B029180 - ANGLO-AMERICAN LITERATURE 2 (12 CFU)

Italian and English

The course is designed to offer an in-depth exploration of some of the major authors, periods and genres in American literary culture with a focus on the historical contexts.

W. Whitman, Leaves of Grass; Lettura di “Song of Myself”.
- R.W. Emerson, "Self Reliance";
- H. Melville, “Bartleby the Scrivener”;
- Edgar Allan Poe:
“The Man of the Crowd” ; “The City in the Sea” ; "The Philosophy of Composition";
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby;
- Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence;
-Toni Morrison, Jazz.

The course (72 hours) is centered on an in-depth analysis of the origins, developments and literary versions of the American dream.
Aims of the course:
a. to expand the students' knowledge of 19th and 20th-century American literature
b. to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the cultural milieu as well as of the critical instruments required for the analysis of complex literary texts;
c. to enable students to consolidate a critical consciousness and an awareness of critical and culture theory through a reading of major literary works

Knowledge and understanding: Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding in historical and cultural contexts of Nineteenth and Twentieth-century America, and will acquire the critical tools to cope with the formal and substantive components of the texts analyzed during the lessons.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding: Students will learn how to apply processes, models, questions, and theories that result in enhanced clarity in the comprehension of literary texts included in the program, which will be appreciated in both their formal and their contextual features.
3. Making judgements: Students will develop the ability to discuss the literary questions considered during the course, proposing critical perspectives and well-grounded judgements on the texts included in the program.
4. Communication skills: Students will develop the ability to can communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions, with particular reference to themes and questions considered during the lessons.
5. Learning skills: Students will acquire the methodological tools needed to read, analyze and understand American literary, texts.

The prerequisites for the admission to the course are those established by the Corso di Laurea.

Lectures and conferences

The course is taught in the first semester.
Students can major in American literature 1 only if they have already taken classes for 18 CFU. For all the others, it is an elective course.
Further information will be provided at the beginning of the course

The exam will be oral. The three exam questions will deal with the following:
1. The history of 19th and 20th-century American literature and culture;
2. Specific themes and issues in the aforementioned literature and culture;
3. The key texts included in the syllabus.
Students will have to demonstrate their ability to analyze and critically evaluate the primary texts included in the reading list, and to place them within their contexts of production and reception.

The test will be considered passed if the candidates demonstrate adequate knowledge in 1,2,3.
The exam aims to assess:
- The knowledge of the basic concepts in 19th and 20th-century American Literature;
- The ability to describe and place literary phenomena within their contexts of production and reception;
- The ability to read and comment upon all the texts included in the reading list with a thorough command of methodological and theoretical tools;
- The ability to properly use formal and critical terminology.

American Literature and New York City: the American dream(?)

The course will explore the various literary representations of New York City as the epitome of the American Dream and of the ideals of "liberty, equality, and opportunity, through a thorough reading of some of the major literary works of 19th and 20th- century American literature.