Literature of the United States I: 19c.
Code: 106304 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| English Studies | OB | 2 |
| English and Catalan Studies | OB | 3 |
| English and Spanish Studies | OB | 3 |
| English and French Studies | OB | 3 |
| English and Classics Studies | OB | 3 |
Contact
- Name:
- Nicholas Livingston Spengler
- Email:
- nicholas.spengler@uab.cat
Teachers
- Clara Román Vanden Berghe
- Nicholas Livingston Spengler
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
- Prior to do this subject, it is highly recommended that students have taken the following subjects: “Introducció a la literatura anglesa” from the First Year and “Història Cultural dels Estats Units” from the Second Year – First Semester.
- It is necessary to have a C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching and Assessment."A C2 level of English allows students to: understand with ease virtually everything heard or read; summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstruct arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation; express themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations.
Objectives and Contextualisation
- This subject fosters the analysis, debate and interpretation of prose and poetry written in the United States during the 19th century.
- The academic preparation deriving from this subject is essential for all remaining subjects within the degree relating to US literature and culture.
- On successfully completing 19th century US Literature, students will be able to: show a good level of reading comprehension and analysis of American literature; produce written analyses of literary texts studied in class; manage secondary bibliography and databases; express an informed opinion on the texts studied throughout this course
Competences
- English Studies
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Apply scientific ethical principles to information processing.
- Apply the methodology of analysis and critical concepts to analysing the literature, culture and history of English-speaking countries.
- Identify and analyse the main currents, genres, works and authors in English and comparative literature.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Understand and produce written and spoken academic texts in English at advanced higher-proficient-user level (C2).
- Use current philological methodologies to interpret literary texts in English and their cultural and historical context.
- Use written and spoken English for academic and professional purposes, related to the study of linguistics, the philosophy of language, history, English culture and literature.
- English and Catalan Studies
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Critically evaluate the literary and cultural production in the Catalan and English languages and their historical and social context.
- Identify and interpret literary texts in different languages, analysing the generic, formal, thematic and cultural characteristics in accordance with the concepts and methods of comparative literature and literary theory.
- Make correct use of written and spoken English for academic or professional purposes, related to the study of language, history, culture and literature.
- Recognise the most significant periods, traditions, tendencies, authors and works of literature in the Catalan and English languages in their socio-historical context.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
- English and Spanish Studies
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Correctly use written and oral English and Spanish for academic and professional purposes, related to the study of linguistics, history, culture and literature.
- Critically analyse linguistic, literary and cultural production in English and Spanish, applying the techniques and methods of critical editing and digital processing.
- Interpret literary texts in English or Spanish within their cultural and historical context using current philological methodologies and textual and comparative strategies.
- Recognize the most significant periods, traditions, trends, authors and works of literature in English and Spanish languages in their historical and social context
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
- English and French Studies
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Critically apply the different current philological methodologies to interpret literary texts in English and French and their cultural and historical context.
- Recognize the most significant periods, traditions, trends, authors and works of literature in English and French in their historical and social context.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
- Use spoken English and French correctly for academic and professional purposes related to the study of linguistics, history, culture and literature.
- English and Classics Studies
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Apply the methodology of analysis and knowledge of genres, metrics and stylistics to comment on literary texts and analyse the culture and history of English-speaking countries and the ancient world.
- Recognize the most significant periods, traditions, trends, authors and works of Greek, Latin and English literatures in their historical and social context.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
- Use written and spoken English correctly for academic and professional purposes related to the study of English linguistics, history, culture, and literature.
Learning Outcomes
- Critically analyse American texts in order to understand the complexity of American literature and its historical and cultural context.
- Express oneself effectively orally and in writing using expository and argumentative techniques.
- Express oneself orally and in writing in English in an academic register, using appropriate terminology in relation to the study of American literature.
- Identify and describe the characteristics of the American texts studied.
- Incorporate ideas and concepts from published sources into work, citing and referencing appropriately.
- Interpret, comment and write essays on texts written by American authors and be able to distinguish their most relevant characteristics.
- Understand and analyse the diversity of the United States in terms of culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and linguistic and ideological identity.
- Understand specialised academic texts at higher-proficient-user level (C2) on research in fields related to American authors and texts.
- Understand specialised academic texts (C2) on research in fields related to American authors and texts.
- Understand specialised academic texts on research in fields related to American authors and texts.
- Understand specialised academic texts on research in fields related to American authors and texts at Mastery level (C2).
Content
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures, readings and debates | 50 | 2 | 1, 7, 2, 3, 4, 6 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Writing academic texts, assessment activities in the classroom | 25 | 1 | 1, 7, 2, 4, 5, 6 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Reading and studying | 50 | 2 | 7, 9, 10, 11, 4 |
Sessions will be organized around close reading of the texts. A historical, social and cultural context of nineteenth century America provided in class will reinforce the textual analysis. Texts will be discussed in class, so it is PARAMOUNT for students to have read the texts conscientiously before class sessions. Students are required to PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY in class discussions.
