American Literature

The course is a first formative step in the curriculum specializing in American Literature, which is organized by literary genres. The first year will be a survey of US poetic production and is addressed to 1st-year students. The course will provide the historical and cultural contextualization for the literary period considered - which extends from the colonial Puritan origins to Modernism - focusing on the genre of poetry. It will offer the tools necessary for a critical analysis of the poetic text, both in its contents and aesthetic forms. The course is divided into three didactic units, which will treat three specific literary periods: "The Puritans," "The Romantics," and "The Modernists."

Required knowledge: at the end of the course, students should be able to situate the primary texts included in the reading list in their historical, cultural and literary context. They should also be able to contextualize each author within the or literary period to which they belong. They should demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of all the literary works included in the reading list.
Required linguistic skills: at the end of the course, students should demonstrate the ability to read the original versions of the literary works included in the reading list, and to translate them into Italian (or to paraphrase them in English, in the case of international students).
Required literary skills: at the end of the course, students should be able to perform a critical and formal text analysis of the literary works included in the reading list, and an ability to make connections between the various authors and works they have been studying.