| Study programme competencies |
| Code | Study programme competences |
| A1 | Coñecer e aplicar os métodos e as técnicas de análise lingüística e literaria. |
| A2 | Saber analizar e comentar textos e discursos literarios e non literarios utilizando apropiadamente as técnicas de análise textual. |
| A3 | Coñecer as correntes teóricas da lingüística e da ciencia literaria. |
| A6 | Ter un dominio instrumental avanzado oral e escrito da lingua inglesa. |
| A11 | Ter capacidade para avaliar, analizar e sintetizar criticamente información especializada. |
| A14 | Ser capaz para identificar problemas e temas de investigación no ámbito dos estudos lingüísticos e literarios e interrelacionar os distintos aspectos destes estudos. |
| A15 | Ser capaz de aplicar os coñecementos lingüísticos e literarios á práctica. |
| A16 | Ter un coñecemento avanzado das literaturas en lingua inglesa. |
| A17 | Coñecer a historia e a cultura das comunidades anglófonas. |
| B1 | Utilizar os recursos bibliográficos, as bases de datos e as ferramentas de busca de información. |
| B2 | Manexar ferramentas, programas e aplicacións informáticas específicas. |
| B3 | Adquirir capacidade de autoformación. |
| B4 | Ser capaz de comunicarse de maneira efectiva en calquera contorno. |
| B5 | Relacionar os coñecementos cos doutras áreas e disciplinas. |
| B6 | Ter capacidade de organizar o traballo, planificar e xestionar o tempo e resolver problemas de forma efectiva. |
| B7 | Ter capacidade de análise e síntese, de valorar criticamente o coñecemento e de exercer o pensamento crítico. |
| B8 | Apreciar a diversidade. |
| B9 | Valorar a importancia que ten a investigación, a innovación e o desenvolvemento tecnolóxico no avance socioeconómico e cultural da sociedade. |
| B10 | Comportarse con ética e responsabilidade social como cidadán/á e profesional. |
| C2 | Dominar a expresión e a comprensión de forma oral e escrita dun idioma estranxeiro. |
| C3 | Utilizar as ferramentas básicas das tecnoloxías da información e as comunicacións (TIC) necesarias para o exercicio da súa profesión e para a aprendizaxe ao longo da súa vida. |
| C4 | Desenvolverse para o exercicio dunha cidadanía aberta, culta, crítica, comprometida, democrática e solidaria, capaz de analizar a realidade, diagnosticar problemas, formular e implantar solucións baseadas no coñecemento e orientadas ao ben común. |
| C7 | Asumir como profesional e cidadán a importancia da aprendizaxe ao longo da vida. |
| C8 | Valorar a importancia que ten a investigación, a innovación e o desenvolvemento tecnolóxico no avance socioeconómico e cultural da sociedade. |
| Learning aims | |||
| Subject competencies (Learning outcomes) | Study programme competences | ||
| To familiarize with contemporary American authors and their corresponding texts. | A2 A6 |
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| To know how to read critically. | A1 A2 A3 A6 A14 A16 A17 |
B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B10 |
C2 C3 C4 C7 C8 |
| To be able to analyze a given text from different critical perspectives. | A11 |
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| To know how to use bibliography available at the Library, as well as search via internet. | B1 |
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| Be able to express their ideas in English. Students should make good use of English grammar, and write critically, readable, and well organized paragraphs/tests. | A15 |
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| Be able to summaryze plots, short articles or reviews, and come up with most relevant topics. Verbalize their ideas clearly and in a cohesive way | B7 |
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| To use socio-historic knowledge to look at the lives of the writers and/or many of the protagonist in a totally different light. And learn from it. | C4 |
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| Be able to put into practice their linguistic and literary knowledge. | A15 |
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| Contents |
| Topic | Sub-topic |
| 1. 'The Real Thing': Forms of realism in the literature of the United States, 1865-1914 |
1. American realities and literary realism: Mark Twain & Henry James 2. From regionalism to naturalism: Kate Chopin & Stephen Crane |
| 2. 'A Homemade World': American Modernism and its context, 1914-1945 |
1. Poetry: Frost, Pound, Williams, Stevens, Moore, cummings 2. Prose: Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner |
| 3. Post-War to postmodern to ... |
1. Post-war angst: Salinger 2. Southern writing after Faulkner: Flannery O'Connor 3. Postmodern uncertainties: Donald Barthelme 4. Multicultural multiplicity: Sandra Cisneros |
| Planning | |||
| Methodologies / tests | Ordinary class hours | Student’s personal work hours | Total hours |
| Directed discussion | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Guest lecture / keynote speech | 35 | 0 | 35 |
| Short answer questions | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Long answer / essay questions | 0 | 20 | 20 |
| Workbook | 0 | 75 | 75 |
| Personalized attention | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| (*)The information in the planning table is for guidance only and does not take into account the heterogeneity of the students. | |||
