At the end of this course, the students; 1) recognize the major periods and movements in American literature from the Civil War to the present, 2) illustrate the characteristics of the literary movements by providing examples from American literature from the Civil War to the present, 3) connect the major works of American literature from the late nineteenth century to global and contemporary issues including discussions on race, gender, politics, and human rights.
MODE OF DELIVERY
PRE-REQUISITES OF THE COURSE
No
RECOMMENDED OPTIONAL PROGRAMME COMPONENT
COURSE DEFINITION
This course offers a historical survey of the development of American literature from the end of the American Civil War to the present. Various literary movements such as Realism, Naturalism, Modernism and Postmodernism will be studied and contemporary examples from American literature will be included among the selected texts.
COURSE CONTENTS
WEEK
TOPICS
1st Week
Introduction to the course and overview of the syllabus, lecture on Civil War, its aftermath and the reconstruction in fiction
2nd Week
Civil War and its Aftermath in Fiction,
Ambrose Bierce "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,"
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper "Learning to Read," Sojourner Truth "Keep the Thing Going While Things Are Stirring"
3rd Week
Realism Naturalism Regionalism,
William Dean Howells "Editha,"
Henry James "The Real Thing," Jack London "To Build a Fire"
4th Week
Realism Naturalism Regionalism,
Charles Waddell Chesnutt "The Wife of His Youth,"
Mark Twain "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," Charlotte Perkins Gilman "The Yellow Wallpaper," Sarah Orne Jewett "A White Heron"
5th Week
The Harlem Renaissance, Alain Locke "The New Negro," Booker T. Washington Chapter II from Up from Slavery: "Boyhood Days," W.E.B Du Bois "Strivings of the Negro People"
6th Week
The Harlem Renaissance,
Langston Hughes "The Negro Speaks of Rivers,"
Claude McKay "The Harlem Dancer,"
Nella Larsen selected excerpts from Passing
7th Week
Midterm Examination
8th Week
Native American writers of the nineteenth century,
Charles Alexander Eastman from Deep Woods into Civilization,
Zitkala Sa "Iktomi and the Fawn," "The Ghost Dance Songs and the Wounded Knee Massacre"
9th Week
Modernism in fiction,
William Faulkner "A Rose For Emily,"
Ernest Hemingway "The Snows of Kilimanjaro,"
Gertrude Stein excerpts from The Making of Americans
10th Week
Modernism in poetry,
Ezra Pound "A Pact,"
Amy Lowell "Venus Transiens,"
Marianne Moore "Poetry,"
H.D. "Helen"
11th Week
Poetry after the Second World War: Beat, Confessional, New York School, L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E Poetry,
Allen Ginsberg "A Supermarket in California,"
Sylvia Plath "Daddy" "Lady Lazarus,"
Frank O'Hara "The Day Lady Died" (1960)
Lyn Hejinian from The Fatalist: "The best words get said frequently- they are like fertile pips."
12th Week
Postmodernism,
Ronald Sukenick "Innovative Fiction / Innovative Criteria" (1974),
William H. Gass "The Medium of Fiction" (1970),
Donald Barthelme "The Balloon" (1968),
Billie Collins "Sonnet" (2001)
13th Week
9/11 in literature,
Joy Harjo "When the World As We Knew It Ended ?"
Charles Simic (b. 1938) "Late September" (2003)
Art Spiegelman (b. 1948) In the Shadow of No Towers (2004)
14th Week
Example readings from contemporary poetry, fiction, and non-fiction,
Louise Erdrich "Fleur,"
Luise Glück "Appearances" Tracy K. Smith "The Universe: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack,"
Amy Tan "Mother Tongue"
RECOMENDED OR REQUIRED READING
Levine, Robert S., et al., editors. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 9th edition, Volumes C, D and E, New York, Norton, 2017.
Ruland, Richard, and Malcolm Bradbury. From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of American Literature, London, Routledge, 1991.
PLANNED LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND TEACHING METHODS
Lecture,Discussion
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND CRITERIA
Quantity
Percentage(%)
Mid-term
1
30
Assignment
2
10
Quiz
2
10
Presentation of Article
1
10
Total(%)
60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)
60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)
40
Total(%)
100
ECTS WORKLOAD
Activities
Number
Hours
Workload
Midterm exam
1
2
2
Preparation for Quiz
2
4
8
Individual or group work
14
4
56
Preparation for Final exam
1
20
20
Course hours
14
3
42
Preparation for Midterm exam
1
20
20
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam
1
2
2
Homework
2
8
16
Quiz
2
2
4
Article Presentation
1
8
8
Total Workload
178
Total Workload / 30
5,93
ECTS Credits of the Course
6
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
English
WORK PLACEMENT(S)
No
KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES (KLO) / MATRIX OF LEARNING OUTCOMES (LO)