Note: 15 minutes of a class will be reserved, within the timetable established by the centre/title, for the completion by the students of the assessment surveys of the teaching staff's performance and the assessment of the subject.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class participation and in-class activities | 10% | 17 | 0.68 | 1, 7, 8, 10, 11, 2, 3, 4, 6 |
| Exam | 45% | 4 | 0.16 | 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
| In-class essay | 45% | 4 | 0.16 | 1, 7, 8, 9, 11, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
Assessment is based on:
- Academic essay (in-class) = 45%
- Exam = 45%
- Class Participation = 10%
Exact dates for all assessment activities will be confirmed at the start of the course through a course calendar published on the class Moodle.
Please, note:
- All the subjects in this degree follow continous assessment, unless the student opts for single assessment (see below).
- All the exercises are COMPULSORY.
- Students will obtain a "Not assessed"/"Not submitted" course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items (in this case, either the midterm essay or the final exam).
- The student's command of English will be taken into account when marking all exercises and for the final mark. It will count as 25% of this mark for all the exercises.
- On carrying out each assessment activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.
SINGLE ASSESSMENT:
- If the student opts for single assessment, this will consist of an exam with three activities: an essay about one of the texts studied (40%); a commentary on a passage from one of the texts studied (30%); and a comparative analysis exercise (30%).
REASSESSMENT CONDITIONS:
- The reassessment exam is a two-hour content-synthesis test scheduled by the Faculty.
- The student must previously have completed two thirds of the exercises in the continuous assessment or have completed all of the tasks for the single assessment.
- For the single assessment, the same reassessment method as continuous assessment will be used.
- Students whose final average mark is 3,5 or higher can go to reassessment.
- The reassessment exam is only awarded a pass/fail mark. The maximum grade than can be obtained through re-assessment is 5.
- Students cannot attend the reassessment exam to improve their marks.
- With the approval of the coordinator of studies, the professor may decide to exclude from the reassessment process those activities that s/he considers irrecuperable, such as: oral presentations, group work, or tasks related to classroom activities.
- If the student can't attend the exam because s/he is sick, they will have to agree on an alternative date with the teacher.
PLAGIARISM AND MISCONDUCT:
Partial or total plagiarising will immediately result in a FAIL (0) for the plagiarised exercise (first-year students) or the WHOLE subject (second-, third- and fourth-year students). PLAGIARISING consists of copying text from unacknowledged sources -whether this is part of a sentence or a whole text - with theintention of passing it off as the student'sown production. It includes cuttingand pasting from internet sources, presented unmodified in the student's own text. Plagiarising is a SERIOUS OFFENCE. Students must respect authors' intellectual property, always identifying the sources they may use; they must also be responsible for the originality and authenticity of their own texts.
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
Irregularities refer, for instance, to copying in an exam, copying from sources without indiacting authorship, or a misuse of AI such as presenting work as original that has been generated by an AI tool or programme. These evaluation activities will not be re-assessed.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI):
This subject allows the use of AI technologies exclusively for support tasks such as content-based searches and linguistic correction. The generation of critical arguments, based on close reading and analysis of the texts, is the responsibility of the student. The student must clearly (i) identify which parts have been generated using AI technology; (ii) specify the tools used; and (iii) include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in the assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade may be lowered, or the work may even be awarded a zero. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.
Important note for exchange students (Erasmus, etc.) on exams and other tests: Erasmus students who request to bring forward an exam or any other type of assessment activity must present the teacher with an official document from their home university justifying their request.
Bibliography
Compulsory Reading:
HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter (*) We recommend the following editions: Oxford (ISBN: 9780199537808) or Penguin (ISBN: 9780142437261)
MELVILLE, Herman. "Bartleby, the Scrivener"
THOREAU, Henry David. "Resistance to Civil Government"/"Civil Disobedience"
JACOBS, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (*) We recommend the folowing editions: Oxford (ISBN: 9780198709879) or Penguin (ISBN: 9780140437959)
Students must acquire the texts marked (*). The teacher will provide the rest of texts.
Secondary Bibliography:
Crow, Charles (ed.). A Companion to the Regional Literatures of America. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2003.
Fisch, Audrey (ed.). The CambridgeCompanion to the African American Slave Narrative. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Gray, Richard. A History of American Literature. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2004.
Gray, Richard (ed.). A Companion to the Literature and Culture of the American South. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2004.
Lamb, Robert Paul (ed.). A Companion to American Fiction: 1865-1914. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005.
Spengemann, William. Three American Poets: Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Herman Melville. Notre Dame, IN: The University of Notre Dame Press, 2010.
Sollors, Werner (ed.). A New Literary History of America. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009.
Specific bibliography for each author will be provided by the teacher throughout the semester.
Software
Not applicable.
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 2 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 3 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 2 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 3 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |