Unit information: American Revolutions in 2018/19

Unit name	American Revolutions
Unit code	ENGL30108
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Theo Savvas
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of English
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit, exploring twentieth-century American literature, aims to give an overview of the richness of the ‘American century’ by focusing on moments of social change, protest and activism, and the ways in which they were represented by and / or effected through literary and cultural movements. Drawing on a range of sources – from speeches to novels, nonfiction prose to drama, poetry to journalism – it will encourage students to think about what is at stake in literary representation; how literature, theory, and action might intersect; and how contemporary ‘America’ and its literatures have been formed through cultural and political ‘revolutions’ through the twentieth century.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of the breadth and depth of radical American writing in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries;
2. apply thorough understanding of historical, cultural and intellectual contexts to readings of American novels, plays, nonfiction prose, poetry and journalism;
3. discriminate between and analyse different critical perspectives on this literature;
4. present and critically assess pertinent evidence to develop a cogent argument;
5. demonstrate advanced skills in close textual analysis, argumentation, and critical interpretation using evidence from primary texts and secondary sources;
6. contribute to group tasks and discussions and demonstrate advanced skills in oral presentation.

Teaching Information

1 x 1 hour seminar

1 x 1 hour lecture

1 x 1 hour discussion / workshop

Assessment Information

• One 2500 word essay (75%). [ILOs 1-5].
• One presentation with handout (25%) [ILOs 1-6.]

Reading and References

Lola Ridge, The Ghetto (1918)

Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (1962)

James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time (1963)

Michael Herr, Dispatches (1977)

Gloria Anzaldua, Borderlands / La Frontera (1987)

Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States (1980)