Students will have access to a direct knowledge of Anglo-American culture both  from a historical and cultural perspective, by making use of a comparative methodology.
Students are encouraged to use updated and flexible methodologies both during class discussions and assessment.
Students' autonomy as far as choices, critical learning and study organization are concerned is also encouraged, by ensuring adequate guidance and support to this purpose.

Introduction to the history and culture of the United States and Canada in a diachronic perspective.

USA: Puritanism, the "witch-hunt", the American Renaissance, the question of race, the "melting pot", the elections.

Canada: archetypes and stereotypes, "the garrison mentality", Canadian Renaissance, the National Film Board, Multiculturalism.

None.

Knowledge and understanding

The student will come to possess enough knowledge and ability to understand specific contents and problems inherent in the discipline (issues concerning American culture) and in the topic of the course (comparative culture of USA and Canada). They will also be able toalso identifying possible continuities with previous knowledge and learning how to find intersections and interfaces with other disciplines (history, geography, cinema, political science)

Applying knowledge and understanding

The student will be able to apply his / her knowledge and understanding in order to demonstrate a professional approach to work and / or adequacy to continue studies in the Laurea Magistrale; both the aptitude to support arguments and to solve problems go in this direction, also with reference, for those who want to continue their studies, to new and interdisciplinary situations; the course is a key to understand the historical-cultural identity of the USA

Making judgements

The student will acquire information and / or data in the field of studies in question, useful for reflection, hypothesis formulation and determination of independent judgments; he/she will also be able to apply the study and research methodology to other aspects of US culture that are not specifically treated, also finding intersections and interfaces between different disciplines (history, geography, cinema, political science) 

Communication skills

The student will be able to clearly communicate knowledge, ideas, problems and solutions to specialist and non-specialist interlocutors. This also includes the acquisition of specific vocabulary.

Learning skills

The student should have already learned to study and learn independently. If not, this will be a good opportunity.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Students will be encouraged to participate in different cultural activities, such as conferences, seminars and meetings.

Teaching

Lectures, class discussions and individual study, also by means of Moodle.

Attendance

Students will have to study all the materials progressively uploaded on Moodle, in addition to the textbooks listed here below.

They will have to bring to classroom all the compulsory texts, either the hardcopy or the ebook.

In case they need to communicate with the lecturer, they must use the institutional email account uniurb.

Course books

Stefano Luconi, La “nazione indispensabile”. Storia degli Stati Uniti dalle origini a Trump, Milano, Mondadori/Le Monnier, 2020 (chapters 1, 2, 5 and 7 are to be studied in depth).

Luigi Bruti Liberati e Luca Codignola, Storia del Canada. Dal primo contatto tra europei e indiani alle nuove influenze nel panorama politico mondiale, Milano/Firenze, Giunti/Bompiani, 2018 (chapters 1, 6, 7, 8, 14 and 15 are to be studied in depth).

10 ppts have been uploaded on blended: they summarize the main notions and ideas we have dealt with during the course. They could be useful as a study guide, both for attending and non-attending students. These slides also provide students with all the necessary links to online materials (interviews, debates, videos):

1) General Introduction to North-American Culture;

2) Puritanism;

3) U.S. Presidential Elections;

4) The “Melting Pot”;

5) Black People in the U.S.;

6) BLM;

7) Canadian Renaissance;

8) Archetypes and Stereotypes;

9) The National Film Board of Canada;

10) Multicultural Canada.

In addition to this, the students are expected to:

a) find and view individually the movie by M. Moore Canadian Bacon (1994);

b) view the movie by Robert Vignola The Scarlet Letter (available on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwktKVIPiOg);

c) read the essay by R. W. Emerson, Self-Reliance (available online   https://emersoncentral.com/texts/essays-first-series/self-reliance);

d) read the introduction by Susanna Moodie to Roughing It in the Bush, together with Margaret Atwood’s one (both available in the same document uploaded on blended).

Assessment

Multiple-choice written test at the end of the course.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Individual study.

The recordings of some of the lessons are available on blended.

Attendance

Students will have to study all the materials progressively uploaded on Moodle, in addition to the textbooks listed here below.

In case they need to communicate with the lecturer, they must use the institutional email account uniurb.

Course books

Stefano Luconi, La “nazione indispensabile”. Storia degli Stati Uniti dalle origini a Trump, Milano, Mondadori/Le Monnier, 2020 (chapters 1, 2, 5 and 7 are to be studied in depth).

Luigi Bruti Liberati e Luca Codignola, Storia del Canada. Dal primo contatto tra europei e indiani alle nuove influenze nel panorama politico mondiale, Milano/Firenze, Giunti/Bompiani, 2018 (chapters 1, 6, 7, 8, 14 and 15 are to be studied in depth).

10 ppts have been uploaded on blended: they summarize the main notions and ideas we have dealt with during the course. They could be useful as a study guide, both for attending and non-attending students. These slides also provide students with all the necessary links to online materials (interviews, debates, videos):

1) General Introduction to North-American Culture;

2) Puritanism;

3) U.S. Presidential Elections;

4) The “Melting Pot”;

5) Black People in the U.S.;

6) BLM;

7) Canadian Renaissance;

8) Archetypes and Stereotypes;

9) The National Film Board of Canada;

10) Multicultural Canada.

In addition to this, the students are expected to:

a) find and view individually the movie by M. Moore Canadian Bacon (1994);

b) view the movie by Robert Vignola The Scarlet Letter (available on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwktKVIPiOg);

c) read the essay by R. W. Emerson, Self-Reliance (available online   https://emersoncentral.com/texts/essays-first-series/self-reliance);

d) read the introduction by Susanna Moodie to Roughing It in the Bush, together with Margaret Atwood’s one (both available in the same document uploaded on blended).

Assessment

Multiple-choice written test at the end of the course.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Didactic and assessment methods may vary, due to the epidemiological emergency.