At the end of this course, the students; 1) will be able to discuss the basic tenets and functions of the American dream as one of the fundamental elements of American society.
MODE OF DELIVERY
Face to face
PRE-REQUISITES OF THE COURSE
No
RECOMMENDED OPTIONAL PROGRAMME COMPONENT
None
COURSE DEFINITION
This course will investigate the origins of the American Dream, seek to define it, and trace the changing attitudes towards it from the establishment of Puritan colonies in the 17th century to the present day. The focus of attention will be on how the concept has been shaped by literary and intellectual movements and concepts (such as Transcendentalism, the Noble Savage, and the Peace Movement) and historical events like the Westward expansion, the Civil War, the two World Wars and the Vietnam War.
COURSE CONTENTS
WEEK
TOPICS
1st Week
Introduction to the Course & Brainstorming on How We Define the 'American Dream' at Present
2nd Week
Tracing the Roots of the American Dream: Brief Survey of American History Part I: Pre-1492 to 1640; The Mayflower Compact, The Pilgrims (1620); A Modal of Christian Charity, John Winthrop (1630)
3rd Week
Tracing the Roots of the American Dream: Brief Survey of American History Part II: 1640 to 1820; The Declaration of Independence (1776); Farewell Address, George Washington (1796); First Inaugural Address, Thomas Jefferson (1801)
4th Week
Tracing the Roots of the American Dream: Brief Survey of American History Part III: 1820 to 1900; "The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions," Seneca Falls Convention (1848); "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July," Frederick Douglass (1852); "Gettysburg Address," Abraham Lincoln (1863); "The New Colossus," Emma Lazarus (1883); "The Inconceivable Alien," Henry James (1883); [Ellis Island, Documentary, Individual Viewing]
5th Week
The American Dream At the Turn of the Century: Selections from Up from Slavery, Booker T. Washington (1901); Selections from The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois (1903)
6th Week
The American Dream in the 20th Century: 1900 to 1950, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
7th Week
The American Dream in the 20th Century: 1900 to 1950; "The Romance of the Commodity: The Cancellation of Identity in F. Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby,"Psychological Politics of the American Dream: The Commodification of Subjectivity in 20th Century American Literature, Lois Tyson; "The Great Gatsby: The Tragedy of the American Dream on Long Island's Gold Coast," Tanfer Emin Tunç (in Harold Bloom's The American Dream, 2009)
8th Week
Student Presentations on The Great Gatsby
9th Week
The American Dream in the 20th Century: 1950 to Present; A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry (1959); "Discrimination and the American Dream in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun," Babacar M'Baye (in Harold Bloom's The American Dream, 2009); [A Raisin in the Sun, Film, Individual Viewing]
10th Week
Student Presentations on A Raisin in the Sun; The Pursuit of Happyness, Film Session
11th Week
The American Dream in the 20th Century: Poetry Session: Selected Poems of Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Allen Ginsberg, Sonia Sanchez, Lance Jeffers, Sook Lyol Ryu, Lorna Dee Cervantes
12th Week
The American Dream in the 20th Century: Short Story Session: Selected Short Stories of Sherwood Anderson, Sherman Alexie, Bernard Malamud, Aleksandar Hemon
13th Week
The American Dream in the 20th Century: Short Story Session: Selected Short Stories of Anzia Yezierska, Amy Tan, Gish Jen, Sandra Cisneros, Jhumpa Lahiri, Essay 1 Due Date
14th Week
Critical Views on the American Dream: "The Fragmentation of the Dream," The American Dream: From Reconstruction to Reagan, Esmond Wright; "Introduction" & "Two Scenarios for the Year 2050," The American Dream: Can It Survive the 21st Century?, Joseph L. Daleiden; Essay 2 Due Date
RECOMENDED OR REQUIRED READING
Bercovitch, Sacvan, ed. Reconstructing American Literary History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1986. Bloom, Harold. The American Dream. New York: Bloom?s Literary Criticism, 2009. Carter, Everett. The American Idea: The Literary Response to American Opinion. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1977. Hochschild, Jennifer L. Facing Up to the American Dream. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1995. Hume, Kathryn. American Dreams, American Nightmares: Fiction Since 1960. Urbana and Chicago: U of Illinois P, 2000. Keller, Jürg P. The American Dream Gone Astray. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1995. Lasch, Christopher. The Culture of Narcissism. New York: Norton, 1979. Trilling, Lionel. The Liberal Imagination. New York: Viking, 1950. Tyson, Lois. Psychological Politics of the American Dream: The Commodification of Subjectivity in Twentieth Century American Literature. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 1994.
PLANNED LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND TEACHING METHODS
Presentation,Lecture,Discussion,Other
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND CRITERIA
Quantity
Percentage(%)
Assignment
2
30
Presentation of Article
2
40
Other
1
5
Total(%)
75
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)
75
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)
25
Total(%)
100
ECTS WORKLOAD
Activities
Number
Hours
Workload
Midterm exam
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work
14
5
70
Preparation for Final exam
1
10
10
Course hours
14
3
42
Preparation for Midterm exam
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam
1
3
3
Homework
2
30
60
Article Presentation
2
25
50
Weekly Articles and Resource Research
14
5
70
Total Workload
305
Total Workload / 30
10,16
ECTS Credits of the Course
10
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
English
WORK PLACEMENT(S)
No
KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES (KLO) / MATRIX OF LEARNING OUTCOMES (LO)