Learning objectives
The course aims to provide students with a solid general knowledge of the major movements and literary expressions of American culture, along with tools to contextualize literary texts within complex historical and cultural events, as well as interpretative methodologies for the critical analysis of the assigned texts.
During the course, students will learn to:
• acquire knowledge of the major authors, works, movements, and aesthetic ideas of American literature and culture, as well as the historical, political, cultural, and artistic contexts to which the examined texts refer;
• understand and analyze complex literary texts from both a formal and thematic perspective;
• independently and originally explore the topics covered, using bibliographic resources in both print and digital formats;
• formulate a critical analysis based on a careful decoding of the text, in relation to the literary and cultural phenomena addressed;
• express and discuss content, analyses, and judgments using an appropriate linguistic register, in line with the specific lexicon of literary studies;
• formulate and communicate content and analyses in English, using an appropriate linguistic register.
Prerequisites
No previous knowledge of American literature is required.
Course unit content
Vulnerability Unveiled: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Human Fragility in American Literature
The course explores the concept of vulnerability in American literature, analyzing its manifestations across social, psychological, and cultural dimensions. Through a selection of texts ranging from the nineteenth century to contemporary fiction, the course will investigate the multiple representations of fragility, examining how it intertwines with notions of identity, power, suffering, and resilience. The study of works from different historical and cultural contexts will provide an in-depth exploration of vulnerability in relation to disability, violence, race, gender, and trauma. The course will analyze how American literature portrays and responds to human fragility and how these representations influence our understanding of inequality and the possibilities for social transformation.
Key topics include:
-the vulnerability of the self in relation to violence;
-the impact of historical and collective trauma;
-the dual role of vulnerability as both a source of strength and a tool of oppression;
-the importance of empathy in the human experience.
Through close reading of novels, short stories, and essays, students will engage with both canonical and contemporary American authors. The syllabus includes works spanning from the nineteenth-century literary canon to contemporary speculative fiction, offering a broad perspective on writers who, each in their own way, explore the multifaceted nature of vulnerability in various historical and cultural contexts. The writers and their works studied will be: "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, a selection of nineteenth-century short stories from Melville to Louisa May Alcott, "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton, "Zone One" by Colson Whitehead. The ultimate goal of the course is to consider vulnerability not merely as a condition of fragility but as a dimension capable of generating new forms of awareness, empathy, and resistance.
Full programme
The detailed syllabus will be provided at the beginning of the course.
Bibliography
Texts and materials will be made available through the Elly platform.
Teaching methods
The course will combine textual analysis, lectures, classroom discussions and moments of student participation on the topics of the course. After the introduction of the specific text, author and historical context, the analysis of the work will be aimed at examining fundamental thematic and stylistic aspects. Close-reading of specific passages, on the other hand, will serve to understand and interpret the texts. The course will then include an in-depth reading of the texts and the screening of scenes from the films in the program.The course will be held in English.
COURSE ATTENDANCE AND CONSCIOUS USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES:
- Regular class attendance is highly recommended ("non-attending" students are kindly requested to contact the professor via email).
- Please note that audio or video recording of lectures is not allowed.
Assessment methods and criteria
Assessment of acquired knowledge, and understanding of skills is assessed through an oral exam in English.
Other information
The detailed syllabus, which will be published on the Elly platform, will include supplementary materials for non-attending students. They are encouraged to contact the instructor to discuss the additional texts and any difficulties they may encounter in preparing for the exam.
Please note that this syllabus is valid until the Spring 2026 exam session.
2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
10. Reduced Inequalities
