Anglo-American Cultures
A.Y. 2020/2021
Learning objectives
Focusing on the literary and non-literary works, films, art forms, discourses and cultural practices which inform and characterize the current debate on US national, racial and cultural identities against the backdrop of the continent's history and global scope, this course aims to enhance the students' knowledge and understanding of these themes, which are central concerns in our experience of contemporaneity. This aim is pursued through the methodological and critical tools of cultural studies, which, in line with the main objectives of the Degree Course, favour an understanding of ideological, intercultural and socio-spatial relations, as well as a multicultural and interdisciplinary approach. The course is meant to foster active participation from the students, and, besides advancing their English skills, aims to enhance their ability to make judgements and recognize the differences and connections among divergent forms, genres, and cultures, according to the wider mission of Mediazione Linguistica.
Students will acquire the skills relevant to making more informed and autonomous judgements. Thanks to their familiarity with different perspectives of intercultural analysis, they will develop analytical and critical attitudes towards cultural productions and literary texts and draw comparisons and establish connections between the various contexts under scrutiny and their own situated experience.
Students will acquire the skills relevant to making more informed and autonomous judgements. Thanks to their familiarity with different perspectives of intercultural analysis, they will develop analytical and critical attitudes towards cultural productions and literary texts and draw comparisons and establish connections between the various contexts under scrutiny and their own situated experience.
Expected learning outcomes
Within the frame of the linguistic and cultural specificity and multiplicity of the US, tudents are expected to show interdisciplinary methodological and cultural tools for discussing and analyzing cultural, political and media discourses and practices, fictional and non-fictional texts, visual culture, documentaries and films. This is to be done using the methodological approaches of Cultural Studies. The acquisition of the required skills will be fostered by encouraging active participation and dialogue, and by enabling the students to draw comparisons between the US context and their own situated experience of being Italians and citizens of the world, so as to facilitate forms of analysis and engagement with the issues and challenges of the American present which are consistent with the avowed specialist and intercultural mission of their Degree Course.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
In the emergency teaching phase, should it become necessary to use online teaching, the program designed for face-to-face teaching is modified as follows:
Teaching methods:
The lessons will be held in synchronous, trying to enhance interaction (chat and forum), using mainly Teams; only in specific cases and duly communicated, the lessons will be held in asynchronous (videolessons). In case there will be activities in presence (following the indications of the university), students who will not participate will be offered an alternative online activity that will allow them to develop the same critical and text analysis skills.
The timetable of the lessons remains unchanged and all the most important information will be provided through the ARIEL website of the course.
The methods and criteria for attending the lessons in attendance, which require a reservation with the appropriate app, will be published in good time on the ARIEL website of the course.
Reference materials:
The syllabus is ket untouched. For those who decide not to attend the course, we recommend the supporting bibliography.
Testing and grading
The exam is oral and will be conducted, in the case of online teaching, in Microsoft Teams, according to the indications provided by the University. The requirements and methods of evaluation remain the same with respect to the "in presence" program.
Teaching methods:
The lessons will be held in synchronous, trying to enhance interaction (chat and forum), using mainly Teams; only in specific cases and duly communicated, the lessons will be held in asynchronous (videolessons). In case there will be activities in presence (following the indications of the university), students who will not participate will be offered an alternative online activity that will allow them to develop the same critical and text analysis skills.
The timetable of the lessons remains unchanged and all the most important information will be provided through the ARIEL website of the course.
The methods and criteria for attending the lessons in attendance, which require a reservation with the appropriate app, will be published in good time on the ARIEL website of the course.
Reference materials:
The syllabus is ket untouched. For those who decide not to attend the course, we recommend the supporting bibliography.
Testing and grading
The exam is oral and will be conducted, in the case of online teaching, in Microsoft Teams, according to the indications provided by the University. The requirements and methods of evaluation remain the same with respect to the "in presence" program.
Course syllabus
TITLE: "Get your knee off our neck". African American People and the issue of equality in the US.
the wake of US recent racial troubles, the course tries to investigate the ways in which African American history and culture has developed from the Middle passage to today, selecting a number of cultural documents (speeches, videos, literature, cinema & music) in order to analyze them following the methods of Cultural Studies. Discussions will include a reflection on the need to revise the very notions of American Dream and Manifest Destiny, emphasizing the new and different forms of the fight for freedom and equality as basic needs stated by the US constitution. The work will be organized into three units:
Unit 1 - Political speech, songs & videos
Unit 2 - When they kill us: documents and texts, both literary and filmic, on the African American people's killings
Unit 3 - Forms of resistance: reactions after the killings. African people taking a political stance
the wake of US recent racial troubles, the course tries to investigate the ways in which African American history and culture has developed from the Middle passage to today, selecting a number of cultural documents (speeches, videos, literature, cinema & music) in order to analyze them following the methods of Cultural Studies. Discussions will include a reflection on the need to revise the very notions of American Dream and Manifest Destiny, emphasizing the new and different forms of the fight for freedom and equality as basic needs stated by the US constitution. The work will be organized into three units:
Unit 1 - Political speech, songs & videos
Unit 2 - When they kill us: documents and texts, both literary and filmic, on the African American people's killings
Unit 3 - Forms of resistance: reactions after the killings. African people taking a political stance
Prerequisites for admission
Before sitting for the exam of AngloAmerican Culture, students must have taken the exam of English Language I and English Culture I. They must be able to read and understand texts in English and they must prove fluent in both written and spoken English.
Teaching methods
Classes will develop on a lecture-based method, with the occasional involvement in public events and with guest speakers. Whenever possible, team-working will be encouraged.
