This course seeks to make the students familiar with some prominent and readily identifiable features of American society, culture and national identity, including the institutional foundations thereof. This is done via presentations and orchestrated discussions pertaining to representative topics such as the unifying American mythologies, melting pot versus salad bowl, minority rights, sport, culture and education, the left and fight in the context of American domestic and foreign policies, and political correctness. These are complemented by several online quizzes, which relate both to factual knowledge and linguistic prowess, and the final test.
Teaching units:
1. Course introduction
- previewed by an online quiz (Scorm): US historical milestones – listening and gap-filling
2. The Puritan legacy of Colonial America
Online video lecture created by the teacher + topics for discussion
3. War of Independence – 2 contrastive viewpoints
Thomas Paine: Common Sense (edited/abridged)
Charles Johnson: A Soldier for the Crown
4. The Founding Fathers and their foundational mythologies- – 2 contrastive viewpoints
Robert Hughes – American Visions
Howard Zinn – excerpt (.pdf + audio)
5. US antebellum slavery and its abolition
Online video lecture created by the teacher + topics for discussion
Charles Johnson: Soulcatcher
H. B. Stowe: Uncle Tom´s Cabin (two short excerpts + discussion topics)
6. Manifest Destiny
Robert Hughes: American Visions (online video + Scorm quiz)
7. Anti-war manifestos
A brief introductory lecture
Close reading: Mark Twain, “The War Prayer”; Ambrose Bierce: Chickamauga (optional)
8. Melting Pot and Salad Bowl
M.L. King: I Have a Dream
Malcolm X: The Ballot or the Bullet
Listening and gap-filling (home assignment) followed by a discussion
9. Ideological polarity
Intro: Religious right / secular left – explaining the basic terminology
Home assignment: A televised debate between Jon Stewart and Michael Huckabee, centered on same-sex marriages
10. US Foreign Policy
The World Policeman Debate
11. Political correctness in US public discourse
Lecture: euphemistic expressions – outlining the basic terminology
Home assignment: Matt Taibbi (interview in mp3 is downloadable from Moodle)
Monitored and orchestrated discussion
12. Destroying the American Serengeti: the tragic downside of progress
Home assignment: Dan Flores (4 excerpts from his audiobook are downloadable from Moodle)
Last update: Kadrnožková Monika, PhDr., Ph.D. (25.10.2020)
This course seeks to make the students familiar with some prominent and readily identifiable features of American society, culture and national identity, including the institutional foundations thereof. This is done via presentations and orchestrated discussions pertaining to representative topics such as the unifying American mythologies, melting pot versus salad bowl, minority rights, sport, culture and education, the left and fight in the context of American domestic and foreign policies, and political correctness. These are complemented by several online quizzes, which relate both to factual knowledge and linguistic prowess, and the final test.
Teaching units:
1. Course introduction
- previewed by an online quiz (Scorm): US historical milestones – listening and gap-filling
2. The Puritan legacy of Colonial America
Online video lecture created by the teacher + topics for discussion
3. War of Independence – 2 contrastive viewpoints
Thomas Paine: Common Sense (edited/abridged)
Charles Johnson: A Soldier for the Crown
4. The Founding Fathers and their foundational mythologies- – 2 contrastive viewpoints
Robert Hughes – American Visions
Howard Zinn – excerpt (.pdf + audio)
5. US antebellum slavery and its abolition
Online video lecture created by the teacher + topics for discussion
Charles Johnson: Soulcatcher
H. B. Stowe: Uncle Tom´s Cabin (two short excerpts + discussion topics)
6. Manifest Destiny
Robert Hughes: American Visions (online video + Scorm quiz)
7. Anti-war manifestos
A brief introductory lecture
Close reading: Mark Twain, “The War Prayer”; Ambrose Bierce: Chickamauga (optional)
8. Melting Pot and Salad Bowl
M.L. King: I Have a Dream
Malcolm X: The Ballot or the Bullet
Listening and gap-filling (home assignment) followed by a discussion
9. Ideological polarity
Intro: Religious right / secular left – explaining the basic terminology
Home assignment: A televised debate between Jon Stewart and Michael Huckabee, centered on same-sex marriages
10. US Foreign Policy
The World Policeman Debate
11. Political correctness in US public discourse
Lecture: euphemistic expressions – outlining the basic terminology
Home assignment: Matt Taibbi (interview in mp3 is downloadable from Moodle)
Monitored and orchestrated discussion
12. Destroying the American Serengeti: the tragic downside of progress
Home assignment: Dan Flores (4 excerpts from his audiobook are downloadable from Moodle)
Last update: Kadrnožková Monika, PhDr., Ph.D. (25.10.2020)
Literature -
ALBA, R., Nee, V. Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration. Harvard University Press, 2005. ISBN-13: 978-0674018136.
BURGETT, B., Hendler, G. (Eds.) Keywords for American Cultural Studies. New York University Press, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-0814799482.
DUNBAR-ORTIZ, R. An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2014, ISBN 0807000418.
FLORES, D. The Natural West: Environmental History in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0806135379.
FLORES, D. American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains, University Press of Kansas, 2016. ISBN 070062466X.
HUGHES, G. Political Correctness: A History of Semantics and Culture. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-1405152792.
HUGHES, R. American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America. Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. ISBN-13: 978-0375703652. Kennedy, R. For Discrimination: Race, Affirmative Action, and the Law. Vintage, 2015. ISBN-13: 978-0307949363.
OMI. M., Winant, H. Racial Formation in the United States. Routledge, 2014. ISBN-13: 978-0415520317.
RADWAY, J., Gaines, K., Shank, B., Von Eschen, P. (Eds.) American Studies: An Anthology. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-1405113526.
WALLIS, J. The Soul of Politics: Beyond "Religious Right" and "Secular Left". Mariner Books, 1995. ISBN-13: 978-0156003285.
WILKERSON, I. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration. Random House, 2010. ISBN 0679444327.ZINN, H. A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present. New York: Harper, 2003. ISBN-13: 858-1000011323.
Last update: Kadrnožková Monika, PhDr., Ph.D. (25.10.2020)
ALBA, R., Nee, V. Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration. Harvard University Press, 2005. ISBN-13: 978-0674018136.
BURGETT, B., Hendler, G. (Eds.) Keywords for American Cultural Studies. New York University Press, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-0814799482.
DUNBAR-ORTIZ, R. An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2014, ISBN 0807000418.
FLORES, D. The Natural West: Environmental History in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0806135379.
FLORES, D. American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains, University Press of Kansas, 2016. ISBN 070062466X.
HUGHES, G. Political Correctness: A History of Semantics and Culture. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-1405152792.
HUGHES, R. American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America. Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. ISBN-13: 978-0375703652. Kennedy, R. For Discrimination: Race, Affirmative Action, and the Law. Vintage, 2015. ISBN-13: 978-0307949363.
OMI. M., Winant, H. Racial Formation in the United States. Routledge, 2014. ISBN-13: 978-0415520317.
RADWAY, J., Gaines, K., Shank, B., Von Eschen, P. (Eds.) American Studies: An Anthology. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-1405113526.
WALLIS, J. The Soul of Politics: Beyond "Religious Right" and "Secular Left". Mariner Books, 1995. ISBN-13: 978-0156003285.
WILKERSON, I. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration. Random House, 2010. ISBN 0679444327.ZINN, H. A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present. New York: Harper, 2003. ISBN-13: 858-1000011323.
Last update: Kadrnožková Monika, PhDr., Ph.D. (25.10.2020)
