Syllabus Information

5.1. Methodological overview

The learning process that has been designed for this course is based on the following:

All class activities will be complemented by group or individual tutorials that form part of the face-to-face teaching and that can also be carried out by e-mail or via Moodle. The learning process is based on the student's active participation and encourages the accurate planning of their autonomous work, which includes the writing of an optional individual essay. The learning process fosters the development of the student's analytical skills and critical thinking, reasoning and argumentation, and involves the reading of the compulsory texts in the light of the recommended bibliography and the in-class teaching.

English will be the language used in all class activities, tutorials, essays and exams, and the literary texts shall be read in their original version.

5.2. Learning tasks

5.2.1. Guided activities

-Theory sessions (1.2 credits / 30 hours)

Theory sessions (which include, for each unit, the study of the historical and cultural context, the main features of the period's literary production, the introduction to authors and texts, and the explanation of relevant critical and methodological approaches) consist of the teacher's presentation of such contents, and will be based on PowerPoint presentations and other materials available in Moodle. Student participation will be encouraged in these sessions by means of relevant questioning and prior knowledge-activating strategies.

-Practical sessions and group seminars (1.2 credits / 30 hours)

Practical sessions consist of the critical analysis of the compulsory literary texts. Previous reading on the part of students is essential for the development of these sessions, which will include guided commentaries with the whole class, small group discussion, or the writing of brief individual or group analyses to be presented orally. Debates, questions, brainstorming or role play for character analysis will also be used in order to activate theoretical and practical knowledge, reinforce basic concepts and develop synthesizing, analyzing, interpreting, relating, and expressing skills as well as attitudes such as cooperation and valuation of the work of others.

5.2.2. Supervised activities

-Individual and group tutorials (0.1 credits / 2.5 hours)

Tutorial attendance (alternatively,  e-mail consultations or participation on the Moodle platform) is compulsory for the guided writing of essays, and optional for the rest of issues concerning the course.

5.2.3. Autonomous activities

- Compulsory readings, use of secondary sources and Moodle materials (2.8 credits / 70 hours; or 3.4 credits / 85 hours for the students who do not write up the optional essay)

The students' autonomous activities include revising the concepts studied in class, as well as reading and analyzing the compulsory texts, reading secondary sources, and visiting the Moodle page.

- Elaboration of the optional essay (0.6 credits / 15 hours), optional.

By the 8th week of the semester, students will decide on a topic that will be agreed upon with the teacher. They will work on the development of a working hypothesis that will be presented to the teacher by the 13th week, together with the essay outline and the selected bibliography. The completed essay will be handed in by the day of the exam.

5.2.4. Assessment

- Global exam (0.1 credits / 2.5 hours)

The exam will take place on the day assigned by the Faculty. Students will have 2.5 hours at the most. The type of exam is described in the Assessment section of this guide. 

5.3. Syllabus

(27853) Contemporary American Literature

1)     Southern writing: mythoclasm, humour and the grotesque. From William Faulkner to Flannery O'Connor, Barry Hannah, and Ron Rash.

2)     The globalization of violence: psychopaths and female avengers in present-day USA. The fiction of Joyce Carol Oates.

3)     Race and gender: the crossing of generic boundaries in the writing of Maxine Hong Kingston, Louise Erdrich and Toni Morrison.

4)     From traditional domestic fiction to postmodern households: transience, loneliness and loss in the fiction of Marilynne Robinson and James Salter.

Compulsory readings:

Flannery O'Connor, "A Good Man is Hard to Find", (short story, 1955); "Good Country People" (short story, 1955); "Everything that Rises Must Converge" (short story, 1965).

Barry Hannah, "Dragged Fighting from His Tomb" (short story, 1978)

Ron Rash, "The Ascent" (short story, 2009)

Joyce Carol Oates, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" (short story, 1966); "The Premonition" (short story, 1992)

Toni Morrison, Beloved (novel, 1987)

Marilynne Robinson, Housekeeping (novel, 1980)

James Salter, "Last Night" (short story, 2002)

Recommended films:

The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)

Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969)

Wise Blood (John Huston, 1979)

CapeFear (Martin Scorsese, 1991)

The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991)

American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999)

5.4. Course planning and calendar

Face-to-face teaching and schedule for essays

Theoretical and practical sessions (critical analysis of the compulsory literary texts) will take place in two weekly sessions, following the official schedule. Three to four weeks will be necessary for the presentation and discussion of each unit.

Group and individual tutorials will follow the schedule provided by the teacher,  taking into account the students' class hours.

Students can write up an optional individual essay guided by the teacher taking into account the following key dates:

- Deadline for notifying the choice of subject: week 8.

- Deadline for submitting the detailed draft and the bibliography: week 13.

- Deadline for submitting the essays: during the first final exam.

The first final exam includes the submission of the optional essay and will take place on the official date assigned by the University.

5.5. Bibliography and recommended resources