American Literature 3
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The course is a third formative step in the curriculum specializing in American Literature, which is organized by literary genres, and it is addressed to third-year students. The third year of teaching will bring the treatment of US narrative and poetry production to the contemporary era, and add the treatment of drama.
Expected learning outcomes
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 and translate the original versions of the literary works included in the reading list, (or to paraphrase them in English, in the case of international students), to discuss in English what they learned during the course. 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.
Lesson period: First 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
First semester
Course syllabus
The title of the course is Contemporary American Literature and is divided into three didactic units: A: The Tranquilized Fifties and counterculture ; B - Self-reflective literature, Maximalism, Minimalism; C - Ethnic voices, New Writings
Students from Lingue who major in American Literature must attend the whole course, which provides 9 credits, and are required to complete the whole course syllabus.
The course syllabus is valid until July 2026.
Students from Lingue who major in American Literature must attend the whole course, which provides 9 credits, and are required to complete the whole course syllabus.
The course syllabus is valid until July 2026.
Prerequisites for admission
Students are required to have taken and passed the English language test "Lingua Inglese I" and the exams "American Literature I" and "American Literature II".
The course is entirely delivered in English, and requires an adequate knowledge of the English language.
The course is entirely delivered in English, and requires an adequate knowledge of the English language.
Teaching methods
Classes will begin with an introductory discussion/brainstorming, followed by a lecture focused on the context, the analysis and interpretation of the texts listed in the syllabus, and a final discussion. Students are asked to read the texts in advance.
Teaching Resources
PRIMARY TEXTS:
THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE, Ninth/Tenth Edition, Vol.E: Literature Since 1945
Unit A: The Tranquilized Fifties and the Counterculture
ROBERT LOWELL, "Skunk Hour"
SYLVIA PLATH, "Lady Lazarus", "Daddy"
ARTHUR MILLER, Death of a Salesman
FLANNERY O'CONNOR, "Good Country People", "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
ALLEN GINSBERG, Howl
Unit B - Self-Reflective Literature, Maximalism, Minimalism
POSTMODERN MANIFESTOS (317-331)
JOHN ASHBERY, From "Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror"
THOMAS PYNCHON "Entropy"
DON DELILLO, from White Noise
SAM SHEPARD, True West
RAYMOND CARVER, "Cathedral"
Unit C - Ethnic voices, New Writings
GRACE PALEY, "A Conversation with My Father"
PHILIP ROTH, "Defender of the Faith"
TONY MORRISON, "Recitatif"
LESLIE MARMON SILKO, "Lullaby"
SANDRA CISNEROS, "Woman Hollering Creek"
MAXINE HONG KINGSTON, from The Woman Warrior
GEORGE SAUNDERS, "CivilWarland in Bad Decline"
JUNOT DIAZ, "Drown"
JUMPA LAHIRI, "Sexy"
Novels (not included in the Norton Anthology):
Module A: RALPH ELLISON, Invisible Man (1952)
Module B: KURT VONNEGUT, Slaughterhouse n.5 (1969)
Module C: PAUL AUSTER, City of Glass (1985)
Module C: DAVID FOSTER WALLACE; Girl with Curious Hair (1989)
ONE of the following novels OR one of the following plays:
Novels:
Saul Bellow, Dangling Man (1944)
James Baldwin, Go Tell It on The Mountain (1953)
Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1957)
Truman Capote, In Cold Blood (1962)
Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 (1966)
Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye (1970)
Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me Ultima (1972)
Leslie Malmon Silko, Ceremony (1977)
Alice Walker, The Color Purple (1982)
Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian (1996)
Corman McCarthy, The Road (2006)
Jonathan Saffran Foer, Everything Is Illuminated (2002)
Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex (2002)
Don DeLillo, Cosmopolis (2003)
Don DeLillo, Falling Man (2006)
Junot Diaz, The Brief, Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao (2008)
Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010)
Jonathan Franzen, Freedom (2010)
Richard Powers, The Overstory (2018)
Plays:
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, p. 73, A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) (Norton)
LORRAINE HANSBERRY, A Raisin in the Sun (1959) (Norton)
EDWARD ALBEE, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? (1962)
LEROI JONES, The Duchman (1964)
AUGUST WILSON, Fences (1985) (Norton)
JOHN GUARE, Six Degrees of Separation (1990)
TONY KUSHNER, Angels in America (1993)
YUSSEF EL GUINDI, Back of the Throat (2006)
AYAD AKHTAR, Disgraced (2013)
SECONDARY TEXTS:
Linda Wagner-Martin, A History of American Literature, 1950 to the Present, Wiley-Blackwell, 2013 (selected chapters).
