Course title: “UNDERSTANDING AMERICA: KEY CONCEPTS”
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will help students become familiar with and write about some of of the main concepts that have shaped the making of the United States as a nation over the centuries. We will explore, through founding texts and authoritative commentaries, key myths shaping the American project such as “wilderness”, “manifest destiny”, “melting pot”, “exceptionalism”, “American century”, “race” and others, with the purpose of giving students some fundamental tools to come to terms with discourses shaping the concept of “America” over the centuries. Regular writing assignments will help students better familizarize with the presentation of ideas through the written medium in English.
This course is FULLY TAUGHT IN ENGLISH. Please do not take this class if your English level is not at the very least a B2.
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SEMINAR SESSIONS, SCHEDULE, VENUE
This class will be conducted as a weekly seminar: there will be no (or very few) formal lectures. Instead, learning will occur through READINGS, CLASS PRESENTATIONS, ASSIGNMENTS, and ACTIVE CLASS PARTICIPATION. Students will be expected to show constant progress by actively interacting on the course materials on a week-by-week basis.
Seminar meets once a week for 10 weeks (Centro Aldo Moro, room 1) in the FIRST semester, usually on Thursdays, 2-6 pm, with added sessions on Fridays, 2-4 pm for film screenings/discussion and a writing clinic (check calendar for details). 6 CREDIT STUDENTS are not required (but obviously are welcome) to attend the Friday sessions (14 hours in total, see calendar for details), nor are they required to turn in any of the assignments.
Please check the course calendar in one of the postings above for full details on reading assignments.
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COURSE REGISTRATION
Students wishing to take the final exam, please sign up using the link in the post above BEFORE the start of the semester. No direct sign-up will be possible after the 2nd week of class.
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REQUIRED TEXTS
Most course texts are made avilable to the class via pdf packages posted to Moodle. Besides those, students must OWN copies of the following novels/books (etexts are NOT suitable for academic study):
1. Willa Cather, My Antonia (any unabridged edition)
2. Henry Roth, Call it Sleep (any unabridged edition)
3. Ta-Nehisi Coates. Between the World and Me (any unabridged edition)
4. Junot Diaz, Drown (any unabridged edition)
5. Heike Paul, The Myths that Made America (Transcript, 2014)
Text n. 5 is NOT required of ATTENDING STUDENTS (i.e. students attending at least 70% of this course)
Please make sure you purchase these books BEFORE the start of classes.
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STUDENT EVALUATION
3 written assignments (for 9 credit students only – 1 written assignment only for students completing one class presentation), class participation, one final written exam (mandatory for all, and offered in January, May and September), one final oral interview. Oral interview may be replaced with a CLASS PRESENTATION, as will be discussed in my introductiory session. All written assignments are due on the dates in the course calendar (see post above). Students handing in written assignmens by the due dates will receive individual feedback on each assignment. Otherwise, assignments must be turned in NO LATER THAN 7 days before the written exam (admission to written exams is CONDITIONAL on this). In this case, no individual feedback is given.
The written exam (available in January, May or September) must be completed by the September 2023 session. After that date, the course syllabus will change.
The oral interview can be taken ONLY AFTER taking and passing the written exam.
Active class participation will also be considered as part of your final evaluation.
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NON ATTENDING STUDENTS – VERY IMPORTANT!!!
In order to be admitted to take the final exam, students unable to attend regularly must 1. meet with the professor during office hours AT LEAST 30 DAYS BEFORE taking the written exam (and preferably before the start of classes) AND 2. attend, in person, at least two Thursday sessions. We will not be able to accomodate students who do not meet these two requirements.
Have a great semester,
Andrea Carosso