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  4. American Representations: Identity, Culture and the Arts

American Representations: Identity, Culture and the Arts

Objectives

- -Integrate an in-depth knowledge of contemporary North-American social and cultural themes with the 20th and 21st literary and visual texts at the center of the syllabus; - Differentiate and characterize alternative theoretical approaches to collective identify constructs such as race and ethnicity and apply these critical tools to the understanding of visual and textual cultural articulations; - Analyze the aesthetic processes used in individual creative works that problematize the themes and concerns that structure the syllabus; - Apply the hypotheses discussed in the debates of the seminar to new autonomous research; - Undertake, under tutorial supervision bibliographical research, relevant to critical readings of literary or visual text Organize and communicate competently the result of their autonomous research

General characterization

Code

02109364

Credits

10.0

Responsible teacher

Isabel Maria Lourenço de Oliveira

Hours

Weekly - 3

Total - 280

Teaching language

English

Prerequisites

Available soon

Bibliography

David Hackett Fischer, Liberty and Freedom: A Visual History of America's Founding Ideas. Oxford University Press, 2005.


Natasha Zaretsky, Mark Atwood Lauwrence, Robert Griffith and Paula Baker, Major Problems in American History Since 1945. Documents and Essays. Cengage Learning, 4th edition, 2014.


Samuel P. Huntington, Who Are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity, Simon & Schuster, 2005.


Chris Barker and Emma A. Jane (eds.), Cultural Studies. Theory and Practice. 5th edition, Sage Publications, 2016.


Heike Paul, The Myths That Made America. An Introduction to American Studies. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag. 2014. 

Teaching method

The pedagogical model adopted is blended-learning, in which, in addition to the introduction of content under the responsibility of the teacher, the active participation of students is prioritized, articulating the independent work of each student with collaborative work, translated into the functioning of discussion groups and peer review activities.

Evaluation method

The assessment for this course will consist of 2 components:
• Continuous assessment (50%)
• A final written assignment (50%)


Continuous Assessment:
This component will focus on your motivation and performance during the course. It will involve aspects such as: effort expended on the tasks set; quality of contributions during the seminar (presentations, debates, etc.); written participation on the foruns; short written essay; oral presentation on one of the authors/works; general motivation; progress made.



Final Written Assignment:
This could be on a subject related to your oral presentation and should aim to incorporate some of the theoretical perspectives discussed on this course. It should function as an independent study, properly contextualized and accompanied by an abstract and bibliography. The evaluation will consider the expansion beyond the oral presentation. A comparative analysis will be positively evaluated, as well as an original approach to one or more topics. 


 

Subject matter

 


In this seminar we will explore American beliefs/ideas and the paradoxes they embody. We will delve into five concepts, each of which has evolved into a kind of myth. These concepts are not only paradoxical in their own right but also in their relationships to one another. Through a diverse range of texts, including both written and visual materials, we will analyze each belief, myth, and paradox, aiming to develop a deeper understanding than any single perspective could offer.


Ideas to be explored:


Freedom; Democracy; Equality; Individuality and Oportunity.