Critical essays/texts will be available on Teams.
9 credits exam: Module A+B+C
6 credits exam: Module A+B
THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE, Ninth/Tenth Edition, Vol.E: Literature Since 1945
Unit A: The Tranquilized Fifties and the Counterculture
ROBERT LOWELL, "Skunk Hour"
SYLVIA PLATH, "Lady Lazarus", "Daddy"
ARTHUR MILLER, Death of a Salesman
FLANNERY O'CONNOR, "Good Country People", "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
ALLEN GINSBERG, Howl
Unit B - Self-Reflective Literature, Maximalism, Minimalism
POSTMODERN MANIFESTOS (317-331)
JOHN ASHBERY, From "Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror"
THOMAS PYNCHON "Entropy"
DON DELILLO, from White Noise
SAM SHEPARD, True West
RAYMOND CARVER, "Cathedral"
Unit C - Ethnic voices, New Writings
GRACE PALEY, "A Conversation with My Father"
PHILIP ROTH, "Defender of the Faith"
TONY MORRISON, "Recitatif"
LESLIE MARMON SILKO, "Lullaby"
SANDRA CISNEROS, "Woman Hollering Creek"
MAXINE HONG KINGSTON, from The Woman Warrior
GEORGE SAUNDERS, "CivilWarland in Bad Decline"
JUNOT DIAZ, "Drown"
JUMPA LAHIRI, "Sexy"
Novels (not included in the Norton Anthology):
Module A: RALPH ELLISON, Invisible Man (1952)
Module B: KURT VONNEGUT, Slaughterhouse n.5 (1969)
Module C: PAUL AUSTER, City of Glass (1985)
Module C: DAVID FOSTER WALLACE; Girl with Curious Hair (1989)
ONE of the following novels OR one of the following plays:
Novels:
Saul Bellow, Dangling Man (1944)
James Baldwin, Go Tell It on The Mountain (1953)
Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1957)
Truman Capote, In Cold Blood (1962)
Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 (1966)
Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye (1970)
Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me Ultima (1972)
Leslie Malmon Silko, Ceremony (1977)
Alice Walker, The Color Purple (1982)
Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian (1996)
Corman McCarthy, The Road (2006)
Jonathan Saffran Foer, Everything Is Illuminated (2002)
Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex (2002)
Don DeLillo, Cosmopolis (2003)
Don DeLillo, Falling Man (2006)
Junot Diaz, The Brief, Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao (2008)
Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010)
Jonathan Franzen, Freedom (2010)
Richard Powers, The Overstory (2018)
Plays:
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, p. 73, A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) (Norton)
LORRAINE HANSBERRY, A Raisin in the Sun (1959) (Norton)
EDWARD ALBEE, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? (1962)
LEROI JONES, The Duchman (1964)
AUGUST WILSON, Fences (1985) (Norton)
JOHN GUARE, Six Degrees of Separation (1990)
TONY KUSHNER, Angels in America (1993)
YUSSEF EL GUINDI, Back of the Throat (2006)
AYAD AKHTAR, Disgraced (2013)
SECONDARY TEXTS:
Linda Wagner-Martin, A History of American Literature, 1950 to the Present, Wiley-Blackwell, 2013 (selected chapters).
Critical essays/texts will be available on Teams.
9 credits exam: Module A+B+C
6 credits exam: Module A+B
Assessment methods and Criteria
Oral exam, in English. Students will be tested on their ability to read and translate the literary texts listed in the course syllabus (non-Italian students will be asked to paraphrase the same in English); on their knowledge of the historical, cultural, and literary context; their knowledge of the literary works; their ability to critically analyse the literary works and to compare them.
The final score is in thirtieths, 18/30 being the pass score.
For attending students, a midterm written exam will be scheduled.
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher. Students with any disabilities should contact the teacher as well, in order to arrange the examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
It is mandatory to bring along an academic edition of all the literary texts listed in the syllabus.
The final score is in thirtieths, 18/30 being the pass score.
For attending students, a midterm written exam will be scheduled.
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher. Students with any disabilities should contact the teacher as well, in order to arrange the examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
It is mandatory to bring along an academic edition of all the literary texts listed in the syllabus.
L-LIN/11 - ANGLO - AMERICAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Schiavini Cinzia
Professor(s)
Reception:
Office hours: Wednesday, 11-12,30; Teams: by appointment. Contact by mail in advance to confirm an appointment.
Piazza S. Alessandro 1, English Department, second floor