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Cultural History of the USA

Code: 106285
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
English Studies OB 2
English and Catalan Studies OB 3
English and Spanish Studies OB 3
English and French Studies OB 3
English and Classics Studies OB 3

Contact lecturer

Name :
Nicholas Livingston Spengler
Email :
nicholas.spengler@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Anita Hillary Raychawdhuri
Clara Román Vanden Berghe

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Students who wish to take this course need a C2 level of English within the “Common European Framework of Reference for Languages”, according to which students must be able to: comprehend a wide variety of long and complex texts; express themselves with fluency and spontaneity; use English flexibly and efficiently for social, professional, and academic purposes; produce well-structured texts about complex topics; and demonstrate command of the appropriate cohesive devices that are required in academic contexts.

Objectives

  • "Cultural History of the United States" provides an introduction to the sociocultural concepts and events that have defined the nation from its colonial origins to the present.
  • This subject fosters the analysis, debate and interpretation of the cultural production of the US, rooted in the historical events that have shaped this nation as we know it today.
  • The training obtained from this subject is essential for all US literature subjects within the degree of English Studies, insofar as the main aim of this subject is: on the one hand, to provide students with a historical and sociocultural base from which to approach the US literary texts that are studied at a later stage; and, on the other hand, to develop and practice the textual analysis skills that are fundamental for all literature subjects within the degree.
  • On completing "Cultural History of the United States", students will be able to: understand and explain the key sociocultural concepts and events that have shaped US history; link the history of this nation to its cultural production; demonstrate a strong understanding of the texts from the periods examined; generate written analyses of the texts studied in class; relate historical periods to their literary manifestations (this skill will be developed jointly with the subject "Literaure of the United States I: 19th Century"); and develop a critical perspective on the history, culture, and society of the United States.

Learning outcomes

  1. Locate specialised and academic information and select this according to its relevance.
  2. Incorporate ideas and concepts from published sources into work, citing and referencing appropriately.
  3. Express oneself fluently, correctly, appropriately and effectively, both orally and in writing, in an academic environment.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of compulsory texts on the cultural history of the British Isles and the United States.
  5. Express oneself in English, orally and in writing, in a formal register and using appropriate terminology in relation to the study of the cultural history of the British Isles and the United States.
  6. Demonstrate a full understanding of a wide range of literary, audio-visual and essayistic texts related to aspects of current culture and society in English, and recognise implicit meaning at a higher-proficient-user level (C2).
  7. Produce written and oral academic discourse with a fluency and accuracy appropriate to a higher-proficient-user level (C2).
  8. Carry out bibliographic searches of secondary sources related to current culture and society in English and their textual representation, using digital technologies (catalogues and databases).
  9. Distinguish principal ideas from secondary ideas and synthesise literary, audiovisual and essayistic texts related to current culture and society in the English language, and their textual representation.
  10. Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.
  11. Actively participate in forums on the online learning platform.
  12. Produce works in which the fundamental digital and bibliographic tools for the field of study are applied.
  13. Locate and organise relevant English-language information available on the internet, databases and libraries, and apply this to work and/or research environments.
  14. Rigorously assess the values conveyed by the texts analysed, making constructive criticism.
  15. Autonomously search, select and process information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
  16. Issue rating pertinent criticism supported in understanding the relevant information on issues related to the literature and culture of social, scientific or ethical concern.
  17. Take part in face-to-face and online debates in English on topics related to the culture and society in English and their representation in texts.
  18. Demonstrate full comprehension of a wide range of literary, audio-visual and essayistic texts related to aspects of current culture and society in English and recognise implicit meanings in these at Advanced User level (C1).
  19. Produce written and oral academic discourse with a fluency and accuracy appropriate at Advanced User level (C1).
  20. Produce advanced academic work of critical content in relation to primary and secondary sources dealing with current English language culture and society and its textual representation.
  21. Discuss with critical arguments orally in the classroom primary and secondary sources dealing with current English language culture and society and their textual representation.
  22. Develop advanced-level critical arguments applied to the interpretation of primary and secondary sources dealing with current English-language culture and society and its textual representation.
  23. Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
  24. Apply the work-organisation methodologies acquired to individual and group-based professional tasks.
  25. Express oneself effectively by applying argumentative and textual procedures in formal and scientific texts, in the language studied.
  26. Demonstrate understanding at advanced proficient-user level (C1) of a wide range of nineteenth-century literary texts in English and recognise implicit meaning.
  27. Produce written and oral academic discourse with a fluency and accuracy appropriate to a proficient-user level (C1).
  28. Distinguish principal ideas from secondary ideas and summarise literary, audiovisual and essayistic texts related to current culture and society in the English language and their textual representation.
  29. Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
  30. Apply the acquired work planning methodologies to individual and group professional tasks.
  31. Express oneself in English orally and in writing in an academic register and using appropriate terminology in relation to cultural, transnational and gender studies in English-speaking countries.
  32. Participate in face-to-face and virtual discussions in English on topics related to current culture and society in the English language and their textual representation.
  33. Analyse and interpret at an advanced level any aspect of current culture and society in the English language and its textual representation.
  34. Demonstrate full comprehension of a wide range of literary, audiovisual and essay texts related to aspects of current culture and society in English at proficient-user level (C1), and recognise implicit meaning.