Teaching Resources
Unit 1:
Documents:
Declaration of independence - Congress Assembled - July 4, 1776: http://www.foundingfathers.info/documents/decindep.html
Gettysburg address - Abraham Lincoln - Nov. 19, 1863:
http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm
The Atlanta Compromise - Booker T. Washington - Setember 18, 1895
https://iowaculture.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets/reconstruction-and-its-impact/booker-t
I have a dream - Martin Luther King - Aug 28, 1963: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Victory Speech - Barak Obama Nov 4 - 2008:
http://obamaspeeches.com/E11-Barack-Obama-Election-Night-Victory-Speech-Grant-Park-Illinois-November-4-2008.htm
Songs:
Lift every voice - Jazzmeia Horn (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riCnMm-ti8U)
Mississipi Goddamm (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ25-U3jNWM) or Backlash Blues (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr4iSyHuJgI )
Alright (Kendrick Lamar) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-48u_uWMHY
Chains (Usher) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slN1CEUhA-E
Unit 2 - When they kill us: documents and texts, both literary and filmic, on the African American people's killings
Documents:
The Tulsa Massacre (June 1921): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-ItsPBTFO0
Rosewood Race Massacre (January 1923): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TXj90wvCT8
Films:
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained (2016; Selected sequences to be specified in the Ariel website of the course. Students unable to attend lessons are suggested to watch the entire film)
Watchmen (HBO - Season 1 - Episode 1)
Books:
Jesmyn Ward, Men We Reaped. A Memoir (2013)
Unit 3 - Forms of resistance: reactions after the killings. African people taking a political stance
Documents
Selected videos and texts concerning George Floyd's assassination (to be made available in the Ariel Website of the course)
Books:
Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Asha Bandele, When They Call You a Terrorist. A Blak Lives Matter Memoir (2018; selected chapters to be specified in the Ariel website of the course)
Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railway (2018; selected chapters to be specified in the Ariel website of the course. Students unable to attend lessons are suggested to read the book as a whole)
Supporting bibliography (optional and suggested for students unable to attend classes)
M. G. Fabi, America nera: la cultura afroamericana (Roma, Carocci, 2002)
Borgognone, Storia degli stati Uniti, Feltrinelli, 2017
D. Campbell, D. Levinson (eds), This is America. A Short History of the United States (also Kindle Edition)
Those who have no training in CS are advised to look for hints exploiting the following bibliographical resources (all of them available in our libraries):
Chris Barker, Cultural Studies. Theory and Practice, London, Sage, 2016
Stuart Hall, Representation. Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, London/Thousand Oaks (cal.), Open University Press, 1997
Nicoletta Vallorani (a cura di), Introduzione ai Cultural Studies. UK, USA e paesi anglofoni. Roma, Carocci, 2016.
Documents:
Declaration of independence - Congress Assembled - July 4, 1776: http://www.foundingfathers.info/documents/decindep.html
Gettysburg address - Abraham Lincoln - Nov. 19, 1863:
http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm
The Atlanta Compromise - Booker T. Washington - Setember 18, 1895
https://iowaculture.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets/reconstruction-and-its-impact/booker-t
I have a dream - Martin Luther King - Aug 28, 1963: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Victory Speech - Barak Obama Nov 4 - 2008:
http://obamaspeeches.com/E11-Barack-Obama-Election-Night-Victory-Speech-Grant-Park-Illinois-November-4-2008.htm
Songs:
Lift every voice - Jazzmeia Horn (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riCnMm-ti8U)
Mississipi Goddamm (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ25-U3jNWM) or Backlash Blues (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr4iSyHuJgI )
Alright (Kendrick Lamar) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-48u_uWMHY
Chains (Usher) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slN1CEUhA-E
Unit 2 - When they kill us: documents and texts, both literary and filmic, on the African American people's killings
Documents:
The Tulsa Massacre (June 1921): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-ItsPBTFO0
Rosewood Race Massacre (January 1923): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TXj90wvCT8
Films:
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained (2016; Selected sequences to be specified in the Ariel website of the course. Students unable to attend lessons are suggested to watch the entire film)
Watchmen (HBO - Season 1 - Episode 1)
Books:
Jesmyn Ward, Men We Reaped. A Memoir (2013)
Unit 3 - Forms of resistance: reactions after the killings. African people taking a political stance
Documents
Selected videos and texts concerning George Floyd's assassination (to be made available in the Ariel Website of the course)
Books:
Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Asha Bandele, When They Call You a Terrorist. A Blak Lives Matter Memoir (2018; selected chapters to be specified in the Ariel website of the course)
Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railway (2018; selected chapters to be specified in the Ariel website of the course. Students unable to attend lessons are suggested to read the book as a whole)
Supporting bibliography (optional and suggested for students unable to attend classes)
M. G. Fabi, America nera: la cultura afroamericana (Roma, Carocci, 2002)
Borgognone, Storia degli stati Uniti, Feltrinelli, 2017
D. Campbell, D. Levinson (eds), This is America. A Short History of the United States (also Kindle Edition)
Those who have no training in CS are advised to look for hints exploiting the following bibliographical resources (all of them available in our libraries):
Chris Barker, Cultural Studies. Theory and Practice, London, Sage, 2016
Stuart Hall, Representation. Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, London/Thousand Oaks (cal.), Open University Press, 1997
Nicoletta Vallorani (a cura di), Introduzione ai Cultural Studies. UK, USA e paesi anglofoni. Roma, Carocci, 2016.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Students will have the opportunity to carry out some in itinere tests and in-depth activities that will be subject to evaluation and on which more specific indications will be given in class. The overall evaluation will be elaborated and communicated at the end of the oral exam.
L-LIN/11 - ANGLO - AMERICAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Vallorani Nicoletta
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)