University of Essex

LT161-4-AU-CO:
Introduction to United States Literature

The details

Year: 2023/24

Department: Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Autumn

Level: Undergraduate: Level 4

Status: Current

Start date: Thursday 05 October 2023

End date: Friday 15 December 2023

Credits: 15

Last updated: 30 August 2022

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: (none)

Key module (requisite for): (none)

Key module for

BA T700 American Studies (United States),
BA T702 American Studies (United States) (UK Study),
BA T708 American Studies (United States) (Including Year Abroad),
BA T710 American Studies (United States) (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA T712 American Studies (United States) (UK Study) (Including Placement Year),
BA T770 American Studies (United States) (including Placement Year),
BA T7P3 American Studies (United States) with Film,
BA T7P4 American Studies (United States) with Film (Including Placement Year),
BA T7P5 American Studies (United States) with Film (UK Study),
BA T7W6 American Studies (United States) with Film (Including Year Abroad),
BA T7W8 American Studies (United States) with Film (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA QT37 English and United States Literature (Including Year Abroad),
BA T720 English and United States Literature,
BA T723 English and United States Literature (Including Placement Year),
BA T728 English and United States Literature (Including Foundation Year),
BA Q300 English Literature,
BA Q303 English Literature (Including Placement Year),
BA Q320 English Literature (Including Foundation Year),
BA Q321 English Literature (Including Year Abroad),
MLITQ391 Literature,
BA Q210 English and Comparative Literature,
BA Q211 English and Comparative Literature (Including Year Abroad),
BA Q212 English and Comparative Literature (Including Placement Year),
BA Q218 English and Comparative Literature (Including Foundation Year),
BA P530 Journalism and Literature,
BA P531 Journalism and Literature (Including Placement Year),
BA P532 Journalism and Literature (Including Year Abroad)

Module description

Discover the writers that laid the foundations for the American Dream – revealing its tantalising beauty and ephemeral nature. As these literary pioneers articulated a collective desire for a new type of society, they reproduced and dissected the conventions and contradictions of the Dream.

Studying a series of canonical texts across multiple genres of writing, we will discover how the literature of the United States was established as a distinct tradition in itself and gain a critical understanding of the major thematic concerns of early US authors; slavery and freedom, sexuality and gender, class and social mobility, morality and materialism. Our reading list takes in the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, The Crucible by playwright Arthur Miller, the autobiography of former slave Frederick Douglass and a number of novels including The Great Gatsby and The Scarlet Letter.

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

1. to provide students with an overview and knowledge of some key themes and concepts in United States literature

2. to provide students with a critical understanding of the legacies of slavery, colonialism, freedom, independence, class, gender, and social mobility in United States literature

3. to enable students to develop the critical tools to evaluate how United States authors attempted to write about their nation and collectively produced a national and regional literature

Module learning outcomes

After successful completion of the module, students should be able to:

1. demonstrate a critical understanding of a range of key themes and concepts in United States literature

2. critically evaluate and situate the legacies of slavery, colonialism, freedom, independence, class, gender, and social mobility in United States literature

3. apply a critical insight into how United States authors attempted to write about their nation to their own literary analysis of a selection of United States literature.

Module information

No additional information available.

Learning and teaching methods

Weekly 1-hour lecture and 1-hour seminar

Bibliography

Douglass, F. (no date) What, to a slave, is the Fourth of July? Available at: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/speeches-african-american-history/1852-frederick-douglass-what-slave-fourth-july/.
Douglass, F. and Baker, H.A. (1982) Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4810858.
Douglass, Frederick (no date) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=56521&site=ehost-live.
Mark Twain (1999) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=56022&site=ehost-live.
Hawthorne, N. (2020) The scarlet letter. New edition. Edited by B. Harding. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=415965.
Whitman, W. and Reynolds, D.S. (2005) Leaves of grass. 150th anniversary ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=2096908.
Schoolcraft, J.J. (2007) The sound the stars make rushing through the sky: the writings of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft. Edited by R.D. Parker. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Wharton, E. (2019) The Age of Innocence. Lerner Publishing Group. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5443379.
Cather, W. and Sharistanian, J. (2006) My A´ntonia. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://search-ebscohost-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=362469&site=ehost-live&authtype=sso&custid=s9814295.

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam	Description	Coursework weighting
Coursework	Formative Assignment: Essay Plan (submitted via Moodle)	0%
Coursework	Close Reading Exercise	40%
Coursework	Essay - REASSESSMENT WITHOUT ATTENDANCE
Coursework	Essay (2,250 words)	55%
Coursework	Online Portfolio - REASSESSMENT WITHOUT ATTENDANCE
Practical	Participation Mark	5%
Written Exam	Moodle Test - REASSESSMENT WITHOUT ATTENDANCE

Exam format definitions

Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Reassessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Dr Jak Peake, email: jrpeak@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff: Helena Bacon

Contact details: LiFTS General Office - email liftstt@essex.ac.uk. Telephone 01206 872626

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: Yes

Available to Outside Option: Yes

Available to Audit: Yes

External examiner

Name: Dr Doug Haynes

Institution: University of Sussex

Academic role: Reader in American Literature and Visual Culture

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: Of 30 hours, 30 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

Further information

Department website: Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies

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Module Directory

LT161-4-AU-CO:Introduction to United States Literature