Contents

1. “A City Upon a Hill”: Founding Myths and Indigenous-Colonial Contact

2. The Road to Revolution: the Great Awakening, the Enlightenment, and American Identity

3. Constitution and Compromise: the First Decades of Independence

4. “An Empire for Liberty”: Expansionism vs. Isolationism, Indian Removal and Slavery

5. Righteous Reform: the Second Great Awakening, Transcendentalism, Abolitionism, and Women’s Rights

6. “Manifest Destiny”: Westward Expansion and Rising North-South Tensions

7. “A House Divided”: the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow

8. “The Gilded Age”: Immigration, Industrialization, and Urbanization

9. “The Closing of the Frontier”: White Settlement and Native American Resistance and Assimilation

10. The Progressive Era: Reform, Imperialism, and World War I

11. The Culture of the Interwar Period: the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and Modernism

12. Victory, Paranoia, and the “New Frontier”: World War II and the Cold War

13. “We Shall Overcome”: Counterculture and Civil Rights Movements

14. Politics of Fear and Politics of Hope: the United States Today

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Assessment in class 5 0.2
Personal Study 30 1.2
Written assignments 15 0.6
Lectures 30 1.2
Assessment 5 0.2
Debates in class 20 0.8
Reading and Research 40 1.6

The teaching methodology of this subject is based on:

1 ECTS credit = 25 hours of learning > 6 credits = 150 hours

Directed activities (2cr., 50 hours)

Supervised activities (1 cr., 25 hours)

Autonomous activities (3 cr., 75 hours)

Classes combine theory and practice. It is essential that students study in advance the texts selected by the professors, as the dynamics of the class revolve around the active participation of students in every session.

Note: Within the teaching period established by the Faculty calendar, 15 minutes of class time will be reserved for students to complete the subject and teacher-assessment surveys.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Exam 2 (Final) 40 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 33, 34
Short quiz 1 5 0.5 0.02 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 19, 25, 27, 31
Class participation 10 1 0.04 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34
Exam 1 (Midterm) 40 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 33, 34
Short quiz 2 5 0.5 0.02 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 19, 25, 27, 31

Assessment for this course is based on the following:

  • Exam 1 = 40%
  • Exam 2 = 40%
  • Short quiz 1 = 5%
  • Short quiz 2 = 5%
  • Class participation = 10%

All evaluation dates will be confirmed at the beginning of the semester.

ASSESSMENT:

  • This subject follows the system of continuous assessment, unless the student opts for single assessment (see below).
  • All the exercises are COMPULSORY.
  • All students are required to study the compulsory texts for this subject and participate in class exercises. Any indication that students have not completed their work in this respect will affect their assessment in a negative way.
  • Students will obtain a "Not assessed"/"Not submitted" course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items (in this case, at least one of the two exams).
  • On carrying out each assessment activity, professors will inform students of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.
  • The student’s command of English will be taken into account when evaluating students' written work and overall performance; it will count as 25% of all the exercises.

SINGLE-ASSESSMENT:

The single assessment will consist of an exam comprising the following activities:

  • 2 passage commentaries (40%)
  • Essay based on a prompt related to the content of the course (40%)
  • 2 short quizzes: map and basic concepts (10%)

Class participation will count as 10% of the single assessment.

