Canale A-L
Besides analyzing some of the main grammar and morpho-syntactic structures of the English language, the course focuses on the diversity and richness of Anglo-American cultures through literature and its authors. A selection of literary works written between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries will be read and discussed in class. Special attention will be given to their formal and rhetorical characteristics as well as their historical, social, and political legacy.
By promoting active participation in class, the adopted teaching method aims at improving overall language proficiency, including the ability to engage in open discussion.
Canale M-Z
Besides analyzing some of the main grammar and morpho-syntactic structures of the English language, the course focuses on the literary and critical contribution by some modern and contemporary anglophone writers. In an interdisciplinary framework, the analysis of the formal features of these texts will be instrumental to connect literary and socio-cultural issues. By promoting active participation in class, the adopted teaching method envisages the improvement of language skills and the ability to engage in open discussion.
Besides analyzing some of the main grammar and morpho-syntactic structures of the English language, the course focuses on the diversity and richness of Anglo-American cultures through literature and its authors. A selection of literary works written between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries will be read and discussed in class. Special attention will be given to their formal and rhetorical characteristics as well as their historical, social, and political legacy.
By promoting active participation in class, the adopted teaching method aims at improving overall language proficiency, including the ability to engage in open discussion.
Canale M-Z
Besides analyzing some of the main grammar and morpho-syntactic structures of the English language, the course focuses on the literary and critical contribution by some modern and contemporary anglophone writers. In an interdisciplinary framework, the analysis of the formal features of these texts will be instrumental to connect literary and socio-cultural issues. By promoting active participation in class, the adopted teaching method envisages the improvement of language skills and the ability to engage in open discussion.
Canali
teacher profile teaching materials
The first module deals with some of the main grammar and morpho-syntactic structures of the English language.
Second module - American Short Stories
The second module is an introduction to the diversity of American culture through short stories and their writers. The module is divided in three sections: a) 19th Century American Short Stories; b) 20th Century American Short Stories (Part 1); c) 20th Century American Short Stories (Part 2). At the end of the module, students will be able to: analyze the chronological and historical development of the American short story through its most representative authors; become familiar with the act of analyzing and interpreting short stories through appropriate theoretical and methodological frameworks, acknowledging alternative interpretations and developing critical thinking; experience how literary and cultural texts can transform one’s perception and understanding of self, other and communities.
Kate Chopin, “Desiree’s Baby” (1893)
Ambrose Bierce, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (1890)
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892)
Susan Glaspell, “A Jury of Her Peers” (1917)
Ernest Hemingway, “The Killers” (1927)
Ralph Ellison, “Battle Royal” (1947)
Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” (1948)
Ray Bradbury, “There Will Come Soft Rains” (1950)
Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1966)
Alice Walker, “Everyday Use” (1973)
Raymond Carver, “Cathedral” (1983)
Louise Erdrich, “The Red Convertible” (1984)
Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried” (1990)
The short stories listed above may be read in any edition in English.
Programme
First module - Focus on English GrammarThe first module deals with some of the main grammar and morpho-syntactic structures of the English language.
Second module - American Short Stories
The second module is an introduction to the diversity of American culture through short stories and their writers. The module is divided in three sections: a) 19th Century American Short Stories; b) 20th Century American Short Stories (Part 1); c) 20th Century American Short Stories (Part 2). At the end of the module, students will be able to: analyze the chronological and historical development of the American short story through its most representative authors; become familiar with the act of analyzing and interpreting short stories through appropriate theoretical and methodological frameworks, acknowledging alternative interpretations and developing critical thinking; experience how literary and cultural texts can transform one’s perception and understanding of self, other and communities.
Core Documentation
Edgar Allan Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart” (1843)Kate Chopin, “Desiree’s Baby” (1893)
Ambrose Bierce, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (1890)
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892)
Susan Glaspell, “A Jury of Her Peers” (1917)
Ernest Hemingway, “The Killers” (1927)
Ralph Ellison, “Battle Royal” (1947)
Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” (1948)
Ray Bradbury, “There Will Come Soft Rains” (1950)
Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1966)
Alice Walker, “Everyday Use” (1973)
Raymond Carver, “Cathedral” (1983)
Louise Erdrich, “The Red Convertible” (1984)
Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried” (1990)
The short stories listed above may be read in any edition in English.
