At the end of this course, the students; 1) survey the contributing factors to the historical development of cities, 2) analyze literary texts about American cities from a spatial perspective, 3) establish links between the literary representations of the American cities with a broader cultural framework.
MODE OF DELIVERY
Face to face
PRE-REQUISITES OF THE COURSE
No
RECOMMENDED OPTIONAL PROGRAMME COMPONENT
COURSE DEFINITION
This course aims to illustrate the foundation, development, and transformation of the American city through its literary representations. It highlights the relationship between urban and rural environments and literary texts, with a focus on particular theories about the city and its literature. At the end of the course, the students will be able to analyze the city not only as the setting of a literary text, but also as a signifying element of a broader cultural discussion.
COURSE CONTENTS
WEEK
TOPICS
1st Week
Introduction to the course, overview of the syllabus and lecture on the historical development of cities
2nd Week
Reading the city: various theoretical and interdisciplinary approaches to the city and discussion of key concepts such as space, place, urban, rural, city, metropolis
3rd Week
Literature and the city: example excerpts on literature about the city, the city as a setting in literature, the city as a character, city literature
4th Week
Historical development of New York City and reading of texts including Washington Irving, selected chapters from A History of New York
5th Week
City as Utopia: Walt Whitman "Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry," Hart Crane "The Bridge"
6th Week
Belonging and non-belonging: selected chapters from John Dos Passos Manhattan Transfer
7th Week
Midterm Week
8th Week
Walking in the city: Paul Auster, selected chapters from City of Glass
9th Week
Liminal spaces and the flaneuse: selected chapters from Truman Capote Breakfast at Tiffany's
10th Week
The city imagined: selected poems by the New York School of poets
11th Week
The city vs. the rural setting: selected chapters from Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance
12th Week
Harlem as a cultural location, Selections from James Baldwin Go Tell It on the Mountain and Norma Miller Swinging at the Savoy: The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer
13th Week
Movement and mobility: selected chapters from Jack Kerouac On the Road
14th Week
New York City in literature after 9/11, Art Spiegelman In the Shadow of No Towers
RECOMENDED OR REQUIRED READING
Bridge, Gary and Sophie Watson, editors. The Blackwell City Reader, Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
Clay, Grady. Close-Up: How to Read the American City, U of Chicago P, 1980.
Jaye, Michael C. and Ann Chalmers Watts, editors. Literature and the American Urban Experience: Essays on the City and Literature, Manchester UP, 1973.
Tally Jr., Robert Tally, editor. Geocritical Explorations: Space, Place, and Mapping in Literary and Cultural Studies, Macmillan, 2011.
Tally Jr., Robert Tally, editor. Spatial Literary Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Space, Geography, and the Imagination, Routledge, 2021.
PLANNED LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND TEACHING METHODS
Lecture,Discussion
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND CRITERIA
Quantity
Percentage(%)
Mid-term
1
30
Assignment
1
15
Presentation of Article
1
15
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
Individual or group work
14
3
42
Preparation for Final exam
1
10
10
Course hours
14
3
42
Preparation for Midterm exam
1
10
10
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam
1
2
2
Homework
1
6
6
Article Presentation
1
6
6
Total Workload
120
Total Workload / 30
4
ECTS Credits of the Course
4
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
English
WORK PLACEMENT(S)
No
KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES (KLO) / MATRIX OF LEARNING OUTCOMES (LO)
