Academic Year:
2025/26
27831 - American Literature II
Teaching Plan Information
Academic year:
2025/26
Subject:
27831 - American Literature II
Faculty / School:
103 - Facultad de Filosofía y Letras
Degree:
416 - Degree in English
680 - Degree in English
Ambit:
Philology, classical studies, translation and linguistics
ECTS:
6.0
Year:
3
Semester:
First semester
Subject type:
Compulsory
Module:
---
1. General information
The main objective of this subject is to provide students with specialized knowledge about US literature of the second half of the 19th century. This will be achieved through the study of a significant textual corpus from various theoretical frameworks, taking into account relevant notions such as identity, nation, race, gender, and social class. The course aims to emphasize the relation between each text and the history and culture of the United States and Western society as a whole.
Apart from SDGs 4, 10 and 17, as described in section 6 in this guide, this course deals with SDGs 1, 5 and 13.
2. Learning results
CON-4. Know, describe, analyze, and explain literature, culture, and film in the English language
Know, describe, analyze, and explain American literature in English from the second half of the 19th century.
CON-9. Know, describe, analyze, and apply critical theories and methodologies of literary and film analysis
Know, describe, analyze, and apply critical theories and methodologies of literary analysis with reference to American literature from the second half of the 19th century.
CON-10. Know, describe, analyze, and apply critical theories and methodologies from cultural and gender studies
Know, describe, analyze, and apply critical theories and methodologies from gender studies to American literature from the second half of the 19th century.
HAB-3. Recognize and transmit strategies and skills that facilitate the learning and teaching of the English language, literature, and culture
Recognize and transmit strategies and skills that facilitate the learning of American literature from the second half of the 19th century.
HAB-4. Communicate and explain knowledge in English
Communicate and explain knowledge in English at a C1.1 level about American literature from the second half of the 19th century.
HAB-5. Receive, understand, and communicate scientific output in English
Receive, understand, and communicate scientific output in English at a C1.1 level about American literature from the second half of the 19th century.
HAB-6. Identify research topics and assess their relevance
Identify research topics and assess their relevance in the context of American literature from the second half of the 19th century.
HAB-7. Locate, manage, and synthesize bibliographic information using both traditional academic sources and online sources and modern tools
Locate, manage, and synthesize bibliographic information related to American literature from the second half of the 19th century using both traditional academic sources and online tools.
HAB-8. Use and take advantage of online resources
Use and take advantage of online resources related to the study of American literature from the second half of the 19th century.
HAB-9. Analyze literary and audiovisual texts in English critically, identifying sociocultural, linguistic, and aesthetic features
Analyze literary texts from American literature of the second half of the 19th century critically, identifying sociocultural, linguistic, and aesthetic features.
HAB-10. Analyze social and cultural realities through their representations
Analyze social and cultural realities through their representations in American literature from the second half of the 19th century.
CTR-2. Teamwork. Collaborate actively with a group of people to achieve a common goal by combining different talents.
CTR-6. Lifelong self-learning. Use learning continuously and develop autonomous and flexible learning strategies throughout life to become an active, motivated, and integrated citizen, thus enhancing employability or personal development.
3. Syllabus
I. AMERICAN ROMANTICISM (1829-1865)
1. Historical and cultural introduction.
2. Edgar Allan Poe: theory of writing, Gothic devices, psychoanalytic procedures, and the origins of detective fiction.
3. Nathaniel Hawthorne: Romance vs. novel. Puritan roots and psychological insight.
4. Herman Melville: Exoticism, symbolic writing and metaphysical speculation.
5. Walt Whitman: poetic freedom and the poet as kosmos.
II. THE RISE OF AMERICAN REALISM AND NATURALISM (1865-1914)
1. Historical and cultural introduction.
2. Emily Dickinson: modernity, introspection, and stylistic compression.
3. Mark Twain: vernacular language, humor, and the controversy over race.
4. Charlotte Perkins-Gilman and Kate Chopin: Women's writing and First-Wave Feminism.
4. Academic activities
- Theory sessions
The course will cover historical and cultural contexts, main characteristics of authors, works, and critical and methodological concepts.
- Practice sessions and group seminars
Critical analysis of the compulsory literary texts will be conducted through guided commentary in both large group settings and small discussion groups.
- Supervised activities
Individual and group tutorials will be conducted.
- Autonomous activities
Students are expected to engage in independent activities such as reading the compulsory texts corresponding to each topic, reviewing concepts discussed in class, consulting bibliographic sources, and accessing additional materials on the course's Moodle page.
- Assessment
5. Assessment system
1st CALL
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT (100%) (if no practice teaching group exceeds 25 students):
1) Completion of two partial exams (reading tests and analysis of quotes from compulsory texts), one in the middle of the semester and the other on the last day of class [40% of the final grade].
2) Completion of a written test (essay question relating two or more texts and/or authors from the syllabus) [60% of the final grade].
Evaluation criteria: knowledge of the subject matter, effective development of argumentation, ability to analyze texts in depth considering form and content, and appropriate expression in English at a C1.1 level according to the CEFR.
GLOBAL ASSESSMENT (100%)
Completion, on the date specified in the academic calendar, of an exam divided into two parts:
1) Short-answer questions on topics, concepts, texts, authors [40% of the final grade].
2) Essay question relating two or more texts and/or authors from the syllabus [60% of the final grade].
For both continuous and global assessment, failing to achieve a minimum of 4.5 out of 10 points in either part will result in a failing grade. The average score of the exams must reach 5.0 points to pass the course.
Evaluation criteria: knowledge of the subject matter, effective development of argumentation, ability to analyze texts in depth considering form and content, and appropriate expression in English at a C1.1 level according to the CEFR.
2nd CALL
GLOBAL ASSESSMENT (100%)
Identical to the global assessment of the 1st call.
6. Sustainable Development Goals
4 - Quality Education
10 - Reduced Inequalities
17 - Partnerships for the Goals