HISTORY OF NORTH-AMERICAN CULTURE

The course aims at introducing students to American cultural studies through the acquisition of concepts and methodologies and the analysis of heterogeneous materials examined and contextualized from a historical/cultural perspective. Students are expected to develop autonomous ability to analyze cultural materials through a specific critical vocabulary of medium-advanced level.

The learning outcomes of these course entail developing:
1. Good knowledge of the some basic elements in American cultural studies;
2. Ability to apply such knowledge to the critical analysis of cultural products;
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 English (≥ B2).

Narratives of Immigration in the U.S.:
The course offers an overview on the cultural representation of immigration to the United States, spanning from the major migratory waves of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to contemporary times, across literature and cinema. In particular, the course focuses on the evolution of immigrant literature, exploring divers genres. From early 20th-century European immigrant autobiographies, such as Mary Antin’s The Promised Land (1912); autobiographical novels like Henry Roth’s Call It Sleep (1939); contemporary “post-ethnic” narratives of Junot Diaz’s Drown (1996) and Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic (2011); and cinematic representations of the Italian diaspora. By adopting a diachronic perspective and examining authors from various cultural backgrounds, the course highlights how immigrant authors have represented pivotal aspects of the migratory experience in the United States. These include assimilation (the “melting pot”), anti-immigrant sentiment and anti-immigrant politics, the transnational perspective, diasporic identity, and the use of multilingualism. Through this exploration, students will gain insight into how the interplay between cultural heritage and assimilation has shaped the history and culture of the United States.
 

PRIMARY SOURCES
Mary Antin, The Promised Land (1912) extracts
Henry Roth, Call It Sleep (1937) extracts
Carlos Bulosan, America Is in the Heart (1946) extracts
Elaine Castillo, America Is Not the Heart (2018) extracts
Louis Adamic, “Plymouth Rock and Ellis Island” (1940)
Junot Diaz, Drown (1996)
Julie Otsuka, The Buddha in the Attic (2011)
Nuovomondo (Emanuele Crialese, 2000)
Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)

SECONDARY SOURCES
William Boelhower, “The Brave New World of Immigrant Autobiography”, in Immigrant Autobiography in the United States, Bordighera Press (New York, 2021), 35-56.
Werner Sollors, “National Identity and Ethnic Diversity”, in Challenges of Diversity: Essays on America, Rutgers U. P. (Rutgers, 2017): Cap. 2, 67-93.
Caren Irr, “Toward the World Novel: Genre Shifts in Twenty-First-Century Expatriate Fiction,” American Literary History, 23: 3, 660-679.

ORAL EXAM (in English, 30 minutes):
1) assessment of students' general knowledge of the syllabus
2) identification and analysis of excerpts with the purpose of assessing skills for communication, analysis and contextualization
3) further questions on the extra-readings for non-attending students

Students who cannot attend must inform the professor and study some further material (see folder on Moodle)

oral

Lectures and class discussion are the teaching modalities of this course. Students who cannot attend classes must contact Prof. Bordin for alternative readings.

English

All students (both attending and non-attending ones) are required to subscribe to the Moodle page of the course.

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