Reference Bibliography
“Biography of Shirley Jackson”. In Bloom, Harold (ed.) Bloom's Major Short Story Writers. Shirley Jackson. Philadelphia (PA): Chelsea House Publishers, 2001, 11-3. Bullock, Chris J. “From Castle to Cathedral: The Architecture of Masculinity in Raymond Carver’s ‘Cathedral’”. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 2, 4, 1994, 343-351. “Characters”. In Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs (Eds.) Literature. An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Eight Edition. Upple Saddle River (NJ): Pearson, 2006. 153-160. Charters, Ann. “Casebook Five. Joyce Carol Oates’s ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’” In Ann Charters (Ed.) The Story and Its Writer (9th Ed.) Boston and New York: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2015, 1616-26. ---. “Casebook Three. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’”. In Ann Charters (Ed.) The Story and Its Writer (9th Ed.) Boston and New York: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2015, 1577-78. “Critical Views on ‘The Lottery’”. In Bloom, Harold (ed.) Bloom's Major Short Story Writers. Shirley Jackson. Philadelphia (PA): Chelsea House Publishers, 2001, 29-36. “Cultural Context of Invisible Man: Brown V. Board of Education.” In Harold Bloom (Ed.) Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2008, 34-7. Everman, Welch D. “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury, 1951”. In Riggs, Thomas (Ed.) Reference Guide to Short Fiction (2nd Ed.) Detroit: St. James Press, 1999, 745-6. Farrell, Susan. “Fight vs. Flight: A Re-evaluation of Dee in Alice Walker’s ‘Everyday Use’”. Studies in Short Fiction, 35, 1998. 179-86. Fleming, Robert E. “Hemingway’s ‘The Killers’: The Map and the Territory.” In Benson, Jackson J. (Ed.) New Critical Approaches to the Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. Durham and London: Duke UP, 1990, 309-313. Franklin, Ruth. “‘The Lottery’ Letters.” The New Yorker, June 25, 2013. https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-lottery-letters Jackson, Shirley. “The Morning of June 28, 1948, and ‘The Lottery’”. In Charters, Ann (Ed.) The Story and Its Writer (9th Ed.) Boston and New York: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2015, 1443-5. Miner, Madonne M. “Désirée’s Baby by Kate Chopin, 1892” In Riggs, Thomas (Ed.) Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Detroit: St. James Press, 1999, 805-6. Morris, Roy Junior. “From Ambrose Bierce: Alone in Bad Company.” In Martin, Wendy (Ed.) The Art of the Short Story. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006, 1476-8. Nagel, James. “Charlotte Perkins Gilman, ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’”. In James Nagel, The American Short Story Handbook. Hoboken (NJ): John Wiley & Sons, 2015. 196-201. ---. “Louise Erdrich, ‘The Red Convertible’”. In James Nagel, The American Short Story Handbook. Hoboken (NJ): John Wiley & Sons, 2015. 269-272. “On Reading and Thinking Critically”. In Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewick. (Eds.) The Presence of Others. Readings for Critical Thinking and Writing. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 1994, 3-9. “Point of View”. In Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs (Eds.) Literature. An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Eight Edition. Upple Saddle River (NJ): Pearson, 2006. 209-218. “Recognize Symbols.” In Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. LIT. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. 242-4. Roberts, Edgar V., and Henry E. Jacobs. “A Career in Fiction. Edgar Allan Poe”. In Roberts, Edgar V., and Henry E. Jacobs (Eds.) Literature. An Introduction to Reading and Writing (8th Ed.) Upple Saddle River (NJ): Pearson, 2006. 500-4. Rodriguez, Richard. “Reading for Success”. In Cavitch, D. (Ed.) Life Studies, 5th Edition. Boston: Bedford Books, 1995, 208-11. Scofield, Martin. “Poe and the aesthetics of the short story”. In Martin Scofield. The Cambridge Introduction to the American Short Story. New York: Cambridge UP, 2006. 31-2. “Setting”. In Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. LIT. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. 148-149. Steinglass, Matt. “Reading Tim O’Brien in Hanoi”. In Charters, Ann (Ed.) The Story and Its Writer (9th Ed.) Boston and New York: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2015, 1521-4. “Structure”. In Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs (Eds.) Literature. An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Eight Edition. Upple Saddle River (NJ): Pearson, 2006. 112-115. “Style”. In Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs (Eds.) Literature. An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Eight Edition. Upple Saddle River (NJ): Pearson, 2006. 