ECTS credits ECTS credits: 6
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Student's work ECTS: 99 Hours of tutorials: 3 Expository Class: 24 Interactive Classroom: 24 Total: 150
Use languages Spanish, Galician, English
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: English and German Philology
Areas: English Philology
Center Faculty of Philology
Call: Second Semester
Teaching: With teaching
Enrolment: Enrollable
This subject is part of the North American Literature module, along with the subjects "Introduction to North American Literature" and "North American Literature 2". The objectives of this module include:
(1) to understand the main periods, movements, authors, and works of 19th-century North American literature, in order to acquire a solid understanding of the so-called "American literary tradition";
(2) to study the thematic and aesthetic characteristics of the most representative works of each period in the history of North American literature, placing them in their contexts in order to understand the relationships between literary changes and the extra-literary reality;
(3) to familiarize students with the different theoretical and critical approaches that have explained the history of North American literature; and
(4) to familiarize students with the multicultural and multiethnic variety of American literature, emphasizing the distinctive qualities of this literature in relation, above all, to British literature.
Study of aesthetic-formal, cultural, and thematic aspects of the following works, which will be placed, along with their authors, in the historical and literary contexts in which they emerged:
Unit 1. WASHINGTON IRVING. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820).
Unit 2. SARAH WENTWORTH MORTON. "My Mind and Its Thoughts" [selected poems] (1823).
Unit 3. EDGAR ALLAN POE. "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839).
Unit 4. NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. "The Scarlet Letter" (1850).
Unit 5. HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. "Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly" [selected fragments] (1852).
Unit 6. WALT WHITMAN. "Leaves of Grass" [selected poems] (3rd edition, 1860).
Unit 7. LOUISA MAY ALCOTT. "The Mysterious Key and What It Opened" (1867).
Unit 8. HORATIO ALGER JR. "Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Bootblacks" (1868).
Unit 9. MARK TWAIN. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884-5).
Unit 10. KATE CHOPIN. "The Story of an Hour" (1894).
BASIC:
Please see previous section.
COMPLEMENTARY:
BARNEY, W. (ed.) (2001). A Companion to 19th-Century America. Malden: Blackwell.
BAUER, D. M., y P. GOULD (eds.). (2006). The Cambridge Companion to Nineteenth-Century American Women's Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P.
BERCOVITCH, S. (ed.) (1994). The Cambridge History of American Literature vols. 1-2. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P.
ELLISON, J. (1993). "Race and sensibility in the early republic: A. E. Bleecker and S. Wentworth Morton." American Literature 65 (3): 444-.
GERHARDT, C. (ed.) (2018). Handbook of the American Novel of the Nineteenth Century. Berlin: De Gruyter.
GONZÁLEZ GROBA, C. (2008). On Their Own Premises: Southern Women Writers and the Homeplace. U. de València.
GRAY, R., y O. ROBINSON (2004). A Companion to the Literature and Culture of the American South. Malden: Blackwell.
HAYES, K. (2002). The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Cambridge U.P.
HOCHMAN, B. (2011). Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Reading Revolution. Amherst: U. of Massachusetts P.
JARRETT, G. A. (ed.) (2014). The Wiley Blackwell Anthology of African American Literature. Volume 1. Chichester: Blackwell.
LARSON, K. C. (ed.) (2011). The Cambridge Companion to Nineteenth-Century American Poetry. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P.
LÓPEZ PEÑA, L. (2014). "Dressing Uncivil Neighbor(hood)s. Walt Whitman’s Adhesive Democracy in 'Calamus' and 'Drum-Taps'." Lectora 20: 61–80.
MNASSAR, S. (2023). "Humanity, Nature, and the Supernatural in Washington Irving’s 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'." European Journal of American Studies 18 (2): Online.
PAPKE, M. E. (1990). Verging on the Abyss: The Social Fiction of Kate Chopin and Edith Wharton. Westport: Greenwood Press.
