OVERVIEW

The course in Anglo-American Literature and Culture for the first year of the Master’s program in Lingue e Letterature Moderne per l'insegnamento, l'editoria e i Media Digitali (LM-37 R) (9 CFU) runs throughout the academic year and consists of 54 hours (3 hours per week in the first semester and 2 in the second). Lectures alternate with practical exercises and seminars.
The course is taught in English and focuses on the essential features and most relevant issues of African American literature and culture developed in the United States from the colonial era to the contemporary period.

The course is also available for the first year of the Master’s program in Lingue e Comunicazione Interculturale per le Istituzioni e le Imprese (LM-38 R)  (6CFU), with a corresponding reduction in the syllabus.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Acquire knowledge about the key moments of 20th-century Anglo-American culture. • Recognize and interpret cultural phenomena within the realms of U.S. language and culture, using theoretical, poetic, and narrative texts as tools for analysis. • Contextualize and analyze texts of significant expressive complexity and historical importance, identifying their cultural and linguistic specificities. • Place literary texts within the historical-cultural context of the society that produced them. • Understand Anglo-American culture and society in its many facets, considering interdisciplinary perspectives. • Develop critical thinking through the interpretation of literary texts and cultural phenomena, fostering independent and informed reflection

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

AIMS

The courses offer students an overview of American culture in the Anglophone and global contexts, delving into the interrelations between language, literature, and society, and approaching texts from various periods and genres (poetry, fiction, memoir, criticism, politics, cinema, art). In this way, students gain a direct understanding of the specificity and complexity of contemporary Anglo-American culture.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Acquire knowledge about the key moments of 20th-century Anglo-American culture.
• Recognize and interpret cultural phenomena within the realms of the Italian and English languages, using theoretical, poetic, and narrative texts as tools for analysis.
• Contextualize and analyze texts of significant expressive complexity and historical importance, identifying their cultural and linguistic specificities.
• Place literary texts within the historical-cultural context of the society that produced them.
• Understand Anglo-American culture and society in its many facets, considering interdisciplinary perspectives.
• Develop critical thinking through the interpretation of literary texts and cultural phenomena, fostering independent and informed reflection.

PREREQUISITES

The course is taught in English; therefore, a good level of language proficiency (B2 or higher) is required to be able to read the proposed texts in the original language.

TEACHING METHODS

The course will be held in traditional face-to-face mode. The 3 weekly teaching hours are divided into two classes of 2+1 hours. Lectures are delivered in English and alternate with seminar sessions of close textual reading and group work. The course is divided into modules.

Course Structure and Attendance

6-credit course (first semester) – 3 modules

• I: historical/cultural context
• II: first text
• III: second text

9-credit course (first semester) – 4 modules

• I: historical/cultural context
• II: first text
• III: second text
• IV: third (fourth) text

Students may choose which and how many modules to attend. If a student decides to take a module, that module must be attended in its entirety. It is therefore possible to have mixed attendance: for the modules attended, students will sit the exam according to the requirements for attending students, while for the modules not attended, students will sit the exam according to the requirements for non-attending students.

Attendance is strongly encouraged and will be monitored by means of a sign-in sheet at the beginning and end of each class. All students, whether attending or non-attending, are required to register on Aulaweb.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course focuses on African American literature and culture that developed in the United States from the colonial era to the contemporary period.

In varying ways and each year with different perspectives, considering various authors, students will explore some of the fundamental themes of this tradition, such as slavery, African tradition, the Middle Passage, slave narratives, segregation, the relationship with white and European traditions, the civil rights movement, and more recent developments such as Black Lives Matter. From an African American perspective, reflections will also be offered on mainstream culture (white, European, Protestant) and minorities with diverse immigration experiences (Hispanic, Native, Asian, etc.).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Experience of the African American Communities

Communities are fundamental elements in the African American experience since the forced migration and enslavement of Black individuals from the African continent during the US colonial period. The course aims at detailing this experience, also exploring its relationship with white and other minority groups. The topic will be introduced through a survey of the history of African American literature and culture, with a focus on texts and cultural elements by contemporary authors.

PRIMARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

Texts that might be included in the course for both attending and non-attending students (reading list to be integrated/modified):

• Octavia E. Butler, The Parable of the Sower (1993)
• Octavia E. Butler, Kindred (1979)
• Percival Everett, James (2024)
• Percival Everett, Trees (2021)
• Percival Everett, Watershed (1996)
• Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye (1970)
• Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987)
• Toni Morrison, A Mercy (2008)
• Toni Morrison, God Help the Child (2016)
• Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad (2016)

For attending students,

All slides used during lectures and other teaching materials will be available on Aulaweb.

lecture notes and the material available on Aulaweb are generally sufficient for exam preparation, provided they are studied carefully.

For NON-attending students,

For students unable to attend, specific critical support materials will be provided. The complete critical bibliography will be uploaded to Aulaweb at the end of the course (mid/end of May).

Critical and support materials will be made available on Aulaweb.
 

The difference in the syllabus for attending and non-attending students lies solely in the different critical support materials provided to the two groups, while the primary texts remain the same for both.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

First semester, end of September/beginning of October 2026, the precise date will be posted in aulaweb

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

For attending students:
The exam, lasting two hours, is written and consists of three open-ended questions (with answers of at least 15 lines) on the historical-cultural context, the history of literature, as well as on the authors, texts, and critical materials studied in detail. Texts already analyzed in the presentations and the essay will not be part of the exam.

The evaluation will be based on participation in the activities proposed in class, including the presentation (25%), the writing of an essay/guided report (25%), and the written exam (50%), which will last two hours.

6-CREDIT MODULE

Attending students: The final grade will be based on participation in classroom activities and the written exam. The written exam, aimed at testing the topics and texts not analyzed and assessed in class, consists of open-ended questions (with answers of at least 15 lines). Details about the exam for attending students will be provided during the introductory lecture of the course.

Non-attending students: The exam lasts three hours, is written, and consists of 2 or 3 open-ended questions (with answers of at least 15 lines) on the historical and cultural context, the history of literature, as well as the authors, texts, and critical materials studied, and a short essay. Students will be allowed to consult both the texts and the critical materials during the writing of their short essay. The grade will be the average between the open-ended questions (75%) and the essay (25%).

9-CREDIT MODULE

Attending students: The final grade will be based on participation in classroom activities and the written exam. The written exam, aimed at testing the topics and texts not analyzed and assessed in class, consists of open-ended questions (with answers of at least 15 lines). Details about the exam for attending students will be provided during the introductory lecture of the course.

Non-attending students: The exam lasts four hours, is written, and consists of 4 open-ended questions (with answers of at least 15 lines) on the historical and cultural context, the history of literature, as well as the authors, texts, and critical materials studied, and a short essay. Students will be allowed to consult both the texts and the critical materials during the writing of their short essay. The grade will be the average between the open-ended questions (75%) and the essay (25%).

The exam is in English for all students, both attending and non-attending.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The final exam includes open-ended questions covering all aspects of the syllabus (the historical period, cultural contexts, the development of literary history, and major authors) aimed at assessing knowledge and comprehension. There will also be a guided essay for non-attending students (see exam description).

Additionally, the exam requires commentary on excerpts from the works studied. This type of exercise is designed to test the student’s ability to recognize the main formal features of individual texts and relate them to various historical-cultural contexts, as well as to use insights provided by the proposed critical materials.

More specifically, the assessment will take into account the following criteria:

• knowledge and understanding of the course content
• quality of expression and coherence of argumentation
• correct use of specialized terminology (literary, historical-cultural, and critical)
• capacity for critical reasoning and textual analysis
• ability to contextualize texts within their historical and cultural framework
• ability to develop and argue one's own point of view
• ability to identify and use reliable critical sources
• ability to critically compare different perspectives and to apply critical materials to the analysis of literary texts
• development of independent thinking on the topics studied in relation to other interpretations and points of view

FURTHER INFORMATION

Attendance is highly recommended. Students who are unable to attend will have to study some supplementary or different material. Course enrolment via aulaweb is mandatory. Examination enrolment is through the unige website.

This syllabus is valid till February 2027.

Erasmus students are welcome!

If you're a student with a learning difficulty, health problem or disability please contact the professor disabili@unige.it and and Professor Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it)

You should also inform the professor with a mail to paola.nardi@unige.it well in advance of the exam.