ATS3888 · American literature

Overview

In this unit, you will examine a range of novels, short stories, and poems which illuminate major themes in United States literature from the nineteenth century through to today. Topics explored may include: what it means to be 'American' and who decides; race and class division; the legacies of chattel slavery and colonial dispossession; regional differences; immigration and Jewish-American experience; gender and sexuality; the relationship between literature and popular culture.

Areas of study: Literary studies

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Within semester assessment: 100%

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.

Learning outcomes

1. critically analyse the work of an array of American writers from different periods and from different ethnic, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds;
2. discuss the role of literary texts in the construction of race, class, gender and/or national identity in the United States;
3. critically assess theoretical perspectives relevant to the understanding of American literature;
4. analyse the political and economic factors in the processes of literary production;
5. communicate research findings orally and in writing.

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.