PARINI, J. (1994). The Columbia History of the American Poetry. New York: Columbia U.P.
PHOTINOS, C. (2007). "The Figure of the Tramp in Gilded Age Success Narratives." Journal of Popular Culture 40 (6): 994–1018.
PIZER, D. (ed.) (1995). The Cambridge Companion to American Realism and Naturalism: From Howells to London. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P.
RULAND, R. (1991). From Puritanism to Postmodernism. London: Routledge.
STRICKLAND, C. (1985). Victorian Domesticity: Families in the Life and Art of Louisa May Alcott. Tuscaloosa: U. of Alabama P.
TAWIL, E. (ed.) (2006). The Cambridge Companion to Slavery in American Literature. New York: Cambridge U.P.
WEINSTOCK, J. A. (2017). The Cambridge Companion to American Gothic. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P.
WHITMAN, W. et al. (2011). Walt Whitman’s Songs of Male Intimacy and Love ‘Live oak, with moss’ and ‘Calamus’. Iowa: U. of Iowa P.
Basic Skills
CB1 – Students should demonstrate that they possess and understand knowledge in a field of study that builds upon general secondary education, and is typically at a level that, while based on advanced textbooks, also includes aspects involving knowledge from the forefront of their field of study.
CB2 – Students should be able to apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional manner and possess the competences usually demonstrated through the development and defence of arguments and the resolution of problems within their field of study.
CB3 – Students should have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their field of study) to make judgements that include reflection on relevant social, scientific, or ethical issues.
CB4 – Students should be able to convey information, ideas, problems, and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
CB5 – Students should have developed the learning skills necessary to undertake further studies with a high degree of autonomy.
General Skills
CG3 – Logical competence: Ability to interpret and clearly and precisely express data and arguments. Implementation of reasoning processes leading to problem-solving or the acquisition of information.
CG5 – Cultural and artistic competence: Development of creative capacity through knowledge of the literature, culture, and civilisation of the English-speaking world. Ability to appreciate cultural and creative expression, and to understand, value, and appreciate the historical dimension of different cultural and artistic manifestations in English.
CG6 – Competence in autonomy and personal initiative: Ability to imagine, initiate, develop, and evaluate individual or collective actions or projects with creativity, confidence, responsibility, and critical thinking.
CG7 – “Learning to learn” competence: Awareness, management, and control of one’s own abilities and knowledge from a sense of competence or self-efficacy. Development of strategic thinking and the ability to cooperate, self-assess, and efficiently manage a set of intellectual work resources and techniques. Acquisition of study skills and a commitment to lifelong learning.
CG8 – Competence in processing information in a second language, as well as its culture and literature.
CG9 – ICT competence: Ability to search for, obtain, process, and communicate information, and to transform it into knowledge—from accessing information to communicating it in various formats once processed—including the use of ICTs as an essential tool for informing oneself, learning, and communicating.
Specific Skills
CE5 – Knowledge of historical events and cultural features that have influenced and continue to influence the development of the English language and literary production in English.
CE6 – Mastery of the techniques used in text analysis.
CE7 – Understanding of the cultural and historical implications of various literary styles and technical resources, taking into account the aesthetic and thematic features of different genres.
CE8 – Ability to situate the literary production of English-speaking countries within the social, cultural, and political contexts in which it was written.
CE9 – Ability to identify connections and divergences between the different literary traditions of English-speaking countries.
CE10 – Ability to relate the literary production of English-speaking countries to other artistic forms, such as film or theatre.
The teaching methodology for this course combines theoretical approaches and practical work and includes lectures, case/problem solving, flipped-classroom, gamified tasks, and seminars featuring a wide variety of applied activities dedicated to the discussion and analysis of the literary texts included in the course guide. These activities include guided debates, individual work, and written assignments (individual and group). Practical activities will occupy a significant portion of the sessions in this course.
Students are expected to complete certain preparatory activities before the sessions (readings and other assignments) and to be prepared to actively participate in the sessions.
(1) STANDARD ASSESSMENT
First Opportunity:
Continuous assessment constitutes 60% of the final grade, and the final examination accounts for the remaining 40%.
Continuous Assessment (60%):
Formative / continuous assessment activities (1 point).
Throughout the semester—in and outside the classroom—the lecturer will set up to ten short individual tasks in which students practise core degree skills (e.g. citation, brief stylistic analyses of 100–120 words, academic language exercises, case-study/problem solving, gender-aware analysis…). Each task will be graded dichotomously (pass / fail) and feedback will be provided. To earn 1 point, students must obtain a “pass” in at least five of the ten tasks.
Assessment criteria: CB2, CB3, CG3, CG6, CG7, CE6, CE7.
No minimum mark is required to pass the course, and this component cannot be retaken in the second opportunity.
Group interview (1.5 points).
In Week 3 students will be paired. During Weeks 12–16 each pair will sit an oral interview of up to five minutes on one of two potential options linked to Units 6–10; the tasks will be practical and concise. Comments must be insightful and constructive, use appropriate terminology, build on classmates’ ideas and show that the readings have been prepared.
They will be assessed as a group, so the same grade will be awarded to the whole group. However, the absent students of a given group and those students who fail to participate in group discussion or seem resistant to respond will receive a 0 (zero) grade in this activity (having this “0” grade no impact in the grade awarded to the other members of the group).
At the end of Week 3 the interview schedule will be posted on Campus Virtual. Assessment criteria: CB2, CB4, CG3, CG5, CG8, CE8, CE10.
No minimum mark is required to pass the course, and this component cannot be retaken in the second opportunity.
Interviews will be audio-recorded and the files destroyed after the statutory retention period, in compliance with the GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and Spanish data-protection law (Law 15/1999).
Written exercise (3 points).
Individually, in class, students will answer a series of short questions on the theoretical and practical contents of Units 1–5. The exercise lasts two hours and is worth 3 points. Assessment criteria: CB1, CB2, CG3, CG6, CE5, CE6.
No minimum mark is required to pass the course, and this component cannot be retaken in the second opportunity.
Self-assessment tests (0.5 points).
Individually and online, students will complete weekly multiple-choice quizzes on Units 1–10. This fosters autonomy and personal initiative (CG6) as students take responsibility for their own learning. The weighted average of all quizzes is worth 0.5 points.
Multiple-choice quizzes (10 quizzes, 10 questions per quiz). Question format: Multiple-choice (one correct answer from several options). Types of questions included:. Odd one out, Same or different, True or false, Fill in the gaps, Matching, Chronological order, Contrast and compare, Order mixed information, Understand what the text is for, Skimming/Scanning techniques.
Assessment criteria: Each incorrect answer deducts 0.25 points (every four incorrect answers subtract the value of one correct answer). The final score for each test ranges from 0 to 10.
Test conditions: Each quiz will have a set time limit. Only one attempt will be allowed. No feedback will be provided until the quiz is finished. Navigation between questions will be limited (no possibility to return to previous questions). Full-screen mode will be enforced during the quiz.
Assessment criteria: CB5, CG6, CG7, CG9.
No minimum mark is required to pass the course, and this component cannot be retaken in the second opportunity.
Final Assessment (40%):
Final examination (4 points).
Individually, in class, students will sit a three-hour written examination with extended-response questions on Units 1–10, worth up to 4 points.
Assessment criteria: CB1, CB2, CB3, CB4, CG3, CG5, CE5, CE6, CE7, CE8, CE9, CE10.
Continuous-assessment marks will be counted only if the exam mark is at least 2 out of 4; therefore, passing the final exam is compulsory to pass the course. This exam can be retaken in the second opportunity.
