Unit AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE II
- Course
- Languages, comparative literatures and intercultural translation
- Study-unit Code
- A004736
- Curriculum
- Lingue e letterature
- Teacher
- Mirella Vallone
- Teachers
-
- Mirella Vallone
- Hours
- 54 ore - Mirella Vallone
- CFU
- 9
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2024
- Offered
- 2025/26
- Learning activities
- Caratterizzante
- Area
- Lingue e letterature moderne
- Sector
- L-LIN/11
- Type of study-unit
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- English
- Contents
- “The Measure of Our Lives”: On Toni Morrison and Louise Glück This course will explore the works of two American authors who were awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature: Toni Morrison in 1993 and Louise Glück in 2020. It will focus on their lifelong commitment to the expressive and transformative power of language. We will analyze the profound impact of Toni Morrison's work on American culture. This includes her historical reinterpretation that seeks to recover “the presence and heartbeat of black people” in national history, her exploration of the healing process related to the trauma of slavery, and her innovative approach to the novel form, which combines modernist traditions with oral storytelling, as well as African-American language and rhythms. Additionally, we will examine Louise Glück's contributions to contemporary poetry. This will involve an exploration of her poetic roots in earlier American poetry and her connections to themes of psychoanalysis, religion, and myth.
- Reference texts
- Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye; Beloved; What Moves at the Margins. Louise Glück, The Wild Iris; Averno. A selection of critical texts will be provided throughout the course and uploaded to the Unistudium platform.
- Educational objectives
- At the end of the course, students should be able to understand the themes developed in the course; 2. to analyze the texts studied about their historical, social, and cultural context and to perform a formal and critical analysis; 3. to effectively communicate the knowledge acquired with argumentative coherence and adequate critical language.
- Prerequisites
- Basic knowledge of American history and literature.
- Teaching methods
- Lectures and seminars.
- Learning verification modality
- Oral exam. The exam will consist of an interview on the texts and topics covered in the course, aimed at verifying 1. the understanding of texts and their contexts; 2. the ability to apply the knowledge covered by the course; 3. the ability to expose and communicate what has been acquired with clarity and appropriate critical language.
- Extended program
- “The Measure of Our Lives”: On Toni Morrison and Louise Glück This course will explore the works of two American authors who were awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature: Toni Morrison in 1993 and Louise Glück in 2020. It will focus on their lifelong commitment to the expressive and transformative power of language. We will analyze the profound impact of Toni Morrison's work on American culture. This includes her historical reinterpretation that seeks to recover “the presence and heartbeat of black people” in national history, her exploration of the healing process related to the trauma of slavery, and her innovative approach to the novel form, which combines modernist traditions with oral storytelling, as well as African-American language and rhythms. Additionally, we will examine Louise Glück's contributions to contemporary poetry. This will involve an exploration of her poetic roots in earlier American poetry and her connections to themes of psychoanalysis, religion, and myth.