ANGLO-AMERICAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURES I
Course objectives
General knowledge of the historical-literary development of the Language and Literature in question, with particular reference to the most important figures and the most significant literary movements.
Channel 1
CARLO MARTINEZ
Lecturers' profile
Program - Frequency - Exams
Course program
TRAVELING IN/THROUGH AMERICAN LITERATURE: FROM THE ORIGINS TO THE EARLY REPUBLIC
Travels of settlement in Colonial America:
- William Bradford, From A Plymouth Plantation, Chapt. 9: “Of Their Voyage, and How They Passed the Sea and of Their Safe Arrival at Cape Cod” (1630 ca);
- John Winthrop, A Model of Christian Charity (1630);
- Mary Rowlandson, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (First, Second, Third, Twelfth, and Twentieth Remove), (1682);
The Enlightenment in America:
- Sarah Kemble Knight, From The Private Journal of a Journey from Boston to New York in the Year 1704, “Saturday, October the Seventh” (1704 ca);
- J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur, from Letters from an American Farmer, “What Is an American?” (1782);
- Phillis Wheatley, “On Being Brought from Africa to America” (1773);
- The Declaration of Independence (1776);
The Early Republic:
- Benjamin Franklin, “The Autobiography” (1791-1868) pp. 524-545; 574-585 Norton Anthology of American Literature, Fifth Edition;
- Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle” (1819);
- Nathaniel Hawthorne, “My visit to Niagara” (1825); “Young Goodman Brown” (1835);
-Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839); “A Morning on the Wissahiccon/The Elk” (1844); “The Philosophy of Composition” (1846);
-Fredrick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave (1845);
Bibliografia Critica:
- Judith Hamera and Alfred Bendixen, “Introduction: New worlds and Old Lands – the Travel Book and the Construction of American Identity”, in The Cambridge Companion to American Travel Writing, edited by Alfred Bendixen and Judith Hamera, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2009, pp. 1-9;
- Sacvan Bercovitch, “La visione puritana del nuovo mondo”, in Storia della civiltà letteraria degli Stati Uniti, vol. 1, a cura di E. Elliott, Torino, UTET, 1990, pp. 28-37;
- Introduction and Timeline –“Early American Literature 1620-1820”, in The Norton Anthology of American Literature, ed. by Nina Baym, Fifth Edition, vol. 1, pp. 153-163;
- Introduction and Timeline – “American Literature 1820-1865”, in The Norton Anthology of American Literature, ed. by Nina Baym, Fifth Edition, vol. 1, pp. 917-931.
Prerequisites
Students are expected to have a fairly good knowledge of English
Books
TRAVELING IN/THROUGH AMERICAN LITERATURE: FROM THE ORIGINS TO THE EARLY REPUBLIC
Travels of settlement in Colonial America:
- William Bradford, From A Plymouth Plantation, Chapt. 9: “Of Their Voyage, and How They Passed the Sea and of Their Safe Arrival at Cape Cod” (1630 ca);
- John Winthrop, A Model of Christian Charity (1630);
- Mary Rowlandson, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (First, Second, Third, Twelfth, and Twentieth Remove), (1682);
The Enlightenment in America:
- Sarah Kemble Knight, From The Private Journal of a Journey from Boston to New York in the Year 1704, “Saturday, October the Seventh” (1704 ca);
- J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur, from Letters from an American Farmer, “What Is an American?” (1782);
- Phillis Wheatley, “On Being Brought from Africa to America” (1773);
- The Declaration of Independence (1776);
The Early Republic:
- Benjamin Franklin, “The Autobiography” (1791-1868) pp. 524-545; 574-585 Norton Anthology of American Literature, Fifth Edition;
- Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle” (1819);
- Nathaniel Hawthorne, “My visit to Niagara” (1825); “Young Goodman Brown” (1835);
-Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839); “A Morning on the Wissahiccon/The Elk” (1844); “The Philosophy of Composition” (1846);
-Fredrick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave (1845);
Frequency
Not mandatory, but strongly recommended
Exam mode
The final oral exam will consist of a number of questions (from 3 to 5) on the literary works included in the syllabus, and on their connections with the field of tourism studies.
The exam will assess the following abilities: detailed knowledge and contextualization of the literary works; textual analysis and knowledge of the main formal and thematic features of the literary works; discussion of their relevance for tourism, based on the critical bibliography included in the syllabus.
Students will receive an excellent score (26-30) when showing a detailed knowledge and an ability to contextualize the literary texts, to discuss and apply critical perspectives of tourism studies to the literary works. They will get a sufficient score (10-25) when showing an overall knowledge of the literary works and of tourism studies. The score will be insufficient when the minimum knowledge of texts and critical bibliography are lacking.
Bibliography
Bibliografia Critica:
- Judith Hamera and Alfred Bendixen, “Introduction: New worlds and Old Lands – the Travel Book and the Construction of American Identity”, in The Cambridge Companion to American Travel Writing, edited by Alfred Bendixen and Judith Hamera, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2009, pp. 1-9;
- Sacvan Bercovitch, “La visione puritana del nuovo mondo”, in Storia della civiltà letteraria degli Stati Uniti, vol. 1, a cura di E. Elliott, Torino, UTET, 1990, pp. 28-37;
- Introduction and Timeline –“Early American Literature 1620-1820”, in The Norton Anthology of American Literature, ed. by Nina Baym, Fifth Edition, vol. 1, pp. 153-163;
- Introduction and Timeline – “American Literature 1820-1865”, in The Norton Anthology of American Literature, ed. by Nina Baym, Fifth Edition, vol. 1, pp. 917-931.
Lesson mode
Lectures; students class presentations; class discussions.
- Lesson code1025806
- Academic year2025/2026
- CourseSustainable tourism science
- CurriculumTURISMO SOSTENIBILE ED ESPERIENZIALE
- Year1st year
- Semester2nd semester
- SSDL-LIN/11
- CFU6