ECTS credits ECTS credits: 6
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Student's work ECTS: 99 Hours of tutorials: 3 Expository Class: 24 Interactive Classroom: 24 Total: 150
Use languages Spanish, Galician, English
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: English and German Philology
Areas: English Philology
Center Faculty of Philology
Call: First Semester
Teaching: With teaching
Enrolment: Enrollable
1. Place the literary works in their respective historical, cultural and literary contexts.
2. Close reading and analysis of each of the works, paying attention to formal and aesthetic aspects as well as to their relation to the contexts.
3. Competent and well thought-out readings. The students will be expected to provide original and coherently argued interpretations.
4. The aim is to arrive at a solidly based knowledge of the evolution of the American literary tradition in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Analysis of formal, thematic and aesthetic aspects of the following texts, studied in the historical and literary contexts they were created in:
Lost Generation
F. S. Fitzgerald. "The Great Gatsby" "Echoes of the Jazz Age" "The Crack-Up"
E. Hemingway. "The Killers", "Hills like White Elephants"
Southern Renaissance
W. Faulkner. "Barn Burning", "A Rose for Emily"
Harlem Renaissance
Langston Hughes, "I, Too", "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", "Harlem"
Social realism
John Steinbeck, "The Grapes of Wrath"
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
American drama
Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire
Arthur Miller, The Crucible
Toni Morrison, Beloved (fragments)
Other optional readings
Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun
Flannery O’Connor. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
Leslie Marmon Silko, "Yellow Woman"
Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek (1964)
This syllabus might be moderately reduced if the teachers consider it, in order to improve the dynamics of the class
BASIC:
The primary texts assigned for obligatory reading in the previous section
COMPLEMENTARY:
Bercovitch, Sacvan, ed. The Cambridge History of American Literature. Vol. VIII: Poetry and Criticism, 1940-1995. Cambridge UP, 1996
----------, ed. The Cambridge History of American Literature. Vol. VII: Prose Writing, 1940-1990. Cambridge UP, 1999
Breslin, James E. B. From Modern to Contemporary: American Poetry, 1945-1965. Chicago: The U of Chicago P, 1983
Chase, Richard. The American Novel and Its Tradition. The Johns Hopkins UP, 1975
Conn, Peter. Literature in America. Cambridge UP, 1989
Cunliffe, Marcus. The Literature of the United States. 4th ed. Penguin, 1986
Elliot, Emory, ed. The Columbia Literary History of the United States. Columbia UP, 1988
----------, ed. The Columbia History of the American Novel: New Views. Columbia UP, 1991
Fiedler, Leslie. Love and Death in the American Novel. Revised ed. Penguin, 1984
UP, 1988
Gelpi, Albert. A Coherent Splendor: The American Poetic Renaissance, 1910-1950. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1987
González, Constante, On Their Own Premises: Southern Women Writers and the Homeplace. València: Universitat de València, 2008
Gurpegui, J. A., ed. Historia crítica de la novela norteamericana. Salamanca: Almar. 2001
Hart, James D., and P. Leininger, eds. The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford UP, 1995
Massa, Ann. American Literature in Context IV: 1900-1930. London: Methuen, 1982
Parini, Jay, ed. The Columbia History of American Poetry. New York: Columbia UP, 1994
Ruland, Richard and Malcolm Bradbury. From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of American Literature. Viking. 1992
Salzman, Jack, ed. The Cambridge Hadbook of American Literature. Cambridge UP, 1986
Walker, Marshall. The Literature of the United States of America. 2nd ed. Macmillan, 1988
Basic CB1, CB2, CB3, CB4, CB5 ()
General CG3, CG5, CG6, CG7, CG8, CG9,
Specific CE5, CE6, CE7, CE8, CE9, CE10
A detailed list of the competences will be provided in the virtual classroom, with an explanation of how these competencies will be applied to the activities
The teacher will give instructions in the literary and cultural contexts, as well as in the aesthetic aspirations and ethical concerns of the authors. Guidelines to approach each of the individual works will also be provided.
The class will combine theoretical instruction with the practical approach, both in the lectures as in the seminars. In all classes, active participation will be taken into account.
We will employ close reading for textual analysis, and other tools like the workshops, which foster the peer evaluation, or the debate, in which the students need to engage both individually and in group.
The careful and critical reading of the works is essential BEFORE their explanation and discussion in class.
Assessment includes CONTINUOUS EVALUATION (70% of the final mark), and a FINAL EXAM (30% of the final mark)
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT will include different types of activities, which cannot be retaken for the second opportunity.
*20% of the final mark. Workshops with peer evaluation: students will prepare a presentation on a topic assigned by the Lecturer, which will be uploaded onto the virtual campus. Then, the students will evaluate the presentations following a rubric provided to that effect. Besides, they will write a formal feedback on the presentations.
*40 % of the final mark. Debates. at the beginning of the academic year, groups will be formed to join in two debates, that will analyze relevant aspects of TWO of the texts included in the syllabus. These debates will take place at a set time during the course. The value of EACH debate is up to 20 % of the final mark.
*5% of the final mark. Brief voluntary class presentations
*5% of the final mark. Other class activities (quizzes, tests, etc)
IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO SCORE A MINIMUM OF 2,5 POINTS (OUT OF 5/ 5 OUT OF 10) IN THE CONTINUOUS EVALUATION in order to sit the exam. If you fail to score this minimum, you fail the subject.
