美国文学教案(1)American Literature.docx

1、American LiteratureLecture One A brief outline of the courseI. Teaching objectives:through this lecture, the students are expected to have a general idea about the important authors and their most influential works, and the literary focus and achievements in different periods of the formation of the

2、 nation.II. Teaching focus: a brief introduction of:1. The background of different periods2. The major writers to be covered3. The important works that are going to be studiedIII. Teaching steps1. Ask students some general questions about American literature2. Lecture by the teacher3. Group discussi

3、on by the studentsIV. HomeworkWrite a short article about what you are expecting to learn from this course, what suggestions you have for this courseLecture Ten American Realist Literature (2)I. Teaching objectivesThrough this lecture, the students are expected to get familiar with the writings and

4、some realist writers such as Henry James and Mark Twain.II. Teaching focus1. Henry James and his The Portrait of a Lady2. Mark Twain and his Adventure of Huckleberry FinnIII. Teaching steps1. Warming-up questions2. Lecture by the teacher3. Read and analyze certain passages from Call of the Wild by J

5、ack LondonIV. HomeworkRead The Ambassadors by Henry James and Life on the Mississippi River by Mark TwainLecture Eleven American Naturalist Literature (1)Teaching objectivesThrough this lecture, the students are expected to have a general idea about how Zola's naturalistic philosophy, Charles Da

6、rwin's evolution theory and the industrialization of the United States brought about the alienation of man with nature, man with man, and man with society, and as a result, the flourish of naturalist literature that reflected these trends.Teaching focus1. The social background of naturalist peri

7、od2. The major features of Naturalism3. The major naturalist writers and their worksTeaching procedures1. Warming-up questions2. Lecture by the teacher3. Group discussion by the studentsHomeworkRead American Naturalism by Bloom HaroldLecture Twelve American Naturalist Literature (2)I. Teaching objec

8、tivesThrough this lecture, the students are expected to get familiar with the major naturalistic writers and their representative works.II. Teaching focus1 .Stephen Crane and his works2. Theodore Dreiser and his works3. Jack London and his worksIII. Teaching steps1. Wanning-up questions2. Lecture by

9、 the teacher3. Read and analyze certain passages from Call of the Wild by Jack LondonIV. HomeworkRead The Red Badge of Courage by Crane, American Tragedy by Dreiser, and Martin Eden by Jack LondonLecture Thirteen Literature of the Lost Generation (1)I. Teaching objectivesThrough this lecture, the st

10、udents are expected to have some knowledge about America's role during the First World War, and the war's impact on young people like Fitzgerald and Hemingway, and also the works that reflected the disillusion of the lost generation.II. Teaching focus1. The First World War and the Attitude o

11、f American youth toward the war2. The situation in America in the twenties of the 20th century3. Fitzgerald and his nearly autobiographical novelsIII. Teaching steps1. Warming-up questions2. Lecture by the teacher3. Read and analyze certain passages from The Great Gatsby by FitzgeraldIV. HomeworkRea

12、d Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby and This Side of the ParadiseLecture Fourteen Literature of the Lost Generation (2)I. Teaching objectivesThrough this lecture, the students are expected to get some knowledge about the theme and style of the writings of Hemingway.II. Teaching focus1. Hemingway's p

13、ersonal life2. His works3. His theory of “tip of an icebcrg,III. Teaching steps1. Warming-up questions2. Lecture by the teacher3. Group discussion by the studentsIV. HomeworkRead Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the SeaLecture Fifteen American Literature of the SouthI. Teaching

14、 objectivesThrough this lecture, the students are expected to have a general idea about the history and current reality of the American South, and the slavery system before the Civil War, and how these combined together affected the general spirit of the southern Americans.II. Teaching focus1. The h

15、istory of the American South, with slavery system as its focal point2. The situation in the south of America after the civil war3. Faulkner and his fictional world epitomized in his Yoknapatawpha countyIII. Teaching procedures1. Warming-up questions2. Lecture by the teacher3. Read and analyze certai

16、n passages from the Sound and the Fury by FaulknerIV. HomeworkRead Go down, Moses by FaulknerSee the film Gone with the WindLecture Sixteen Post-war American Novel (1)I. Teaching objectivesStudents are expected to have some knowledge about the situation in America after World War II, and the impact

17、and influence of the Cold War, the Vietnam War and McCarthyism on the American people as a whole and American writers as a special group, and the pessimism and skepticism reflected in their works.II. Teaching focus1. The general situation in America after World War II2. J.D.Salinger and his Catcher

18、in the RyeIII. Teaching steps1. Warming up questions1.1 Say something about your knowledge of World War Two1.2 Say something about the Cold War and the Vietnam War2. Points to be covered by the teacher2.1 the impact of World War Two on the consciousness of American intellectuals2.2 the pessimism ref

