123227 SE Literature Seminar / BA-Paper / MA American/North American Lit./Studies (2016S)

Students will gain the knowledge of some of the selected representative American novels of the first half of the 20th century.
They will identify the most significant literary movements and authors, as well as describe the specificity of the cultural early 20th century developments in the USA. They will analyze and interpret the canonical literary texts discussed by applying various critical approaches: naturalism, modernism, The Lost Generation, gender issues, early feminism, the Great Depression.
Students will gain the knowledge of some of the best known early 20th century American authors: novels (The Age of Innocence, The Red Badge of Courage, Daisy Miller, The Awakening, A Farewell to Arms, Grapes of Wrath,) and one or two short stories. The list of short stories will be handed to students in class.
They will learn how to reflect on different interpretive standpoints, depending on the milieu and the contextualization of literary works in the appropriate socio-political context, and to formulate an effective, well argued and linguistically correct oral presentation of the seminar paper in class.
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