AMERICAN STUDIES AND LANGUAGES

Consolidation of linguistic and communicative skills at the C2 level of CEFRL.

In the context of US multiethnic and multilinguistic society, which calls for the development of intercultural communicative competences, module 1 (“Language and Cultural Diversity in the United States”) aims at investigating the relationship between language and identity – and the way it is erased by mainstream ideology – as concerning hyphenated Americans.

With further focus on linguistic and cultural aspects, module 2 (“Ethnicity and Representation: African-Americans at the Cinema”) will question the construction of African-American identity in the media, with specific attention to cinematic representation.

In the domain of Professional Communication, module 3 (“Professional Communication”) aims at exploring how and why members of professional communities create and disseminate specialized knowledge; what semiotic resources and communicative modes they employ – and how they employ them – to achieve their specific purposes. Focusing on corporate disclosure practices in the context of international cooperation, this section will especially examine how the genre of the annual report is “bent” to the “private intentions” of non-governmental organizations that, addressing different interlocutors, pursue different, even divergent, interests.

Traditional front lessons will be combined with activities aimed at fostering the direct involvement of attending students. This will include class debate on topical issues and students’ assignments for the lessons (guidelines will be given in the classroom and posted on Studium).

Attendance, of both program (54 hours) and language practice (60 hours) classes is highly recommended. Students who will not be able to attend must in any case register for the course via Studium and keep in contact with the professor as well as with her language assistant teacher.

1) Language and Cultural Diversity in the United States

American English: processes of language variation and standardization; ethnic cultures and dialects (African-American, Hispanic-American and Asian-American identities; African American Vernacular English, Chicano English, Spanglish).

2) Ethnicity and Representation: African-Americans at the Cinema

The construction of African-American identity: from the commodification of blackness to expressions of black subjectivity beyond and against the imperial gaze.

3) Professional Communication

Dynamics of Professional Communication. Analysis of specific texts produced in the field of Professional Discourse through the multidimensional approach of Critical Genre Analysis. Hybridization and interdiscursivity. Corporate disclosure practices: the annual report. NGOs and accountability.

1) Language and Cultural Diversity in the United States

• Bonfiglio, T.P., Race and the Rise of Standard American, Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 2002 (pp. 1-73).
• Johnson, J.F., Speaking Culturally: Language Diversity in the United States, Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage Publications, 2000 (pp. xi-xv, pp. 3-68, pp. 113-242).

For private practice:

To integrate their training, students are highly recommended to use the following textbook on phonetics and phonology:

• L. Mojsin, Mastering the American Accent (with 4 Audio CDs), Hauppauge, NY, Barron's Educational Series, 2009.

Spelling, lexical, morphological, syntactical and grammatical elements of American English will be examined in the classes for language practice. For individual study, students can consult the following textbook:

• G. Tottie. An Introduction to American English, Malden, MA, Blackwell, 2002.

2) Ethnicity and Representation: African-Americans at the Cinema

• Du Bois, W.E.B., “Of Our Spiritual Strivings”, The Souls of Black Folk, 1903, http://www.bartleby.com/114/1.html.
• Hall, S., “Cultural Identity and Cinematic Representation”, in Film and Theory: An Anthology, ed. by R. Stam and T. Miller, Malden, Mass., Blackwell, 2000, pp. 704-714.
• Hall, S., “The White of Their Eyes”, in The Discourse Reader, Second Edition, ed. by A. Jaworski and N. Coupland, Routledge, New York and London, 2006, pp. 396-406.
• Hooks, B., Black Looks. Race and Representation, Boston, MA, South End Press, 1992 (“Reconstructing Black Masculinity”, pp. 87-113; “The Oppositional Gaze. Black Female Spectators”, pp. 115-131; “Micheaux’s Films. Celebrating Blackness”, pp. 133-143; “Is Paris Burning?”, pp. 145-156).
• Movies to watch (the list will be provided at the beginning of the classes)

3) Professional Communication

• Bhatia, V.K., Critical Genre Analysis. Investigating Interdiscursive Performance in Professional Practice, London and New York, Routledge 2017 (pp. 3-111; 142-160).
• Dhanani, A., & Connolly, C., “Non-governmental Organizational Accountability: Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk?” Journal of Business Ethics, 129.3 (2014): 613-637.
• Kilby, P., “Accountability for Empowerment: Dilemmas Facing Non-Governmental Organizations”, World Development, 34.6 (2006): 951-963.

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.