are:
1. developing basic skills about the knowledge of history and culture of the United States
2. developing basic skills about literary texts, and their meaningful combination of form and content
3. developing a general knowledge of how American literature developed throughout the 20th century

1. basic knowledge of US history (20th century)
2. knowledge of the literary history of the US (20th century)
3. knowledge of some key notions that are necessary for a true understanding of 20th-century US (like the idea of American Dream, melting pot, multiculturalism, etc.)
4. basic reading and analytical skills for the interpretation of a literary text in English
5. being able to use an appropriate language for a textual and cultural analysis

No previous knowledge is necessary to attend this course.
A B2 certified level of English is necessary to sit for the final exam.

The course deals with some key texts of 20th-century American literature. They allow the class to reason on notions such as inclusion, exclusion, melting pot, multiculturalism and the American Dream. After starting from the famous definition of "the pursuit of happiness" by Jefferson as part of the American credo, during the course we will analyze the novels The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald), Ask the Dust (Fante) and The House on Mango Street (Cisneros), plus some shorter texts (short stories and poems), which allow to overview how American literature has evolved during the 20th century and how different ethnic groups have intervened in the dialogue on the "American dream", challenging the idea that the hope of of success, love, or inclusion can be really achieved.

Primary Sources:
Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence
Anzia Yezierska, “America and I” (1923)
Francis Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925)
John Fante, Ask the Dust (1939)
Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street (1983)
Gloria Anzaldua, “To Live in the Borderlands Means You” (1987)

Secondary sources:
1) Heike Paul. “E Pluribus Unum? The Myth of the Melting Pot”, in The Myths that Made America: An Introduction to American Studies.
2) Elisa Bordin. Un’etnicità complessa. Negoziazioni identitarie nelle opere di John Fante (Chapters 1 and 3)
3) Erminio Corti, “Chicanos, Mexican-Americans, Hispanics: una questione d’identità”. Ácoma (open access)
4) Anna Scacchi, “Sandra Cisneros.” in Verso il Millennio: Letteratura statunitense del secondo Novecento, a cura di Valerio Massimo De Angelis e Caterina Ricciardi. Roma: Università La Sapienza, 2007. (Baum)

Written exam (short questions, quizz or short close reading of one/two extracts from the texts analyzed during the course). Students who obtain at least a pass (18/30) can sit for the oral exam. During the oral exams, students will discuss both the written exam and other topics. Written and oral exams must be passed during the same exam session; otherwise, the student shall repeat both parts.

Lectures and class discussions

Italian

Students who cannot attend class are required to contact me and study the following extra material:

1. Werner Sollors, New Literary History. Entries: Emma Lazarus; Americans All; The Great Gatsby; Multicultural; Southwest;
2. Guido Fink, Mario Maffi, Bianca Tarozzi. Storia della letteratura americana. Sansoni. Pag: 174-214; 224-311; 347-369; 393-469; 498-503; 537-553.
3. American Civilization, Mother of Exile + Latinos
4. Mario Maffi, Cinzia Scarpino, Cinzia Schiavini, Sostene Massimo Zangari. Americana. Storie e culture degli Stati Uniti dalla A alla Z. Entires: braceros; chicanos; Hollywood; flappers; jazz age; proibizionismo

I encourage students to weekly visit the Moodle page of the course: that will be our main talking platform, for what concerns sharing material, information, and classes.

written and oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development