| Methodologies |
| Methodologies | Description |
| Directed discussion | Given a relevant and controversial topic from the texts we are reading, students are encouraged to focus on one particular aspect and provide their own interpretations based on the information found in the text. The purpose is for the students to take sides, and defend their own ideas in front of an audience critically and logically with the help of the text itself or the bibliography chosen by them. |
| Guest lecture / keynote speech | At the beginning of each particular chapter, instructor would provide students with a general socio-historic overview of American society to better contextualize the text we are reading. The aim is to point at major themes dealt with, brief comparative analysis of characters, as well as a brief but clear comment on narrative techniques used by a particular author. A power point presentation is usually used, as well as interviews with writers, or documentaries which reflect on the specific literary movement and / or writer. This lecture-type class is nevertheless dialogic, and students are encouraged to participate with comments and/or questions. The lecturer also provokes the students with questions or "brainstorming-type" warming up before focusing on topic chosen. |
| Short answer questions | This is a "quizz-type" exercise. Students are given relevant information from texts analyzed in class, briefly identify them, and explain reasons why they thinks they are relevant for the particular text. Example: From the name of a protagonist, an object, a particular metaphor, or a catchy line. The purpose of this assignement is for students to go from the particular to the general, and provide their own interpretations. |
| Long answer / essay questions | The purpose of this assignment is for the students to write a comparative essay. They are given different options, and can choose among topics which focus on form and structure or on specific themes. At this stage, students should be able to support their ideas with evidence (quotes) from the texts. No memorization is needed. Essay should be well organized (introd., body, and conclusion), and provide a personal and in-depth comparison. Students are allowed to use their required texts for this in-class test. |
| Workbook | Reading creatively and thoroughly is fundamental for this class. Students are supposed to enjoy, interrogate, and dialogue with texts chosen. Students are also encouraged to question and challenge established ideas about a particular topic or protagonist--always with the written text in mind. The texts follow a chronological order and given the four-month class we will read representative authors and text but, unfortunately, we will not have time for novels or plays which are a "must" for students. Students should be familiar with film adaptations of fiction works, and are encouraged to do their own research work. Additional reading material will be provided to students. |
| Personalized attention |
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| Assessment | ||
| Methodologies | Description | Qualification |
| Short answer questions | Short, in-class exercises set every week when possible. They will consist of short quizzes, text identification and short personal responses to specific sections of the set texts. Class participation and group presentations will also boost a student's marks in this section by up to 50% with respect to the mark achieved in their written work. | 15 |
| Long answer / essay questions | 1. A 1500 word essay on a subject of the student's choice in consultation with the teacher. It must be handed in before the last week of class, after which no essay will be accepted. This essay will count for 40% of your mark. 2. A short review and commentary of a work of literature of the period chosen from a list that will be handed out at the beginning of the course. You will be expected to provide a short summary and critical commentary on the work in question. This includes both a personal response to the text and a consideration of its importance within the literature of its period and context. This review-essay is worth 20% of your final marks. |
60 |
| Workbook | Final exam which will cover all set readings that have been dealt with in class. The exam will consist of two essay questions in English. A coherent, well-argued and well-expressed response in English in which one shows one's ability to critically engage with the texts in an original manner is necessary to score the highest marks. This exam is worth 25% of your final mark. | 25 |
| Assessment comments | ||
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Students must score at least 4/10 in all set work in order to be eligible for a final grade. Failure to do so means that you must repeat the exercise for the July examination period, except for the in-class work. Students with official leave must do all the work except for the in-class exercises. That is, the essay (40% of final mark) and the the review-commentary (20%) and the final exam (40%). |
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| Sources of information |
| Basic |
Lauter, Paul (ed). (2008). The Heath Anthology of American Literature: Volume D: Modern Period, 1910-1945. New York: Houghton.