295-302. “The Influence of Folklore on ‘Battle Royal’”. In Ann Charters (Ed.) The Story and Its Writer (9th Ed.) Boston and New York: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2015, 1616-26. “The Story Behind the Story”. In Bloom, Harold (ed.) Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. Philadelphia (PA): Chelsea House Publishers, 2005, 13-5. “Theme”. In Arp, Thomas R., and Greg Johnson. Perrine’s Literature. Structure, Sound, and Sense (8th Ed.) Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2002. 203-10. “there will come soft rains… Adapted from a story by Ray Bradbury.” Weird Fantasy, 17, 1950. 1-7. Sibley, Brian. “Bradbury, Ray (Douglas)”. In Riggs, Thomas (Ed.) Reference Guide to Short Fiction (2nd Ed.) Detroit: St. James Press, 1999, 93-5. Tuten, Nancy. “Alice Walker’s ‘Everyday Use’,” in Explicator, Volume 51, No. 2, Winter, 1993, pp. 125-28. Vernon, Alex. “Tim O’Brien”. In Lauter, Paul, et al. (Eds.) The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Seventh Edition. Volume E. Boston: Cengage, 2014, 3174-5. Watermann, Arthur. “Susan Glaspell”. In Lauter, Paul, et al. (Eds.) The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Seventh Edition. Volume D. Boston: Cengage, 2014, 1560-1. Other study materials will be provided during the course.Type of delivery of the course
The teaching method involves lectures supported by PowerPoint presentations and audio-visual material relating to the topics being covered. The course is taught in English but the general level of the class will be taken into consideration.Attendance
Lecture attendance is not compulsory but is strongly recommended.Type of evaluation
The final exam is in written form and it consists of a series of multiple choice and open-ended questions based on the syllabus. Those students who wish to improve the final grade of the Written Exam may take an Oral Exam, the outcome of which may positively or negatively affect the grade of the Written Exam. teacher profile teaching materials
The first module deals with some of the main grammar and morpho-syntactic structures of the English language. The language skills acquired by the students will be assessed at the end of the course.
Second module: Twentieth-century African-American voices
The second module focuses on the literary and critical contribution by twentieth-century African-American writers. In an interdisciplinary framework, the analysis of the formal features of these texts will be instrumental to connect literary and socio-cultural issues. By promoting active participation in class, the adopted teaching method envisages the improvement of language skills and the ability to engage in open discussion.The reference material includes works of fiction, critical essays and audiovisual material.
- Adriano Elia, Serena I. Volpi, Heading South with Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, Padova, Libreriauniversitaria.it, 2021.
- Adriano Elia, W.E.B. Du Bois and Langston Hughes - Two Remarkable Men, Novalogos, 2020.
- Adriano Elia, La Cometa di W.E.B. Du Bois, Roma, RomaTrE-Press, 2015.
Further reference material will be given during the course.
Programme
First module: English grammar: Learning the LanguageThe first module deals with some of the main grammar and morpho-syntactic structures of the English language. The language skills acquired by the students will be assessed at the end of the course.
Second module: Twentieth-century African-American voices
The second module focuses on the literary and critical contribution by twentieth-century African-American writers. In an interdisciplinary framework, the analysis of the formal features of these texts will be instrumental to connect literary and socio-cultural issues. By promoting active participation in class, the adopted teaching method envisages the improvement of language skills and the ability to engage in open discussion.The reference material includes works of fiction, critical essays and audiovisual material.
Core Documentation
For all students:- Adriano Elia, Serena I. Volpi, Heading South with Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, Padova, Libreriauniversitaria.it, 2021.
- Adriano Elia, W.E.B. Du Bois and Langston Hughes - Two Remarkable Men, Novalogos, 2020.
- Adriano Elia, La Cometa di W.E.B. Du Bois, Roma, RomaTrE-Press, 2015.
Further reference material will be given during the course.
Type of delivery of the course
The teaching method involves classes supported by PowerPoint presentations and audio-visual material relating to the topics being covered. The course is taught in English but the general level of the class will be taken into consideration.Type of evaluation
The final exam is in written form and it consists of a series of multiple choice and open-ended questions based on the syllabus. Those students who wish to improve the final grade of the Written Exam may take an Oral Exam, whose outcome may affect positively or negatively the grade of the Written Exam.