All assessment items will be screened with Turnitin. Continuous-assessment tasks must be submitted by the stated deadlines; late submissions will not be considered. At the start of the semester, the weekly schedule and the grading grids for every item will be available on Campus Virtual.
Second Opportunity:
The same assessment system applies. Marks obtained during continuous assessment are carried forward.
(2) EXTRAORDINARY ASSESSMENT FOR STUDENTS OFFICIALLY EXEMPT FROM CLASS ATTENDANCE
First opportunity: the final examination counts for 100% of the grade. Second opportunity: the same system applies.
(3) EXTRAORDINARY ASSESSMENT FOR RETAKERS
First opportunity: retakers may choose between (A) continuous assessment (60%) + final exam (40%) or (B) final exam 100%. They must inform the course coordinator of their choice by institutional e-mail (ruben.jarazo [at] usc.es (ruben[dot]jarazo[at]usc[dot]es)) no later than 23:59 on Friday, 6th February 2026; otherwise, option A will apply by default. Second opportunity: the same system chosen for the first opportunity will be retained without changes.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance at 75% of the total scheduled hours is compulsory in order to pass the course and to be admitted to the final examination. An electronic register will be taken at every session. A class period will count as attended only if the student remains in the room until the end of the lesson, except in duly justified cases such as a sudden medical indisposition.
Under the “Regulations on Class Attendance in Official Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees of the University of Santiago de Compostela” (approved 25th November 2024), absences from classes or assessment activities may be excused as follows:
Article 3.2 – Justified absences from class
The following shall in all cases constitute valid grounds:
a) Sitting official examinations or competitive public-sector tests, evidenced by certification from the examining body.
b) Attendance at university or external collegiate bodies when representing a constituency, evidenced by the official convocation and a certificate from the secretary of the body.
c) Hospitalisation or non-deferrable medical appointments, evidenced by a note from the health centre or attending physician.
d) Illness that prevents physical presence on campus, duly certified.
e) Academic strikes and strikes by other groups that block access to classrooms.
f) Serious illness or death of a family member up to the second degree, duly documented.
g) Fulfilment of a public duty, duly certified.
h) Official mobility restrictions due to severe weather or a declared state of alert, emergency or exception.
i) Participation in activities as a recognised elite or high-performance athlete, in accordance with regional and USC regulations.
j) Any other duly documented force-majeure situation.
3. Documents substantiating the reason for absence must be presented to the lecturer within five working days after the cause has ceased. If lecturer and student disagree, the final decision rests with the faculty’s director or the competent committee.
4. Attendance requirements will be deemed met—without the need for documentary justification—when absences do not exceed 10% of timetabled hours, except where the activity is designated as compulsory.
Article 5 – Absence from assessment activities
1. The grounds listed in Article 3.2 may also be invoked to justify absence from assessment activities, except that elite/high-performance athletes may r eschedule examinations only when clashes arise with competitions, official training camps or squad call-ups, certified by the relevant sports federation.
2. Where a justified cause exists, the student has the right to sit the assessment on an alternative date set by the course lecturer—preferably by agreement with the student and always before the grade-submission deadline for that assessment period. Whenever possible, at least two working days must elapse between notification of the new date and the assessment itself.
USE OF ENGLISH
The correct use of the English language will be taken into account in the assessment of the subject. Therefore, the maximum number of serious mistakes permitted in the exam and in any assessment activity for this subject will be six serious mistakes (CEFR level B2+ or lower levels). However, please note that an assessment test may be failed not only (1) if the specified number of serious mistakes is reached (CEFR level B2+ or lower levels); but also (2) if the student commits fewer serious mistakes, but in addition to a number of minor mistakes (CEFR level C1); (3) due to an excessive accumulation of minor mistakes; (4) if the student is too conservative, such that the exercise does not reach the linguistic level required for the course (CEFR level C1), even if it contains few or no mistakes.