19、lected in the writings of American writers2.3 the life experience of J.D.Salinger2.4 lhe one work that makes Salinger immortal (Catcher in the Rye)3. Read and analyze certain passages of Catcher in the RyeIV. HomeworkRead the novel Catcher in the Rye after classLecture Seventeen Post-war American No

20、vel (2)I. Teaching objectivesStudents are expected to have a general idea about the social, political and artistic life in America, and the decline of artistic creation in the traditional style and the emergence of modern and post-modern style which was demonstrated in the absurd, metafiction, and a

21、vant-gardism; and students are also expected to have some knowledge about some of the representative writers and their most influential works of this period, such as Kurt Vonnegut and his Slaughterhouse- Five, and Joseph Heller and his Catch-22.IL Teaching focus1. Modernism and post-modernism demons

22、trated in literary works2. Joseph Heller and his Catch-22III. Teaching steps1. Warming up questions1.1 What is modernism? And what is post-modernism1.2 Have you ever heard Catch-22, what does it mean?2. Points to be covered by the teacher2.1 a brief introduction of modernism and post-modernism and t

23、heir similarities and differences.2.2 a brief introduction of Kurt Vonnegut and his Slaughterhouse- Five2.3 a brief introduction of Joseph Heller and his Catch-223. Read and analyze the passages that most represent a Catch-22 situationIV. HomeworkRead Catch-22 after classLecture Eighteen American Mu

24、lti-ethnic LiteratureI. Teaching objectives1. Through this lecture, the students are expected to have a general idea about the following points: a survey of the situation of American blacks from a historical perspective; the images of blacks in the works of white AmericanBIack writers and the major

25、theme of their worksII. Teaching focus1. A survey of the situation of American Blacks and other minority peoplefrom a historical perspective2. The images of the minority people like American Indians and the blacks in the works of white Americans3. Major black writers and other minority group writers

26、 and their representative worksIII. Teaching steps1. Warming-up questions1.1 Do you know anything about the Civil Rights Movement that occurred in the 1950s-60s in America, and what were the things that minority groups such as the blacks and the American Indians were fighting for:1.2 What is the mea

27、ning of invisible, if it is used before man, what does it connote?2. Points to be covered by the teacher2.1 A general introduction of the Civil Rights Movement in America during the 1950s-60s2.2 A general survey of the images of blacks and American Indians in the works of the whites2.3 A general int

28、roduction of the most influential writers of minority groups and their representative works3. Read and analyze certain passages from the Invisible ManIV. HomeworkRead Ralph Ellison's Invisible ManLecture Two Colonial PeriodI. Teaching objectives:through this lecture, the students arc expected to

29、 have a general idea about the mission of the first group of Puritan immigrants to the New World, their perseverance in seeking their purpose, and the pervading spirit of Puritanism in the early communities.I. Teaching focusI. The mission of the Puritan immigrants to the New World2. Puritanism and i

30、ts influence in all spheres of life in the early communities3. The religious poems by Anne BradstreetII. Teaching steps1. Warming-up questions1.1 What is the meaning of Puritan, what are the major characteristics of the Puritans1.2 Why did some Puritans left their own country and risked their lives

31、to cross over the Atlantic Ocean and settle on the New World?1.3 What is the meaning of theocracy?2. Points to be covered by the teacher2.1 A brief introduction about the Puritan from a historic perspective2.2 The missions of the first group of Puritans to the new world2.3 The situation in the commu

32、nities of the early settlement2.4 The spirit of Puritanism and its impact on the building of the nation and people's daily life during the colonial period.3. Read and analyze the poem "Upon the Burning of Our House" by Anne BradstreetIII. HomeworkRead the e-book: Research Guide to Amer

33、ican Literature: Colonial Literature: 1607-1776Lecture Three: Edwards and FranklinI. Teaching objectivesIn this lecture, the students are expected to get some knowledge about the major point of Puritanism and Calvinism, and how Edwards and Franklin demonstrate different aspects of the spirit of Puri

34、tanismII. Teaching focus1. The major doctrine of Puritanism2. The major doctrine of Calvinism3. Benjamin Franklin4. Jonathan EdwardsIII. Teaching steps1. Warming-up questions for the students1.1 Do you know the original of original sin?1.2 Do you have any knowledge about John Calvin and the religiou

35、s doctrines that he advocated?1.3 Do you know the well-story of Franklin's flying of kite, and can you name some of his inventions?2. Points to be covered by the teacher2.1 the major doctrines of Puritanism and its profound impact on people's daily life of the colonial period and literary en

