Teaching Plan Information

1. General information

The main objective of this course is to provide the students with specialized knowledge of American literature of the first half of the twentieth century, and to increase their understanding and command of the tools necessary for the analysis of U.S. literature in general.

It also aims to improve the students' ability to use English in an academic context, working on the four skills at a C1.2 level. The required English level is C1.2 (CEFR). Together with the SDGs 4, 10 and 16 (see section 6 of this guide), the objectives of this course are also aligned with SDGs 5 and 17.

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 first half of the 20th 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 first half of the 20th 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 cultural and gender studies to American literature from the first half of the 20th 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 and teaching of American literature from the first half of the 20th century.

HAB-4. Communicate and explain knowledge in English
Communicate and explain knowledge in English at a C1.2 level about American literature from the first half of the 20th century.

HAB-5. Receive, understand, and communicate scientific output in English
Receive, understand, and communicate scientific output in English at a C1.2 level concerning American literature from the first half of the 20th century.

HAB-6. Identify subjects of study and assess their relevance
Identify subjects of study and assess their relevance in the context of American literature from the first half of the 20th 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 first half of the 20th century, using both traditional academic sources and online resources.

HAB-8. Use and take advantage of online resources
Use and take advantage of online resources related to American literature from the first half of the 20th century.

HAB-9. Analyze literary and audiovisual texts in English critically, identifying sociocultural, linguistic, and aesthetic features
Critically analyze texts from American literature of the first half of the 20th century, 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 first half of the 20th 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 in order to become an active, motivated, and integrated citizen, improving employability or personal development.

3. Syllabus

a) Realism: from classical to psychological, Henry James. Naturalism and the excesses of capitalism, Stephen Crane.

b) The Jazz Age: Scott Fitzgerald.

c) The coming of Modernism. Poetry and the new aesthetics: Robert Frost, Wallace Stevens, William Carlos Williams. Self-reference, experimentation and the revival of myth: Ezra Pound, Hilda Doolittle, and T. S. Eliot. The epistemological quest, the poet as "savior of the race."

d) New aesthetics and African roots: The Harlem Renaissance or the New Negro Movement: Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.

e) Modernist fiction and Southern insight: literature, naturalism, and anthropology. William Faulkner’s experimental world.

4. Academic activities

The tasks can be divided into:

-Theory sessions, dedicated to the study of the contents. They will be based on PowerPoint presentations and other materials available in Moodle-unizar

-Practice sessions and group seminars, consisting in the analysis of the compulsory literary texts.

-Individual and group tutorials.

-Autonomous activities: Compulsory readings, use of secondary sources.

All sessions, tutorials and written exams will be held in English, and all compulsory texts will have to be read in the original English version.

5. Assessment system

FIRST CALL

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT (100%)  (If none of the practice-session groups is bigger than 25 students):

1)            Preparation of assignments such as text analyses, group presentations, quizzes [40% of the final grade].

2)            Written exam, consisting of an essay question related to two or more of the texts and/or authors of the syllabus [60% of the final grade].

GLOBAL ASSESSMENT (100%)

Written exam divided into two parts:

1)            Questions that require brief answers [40 % of the final grade].

2)            Essay question related to two or more texts and/or authors [60 % of the final grade].

In both options, failure to achieve 4,5 out of 10 points in either of the two parts will result in failure of the subject. The average grade of the assessed activities must be at least 5,0 points for the students to pass.

SECOND CALL

Global assessment (100%) with the same features as the global assessment in the first call.

6. Sustainable Development Goals

4 - Quality Education
10 - Reduced Inequalities
16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions