ENG2504 – American Places
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
The area now known as the USA has had different meanings at different points in time to different people. The objective of this course is to explore historical and cultural trends in the United States through the examination of places. How has place —for instance a region, a city, the small town, the suburb, the college campus, or the wilderness—shaped American lives? The course focuses on political, religious, cultural, or social developments, and may cover different historical eras.
The course might engage with how and why rural Americans might have different ideas of the environment and the role of the federal government compared to those living in metropolitan areas. Region, too, affects American lives. "American places" might help you understand it means to live in the American South, surrounded by memories of slavery, versus living in Philadelphia or Boston, surrounded by memories of the American revolution.
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Semester topic spring 2024:
The topic for the spring 2024 semester is the American suburb. Few things have shaped American culture as the sprawling suburbs across the US. Suburbs emerged in the US in the early 1800s but became a mass phenomenon in the twentieth century, with policies to promote home ownership as the route to prosperity. Indeed, the suburban home came to symbolize the American Dream and a place for mainly white middle-class Americans could retreat from the social problems of the city. But scholars have over the past decades come to see the suburb as a site for political tensions and cultural clashes, and where central ideas of what it means to be American have been played out. This course will explore how the suburb has shaped American lives and how American dreams have shaped the suburb, taking into account how the suburbs have been experienced the suburbs in different ways.
Key issues that may be addressed: sexuality and gender roles, the Cold War, consumerism, environmental impact of the suburb, religion, residential segregation, and the more recent diversification of the suburbs.
Learning outcome
After completing this course, you:
- Can critically read and discuss primary and secondary sources. Primary sources may include newspapers, magazines, film, advertisements, photographs.
- Have knowledge of the interplay between place and its key developments in the US.
- Can use academic English to analyze, explain and discuss key political and cultural issues and developments.
- Know some central theoretical and/or historiographic themes in the study of American places.
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for?in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about?admission requirements and procedures.
Teaching
Seminars, 2 hours per week for 10 weeks.?20 hours in all.
You are?expected to read all assignments and come ready to discuss these in the seminars.
Participation in reflective exercises during the course.
The submission of the first draft of your term paper.?Read more here about rules concerning valid excuses and how to apply for postponements.?Information about?guidelines for obligatory activities
It is obligatory to show up for a minimum of 60% of the teaching. In this course you have to attend 6 of 10 seminars. The requirement is absolute.
The allowed absence limit will cover all absences, including illness. You will not be granted valid absences with documentation, even when the absence is due to something beyond your control.
If the course has in-person teaching, and you are signed up for an in-person seminar group, you are to attend the teaching in the location found in the schedule.
If the course has digital teaching, and you are signed up for a digital seminar group, you must attend via Zoom with your camera on.
In certain circumstances, i.e. serious or chronic illness, you could apply for?special needs accommodations.?
All obligatory activities must be approved in the same semester for you to sit the exam. Approved course requirements are only valid the semester you attend the course.
Examination
The final grade is set on the basis of a written term paper (7 standard pages à?2,300 characters, 60% of the grade) and a school exam (2 hours, 40% of the grade).
It is required to pass both parts of the exam individually, and both parts must be taken in the same semester.
Examination support material
No examination support material is allowed.
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F?is a fail. Read more about?the grading system.
Resit an examination
A term paper or equivalent that is passed may not be resubmitted in revised form.
If you?withdraw from the exam?after the deadline, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.