LT161-4-AU-CO:
Introduction to United States Literature

PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
The details
2020/21
Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 4
Inactive
Thursday 08 October 2020
Friday 18 December 2020
15
03 February 2021

 

Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)

 

(none)

Key module for

(none)

Module description

Discover the writers that laid the foundations for the American Dream – revealing its tantalising beauty and ephemeral nature. As these literary pioneers articulated a collective desire for a new type of society, they reproduced and dissected the conventions and contradictions of the Dream.

Studying a series of canonical texts across multiple genres of writing, we will discover how the literature of the United States was established as a distinct tradition in itself and gain a critical understanding of the major thematic concerns of early US authors; slavery and freedom, sexuality and gender, class and social mobility, morality and materialism. Our reading list takes in the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, The Crucible by playwright Arthur Miller, the autobiography of former slave Frederick Douglass and a number of novels including The Great Gatsby and The Scarlet Letter.

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

1. to provide students with an overview and knowledge of some key themes and concepts in United States literature

2. to provide students with a critical understanding of the legacies of slavery, colonialism, freedom, independence, class, gender, and social mobility in United States literature

3. to enable students to develop the critical tools to evaluate how United States authors attempted to write about their nation and collectively produced a national and regional literature

Module learning outcomes

After successful completion of the module, students should be able to:

1. demonstrate a critical understanding of a range of key themes and concepts in United States literature

2. critically evaluate and situate the legacies of slavery, colonialism, freedom, independence, class, gender, and social mobility in United States literature

3. apply a critical insight into how United States authors attempted to write about their nation to their own literary analysis of a selection of United States literature.

Module information

No additional information available.

Learning and teaching methods

For 2020-21, we will offer a mixture of tailored online, digital, and campus-based teaching where it may be possible and as appropriate, along with personalised one-to-one consultation with academic staff.

Bibliography

  • Proulx, Annie. (2000) Close range: Wyoming stories, London: Fourth Estate.
  • Whitman, Walt; Reynolds, David S. (2005) Leaves of grass, New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Wharton, Edith. (1996) The Age of Innocence: Penguin.
  • Cather, Willa; Sharistanian, Janet. (2008) My Ántonia, Oxford: Oxford University Press. vol. Oxford world's classics
  • Miller, Arthur. (2000) The crucible, London: Penguin.
  • Douglass, Frederick; Baker, Houston A. (1982) Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. vol. The Penguin American library
  • Twain, Mark; Bradley, Sculley. (c1977) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: an authoritative text, backgrounds and sources, criticism, New York: Norton. vol. A Norton critical edition
  • Douglass, Frederick. (no date) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: Oxford University Press.
  • Mark Twain. (1999) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
  • Hawthorne, Nathaniel; Murfin, Ross C. (c2006) The scarlet letter: complete, authoritative text with biographical, historical, and cultural contexts, critical history, and essays from contemporary critical perspectives, Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's. vol. Case studies in contemporary criticism

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course. The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students. Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting
Coursework   Formative Assignment: Essay Plan     
Coursework   Essay (1,500 - 2,000 words)     
Practical   Participation     
Exam  Main exam: 120 minutes during Summer (Main Period) 

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
50% 50%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
50% 50%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Jordan Savage, email: jksava@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Jordan Savage
LiFTS General Office - email liftstt@essex.ac.uk. Telephone 01206 872626

 

Availability
Yes
Yes
No

External examiner

Prof Duncan James Salkeld
University of Chichester
Professor of Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature
Resources
Available via Moodle
Of 44 hours, 43 (97.7%) hours available to students:
1 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).

 

Further information
Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies

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