ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION FOR AMERICAN STUDIES

The course is part of the core offering of the Master's Program in European, American and Postcolonial Languages and Literatures and of the Master's program in Language Sciences. It aims to offer students advanced knowledge and advanced competencies in English. The module focuses on the development of English in the United States of America and provides students with the necessary tools to master the English language not only as far as interaction and oral productions are concerned but also in writing, as well as theoretical tools to further their reflection on language.

In line with the aims of the Program, the course builds on the skills acquired in the BA curriculum (especially vocabulary and comprehension) in order to enhance them and develop new skills of analysis and interpretation, especially the capacity to read, comprehend, respond to, and connect texts of varying degrees of complexity. Students will make progress in their structural knowledge of American English (grammar, syntax, vocabulary) while at the same time studying language in a historical and theoretical perspective. A detailed syllabus will be available on Moodle.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to
(knowledge and understanding)
• encounter, interpret, and appreciate the work of a major American authors and thinkers from colonial times to modernity
• expand their critical lexicon
• reading, understanding, analyzing texts of varying degrees of difficulty
• grasp and develop connections among different authors

(knowledge application and problem solving)
• identify an important issue or a question independently
• engage in critical reflection
• apply and develop knowledge of the conventions of academic writing (especially the paragraph) for the purpose of producing coherent and well-structrured written responses

(handling complexity and formulating judgements)

• map the scholarly conversation around a controversial or important issue
• produce written responses, articulating a position and making an argument supported by evidence
• develop a sophisticated awareness of context and audience


(Communication skills)
• summarize, paraphrase complex texts, grasping their arguments and relaying them to an audience of peers and for the purposes of responding to them in writing
• participate in a debate presenting a position and offering a contribution
• actively engage in peer-to-peer collaboration in discussing texts, orchestrating a public debate, offering feedback to the work of others

(learning skills)
• mastering the essential features of a written response (especially paragraphing)
• summarize, paraphrase, and quote properly
• take notes
• produce a well-structured written response to a problem, a text, or an author, or outlining a connection between texts and authors.

Level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference.
The course assumes a proficient user at the C1/C2 level of the Common European Frame of Reference.

What do great Americans have to say about the language they speak in and write in? The course relies on selected readings from landmark texts by key American writers and thinkers from colonial times to modernity (including Emerson, Thoreau, T. S. Eliot and others) to offer a first-hand insight into the historical development of US English, its perception, and its potential. We will identify an important line of reflection on language that is firmly rooted in the US while at the same time discovering its connections and dialogue with a modern and contemporary European tradition (Saussure, Kristeva). The course builds on the skills acquired in the BA curriculum (especially vocabulary and comprehension) in order to enhance them and develop new skills of analysis and interpretation, especially the capacity to read, comprehend, respond to, and connect texts of varying degrees of complexity. The overarching aim is double: students will make progress in their structural knowledge of American English (grammar, syntax, vocabulary) while at the same time studying language in a historical and theoretical perspective.

Julia Kristeva, Language the Unknown: An Initiation into Linguistics. New York: Columbia University Press, 1989. (Moodle)

Mena Mitrano, English for American Studies: The Delectable Speaker. Venice: Libreria Editrice Cafoscarina, 2021). Stampa.

Course Packet (Moodle) including (among other texts):
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Language,” Chapter IV of Nature (1849). Ralph Waldo Emerson. Edited by Richard Poirier. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. 12-17, “Nature.” Essays: Second Series (1844). Ralph Waldo Emerson. Edited by Richard Poirier. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. 235-247.
Henry David Thoreau, “Reading.” From Walden (1854). The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau. Intro. By Joyce Carol Oates. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989. 99-110. (Moodle)
Stanley Cavell, “Words and Sentences.” The Cavell Reader. Ed. Stephen Mulhall. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. 260-294; 260-272. (Moodle)
H. L. Mencken, pagine scelte da The American Language: An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1947. First edition 1919.
T. S. Eliot, “American Literature and the American Language.” The Sewanee Review 74.1 (Winter 1966): 1-20.
Gertrude Stein, “Poetry and Grammar.” Lectures in America. Boston: Beacon, 1985. First ed. 1935. 209-231.
Ferdinand de Saussure, pagine scelte da Course in General Linguistics. Trans. Wade Baskin. Edited by Perry Meisel and Haun Saussy. New York: Columbia, 2011. 1-20; 32-33; 65-78.

The chief evaluation tool for all students is a final written exam.
The final written exam will last 2 and a half hours and will be articulated in two prompts or invitations to write. The first prompt will assess the capacity to analyze and interpret and contextualize a text; the second prompt will assess the capacity to connect meaningfully two texts, or two authors or two ideas.
There will also be two optional mid-term tests.
The "opener initiative" (student opener) is available on an optional basis.


In order to take the final exam, students must have achieved at least a sufficient level Esercitazioni Linguistiche. Students who do not reach at least a C level in these practices will not be allowed to sit the final exam.
A bonus may be awarded to students who attend the Language Practices and achieve a grade higher than B+.

written

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

Grading Scale

The minimum grade is 18, and the maximum grade is 30 with honors. Regarding the grading scale (how the grades will be assigned), there are 3 levels:

First level: 18-22 (basic level, corresponding to a C in the U.S. system): Sufficient knowledge of the content; limited ability to engage in independent discussion, limited knowledge of theoretical tools, limited knowledge of the historical-cultural context and debates.

Second level: 23-26 (intermediate level, corresponding to a B in the U.S. system): Fair knowledge of the content; fair ability to engage in independent discussion, fair knowledge of theoretical tools, fair knowledge of the historical-cultural context and debates.

Third level: 27-30 (good or excellent level, corresponding to an A in the U.S. system): Good or excellent knowledge of the content; good or excellent ability to engage in independent discussion, good or excellent knowledge of theoretical tools, good or excellent knowledge of the historical-cultural context and debates.

There is also the honors grade: awarded to highlight an excellent level of knowledge of the content, independent discussion ability, knowledge of theoretical tools, and understanding of the historical-cultural context and debates.

Lecture
Opener initiative
Debate

Attendance is strongly recommended.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development