According to the Dublin descriptors, students, at the
end of the course, will demonstrate:
1) Knowledge and understanding
Students must be able to outline the development and
the research field of American Studies as well as to identify the themes and
aspects of Anglo-American culture with reference to its national myths, to
their implicit ideologies, and to critical revision in the light of those
marginal social categories that make up the American mosaic.
2) Applying knowledge and understanding
Students must be able to provide a critical analysis
of the selected cultural products: to identify the representative aspects, the
subjects and objects of the representation; to unmask the dominant ideology and
question it from the different perspectives of minority voices with the help of
the theoretical and methodological tools proposed in the classroom.
3) Making judgements
Students must be able to argue about American myths
and their representation in the primary texts that are offered, contextualizing
them from a historical, social and cultural point of view; to trace the links
among the various socio-cultural aspects and make comparisons with the cultures
of other nations.
4) Communication skills
Students must be able to present their arguments by
drawing on the critical discourse of “New Americanists” and on the theories
applied to the study of American cultural products.
5)
Learning skills
Students must be able to apply their acquired
knowledge and developed skills to the study of American cultural products of
various kind (beyond those included and examined in the course) and to make
comparisons with the representative products of other national cultures.
American Studies: theories, methods, and concepts; evolution of the
research field and relationship with Cultural Studies. The globalization of US
culture. Vision and revision of national myths. Theoretical and methodological
tools for the study of American cultural aspects (Structuralism/Deconstruction,
social theories, Feminist criticism, Gender and Queer Studies, Age Studies,
Postcolonialism, Critical Race Theory and Critical Whiteness Studies, Border
and Hemispheric Studies).
For all students
· A. Dallmann, E. Boesenberg, M. Klepper, eds., Approaches to American Cultural Studies, London and New
York, Routledge, 2016 (except for chapters 14 and 16; 229 pp.)
· N. Campbell, A. Kean, “The Transmission of American
Culture”, in American Cultural Studies, London and New York, Routledge, 2016
(35 pp.)
· An anthology of primary
texts: cultural products of different kind (literary texts, public/presidential
speeches, songs, movies...), to be discussed in the classroom and during the
exam (the list and the links to
the materials will be posted on Studium when the lessons start).
For non-attending students
In addition to the texts mentioned
above, the following supplementary readings (available on Studium in .pdf
format):
· D. Pease, “Postnational and
Postcolonial Reconfigurations of American Studies in the Postmodern Condition”,
in J.C. Rowe (ed.), A Concise Companion to American Studies, Oxford and Malden,
Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, pp. 263-283.
· H. Jenkins, T. McPherson, J. Shattuc, “Defining
Popular Culture”, in H. Jenkins, T. McPherson, J. Shattuc (eds.), Hop on Pop. The Politics and Pleasure of Popular Culture,
Duke University Press, 2002, pp. 26-42.
Please remember that in compliance with art 171
L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or
journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.
For further information on sanctions and regulations
concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee
Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione
Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian
Association on Copyright).
All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.
