Ateneo - UPO

American Literature and the Post Postmodern Condition

Textbooks:

1) Postmodern American Poetry: A Norton Anthology, 2nd ed. (Hoover)
2) Postmodern American Fiction (ed., Paula Geyh)
3) Post-Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Just-in-Time Capitalism (JEFFREY T. NEALON)
4) Dear Cyborgs (Eugene Lim)
5) Immediacy (Anna Kornbluh)
6) The Freudian Robot (Lydia H. Liu)

This course offers an in-depth exploration of key trends and movements in modern and contemporary American poetry and short fiction. Through close readings of major voices—potentially including T.S. Eliot, Harriette Mullen, Allen Ginsberg, Frank O’Hara, Wallace Stevens, John Ashbery, Adrienne Rich, Kurt Vonnegut, James Baldwin, Thomas Pynchon, Eugene Lim, and Percival Everett—we will investigate the diverse sources of literary inspiration, from autobiography and historical context to social conditions and the arts. We will also examine its lineage from the expansive vision of Walt Whitman to the compressed intensity of Emily Dickinson, while interrogating how contemporary poets engage with form, identity, and socio-political issues. Special emphasis will be placed on the intersections of lit with ecopoetics, digital media, and social movements, as we analyze both long-form and short-form works. The post-postmodern condition marks less a rejection than a mutation. It blends modernist and postmodernist elements, creating hybrid forms that engage with post-humanist experiences. Additionally, it explores the impact of technology and digital culture on identity and reality, reflecting the complexities of a hyperconnected world.

No specific pre-requisite. Interest for the subject of this class and for collaborative projects;
English B2-C1 level.
No previous knowledge of digital tools for literary analysis and research is required.

In class teaching;
active participation of students in the teaching process: every week students are required to present part of the assignments to the class, introducing the key points.
Only final presentations will occur remotely.

This class is taught by a Visiting Professor from the U.S.. It offers students at UPO a great opportunity to take advantage of international top shelf research and teaching.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

To pass the exam students must:
1. participate in the lessons, complete the reading according to the schedule and syllabus, and complete the weekly assignments that will lead to the creation of the final project; Class preparation and participation is 30% of final grade.

2. carry out research and annotations under the guidance of professor;
3. Write:
• Two critical summaries (10% of final grade each);
• a take-home final project (50% of final grade);
Final project must be presented to class, written in English, and be delivered by e-mail, at least one week before the date of the exam It will contribute 50 percent to the determination of the final grade and will be evaluated on the basis of: - level of depth of content; - expository coherence; - expressive correctness (spelling, grammar and syntax); - formal correctness (use of sources, notes, bibliography, layout).

5. Present, in class, according to the early semester calendar, a weekly reading assigned by the teacher and / or related to their research, and the various annotations to the readings indicated by the instructor. All the necessary information will be distributed at the beginning of class. Presentations and assignments (critical summaries) contribute for 50% to the attribution of the final grade.

The overall grade will be assigned on the basis of the following characteristics that correspond, respectively, to the "advanced", "intermediate", "elementary" levels:
HP (High Pass): the writings, research and presentations assigned are accurate, convincing, comprehensive, precise and written in well-articulated prose in English; demonstrate knowledge of the assigned material, awareness of the relationship between information, digital research and interpretation; analytical reading skills; ability to apply the digital research tools acquired in this class to research design; originality and critical thinking skills. (28-30L)

MP (Medium Pass): assigned writings, comments, exercises and presentations demonstrate sound knowledge of assigned readings, accurate reading and analysis skills in Italian and English; ability to connect research tools to assigned archival material; clear prose in Italian and English without syntax and grammar errors and sufficient originality. (24-27).

P (Pass): the assigned writings, researches and presentations demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the course material, an elementary acquisition of the critical and research tools taught in the course and a basic ability to apply them to literary analysis. (18-23)

F (fail): Insufficient. The assigned writings, researches and presentations do not meet any of the following criteria: accuracy, precision, reading comprehension, written expression, acquisition of basic critical and research tools. (less than 18)

Critical literature and further information will be provided at the beginning of class. Registration on platform DIR is required. Please check the teacher's page on Upobook regularly.
Non-attending students (i.e. those not attending more than one third of the lectures) should contact the professor in order to develop a detailed program. Please read the texts before we will analyze them in class, so you will be able to better understand the explanations and to participate in the discussion

In order to achieve a basic level of knowledge, skills and abilities, students are asked to:
1. (knowledge and understanding) demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the three novels covered by the course, through the assigned writings and presentations;

2. (ability to apply knowledge and understanding): have acquired elementary skills and a basic knowledge of the analytical and critical reading tools taught in the course and apply them to the assigned project; link critical and bibliographic resources to literary analysis at basic level; know how to carry out an elementary search on databases and digital archives;

3. (communication skills): to be able to present, with clear formulation, relevant considerations on texts, events, and problems related to poetics, aesthetics, and literary expression.
4. (learning skills): knowing how to use at an elementary level the methodological tools provided in class (for attending students) and make use of the materials on DIR and the essays provided in the exam bibliography (for all students), in order to identify the thematic nuclei and the fundamental objects of study.

To achieve an advanced level, students must demonstrate:
1. (knowledge and understanding): in depth knowledge of assigned materials through solid research, writings and assigned presentations and through accurate, convincing, comprehensive, precise written texts in a well-articulated prose in English;

2. (ability to apply knowledge and understanding): a deep awareness of the relationship between literary content, literary form and interpretation; analytical reading skills; originality and capacity for critical thinking and methodological reflection;

3. (communication skills): know how to present, with consistency and organicity, with clear formulation, and through a logical and argumentative sequence, original observations about the object of study, demonstrating synthetic and terminological skills and property of use.