REASSESSMENT:

  • The reassessment exam is a two-hour content-synthesis test scheduled by the Faculty.
  • The student must previously have completed two thirds of the exercises in the continuous assessment (in this case, both exams) or have completed all of the tasks for the single assessment.
  • For the single assessment, the same reassessment method as continuous assessment will be used.
  • Students whose final average mark is 3,5 or higher can go to reassessment.
  • Students who have passed the subject cannot opt for reassessment to improve their final grade.
  • There is no limit to the grade that can be obtained through reassessment.
  • Class participation (group work, etc) cannot be reassessed.

PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT:

Plagiarism in any of the exercises will automatically lead to FAILING (0/10) the exercise, which cannot be reassessed. If the student plagiarizes a second time, s/he will fail the course. PLAGIARISM means copying a text (and this includes a single sentence) from unidentified sources and pretending it is part of one's own production (THIS INCLUDES COPYING SENTENCES OR FRAGMENTS FROM THE INTERNET, WHICH ARE INCLUDED WITHOUT ANY CHANGES TO THE TEXT THAT IS PRESENTED AS ONE'S OWN) and it is a serious academic offence. Students must learn to respect others' intellectual property and to always identify the sources they use. It is absolutely necessary for students to become entirely responsible for the originality and authenticity of their texts.

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

Irregularities refer, for instance, to copying in an exam, copying from sources without indicating authorship, or a misuse of AI such as presenting work as original that has been generated by an AI tool or programme. These evaluation activities will not be re-assessed.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:

This subject prohibits the use of AI technologies. The use of AI (or any other form of assistance) is not permitted during in-class assessments (exams, quizzes, and group work). The use of AI in any assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty, and the activity will be awarded a zero and cannot be reassessed. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.

Important note for exchange students (Erasmus, etc.) on exams and other tests: Erasmus students who request to bring forward an exam or any other type of assessment activity must present the teacher with an official document from their home university justifying their request.

Bibliography

Compulsory reading:

A dossier of short texts selected and provided by the teachers.

Recommended Bibliography:

Anderson, Carol. White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide. Bloomsbury, 2016.

Barney, William (ed). A Companion to 19th Century America. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.

Boles, John (ed.). A Companion to the American South. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2004.

Bronski, Michael. A Queer History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2012.

Ceniza Choy, Catherine. Asian American Histories of the United States. Beacon Press, 2022.

Collins, Patricia. Black Feminist Thought. New York: Routledge, 2000.

Davis, Angela J. (ed.) Policing the Black Man: Arrest, Prosecution and Imprisonment. Pantheon Books, 2017.

Deverell, William. A Companion to the American West. Blackwell, 2006.

Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2014.

Foner, Eric. A Short History of Reconstruction. Harper and Row, 1990.

Foner, Eric. The Story of American Freedom. Norton, 1998.

Ford, Lacy (ed.). A Companion to the Civil War and Reconstruction. Blackwell 2005.

Genovese, Eugene. Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World Slaves Made. Vintage Books, 1976.

Greene, Jack. A Companion to the American Revolution. Blackwell Publishing, 2004.

Hewitt, Nancy. A Companion to American Women's History. Blackwell 2002.

Jenkins, Philip. A History of the United States. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017 (5th Edition).

Jones-Rogers, Stephanie E. They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South. Yale UP, 2019.

King, David C. American History. A Visual Encyclopedia. Penguin Random House, 2019 (3rd Edition).

Kleinberg, S. Jay, Vicki Ruiz & Eileen Boris (eds). The Practice of US Women's History, Rutgers UP, 2008. ebook.

Morgan, Edmund. American Heroes: Profiles of Men and Women Who Shaped Early America. W.W. Norton & Co., 2009.

Nielsen, Kim E. A Disability History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2013.

Ortiz, Paul. An African American and Latinx History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2018.

Vickers, Daniel (ed.). A Companion to Colonial America. Blackwell, 2006.

Vorenberg, Michael. Final Freedom, The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Whitfield, Stephen (ed.). A Companion to 20th-Century America. Blackwell, 2006.

Wood, Gordon. Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic: 1789-1815. Oxford University Press, 2009.

Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present. Longman, 2010.

Journals:

Journal of American History. Electronic journal. https://www.jstor.org/journal/jamericanhistory

The Journal of African American History. Electronic journal. https://www.jstor.org/journal/jafriamerhist

Websites:

"The American Yawp." http://www.americanyawp.com/

Software

No specific software will be used.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 English first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 English first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 3 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 3 English first semester morning-mixed