One of the main aims of this Course of Study is to provide students with advanced knowledge of two foreign literatures related to the two languages of their choice, paying special attention to intercultural and transcultural dynamics. The course also aims at refining their ability to interpret cultural phenomena, using the tools and methodologies of literary, cultural and historical analysis.
Anglo-American Literatures III is among the characterizing activities of the "Foreign Literatures" area. It aims at providing the students with a good knowledge of twentieth and twenty-first century English Literature with special attention to intercultural dynamics and the theoretical-methodological debate; it helps students discover the tools and methodologies of literary, cultural and historical analysis at an advanced level.
At the end of the module, students will reach an advanced critical ability in the interpretation of exemplary texts in the original language, as well as the necessary competence for oral rewording, translation, rewriting and adaptation in Italian of the texts themselves. They will also be able to re-elaborate and communicate disciplinary knowledge in a specialized and non-specialized intercultural context.
Pre-requisite: Anglo-American Literatures II; English Language and Translation II
Anglo-American Literatures III is among the characterizing activities of the "Foreign Literatures" area. It aims at providing the students with a good knowledge of twentieth and twenty-first century English Literature with special attention to intercultural dynamics and the theoretical-methodological debate; it helps students discover the tools and methodologies of literary, cultural and historical analysis at an advanced level.
At the end of the module, students will reach an advanced critical ability in the interpretation of exemplary texts in the original language, as well as the necessary competence for oral rewording, translation, rewriting and adaptation in Italian of the texts themselves. They will also be able to re-elaborate and communicate disciplinary knowledge in a specialized and non-specialized intercultural context.
Pre-requisite: Anglo-American Literatures II; English Language and Translation II
teacher profile teaching materials
Different forms of memory will be examined through representative texts of the 20th and 21st-century American literary canon in which official history is problematized, recontextualized, and rewritten. In addition to analyzing the thematic and formal features of the texts, we will explore issues related to the processes of (de)construction of ethnic, racial, and gender identities as a result of wars, diasporas, and migrations. We will focus, then, on the specificities of literary genre (fiction, poetry, non-fiction) and on phenomena such as intertextuality and intermediality.
----, “The Jolly Corner” (any edition).
T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”;
----, “Tradition and the Individual Talent”;
-----, The Waste Land (New York: Norton Critical Edition, 2001).
Nella Larsen, Passing, in Quicksand and Passing, ed. Deborah E. McDowell (New Brunswick, NJ, and London: Rutgers UP, 1986, available at the Petrocchi Library).
Toni Morrison, Beloved (New York: Vintage International, 2004, ebook, available online).
Carole Maso, Ghost Dance (any edition);
Don DeLillo, Underworld (selected chapters, any edition);
Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Houghton Mifflin, available at the Petrocchi Library).
Programme
History and Memory in 20th- and 21st-Century U.S. LiteratureDifferent forms of memory will be examined through representative texts of the 20th and 21st-century American literary canon in which official history is problematized, recontextualized, and rewritten. In addition to analyzing the thematic and formal features of the texts, we will explore issues related to the processes of (de)construction of ethnic, racial, and gender identities as a result of wars, diasporas, and migrations. We will focus, then, on the specificities of literary genre (fiction, poetry, non-fiction) and on phenomena such as intertextuality and intermediality.
Core Documentation
Henry James, The American Scene (any edition, selected chapters);----, “The Jolly Corner” (any edition).
T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”;
----, “Tradition and the Individual Talent”;
-----, The Waste Land (New York: Norton Critical Edition, 2001).
Nella Larsen, Passing, in Quicksand and Passing, ed. Deborah E. McDowell (New Brunswick, NJ, and London: Rutgers UP, 1986, available at the Petrocchi Library).
Toni Morrison, Beloved (New York: Vintage International, 2004, ebook, available online).
Carole Maso, Ghost Dance (any edition);
Don DeLillo, Underworld (selected chapters, any edition);
Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Houghton Mifflin, available at the Petrocchi Library).
Reference Bibliography
1) Selected essays from the critical editions of the works by Eliot and Larsen. 2) The following journal articles/book chapters: Susan, Winnett, “Framing the Un-Scene/Writing the Wrongs: Henry James’s Text of America.” Writing Back: American Expatriates’ Narratives of Return (John Hopkins UP, 2012), pp. 43-95 (excerpts). Caroline Rody, “Toni Morrison's Beloved: History, ‘Rememory,’ and a ‘Clamor for a Kiss’". American Literary History, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Spring, 1995), pp. 92- 119. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/489799 Ilka Saal, “Regarding the Pain of Self and Other: Trauma Transfer and Narrative Framing in Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”. MFS Modern Fiction Studies, Volume 57, Number 3, Fall 2011, pp. 451-476. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/mfs.2011.0064 3) Literary History Richard Gray, A Brief History of American Literature. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011 (capitoli 4 e 5).Type of delivery of the course
The course will mostly consist of lectures and seminars, in-class activities/exercises. Students will also participate in other didactic activities such as field trips, visits to the Center for American Studies in Rome, and events related to American literature and culture. In case of a COVID-19 emergency, all the provisions that regulate the didactic activities will be implemented. In particular, the following modalities will be applied: distance learning with live recorded lectures and sharing of materials (critical bibliography, PowerPoint presentations, etc.) through Microsoft Teams. Further information in this regard will be provided on the course Moodle pages.Attendance
To be considered as regularly attending the course, students must attend at least 75% of classes. Students who cannot attend classes are invited to contact the instructor at least two months before the date on which they intend to take the exam in order to agree on the required additions to the program.Type of evaluation
Students who regularly attend the course are required to read the texts assigned in class. Active participation in class discussions is an integral part of the final evaluation. Students who have attended at least 75% of classes will take two written tests: 1) 6 open-ended questions (in-class; time: 2 hours); 2) a short research paper (5-7 pages - to be done on your own) on a subject related to the program and a short final oral exam. Students who cannot attend classes are invited to contact me at least two months before the date on which they intend to take the exam in order to be assigned the required additions to the program.