ANGLOAMERICAN LANGUAGE 2

The course will focus on the grammatical, phonetic, and lexical aspects of American English, with attention to its regional variations, as well as to its distinctions from British English. Part of the course will focus on reading, comprehension and critical discussion of selected texts. The texts will guide the students through a critical analysis of themes regarding social sciences, especially referred to the contemporary American context.

Spoken and written abilities will be deeply encouraged, and students will be enabled to actively respond to the issues analyzed in the classroom with term papers and articles.

 

knowledge and understanding:

 

During the course the students of Anglo-American language will deepen their understanding of textual analysis, through a close reading practice of essays, articles and book excerpts. They have already developed a strong understanding of the cultural context within which they are encouraged to identify and interpret the grammatical and lexical features of the material, and to decode key concepts throughout the various topographies of the texts. The educational objectives of the course regard the consolidation of the language skills of level C2 according to CEFR parameters.

 

 

applying knowledge and understanding:

 

The students will be able to work, in groups or individually, on the issues arising from the texts, both during pre-reading / prelistening activities and during the critical survey of the material analyzed in the classroom. Students will be actively involved in describing actions, formulate hypotheses, list situations - relate to the content of the texts - by enriching the range of analytical and critical hints with their personal reflections. A comparative analysis will be encouraged, in order to enable the students to interpret, understand, and properly use modes of expression in situations of intercultural and inter-linguistic exchange.

 

making judgement:

 

Guided by the material and the methodological tools through the discussion phase, the students will be enabled to independently assess the strengths and weaknesses of an essay, a scientific paper or a piece of fiction in the Anglo-American language, thus activating autonomous capabilities for analysis and "argumentation", which will be favored in frequent writing practice, both during the lessons and in the form of assignments - to be completed independently from home.

 

 

communication skills:

Through the successful completion of tests and exams and the final degree, they will be able to express, in a complex and articulate way their thoughts, their projects and the results of their study courses.
In the course, students will be also involved in short and frequent writing practice, designed for the development of synthesis capabilities. The skills thus acquired aim at establishing language control in events of social interaction in English, and both in cultural and professional contexts; they also favor the students' path of research, providing them with a methodology for the study and the writing of their final dissertation.

Second year post-grad language major students should already have a C1 level in all
four of the language skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening). In my course
priority will be to given to academic reading and writing, with a specific focus on the study of LITERARY AND CULTURAL THEORIES WITHIN THE U.S. ACADEMY. Critical analysis and academic discussion will be deeply encouraged after each reading in the classroom. Academic writing practice will follow, both during the lab hours and through home assignments. At the end of the course the students will be asked to work on their presentation skills, and prepare a specific written report on one of the topics analyzed during the year.

Activities in class will consist in shared and independent reading, group discussion, lab (use of media), language analysis, complex translation (direct and indirect), and
academic writing practice (paragraph building, paraphrasing and summarizing skills, full essay composition).

1. Antje Dallmann, Eva Boesenberg, and Martin Klepper, Approaches to American Cultural Studies , New York and London, Routledge, 2016.

Part II

- Post- marxism , American Studies and post-capitalism futures

Film: The Sleep Dealer

- Structuralism/Deconstruction

- Psychoanalysis and Beyond

Fiction, Red Dragon.

Film: The Silence of the Lambs

-Social Theories

 

Fiction/Film , F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

 

- Justice, Ethics, Violence.

- Standard Operating Procedure (2008) by Errol Morris. Documentary on Abu Grahib

- Feminist Criticism

Fiction: Toni Morrison, Paradise

- Gender Studies.Challenging heteronormativity

Susan Glaspell Trifles (1916)

Queer and Transgender Studies

Film/Fiction: Brokeback Mountain

Films: The Hours, Boys don't Cry

- Age Studies

Film: The Godfather Trilogy

Fiction : Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Hernst Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

- Postcolonialism and American Studies

Fiction: Jamaica Kincaid, Lucy, Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye.

- Critical Race Theory

Fiction/Film: Alice Walker, The Color Purple, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby.

- Border Studies and Hemispheric Studies

 

Film:Lone Star

 

Narrative essay : Gloria Anzaldùa, New Mestiza

2. Dictionary: Merriam Webster (online version); Roget’s Thesaurus (online version);
Wordreference (www.wordreference.com).