36、deavors for a long time2.2 the major doctrines of Calvinism and its pervading spirit of sin and evil2.3 the most famous self-made man in America, Benjamin Franklin, and his successful story which is the best example of the American Dream from a material perspective.2.4 the pious life of Jonathan Edw

37、ards and his influence on a group of writers called the Transcendentalists in the 1830s-40s3. Read and analyze certain passage from Benjamin Franklin's AutobiographyIV. HomeworkRead the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan EdwardsLecture Four Am

38、erican Romantic LiteratureI. Teaching objectivesThrough this lecture, students are expected to have a general idea about the following points: the relationship between American Romantic literature and that of Britain; the major writers and their works of American Romanticism.II. Teaching focus1. The

39、 major characteristics of American Romanticism2. Washing Irving and his short stories3. James Fen i more Cooper and his Leather stocking TalesIII. Teaching steps1. Warming-up questions1.1 Washington Irving is called the Father of American Literature, what can possibly denote by such honorary title?1

40、.2 There is a very interesting anecdote concerning Cooper's trying to write novels by himself, have you ever heard that anecdote, and what is your opinion of such a personage?2. Points to be covered by the teacher2.1 a comparison between Romanticism in America and Britain2.2 Washington Irving

41、9;s literary creation and two of his most famous legendary talcs: Rip Van Winkle and Legend of the Sleepy Hollow2.3 Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales and his importance as the builder of the American myth3. Read and analyze some passages from Rip Van Winkle by Washington IrvingIV. HomeworkRead Irvi

42、ng's Legend of the Sleepy Hollow and Cooper's The Last MahicanLecture Five American Transcendentalist Literature(l)I. Teaching objectivesThrough this lecture, the students are expected to have a general idea about the following points: the spirit of the period; the major writers and their wo

43、rks.II. Teaching focus1. The sources and doctrines of Transcendental ism2. Emerson work and influence during the Transcendental periodIII. Teaching steps1. Points to be covered by the teacher1.1 the various sources of Transcendentalism, such as the idealistic philosophy of Germany and France, and Or

44、iental mysticism.1.2 the major features of Transcendentalism: Oversold, importance of individual, and nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God.1.3 Emerson's role in the Transcendentalist movement, the dean, the editor of the its major journal Dial, and the founder of the Transcendental club.1.4 E

45、merson Nature and The American Scholar, one is considered to be the manifesto of Transcendentalism, the other is considered to America's declaration of intellectual independence.2. Read and analyze passages from Natureby Ralph EmersonIV. HomeworkRead TheAmerican Scholarly EmersonLecture Six Amer

46、ican Transcendentalist Literature(2)I. Teaching objectivesThrough this lecture, students are expected to have a general idea about the following points: Thoreau and his experience; Thoreau's masterpiece WaldenII. Teaching focus1. Thoreau's life experience2. Thoreau's materialization of t

47、he doctrines of Transcendentalism in a small hut on the bank of Walden pond3. The rediscovery and reevaluation of Walden in the twentieth centuryIII. Teaching steps1. Warming-up questionsDo you have any idea about what is Walden about?2. Points to be covered by the teacher2.1 Thoreau's life styl

48、e and the commentaries of his contemporaries to him2.2 rediscovery and reevaluation of Thoreau's Walden in the twentieth century2.3 Walden and eco-criticism3. Read and analyze certain passages from WaldenIV. HomeworkRead Thoreau's WaldenLecture Seven Hawthorne and MelvilleI. Teaching objecti

49、vesStudents are expected to learn something about the notorious Salem Witchcraft Trial and the major doctrines of Calvinism and their impacts on Hawthorne and his writings, they are also expected to know Melville's profession as a sailor and the tremendous influence of his profession as a sailor

50、 on almost all his works.II. Teaching focus1. Hawthorne and his Scarlet Letter2. Melville and his Moby DickIII. Teaching steps1 warming up questions1.1 Do you have any knowledge about Moses' ten commandments in the Old Testament, and one of the commandments says that “Thou shaln't commit adu

51、ltery", do you know the meaning of adultery?1.2 Say something about your understanding of alienation2. Points to be covered by the teacher2.1 A rough summary of Salem Witchcraft Trial of 1692 and the role played by one of Hawthorn's preeminent ancestors2.2 Hawthorne pervading sense of sin a

52、nd evil and the reflection of these themes in almost all his works, either short stories or novels.2.3 Analysis of the four major characters in The Scarlet Letter2.4 Melville's experience as a whaler on the sea and its influence on his works2.5 An analysis of his highly symbolic work Moby Dick3. Read and analyze certain passages from The Scarlet LetterIV.