Teaching Contemporary American Culture and Society
Course:
AN1130MA, Spring 2013
Time & place:
Tuesday 14:00-15:40, Room IX
Instructor:
Zoltán Simon (simon.zoltan@arts. unideb.hu)
Main Bldg., Room 118 (: 512-900 / 22069)
Office hours:
Monday 14:00-15:00, Wednesday 11:00-12:00
Description:
The course is designed to provide students with an up-to-date view
regarding American culture, society, myths and values as reflected (and
sometimes challenged) in American culture, institutions and everyday
life. We will examine the roots of contemporary American culture and
the different responses to the changing cultural, political and social
landscape. A major goal of the course is to offer various methods,
practical advice and materials for students (would-be high school
teachers) for the teaching of contemporary American culture and
society in Hungarian high schools. In the course we will discuss
various aspects of American life, including politics, society, ethnicity,
regional and national identity and other topical issues. (The list of
topics, and thus the syllabus, is to be finalized on the basis of the needs
and, to some extent, the interests of students, after the first class
session.) At the same time, available resources for the teaching of
American civilization (textbooks, movies, internet resources, realia,
etc.) will be presented, alongside possible activities aimed at teaching
culture and developing different skills as well (how to set up a debate,
presentations, extra-curricular activities, etc.). Each class will focus on
the study of a wide range of topics in the field of American civilization,
as well as on how to teach language through culture.
Procedures:
Most of the class sessions are to be based on the discussion of the
topics at hand, introduced and moderated by the instructor and/or a
student giving a presentation and being in charge of that topic. This
discussion is to be facilitated by way of common as well as
individualized reading materials, visual aids, Internet resources, and
realia shared in the classroom. Students will be also required to keep up
to date with events in the world as they relate to the United States, and
report on their findings in class. In addition, each student will give a
10-minute presentation during the semester on a pre-approved topic,
and will submit a lesson plan, followed by the implementation of a part
of that lesson plan in one of the subsequent weeks.
Evaluation:
The final grade will be calculated from the grades of class participation,
occasional (random) tests, and the two presentations at 25% each.
Grade conversions are as follows: More than three absences will result
in a “not fulfilled” grade. Grades will be assigned according to the
following conversion formulae: 0-60%: fail; 61-70%: poor; 71-80%:
average; 81-90%: good; 91-100%: excellent.
Bibliography: Broukal, Milada and Peter Murphy. All about the USA: A Cultural Reader.
White Plains, NY: Longman, 1991.
---. Introducing the USA: A Cultural Reader. Burnt Mill: Longman, 1993.
Datesman, Maryanne Kearny et al. American Ways: An Introduction to
American Culture. 3rd ed. White Plains, NY: Longman, 2005.
Falk, Randee. Spotlight on the USA. Oxford: OUP, 1997.
Jancsó Daniella et al. Cultural Relations: Brit, ausztrál, amerikai és kanadai
országismereti nyelvkönyv. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2001.
Mauk, David and John Oakland. American Civilization: An Introduction. 5th ed.
New York: Routledge, 2009.
Schoenberg, Irene E. Talk about Trivia: 1001 Questions. White Plains, NY:
Longman, 1986.
Schedule of classes and topics:
Week 1:
Orientation and introduction to the course
Week 2:
Language through culture / Culture through language
Week 3:
Geography, regionalism, the environment, urbanization (Chapter VII)
Week 4:
“We the People”: society, race, class, gender, immigration (Chapter II)
Week 5:
American government, Washington, D.C. (Chapter III)
Week 6:
Education (Chapter IV)
Week 7:
Sports and recreation (Chapter XI)
Week 8:
Consultation week (no class, but the instructor is available for consultation)
Week 9:
Technology and culture (Chapter VI), Guns and the military (readings TBA)
Week 10:
Economy, labor and welfare (Chapter V)
Week 11:
Media and entertainment (TV, film, music) (Chapters VIII)
Week 12:
No class due to national holiday
Week 13:
Lifestyles and holidays (including food) (Chapter X)
Week 14:
American English, political correctness (readings distributed in class)
Week 15:
Evaluation and closing
Unless otherwise indicated all assigned readings above are taken from American Life and
Institutions by Douglas K. Stevenson. The chapter numbers above refer to the 2006 edition.