History of American literature

Timetable

http://wa.amu.edu.pl/timetables/lato_2022_2023/teachers/index.html

Module aim (aims)

To make students familiar with canonical authors and their work, to present continuing traditional themes, symbols and stock characters, to develop students’ ability to interpret literary texts, to extend students’ knowledge of American history and culture, to cover a variety of genres and sub-genres included in the reading list, to further develop students’ language skills. 

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

Sustained reading effort, readiness to discuss texts in class, basic terms of literary criticism and theory. 

Syllabus

Week 1: Concepts and methodology of literary criticism 

 

Week 2: Useful literature on American literary history 

 

Week 3: Data collection and research protocols  

 

Week 4: Planning a research project in literary history 

 

Week 5: Acquisition of source material and critical literature 

 

Week 6: Rhetorical analysis of American literary texts 

 

Week 7: Diversity of American literature

 

Week 8: Interpretation of fiction  

Reading list

Peter Conn. The Cambridge Illustrated History of American Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge 

University Press, 1989. 

Emory Elliott (ed.) Columbia Literary History of the United States. New York: Columbia 

University Press, 1988. 

Andrzej Kopcewicz, Marta Sienicka. Historia literatury Stanów Zjednoczonych w zarysie. Vols. 

1, 2. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1982. 

Agnieszka Salska (ed.) Historia literatury amerykańskiej XX wieku. Vols. 1, 2. Kraków: 

Universitas, 2003. 

Norton Anthology of American Literature. (Volume One and Two) 

Bradley Sculley (et. al.) American Tradition in Literature (Volume One and Two) 

Richard Ruland and Malcolm Bradbury. From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of 

American Literature. Penguin Books. 1992. 

Stachura, Paweł. 2010. An Outline History of American Literature. Poznań. Wydawnictwo 

Poznańskie. 

5 

Richard Gray. 2004. A History of American Literature. Malden, USA, Oxford, UK, Carlton, 

Australia. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 

Agata Preis-Smith. 2004. Kultura, tekst, ideologia. Dyskursy współczesnej amerykanistyki. 

Kraków: Universitas. 

1941. O. Matthiessen. The American Renaissance. London: Oxford UP, 1941. (IFA Library

Reference) 

The Columbia Literary History of the United States, New York. 1990. 

Emory Elliot at al. (ed.) The Columbia History of the American Novel and Poetry, New York: 

1991 and 1993. 

Parini, Jay (1948- ). (ed.) Millier, Brett Candlish. Red. The Columbia History of the American 

Poetry. 1993. 

Sacvan Bercovitch (ed.), associate ed. Cyrus R. K. Patell. The Cambridge History of American 

literature. Vol. 1, 1590-1820. Cambridge : Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994. 

Pearce, Roy, Harvey. The Continuity of American Poetry. Princeton: Princeton University 

Press. 1961. 

Bigsby, Christopher William Edgar. Modern American drama, 1945-1990. New York: 

Cambridge University Press, 1994. 

Bigsby, Christopher William Edgar. Modern American drama : 1945-2000. Cambridge: 

Cambridge University Press, 2000.