American Literature 3
A.Y. 2026/2027
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 can be attended as a single course.
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 - "Experimentalism, Minimalism and Maximalism"; C - "From the Margins to the Center"
The course syllabus is valid until February, 2028.
The course syllabus is valid until February, 2028.
Prerequisites for admission
Students are required to have taken and passed the English language test "Lingua Inglese I" and "Lingua Inglese II", 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:
Unit A: The Tranquilized Fifties and the Counterculture
Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
SYLVIA PLATH, "Lady Lazarus", "Daddy"
HARPER LEE, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
MARTIN LUTHER KING, "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
ALLEN GINSBERG, Howl
KURT VONNEGUT, Slaughterhouse n. 5 (1969)
Unit B - Experimentalism, Minimalism and Maximalism
POSTMODERN MANIFESTOS (317-331)
THOMAS PYNCHON "Entropy"
SAM SHEPARD, True West
SUSAN SONTAG, "The Way We Live Now"
DON DE LILLO, White Noise (1985)
RAYMOND CARVER, "Cathedral"
GRACE PALEY, "A Conversation with My Father"
Unit C - from the Margins to the Center
N. SCOTT MOMADAY, from The Way to Rainy Mountain
TONY MORRISON, The Bluest Eye
MAXINE HONG KINGSTON, "No Name Woman"
SANDRA CISNEROS, "Woman Hollering Creek"
JUNOT DIAZ, "Drown"
ART SPIEGELMAN, from Maus
ISHMAIL KHALIDI, Foot
CORMAC MCCARTHY, The Road
ONE of the following novels OR one of the following plays:
Novels:
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955)
James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1956)
Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1957)
William Burroughs, Naked Lunch (1959)
Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House (1959)
Truman Capote, In Cold Blood (1962)
Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 (1966)
Leslie Malmon Silko, Ceremony (1977)
Alice Walker, The Color Purple (1982)
Sherman Alexie, Reservation Blues (1985)
Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian (1996)
David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest (1996)
Philip Roth, American Pastoral (1997)
Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine (2001)
Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex (2002)
Diana Abu-Jaber, Crescent (2003)
Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking (2005)
Jonathan Saffran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2005)
Susan Abulhawa, Mornings in Jenin (2006)
Junot Diaz, The Brief, Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao (2008)
Jonathan Franzen, Freedom (2010)
Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010)
Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad (2016)
Richard Powers, The Overstory (2018)
Plays:
EUGENE 'NEILL, Long Day's Journey into Night (1941-2)
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)
LORRAINE HANSBERRY, A Raisin in the Sun (1959)
EDWARD ALBEE, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? (1962)
LEROI JONES, The Duchman (1964)
DAVID MAMET, American Buffalo (1975)
NTOZAKE SHANGE, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1976)
AUGUST WILSON, Fences (1985)
JOHN GUARE, Six Degrees of Separation (1990)
TONY KUSHNER, Angels in America (1993)
HEATHER RAFFO, Nine Parts of Desire (2005)
YUSSEF EL GUINDI, Back of the Throat (2006)
LYNN NOTTAGE, Ruined (2008)
AYAD AKHTAR, Disgraced (2013)
SECONDARY TEXTS:
Slides and critical essays/texts for attending and non-attending students will be available on Ariel/Teams.
History of American Literature: Donatella Izzo, Letteratura degli Stati Uniti d'America. XX e XXI secolo (selected chapters).
Unit A: The Tranquilized Fifties and the Counterculture
Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
SYLVIA PLATH, "Lady Lazarus", "Daddy"
HARPER LEE, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
MARTIN LUTHER KING, "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
ALLEN GINSBERG, Howl
KURT VONNEGUT, Slaughterhouse n. 5 (1969)
Unit B - Experimentalism, Minimalism and Maximalism
POSTMODERN MANIFESTOS (317-331)
THOMAS PYNCHON "Entropy"
SAM SHEPARD, True West
SUSAN SONTAG, "The Way We Live Now"
DON DE LILLO, White Noise (1985)
RAYMOND CARVER, "Cathedral"
GRACE PALEY, "A Conversation with My Father"
Unit C - from the Margins to the Center
N. SCOTT MOMADAY, from The Way to Rainy Mountain
TONY MORRISON, The Bluest Eye
MAXINE HONG KINGSTON, "No Name Woman"
SANDRA CISNEROS, "Woman Hollering Creek"
JUNOT DIAZ, "Drown"
ART SPIEGELMAN, from Maus
ISHMAIL KHALIDI, Foot
CORMAC MCCARTHY, The Road
ONE of the following novels OR one of the following plays:
Novels:
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955)
James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1956)
Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1957)
William Burroughs, Naked Lunch (1959)
Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House (1959)
Truman Capote, In Cold Blood (1962)
Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 (1966)
Leslie Malmon Silko, Ceremony (1977)
Alice Walker, The Color Purple (1982)
Sherman Alexie, Reservation Blues (1985)
Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian (1996)
David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest (1996)
Philip Roth, American Pastoral (1997)
Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine (2001)
Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex (2002)
Diana Abu-Jaber, Crescent (2003)
Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking (2005)
Jonathan Saffran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2005)
Susan Abulhawa, Mornings in Jenin (2006)
Junot Diaz, The Brief, Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao (2008)
Jonathan Franzen, Freedom (2010)
Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010)
Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad (2016)
Richard Powers, The Overstory (2018)
Plays:
EUGENE 'NEILL, Long Day's Journey into Night (1941-2)
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)
LORRAINE HANSBERRY, A Raisin in the Sun (1959)
EDWARD ALBEE, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? (1962)
LEROI JONES, The Duchman (1964)
DAVID MAMET, American Buffalo (1975)
NTOZAKE SHANGE, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1976)
AUGUST WILSON, Fences (1985)
JOHN GUARE, Six Degrees of Separation (1990)
TONY KUSHNER, Angels in America (1993)
HEATHER RAFFO, Nine Parts of Desire (2005)
YUSSEF EL GUINDI, Back of the Throat (2006)
LYNN NOTTAGE, Ruined (2008)
AYAD AKHTAR, Disgraced (2013)
SECONDARY TEXTS:
Slides and critical essays/texts for attending and non-attending students will be available on Ariel/Teams.
History of American Literature: Donatella Izzo, Letteratura degli Stati Uniti d'America. XX e XXI secolo (selected chapters).
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: by appointment: Wednesday, 11-12,30; Teams: by appointment.
Piazza S. Alessandro 1, English Department, second floor