The mark of the continuous evaluation will be kept for the July exam, and the assessment will be the same for both May and July.
Both in the exams and in the written papers, expressive clarity, expository consistency, analytical depth and originality will be valued, as well as in all written or oral activities, critical and summarising capability, good structure of essays or exams, and clarity in the explanation of theoretical concepts/ features of the texts.
Rather than the mere repetition of information learnt by heart, the teacher will value the handling of information and careful reading in the face of new case studies, as well as the application and interrelations of the ideas originated from the given information.
ASSESSMENT FOR STUDENTS WHO RETAKE THE SUBJECT
Those students who are re-taking the subject, or those who cannot attend classes because their schedule coincides partially or totally with that of another subject (proof must be provided, e.g. scanned copy of registration) may CHOOSE one of the following assessment systems:
a) JUST THE final EXAM: 100% of the final mark.
b) Standard assessment: CONTINUOUS EVALUATION (70% of the final mark), and a FINAL EXAM (30% of the final mark).
Additionally these students MUST communicate their decision to the coordinator of the subject before Tuesday 30 of September. Otherwise, they will be assessed according to the standard system: 70% continuous evaluation + 30% final exam
ASSESSMENT FOR STUDENTS OFFICIALLY EXEMPT FROM CLASS ATTENDANCE
For students who are officially EXEMPT from attending lectures, the exam will count as 100% of the final mark in both opportunities.
ATTENDANCE
Except for those students officially exempt, class attendance at 75 % of the total scheduled hours is compulsory to be admitted to the final examination, and for the continuous assessment activities to be taken into account. A register will be taken in each session. A class period will count as attended if the student remains in the room until the end of the session, except in duly justified cases such as a sudden medical indisposition.
Under the "Regulations on Class Attendance in Official Bachelor's and Master's Degrees at the University of Santiago de Compostela", article 3.2., approved on November 25, 2024, documents substantiating the reasons for absence must be presented to the lecturer within five working days after the cause has ceased. More details will be provided in the virtual classroom.
LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE
A correct use of the English language will be essential in written and oral activities
The accumulation of grammatical or orthographic errors will result in a penalty of up to three (3) point in the final mark
FRAUD
For cases of fraudulent conduct over exercises or tests, the provisions of the regulations for the evaluation of students' academic performance at the USC, and the review of grades will apply (article 16 of the "normativa de avaliación do rendemento académico dos estudantes"): "Fraudulent exams, tests or tasks required for the evaluation of a subject will imply a fail in the corresponding opportunity, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be opened against the offending student. Among others, plagiarised works or those obtained from sources accessible to the public without reworking or reinterpretation and without quotation to authors and sources will also be considered fraudulent". Therefore, the detection of the smallest sign of plagiarism (or "cut & paste" from the internet or any other AI tools) will be penalised with a FAIL (0) in the course, regardless of the grade obtained by the student in any other assessment test. Other disciplinary measures may be taken.
3 hours a week of work in the classroom. Attendance is compulsory
At least 6 hours a week of individual work to read and prepare the assigned literary works
Since this is an ECTS subject, the student will need 150 hours (lectures and autonomous work included) to pass the subject.
Attentive and critical reading of the compulsory works is indispensable BEFORE the explanation and discussion in class.
It is very important that students are attentive to the messages they receive from the lecturers in the Virtual Campus and in their corporate e-mail regarding indications about teaching, homework, deadlines etc.
LAPTOP COMPUTERS, TABLETS, MOBILE PHONES AND SIMILAR DEVICES may be used during the development of the classes ONLY FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF TASKS RELATED TO THE LEARNING OF THE SPECIFIC CONTENT that is being taught and IN NO CASE SHOULD IT DISRUPT THE DUE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TEACHING AND LEARNING AT THE TEACHER'S DISCRETION.
NO FOOD CONSUMPTION IS ALLOWED IN THE CLASSROOM DURING THE CLASSES.
The USC has additional tutorial support service to help diversity (students with specific needs). https://www.usc.gal/gl/servizos/area/inclusion- participacion-social. E-mail: sepiu.santiago [at] usc.es (sepiu[dot]santiago[at]usc[dot]es).
Patricia Fra Lopez
Coordinador/a- Department
- English and German Philology
- Area
- English Philology
- Phone
- 881811879
- patricia.fra [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
| Tuesday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00-11:00 | Grupo /CLIS_03 (P-Z) | English | D08 |
| 11:00-12:00 | Grupo /CLIS_01 (A-F) | English | D08 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /CLIS_02 (G-O) | English | D08 |
| Thursday | |||
| 09:00-10:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | English | C12 |
| 10:00-11:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | English | C12 |
| 01.08.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | C09 |
| 01.08.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_01 (A-F) | C09 |
| 01.08.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_02 (G-O) | C09 |
| 01.08.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_03 (P-Z) | C09 |
| 01.08.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | C10 |
| 01.08.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_01 (A-F) | C10 |
| 01.08.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_02 (G-O) | C10 |
| 01.08.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_03 (P-Z) | C10 |
| 06.03.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | D11 |
| 06.03.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_01 (A-F) | D11 |
| 06.03.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_02 (G-O) | D11 |
| 06.03.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_03 (P-Z) | D11 |