North American Culture - Identity(ies) and History

Code:

LLC024

Acronym:

CNAIH

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	North American Studies

Instance: 2021/2022 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Anglo-American Studies
Course/CS Responsible:	Bachelor in Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LLC	20	LLC - Monodisciplinary Study Plan	1	-	6	52	162
			3
		LLC - Bidisciplinar Study Plan (Two Foreign Languages)	3	-	6	52	162

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

The aim of this programme is to reflect on the myths and on the moments and happenings which are most representative of American culture and history so that students may understand the importance of considering identities within the context of the so called American national identity.

Learning outcomes and competences

Students are expected to acquire basic knowledge and concepts in the fields of American History, Culture and political thought.

Working method

Presencial

Program

Taking Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a starting point for reflection, this programme will focus on myths and representative themes of the American culture and will problematize the following  aspects: the invention of “America” and the most important historical moments towards its revitalization; the theme of the (American) journey; the utopian vision; the pastoral vision and the American Adam; other myths and conceptions which are present in the American history and culture; Emerson and the American Individualism; the ideological dominance of New England and its contribution to the spirit of nationalism; the South and the Southern difference and identity; the new modern, industrial nation-state; the visibility of the black community and of other minority groups.

Mandatory literature

Avelar, Mário; O Nascimento de uma Nação: nas origens da literatura americana. Edições Cosmos, 2008
Bercovitch, Sacvan; The Puritan Origins of the American Self. Yale University Press, 1975
Bigsby, Christopher (ed.); The Cambridge Companion to Modern American Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006
Bradley, Sculley et al. (eds.); Samuel Langhorne Clemens: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997
Conkin, Paul K. ; The Southern Agrarians. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1988
Gray, Richard.; Writing the South: Ideas of an American Region. Cambridge University Press, 1989
Rubin, Jr., Louis D.; “Introduction”, I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition. John Crowe Ransom et al. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1997

Comments from the literature

Other texts will be advised

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theorical, Pratical and Tutorial Classes

keywords

Social sciences > Cultural studies > American studies > North-American studies

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	50,00
Teste	50,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	72,00
Frequência das aulas	54,00
Trabalho de investigação	36,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Attending 75% of classes, unless established otherwise by law.

Calculation formula of final grade

Test 50% (to be agreed upon with the teacher at the beginning of the semestre)
Final Exam 50%

Average of the assessemnt components.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable

Classification improvement

Only the Final Exam may be repeated or improved and according to FLUP regulations.

Observations

Students will be evaluated through a test and a final exam:

- 50% each component 
- the final exame cannot be classified with a grade below 7,5.