FRAUD
In cases of fraudulent completion of exercises or tests, the provisions of the Regulations for the evaluation of students’ academic performance and the review of grades (article 16) will apply: “The fraudulent completion of any exercise or test required in the assessment of a subject will entail a fail grade in the corresponding call, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be followed against the offending student. The following will be considered fraudulent, among others, the completion of plagiarized work or work obtained from publicly accessible sources without reworking or reinterpretation and without citing the authors and sources.” Therefore, the detection of the slightest fraud in ANY of the assessment activities will be penalized with a FAIL (0) grade in the course regardless of the grade obtained by the student in any other assessment test.
This is an ECTS credit course, so students will need to dedicate 150 hours (including in-person classes and independent work) to complete it:
Lectures: 30 hours.
Interactive Classes: 15 hours.
Scheduled Tutorials: 3 hours.
Final Exam: 3 hours.
Independent work outside of class, study, readings, assignments, and self-study: 99 hours.
PREVIOUS BACKGROUND
Upon enrollment, all students must have a minimum knowledge of (1) the history and culture of the United States (or have passed the History and Culture of English-Speaking Countries course), (2) American literature (or have passed the Introduction to American Literature course), and (3) a good command of English (C1).
INTERNATIONAL AND ERASMUS STUDENTS
Erasmus and international students are welcome, but, like local students, must have a minimum knowledge of (1) the history and culture of the United States (or have passed the History and Culture of English-Speaking Countries course), (2) American literature (or have passed the Introduction to American Literature course), and (3) a good command of English (C1). Erasmus and international students will be subject to the same assessment tests and attendance rules as other students, with no possibility of changes except as provided for in the applicable regulations.
VIRTUAL CAMPUS
Students are reminded of the importance of regularly checking the Moodle platform (“Virtual Campus”) to stay up-to-date with any important course-related announcements. Any announcements made through the Moodle platform have the same validity as those included in this teaching guide.
Continuous assessment activities must be submitted on time. Otherwise, the assignment will not be considered for continuous assessment.
LAPTOPS and tablets may be used during the development of the classes only for the performance of tasks related to the learning of the specific content that is being taught and in no case should it disrupt the due development of the teaching and learning at the teacher's discretion.
No food consumption is allowed in the classroom during the classes.
DATA PROTECTION AND COPYRIGHT: Classes and course materials are copyrighted and protected by law. Recording classes or sharing/uploading course materials—particularly through social media and the internet—constitutes a violation of data protection and copyright laws. Students who commit any of these violations will face appropriate sanctions.
EMAILS: Emails that do not originate from the student’s corporate email (USC email) will not be answered.
SEPIU: The USC has an additional tutorial support service to assist with diversity (students with specific needs). https://www.usc.gal/gl/servizos/area/inclusion-participación-social. Email: sepiu.santiago [at] usc.es (sepiu[dot]santiago[at]usc[dot]es).
Ruben Jarazo Alvarez
Coordinador/a- Department
- English and German Philology
- Area
- English Philology
- ruben.jarazo [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: Intern Assistant LOSU
| Tuesday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:00-14:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | English | D08 |
| 14:00-15:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | English | D08 |
| Thursday | |||
| 10:00-11:00 | Grupo /CLIS_01 (A-F) | English | D05 |
| 11:00-12:00 | Grupo /CLIS_02 (G-O) | English | D05 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /CLIS_03 (P-Z) | English | D05 |
| 05.26.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | C11 |
| 05.26.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_01 (A-F) | C11 |
| 05.26.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_02 (G-O) | C11 |
| 05.26.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_03 (P-Z) | C11 |
| 05.26.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | C12 |
| 05.26.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_01 (A-F) | C12 |
| 05.26.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_02 (G-O) | C12 |
| 05.26.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_03 (P-Z) | C12 |
| 06.30.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_01 (A-F) | C11 |
| 06.30.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_02 (G-O) | C11 |
| 06.30.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_03 (P-Z) | C11 |
| 06.30.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | C11 |