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 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.

AIMS AND 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 conducted in a traditional (in-person) format.
The 3 hours of weekly lessons are divided into two sessions of 2+1 hours. The lectures are held in English and alternate with seminar sessions of close textual reading and group work.
THE LESSONS ARE IN ENGLISH.
For students who decide to attend the lessons, attendance is MANDATORY for a total of 28 out of 36 hours, equivalent to 75% of the course. Attendance will be monitored with a signature at the beginning and end of each lesson.
It is, of course, possible to enroll in the course as a non-attending student. Specific critical support materials will be provided for students unable to attend.

Attendance at lessons is strongly recommended.

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 on minorities with diverse immigration experiences (Hispanic, Native, Asian, etc.).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

African American Women on the Journey: A Re-reading of the U.S. Road Myth”
The course will explore the connection between travel and the African American experience, with particular emphasis on the experiences of African American women. Through an analysis of Toni Morrison’s novels (recipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature), the course will examine key aspects of the U.S. historical and cultural context in relation to themes such as journey, space, movement, segregation, racism.

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

Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye (1970)

Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987)

Toni Morrison, Jazz (1992)

Toni Morrison, Paradise (1998) (only for the 9-credit course)

Toni Morrison, A Mercy (2008)

Toni Morrison, God Help the Child (2016)

Students are expected to have read A Mercy by the end of October 2025.

Critical and support materials will be made available on Aulaweb.
All slides used during the lessons and other teaching materials will be available on Aulaweb. For attending students, the notes taken during lessons and the material on Aulaweb are generally sufficient for exam preparation.
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). The texts for analysis will instead be available on Aulaweb at the beginning of the course, as they are the same required for attending students.
The difference in the syllabus for attending and non-attending students lies solely in the different critical support materials provided to the two groups.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

First semester, end of September/beginning of October 2025, 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 three hours, is written and consists of four 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 (25%), and the written exam (50%), which will last two hours.

For non-attending students:
The exam, lasting four hours, is written and consists of six 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, and includes a short essay. Students will be allowed to consult both the texts and the critical support materials while drafting their short essay.

The evaluation will be based on the written exam, and the final grade will be the average between the answers to the open-ended questions (75%) and the writing of the essay (25%).

The exam is conducted in English.

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.

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!

Students who have officially submitted certification for a disability, specific learning disorder (SLD), or other special educational needs are advised to contact both the designated representative, Prof. Sara Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it), and the course instructor at the beginning of the course, in order to agree on teaching and exam methods that, while respecting the course objectives, take into account individual learning styles and provide appropriate compensatory tools.