Baym, Nina (ed.) (2011). The Norton Anthology of American Literature (Eighth Edition). New York: Norton. |
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Required Readings: [All texts, except for the novels by Fitzgerald and Salinger, are available in the two Norton anthologies (8th ed.). A course pack will be available for students at the photocopying office. You are encouraged to purchase it and do some of the reading before the beginning of the course.] Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Henry James, Daisy Miller: A Study & "The Real Thing" Kate Chopin, "The Storm" Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wall-paper" Stephen Crane, "The Open Boat" Modernist poetry, selected poems by Robert Frost, Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens, e.e. cummings & Marianne Moore Ernest Hemingway, selected stories: "Big Two-Hearted River", "A Clean Well-Lighted Place" F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby [Penguin, 2013] William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye [Penguin, 2010] Flannery O'Connor, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" Donald Barthelme. "The Balloon" Sandra Cisneros, "Mericans" |
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| Complementary | |
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General bibliography (More specific bibliographical references on individual author and texts will be provided in class.) Literary histories & general studies. Elliott, Emory, gen. ed. Columbia Literary History of the United States. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988. Ford, Boris, ed. American Literature (The New Pelican Guide to English Literature, Vol. 9). London: Penguin, 1988. Ruland, Richard & Malcolm Bradbury. From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of American Literature. London: Routledge, 1991. American Realism(s). American Modernism(s). Anderson, Quentin. "The Emergence of Modernism." Columbia Literary History of the United States. Gen. Ed. Emory Elliott. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988. 695-714. Bradbury, Malcolm. "Modernisms/Postmodernisms." Innovation / Renovation: New Perspectives on the Humanities. Eds. Ihab & Sally Hassan. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1983. 311-327. Bradbury, Malcolm & James McFarlane. "The Name and Nature of Modernism". Modernism: A Guide to European Literature 1890-1930. Eds. Malcolm Bradbury & James McFarlane. London: Penguin, 1976. 19-55. Singal, Daniel. "Towards a Definition of American Modernism." Modernist Culture in America. Ed. Daniel Singal. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1991. 1-27. General Studies. Chase, Richard. The American Novel and Its Tradition. 1957. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980. Fiedler, Leslie A. Love and Death in the American Novel. 1960. London: Penguin, 1984. Marx, Leo. The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1964. Poirier, Richard. A World Elsewhere: The Place of Style in American Literature. 1966. Madison, Wisc.: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985. |
| Recommendations | |||
| Subjects that it is recommended to have taken before | |||
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| Subjects that are recommended to be taken simultaneously | ||
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| Subjects that continue the syllabus | |||
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| Other comments | |
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This 6 credit course is conceived as a continuation of Literatura Norteamericana I. It continues, therefore, the review of the literature of the United States from its colonial beginnings to the present century. In this case, the historical review focuses on the post-Civil war period and the modernist writers, with a sprinkling of post-WWII texts. This is the period that sees the establishment of a canonical tradition of American literature. Time limitations restrict the number and the length of the works to be treated (hence, in part, the concentration on short texts and poetry) and economic as well as literary considerations (number, quality, and representativeness of the selections) determine the choice of the Norton anthology as the source of most of the texts analyzed in class. If you rely on photocopies, a course pack will be provided before the beginning of the course and ideally before your summer vacation. The texts will be read, roughly, in their chronological order, with attention being paid to their historical contexts and their reflection of and on the literary and cultural interests of their period. We will spend most of the course dealing with the production of a modern and "modernist" American literature, focusing especially on the connexion between the notion of modernity and American literature. The creation of a self-consciously "American" and modern literature begins in the post-Civil War period and so we begin with the diverse modes of "realist" writing of the turn of the century and their attempts to represent the often chaotic plurality of modern American reality. Class-work will concentrate almost exclusively on close analysis of the texts themselves. This course is not only a review of some of the most important works and writers of the period from the late nineteenth century down to the post-1945 period; it is also predominantly an exploration of how these texts work, what writing strategies they initiate, what interpretative responses they elicit and what cultural work they carry out in their portrayal of an American reality. As we shall see, this is especially pertinent to American literature given its constant concern with how "America" itself should be read and written. Given this approach, students must read the texts before their analysis in class so that adequate comprehension may be more or less taken for granted and fruitful discussion may be possible. This is merely stating the obvious but it is especially necessary for a course in which your rhythm of reading will have to be regular and sustained for you to get the most out of it. Your are also expected to read the Norton anthology's short period and author introductions as helpful background to your reading of the primary texts. |