The Idea of America in Literary Texts 3301-LA120
A survey of classic through modern and postmodern literary texts - from 17th-century Puritanism to 20th century postmodern ethnic novels - which directly or only by suggestion and/or digression refer the reader to the grand motifs of American mythology and ideology: the idea of individual freedom against social obligations and constraints, which in American literary texts becomes gender-specific, with the male hunter hero living in the wilderness struggling against the oppressive, female-oriented social institutions ( the family); the related mythological narratives of the frontier and settling the West, with their telling omission of the presence of non-white races in this massive socio-political endeavor; the idea of regeneration through violence condoning American territorial expansion and imperial practices. The emphasis will be on the ways in which the use of aestheticized rhetoric complicated straightforward messages of state ideology and propaganda, often to contradict official interpretations of what was understood as "American ideals" on which the new republic had been founded. Most of the classic and modern/postmodern texts chosen for the course probe into and explore the political underpinnings of the ideas of the country, exposing them to analysis and incisive critique, and at the same time developing and historicizing the meanings of American "founding myths."
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
The student:
knows how to present one's knowledge in a logical and clear manner, both orally and in writing
- can appreciate the diversity of opinions presented in readings and discussions and use them as a source of inspiration
- recognizes the nature of dilemmas, problems and conflicts; seeks the best solutions for them
- In class discussions, students acquire skills of expressing their thoughts in a clear, coherent, logical and precise manner, with the use of language whiich is correct grammatically, lexically and phonetically
Language acquisition at level B2+ minimum.
Assessment criteria
Attendance and participation in class discussions; maximum number of absences: 3; fnal written exam (in the case of in-class teaching). Retake exam: written. The form and criteria of the final exam may change if the epidemiological situation so requires. Equivalent terms for determining final grades will then be established in accordance with University of Warsaw guidelines. .
Bibliography
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter; Ernest Heningway, selected stories; Octavia Butler, Kindred; Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man; Ken Kesey, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest; Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye; David Foster Wallace, selected stories; and slected poems and essays by Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Allen Ginsberg and Adrienne Rich.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: