Littérature et civilisation des Etats-Unis d'Amérique

The course traces the development of the American short story from the 19th Century to the present.

To provide students with a good knowledge of important aspects of American literature and culture, the short story, and to develop their skills in literary analysis.
To familiarise students with the conventions of academic writing, including the MLA referencing system.

Required and Corequired knowledge and skills

Students will be expected to have experience of studying literature at university level.

Lectures with slides; seminar discussion; close reading of texts.
Introductory seminars on academic writing.

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

The reading list varies from year to year and is communicated to students via the Virtual University.

Contacts

graham.riach@ulb.be
gregory.watson@ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• Oral examination

Oral examination

Oral examination: based on the materials covered in the lectures and the primary and critical readings set for the course.

Research Essay: the essay should show knowledge of the course materials, including the classes on academic writing. NOTE: The research project must be completed during the term in which the theoretical classes are given (1st quadrimester).

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

Each part is compulsory and is assessed. The minimum pass mark for each part is 10/20. If a student does not sit one of the parts or fails one of the parts, he or she will receive a failing mark (05/20) for the entire examination. The student will then have to retake the examination in the second session. Parts with marks above 10/20 do not need to be retaken.

70% of the total grade is based on the oral exam (20% of which is based on English competence)
30% of the total grade is based on the Research Essay (60% argument, 20% English competence, 20% MLA formatting)

Language(s) of evaluation

• english