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LETTERATURA
ANGLO-AMERICANA LM
2011-12
40 hours
First semester
Modern American Classics
In this survey of American classics, which goes from early
Henry James to Nelson Algren, we will discuss the linguistic and stylistic strategies which led the American novel from the Victorian literary conventions to the edge of the literary underground. We will pay special attention to the rhythm and language adopted by these writers and, whenever applicable, to their use of the American slang. The discussion will be carried out in English.
The class also includes a translation workshop based upon
texts selected from contemporary American poetry and drama.
Bibliography
Henry James. Roderick Hudson (1875).
Stephen Crane, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1893).
Willa Cather, My Antonia (1918).
Francis Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925).
Ernest Hemingway The Sun Also Rises (1926).
William Faulkner, Go Down, Moses (1942).
Nelson Algren, A Walk on the Wild Side (1956).
Suggested readings
Malcolm Bradbury, The Modern American Novel,
Penguin, 1983.
---, From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of
American Literature, Routledge, 1991.
Brandon Stosuy, ed., Up is Up, But So is Down. New York’s
Downtown Literary Scene, 1974-1992, New
York U. P., 2006.
Susanna Basso, Sul tradurre, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2010.
Requirements
A final paper (complete with footnotes and bibliography) based upon one of the
works discussed. In alternative, students might also provide Italian translations from plays
and poems still unpublished in Italy, chosen under the instructor’s
supervision.
Students unable to attend classes must see the instructor before the exam
and agree on additional
readings.
Classes are scheduled on Tue. 16-18 in room 8 and on Wedn. 8-10 in
room 12B in Palazzo Antonini
Office hours:
Tue. 14.30-16
Wedn. 10-12,30