American Culture in the 20th Century 3301-2ST-LK-KON002
The meetings will focus on the culture, society and politics of the US in the 20th century from the progressive age. They will discuss the most important events that shaped the culture of the US, including the roaring 20s, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, the social tensions of the 1950s and 1960s (including the Civil Rights movement), the crises of the 1970s, and the rise of neoliberal capitalism. The remainder of the classes will focus on texts that illustrate some aspects of the aforementioned issues. These texts will be selected in consultation with the students. If no texts are chosen by the students, the ones discussed will be Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, Phillip Roth’s American Pastoral, and Octavia E. Butler’s Parable duology.
Type of course
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
Students will be able to:
- Characterize on an advanced level the principles of research design in literary and culture studies in the context of the United States with special focus on the application of methods and tools in formulating research problems
- Characterise economic, legal and other factors relevant for professional approaches to literature and culture
Abilities
Students will be able to:
- Apply advanced terminology and notions pertinent to literary studies and American cultural studies;
- Apply advanced research methodology within literary/culture and American studies, respecting ethical norms and copyright law
- Discern alternative methodological paradigms within literary studies and cultural studies.
- Use modern technology in the process of learning and communicating with academic teachers, colleagues, representatives of various institutions and fellow participants in classes and projects, applying various channels and techniques of communication
Social competences
Students will be ready to:
- Take responsibility for performing one’s professional duties, with due respect for the work of others, obey and develop the ethical norms in professional and academic settings related to the disciplines included on the curriculum of English studies
- Education at language level B2+.
Assessment criteria
oral exam
Bibliography
Butler, Octavia E. Parable of the Sower. Headline, 2014.
Butler, Octavia E. Parable of the Talents. Headline, 2014.
Halberstam, David. The Fifties. Ballantine Books, 1994.
Klosterman, Chuck. The Nineties. Penguin, 2022.
Klosterman, Chuck. Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto. Faber and Faber, 2008.
Leitch, Vincent B. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Norton, 2001.
Kyvig, David E. Daily life in the United States 1920-1940. Ivan Dee, 2002.
Marwick, Arthur. The Sixties. OUP, 1998
Patterson, James T. Grand Expectations. OUP, 1997.
Roth, Philip. American Pastoral. Houghton Mifflin: 1997.
Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat’s Cradle. Rosetta Books, 2010.
Different texts for analysis may be chosen depending on the student’s research interests.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: