Current active subject description (last updated 2023/24)
American Studies
SP172L
Current active subject description (last updated 2023/24)

American Studies

SP172L
Discover the exciting narrative of American literary history and culture, and how this has evolved from the pre-colonial days to the present. 
American Studies is designed to make the student conversant with the canonical literary tradition of the United States, as well as provide them with the variegated social, cultural, and historical contexts for each work. In addition, students will be introduced to a wide selection of American young-adult fiction placed in a critical and didactic context.
Higher Education Entrance Qualification, acceptance into the English for Bachelor of English or other bachelor programmes at Nord University, and/or international / exchange student status at Nord University.
Higher Education Entrance Qualification, acceptance into the English for Bachelor of English or other bachelor programmes at Nord University, and/or international / exchange student status at Nord University..

Knowledge:

Upon completion, the student should:

  • have knowledge of the social life, history, and a wide variety of cultural expressions in English-speaking countries, especially central works in the American literary tradition
  • have knowledge of textual structures and linguistic devices of critical and analytical approaches to both literary and non-literary texts
  • have knowledge of textual genres and their characteristics, as well as norms for the production of academic texts and the responsible use of sources
  • have knowledge of some English linguistic variants 

Skills:

Upon completion, the student can:

  • use English confidently and functionally, both orally and in writing, appropriate to the audience in different situations
  • use English confidently and functionally, orally and in writing, in various situations and genres with precision, fluency, and coherence
  • adapt, select, and facilitate the work on English-language texts for children and young adults, as well as employing relevant and precise terminology while working with texts
  • facilitate student creation of oral, written, and multimodal texts with fluency, precision, and coherency
  • explore the social, historical, and cultural history of English-speaking countries

General competence:

Upon completion, the student can:

  • maintain and develop their own linguistic competence
  • work independently and together with others to solve identified problems in relation to the students’ learning and development in the subject of English
No costs other than semester registration fee and course literature.
Compulsory for students in Bachelor of English and English One-Year Programme. The course is also offered as an elective outside of these programmes. 
The teaching will be part lectures, part seminars and there will also be time for tutoring outside of class.
There will be an internal evaluation of the course in the middle of the semester and at the end of term. In addition we ask that the students take part in the centrally administered evaluation at the end of term.

Compulsory participation (OD): Attendance (85%):: Approved / Not Approved

Assessment task (AK): 3 Online Seminars: Complete three online discussions by writing at least one academic contribution in response to a given theme, and to comment on other student's contributions. Comprises 0/100 of the grade, grading scale: Approved / Not Approved

Take-home examination (HJ): Essay, one week: comprises 33/100 of the grade, grading scale A - F

Oral Examination (MU): comprises 67/100 of the grade, grading scale A - F

Compulsory participation and assessment tasks must be approved to receive the final grade.

All aids allowed

Generating an answer using ChatGPT or similar artificial intelligence and submitting it wholly or partially as one's own answer is considered cheating