American Literature

Year
1
Academic year
2019-2020
Code
02025955
Subject Area
Literature
Language of Instruction
Portuguese
Other Languages of Instruction
English
Mode of Delivery
Face-to-face
Duration
SEMESTRIAL
ECTS Credits
10.0
Type
Elective
Level
2nd Cycle Studies - Mestrado

Recommended Prerequisites

Proficiency in English

Teaching Methods

Seminar sessions combine lectures and discussion of texts and other materials proposed for each session, as well as oral presentations by students.

Learning Outcomes

Students are expected to/This seminar will enable students to:

  • strengthen their knowledge of the main historical, social, and cultural transformations that contributed to the specificity of American literature;
  • understand the diversity of literary forms that are part of the history of American literature;
  • develop appropriate theoretical approaches to the literary texts and the topics addressed;
  • become aware of the ideological and political dimensions of literature;
  • strengthen their critical and analytical skills;
  • develop the ability to conduct rigorous and autonomous research in the field.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Approaching American literature as a plurality of voices and expressions developing in the terrain of different economic, political and social contexts within American society, this seminar will be based on the exploration of a specific topic, or range of topics, with a special emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics to be addressed: nation and myth, memory and history, colony and empire, immigration and citizenship, politics and power, power and language, centers and margins, public and private. These topics obviously raise large theoretical questions, which this seminar will explore through contemporary theoretical debates.

N.B. The syllabus and bibliography may change depending on teaching staff.

Head Lecturer(s)

Maria Isabel Carvalho Gomes Caldeira Sampaio dos Aidos

Assessment Methods

Continuous Assessment
In-class participation and oral presentations: 40.0%
Synthesis work: 60.0%

Bibliography

Bhabha, H. K. (1995). Locations of Culture. London: Routledge.

Bernstein, Charles, ed. (1990). The Politics of Poetic Form. Poetry and Public Policy. New York: Roof Books.

Caldeira, Isabel, Canelo, Maria José, Ramalho, Maria Irene (eds.). (2012). America Where? 20th-Century Transatlantic Perspectives. Amsterdam: Peter Lang.

Gates, H. L. Jr. (1992). Loose Canons: Notes on the Culture Wars. New York: OUP.

Hassan, Ihab (1987). The Postmodern Turn: Essays in Postmodern Theory and Culture. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.

Maddox, L. ed. (1999). Locating American Studies: the Evolution of a Discipline. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins.

Perloff, Marjorie (1986). The Futurist Moment. Avant-Garde, Avant Guerre, and the Language of Rupture. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Takaki, R. (1993). A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America.Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

Yetman, N. ed. (1998). Majority and Minority: The Dynamics of Race and Ethnicity in America. Allyn and Bacon.