SFE10314 English: Culture Studies II (Spring 2018)

The course is connected to the following study programs

Mandatory course in the one-year English programme. May be taken as an optional course in the 60 ECTS part of the bachelor programme in Society, Language and Culture.

Prerequisites

The course builds on SFE10108 Culture Studies I (15 ECTS)

Lecture Semester

2nd semester (spring).

The student's learning outcomes after completing the course

KNOWLEDGE

The student has acquired

• knowledge and understanding of the culture and social conditions of the USA, seen from a historical perspective;
• knowledge of literary epochs, themes and artistic characteristics of American literature;
• an interest in American literature and culture.

SKILLS

The student will further have enhanced

• analytical and critical skills in encounters with fiction and non-fictional texts;
• skills in written and oral presentation and argumentation in English;
• skills in searching, judging and using secondary literature as well as primary sources in the university college library, in BIBSYS and in other  databases;
• referencing skills.

 GENERAL COMPETENCE

The student has

• developed abilities to think independently and critically when analyzing American literature as well as social phenomena in the United States.

Content

The culture studies are based on a chronological presentation of the development of national institutions, politics, society and culture, as well as an overview of the most important events that have created this development. The literature part of the course gives an overview of the literary development from the establishment of the USA until today, with the main focus on the 19^th century.

Four novels, two plays, four short stories and a selection of poetry are compulsory reading. The texts are studied in context with the time and social conditions from which they emerged, thus, literature and culture will mutually illuminate each other.

Forms of teaching and learning

The course is taught as lectures and groups. The students are expected to participate actively in discussions, group tasks and seminars on reference technique. Group work outside scheduled classes is also encouraged and facilitated.

Workload

Approx. 420 hours.

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

At a given deadline the students submit one essay (of minimum 5 standard pages or 11,500 characters). The coursework has to be approved before a student may take the final exam.

Examination

The final assessment is based on two partial exams: One submitted individual assignment (30%) and one written exam (70%)

1. Individual assignment: One paper in culture studies (minimum 4 standard pages or 9,200 characters) submitted at a given deadline. Secondary sources should be used and documented in a bibliography and in-text footnotes.
   
   
2. A 4-hour written exam in literature and civilization. Permitted aid: English-English dictionary. Language as well as content are assessed.

Both parts of the exam will have to be passed. One final mark is given. The A-F grading scale is used.

If one of the two partial exams is not passed, only the part with a fail must be taken again.
If the student wants to improve his mark, both parts of the exam must be taken again.

A complaint can be filed about each of the two partial exams. In the case of a changed result a new final mark will be given.

Course evaluation

To improve the course, we need the evaluations from the students. This course is evaluated twice each semester.

Literature

The reading list was updated on January 2nd 2016. Changes may occur before the course starts.

• The Norton Anthology of American Literature Shorter Eighth Edition (New York: Norton, 2013)
• Ro, S., Literary America: An Introduction to the Literature of the United States (Oslo: 1997)
• Mikkelsen, R., Culture Studies 2 (Compendium, local print)

Novels and plays:

• M. Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
• A. Walker, The Color Purple
• J. S. Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• E. O'Neill, The Hairy Ape
• A. Miller, The Crucible

Prose and short stories:

• N. Hawthorne, 'Young Goodman Brown'
• C. P. Gilman, 'The Yellow Wallpaper'
• S. Crane, 'The Open Boat' 
• L. Silke, 'The Man to Send Rainclouds'

Poetry:

• W. Whitman, 'Song of Myself' (1, 2, 6, 51, 52)
• E. Dickinson, 'There's a certain Slant of light' and 'A Bird came down the walk'
• Robert Frost, 'Birches' and 'The Road Not Taken'
• William Carlos Williams, 'The Red Wheelbarrow' and 'This Is Just to Say'
• Langston Hughes, 'Mulatto'
• Allen Ginsberg, 'A Supermarket in California'
• Sylvia Plath, 'Daddy'
• Billy Collins, 'I Chop Some Parsley While Listening to Art Blakey's Version of 'Three Blind Mice''

Culture studies:

• D. Mauk & J. Oakland, American Civilization, 5^th ed. (Routledge 2009)
• Bryn O'Callaghan, An Illustrated History of the USA (Essex, Longman 1996)

Additionally, all material handed out in class or published on the learning platform.

All students must have an English-English dictionary such as Collins Cobuild Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, or another learner's dictionary for non-native users of English.