Literature of the Americas

 

LITERATURE OF THE AMERICAS

SYLLABUS | 2017 FIRST TERM

Daniel Scarfo | Austral University | International Program

3 credits, 6 ECTS

English

Instructor: Daniel Scarfo, Ph.D. (Yale University)

Course Description

This course analyzes some of the most important literary pieces of the Americas, focusing in three different traditions associated with particular geographies: North America, the Caribbean and the River Plate region.

Course Aims/Objectives

* Knowing and understanding the literature of the Americas.

* Reading and being able to recognize important American writers and their contributions.

Requirements and Prerequisites

Introductory Course

Learning outcomes

This course aims to allow the student to:

* know and understand different aspects of the American culture, especially its literature.

* be able to compare different writers and genres, and speak critically about them

analyze literature in relation to its historical, geographical and cultural context

Developmental Outcomes

Students should demonstrate: responsibility and accountability, independence, open and critical mind as well as appreciation of differences.

Contents

Class 1: The Discovery of the New World: Arcadia and Utopia. Introduction to the course

Class II: Emerson's and Hawthorne's New England

Herman Melville, “Bartleby, the scrivener”

Class III: Chicago’s World Fair and Hollywood: an American experience.

Carl Sandburg’s “Chicago”

Scott Fitzgerald, “The crack-up”

Class IV: The Beat Generation

Jack Kerouac, On the road

Class V: Students’ Presentations on selected writers

Class VI: Latin American Writings: A literary heritage explored. Presentations.

Class VII: The Writing of the Caribbean: Carpentier and García Márquez.

Alejo Carpentier, “Journey back to the source”

Class VIII: Latin American Poetry: Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, Cèsar Vallejo. Selected poems and Jean Franco's An Introduction to Spanish American Literature (chapter 9)

Class IX: Tango lyrics and Argentinian literature

Selected texts

Class X: Tropicalia lyrics and Brazilian literature

Selected texts

Class XI: River Plate Literature: Jorge Luis Borges

“An autobiographical essay”, “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”, The Aleph”

Class XII: River Plate Literature: Julio Cortázar

“Axolotl”, “Casa tomada”, “The Southern Highway”

Class XIII: Second Multiple choice and individual discussions on final papers

Assessment

Multiple choice I 15%

Multiple choice II 15%

Participation 15%

Mid-term essay for graduate students 30% (instead of multiple choices)

Presentation on selected writer 20%

Final paper (8 pages) 35%

Participation

All members of the class are encouraged to participate actively in discussions and debates. Such participation is an important part of your performance. Please come to class with written notes, your questions and thoughts about the possible meanings of the texts and songs you have read or listened to. What strikes you? What paragraphs, elements, or points seem to you to be the most significant or enigmatic? Why? I note participation at the end of each session. Come to class each day ready to participate. Complete all reading, bring assigned texts to class, and try to speak at every meeting. If you do not bring your text, seem distracted, or use a device during class, you will not receive participation credit that day.

Presentation (2 page close reading + discussion, 10 mins. total): Students read short papers aloud in class. Presentations offer a brief reading of a writer. Each student leads class discussion with 2-3 questions after his or her presentation. Students hand in hard copies of close readings and questions.

Mid-term Essays for Graduate Students (4-5 pages): Essays make significant arguments about texts and support them with observations about a text’s formal features and themes.

Final Paper (7-9 pages): Final papers demonstrate mastery of course materials and reading practices. Students select texts and topics and submit a proposal in advance.

Formatting Instructions: Assignments should be double-spaced with standard margins in 12-point Times New Roman font. Number pages and include a title. Do not include additional spaces between paragraphs.

Each day a paper is due, bring a hard copy to class and send a digital copy to scarfedu@yahoo.com.ar

COURSE POLICIES

Late Work

Please submit all work at the date and time the sequence indicates. Late assignments lose one-point each day they are late. You must also request an extension at least one day before an assignment is due, otherwise the extension will not be given and the late assignment will not be accepted.

Attendance

Attendance at all sessions is mandatory. Three absences are the maximum allowed for the term (including illnesses). If you arrive late for two sessions or miss a significant portion of two (due to late arrival or early departure), I record one full absence. You are responsible for the material we discuss when you do not attend class.

Academic Integrity

Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. A minimum sanction of a zero score for the quiz or exam will be imposed. It is also possible you will fail the course.

Guidelines for the final paper (due ...)

a) It should contain between 8 and 10 pages, besides the bibliography.

b) I recommend to start writing many more pages (early!!!) and then proceed to clean up the document discarding what is unnecessary to the point you are trying to make.

c) I expect an essay on one of the topics we discuss in class or that are available in the syllabus, or a topic in a dialogue with them, and you should keep that dialogue.

d) It must also show a dialogue or discussion with at least one text from the bibliography

e) Then you can also add all the bibliography you want to add (available or not in the syllabus)

Graduate Students requirements

Graduate students will have to

a) show an even more original and personal work

b) produce a mid-term 4 pages short essay (instead of the multiple choices)

c) participate more actively in discussions and debates and always come to class with written notes, questions and thoughts about the possible meanings of the texts and music assigned for the class.