Unit American Literature I
- Course
- Foreign languages and cultures
- Study-unit Code
- A002630
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Mirella Vallone
- Teachers
-
- Mirella Vallone
- Hours
- 54 ore - Mirella Vallone
- CFU
- 9
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2022
- Offered
- 2022/23
- Learning activities
- Caratterizzante
- Area
- Letterature straniere
- Academic discipline
- L-LIN/11
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- Perspectives on American identity (from the Colonial period to the mid-nineteenth century)
The course will examine different configurations and interpretations of American identity in continual tension between continuity and rupture, aggregation and dispersion. Starting from the Colonial period through the nineteenth century, it will analyze the relationship that American identity has had with nature, faith, the Other, and writing. It will examine the American Revolution and the birth of the nation through its founding texts (the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution), the American identity sung by Walt Whitman in his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, and the emergence of an African American identity in the slave narrative of Frederick Douglass.
Students will explore texts belonging to different literary genres (sermon, captivity narrative, letters, political texts, poetry, and autobiography) that will be analyzed in relation to their historical, cultural, and political contexts. The course will alternate lectures with seminars and require students' active participation. - Reference texts
- Andrew Delbanco (ed.), The Puritans in America: A Narrative Anthology (a selection of texts);
Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, 1892 (deathbed) edition;
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.
For the historical context, Stefano Luconi, La "nazione indispensabile". Storia degli Stati Uniti dalle origini a Trump.
Texts of literary criticism, supporting the analysis of literary texts, will be included in the reading list at the beginning of the course. - Educational objectives
- At the end of the course students should be able 1. to interpret literature as it relates to its historical, social, and cultural context; 2. to translate the literary works studied and perform a formal text analysis; 3. to comment on the literary works and debate the issues of the course with an appropriate critical language.
- Prerequisites
- Knowledge of basic notions on the analysis of literary texts.
- Teaching methods
- Lectures and seminars.
- Learning verification modality
- Oral examination on the texts and issues of the course, aimed to test 1. the comprehension of the texts studied and of their contexts; 2. the ability to apply knowledge; 3. the ability to communicate effectively and with appropriate critical language.
- Extended program
- Perspectives on American identity (from the Colonial period to the mid-nineteenth century)
The course will examine different configurations and interpretations of American identity in continual tension between continuity and rupture, aggregation and dispersion. Starting from the Colonial period through the nineteenth century, it will analyze the relationship that American identity has had with nature, faith, the Other, and writing. It will examine the American Revolution and the birth of the nation through its founding texts (the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution), the American identity sung by Walt Whitman in his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, and the emergence of an African American identity in the slave narrative of Frederick Douglass.
Students will explore texts belonging to different literary genres (sermon, captivity narrative, letters, political texts, poetry, and autobiography) that will be analyzed in relation to their historical, cultural, and political contexts. The course will alternate lectures with seminars and require students' active participation.