Ateneo - UPO

The Appropriation of Culture: Retelling the Story of Huckleberry Finn.

This is a "hands on" course that presupposes the constant active participation of students, who, guided the professor and tutor, will engage in a comparative analysis of a great, classic novel in American Literature and two of its contemporary rewritings.
After exploring the social, racial, and historical context in which Twain’s great classic is set, we will engage as a class in the analysis of what was at stake in the characterization of an adolescent, poor, white boy in 1884, paying particular attention to the unsaid, common knowledge (prejudices, rules of behavior, ideologies, power structure, etc.) readers had to share to understand the novel’s deep structure of meaning. This first part of our class will provide the preliminary knowledge from which we will address two contemporary rewritings of Twain’s novel. This class also features a 4 hours workshop on digital research methodologies, so that students will be able to practice their own analysis and research on a corpus of periodical publications in order to extract information on common rhetorical forms, recurring figures, thematic areas, and textual strategies of racial representation in the United States of the years 1850-1890.
The final objective of this class is the creation of an annotated teaching project on “characters and racial representation”: i.e. a project that could be used by high school teachers to teach about the relation between fictional characters and their social and historical context.
Students are required to write a 2000 words text in English on their chosen object of individual study (group of printed magazines, characters, writer, literary text or event) and two exercises in textual and cultural comprehension.
Students will have to prepare individually the assigned readings, but will work in small groups on the research and design and construction of materials for the database.

Textbooks:
1) Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. NY: Norton Critical edition (2021)
2) Percival Everett, James, New York, Doubleday, 2024
3) Nancy Rawles, “My Jim”, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2006.

Further Readings:

2) Benjamin Noys, The Matter of Language, Seagull Books, 2023.
3) Jordan Brower, Classical Hollywood, American Modernism. A Literary History of the Studio System, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2024.
4) Rhonnda Robinson Thomas ed. African American Literature in Transition, 1750–1800. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press; 2022.

Learning to recognize different forms of racial and interracial representation through some classics of American literature and their rewritings.
Learning to recognize stereotypes of racialization and addressing the perspective of the racialized; engaging with the human, political, social and cultural impact of racialization on singular lives;
Learning to reflect on the mobility, adaptability and impurity of culture;
Developing in-depth knowledge of the literary texts covered in the syllabus and of their rhetorical, morphosyntactic and cultural structures, contextualizing them within the Northamerican literary tradition;
Developing critical skills textual analysis and interpretation;
Becoming familiar with the basic rules of bibliographic research;
Become familiar with group work.
Acquiring the skills and knowledge consistent with the general framework of the L11 degree program, specifically:
Learning to critically interpret, analyze and synthesize the assigned texts, with particular attention to their comparative dimension;
Learning to communicate clearly and effectively in English in both oral and written form through the completion of weekly exercises, both individually and in group;
Writing a final paper of about 2,000 words on a topic assigned or agreed with the teacher that synthesizes knowledge, information and opinions related to the topics covered, using appropriate language and terminology.
The advanced level (27-30L) is characterized by a deep competence in the analysis and understanding of the material, independent research that demonstrates originality and critical thinking, excellent communication skills both in writing and orally, and a high degree of autonomy in using advanced methodological tools for research and reflection. The ability to synthesize and present complex concepts clearly and structurally is essential at this level.

In summary, the base level (18-21) focuses on knowledge of the main information and clear but simple communication, while the intermediate level (22-26) involves more critical analysis, the application of theoretical tools, and greater autonomy in research and resource use. Both levels lay the foundation for further in-depth exploration, which is realized at the advanced level.

No specific pre-requisite. Interest for the subject of this class and for collaborative projects;
English B2 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.

Adopting an intersectional frame, this class will address the relationship between and among texts written at different historical stages in American Literature by focusing on their dynamics of class, gender and, especially, race. After exploring different forms of racial, class and gender representation and oppression in assigned readings, and using the methodologies of both close and distant reading to interpret the texts, students will practice their own research and comparison. 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. Non-attenting students must contact the professor for an alternative exam.

To pass the exam students must:
1. participate in the lessons and complete the weekly assignments that will lead to the creation of the final project;
2. carry out research and annotations under the guidance of teachers-tutors;
3. Participate in the online 4-hour seminar (intra-course) on digital research and distant reading under the guidance of Dr. Stefano Morello;
4. contribute, in the manner specified by the teacher, to the creation of an annotated teaching project on “characters and racial representation” aimed at generating knowledge about the relationship between characters in fictional stories and their social and historical context.
Students will be required to write a comment of approximately 2,000 words in English on the specific aspect of the teaching project they choose to focus on (printed magazine group, characters, writer or writers, literary text or event), and two exercises in reading comprehension or cultural comprehension. The final version of the comment, delivered by e-mail, at least one week before the date of the exam, will contribute 40 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 teachers. All the necessary information will be distributed at the beginning of class. Presentations and assignments contribute for 60% 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 digital tools taught in the course and a basic ability to link digital tools 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 digital research tools. (less than 18).
Non attending students must demonstrate they have reached the learning objectives of this class by taking written test with three open-answer questions about the novels included in the reading list followed by a colloquium. Students may find the supplementary material (critical readings) here on DIR.

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 half 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, annotations and presentations;
2. (ability to apply knowledge and understanding): have acquired elementary skills and a basic knowledge of the digital tools taught in the course and apply them to the assigned project; link digital tools 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 the main issues of racial representation in the United States of the early twentieth century;
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 racial representation and ideology and of the relation between information, digital research and interpretation; analytical reading skills; originality and capacity for critical thinking and methodological reflection;
3. (autonomy of judgment): knowledge of how to organize the research by integrating close and distant reading; knowledge of how to select the relevant information and data for the project, starting from an elementary research on databases and digital archives; knowledge of how to establish connections independently, for example through different texts, events, authors, people;
4. (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.