ANGLO-AMERICAN LITERATURE 2 MOD. 2

The second module of 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 in 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 course focuses on examining significant authors and works in nineteenth-century American literature.

W. C. Bryant, "The Prairies"
R. W. Emerson, selected essays
M. Fuller, from At Home and Abroad
N. Hawthorne, selected stories, The Scarlet Letter
H. Melville, Benito Cereno

Selections from other texts available on Moodle

The final oral exam is in Italian and lasts about 30mins. It consists of four questions on the topics of the course, including the analysis of short passages from the texts presented in class. In the exam, students are expected to demonstrate knowledge of the content of the texts discussed in class (including the plot of literary texts), to compare them with each other and discuss them independently, to know the cultural-historical context of the texts, to be able to apply the theoretical tools of postcolonial criticism, and to be able to reflect on the theoretical debates addressed in the course.

oral

The minimum grade is 18, the maximum grade is 30 cum laude. The grades will be assigned as follows:
A. band 18-22: sufficient content knowledge; limited ability to discuss independently, limited knowledge of theoretical tools, limited knowledge of the cultural-historical contexts and debates.
B. band 23-26: decent content knowledge; decent ability for independent discussion, decent knowledge of theoretical tools, decent knowledge of the historical-cultural contexts and debates.
C. band 27-30: good content knowledge; good ability for independent discussion; good knowledge of theoretical tools; good knowledge of the cultural-historical contexts and debates.
D. Cum Laude: awarded in case the content knowledge, independent discussion skills and knowledge of the theoretical tools, historical-cultural context and debates are excellent.

Lectures and class discussion

Italian

This module (mod. 2) is part of LT002B and must be attended together with mod. 1 taught by Prof. Bordin.

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