Topic outline

  • General

  • General information about the module

    •  

    Intitulé de cours: 

                    " A Shining City on a Hill": An Introduction to American Character, Attitudes and Societal Composition

    Auteur:

                      Dr. LAMRI Amel

    Email:

                    lamri.amel@gmail.com

    Date de Creation:

                     31/03/2021

    Public Cible:

                    First year students of English Language 

    Les Pré-requis:

    Students' knowledge about the American geography and character is tested below. This knowledge was acquired in the first semester when students were introduced to the British character and geography opposing it with the American one. 

    Objectifs Pédagogiques:

    At the end of this course, students will be able to:

    • know the geographical location of America, its borders and its size.
    • make the difference between " the Americas" and "America" and " the United States of America".
    • recognise the American characters, attitudes, and values.
    • realise the aspects of the constitution of the American society and why it is considered as a Land of Diversity.
    • understand globally the American Democracy, equality, social mobility and American Dream. 
    • apprehend the history of immigration in America, its waves and motivations.
    • differentiate between the different American Ethnic groups generally and Hispanics specifically.
    • observe the different contributions of immigrants in building the American culture.

    Présentation de cours:

    This course intends to offer an initial background about the American history in general. It describes the typical American values, attitudes, and other exclusive American governmental principles like the American Democracy, The American Dream and Equality. Moreover, the phenomena of immigration in America is highlighted focusing on the different waves of immigration to the New World, motivations and contribution in building the American culture.

    Plan de Cours:

    1. Introduction
    2. American Character: Oneness vs Diversity
    3. A Nation of Immigrants
    4. Test 

    Modalité d'èvaluation:

    students will be evaluated after a test and an exam. for the test, students will pass a written, classroom test making up 50% of the whole mark added to 50% exam mark.

    Description de travail attendu:

    students are required to follow all details of the lecture, take notes so that they can do their assignments, and correctly answer the questions of the test and of the exam.

    • Introduction

      Intitulé de la section:

                                     Introduction

      L'Objectif de la section:

      At the end of this section, students will be able to:

      1. know the geographical location of America, its borders and size
      2. understand the history of the discovery of the New World, its first settlers and its native inhabitants.
      3. be aware of the different regions that make up the United States of America.
      4. recognize the different permanent colonies that were established by the British in America.

      Description de la section:

      In this section, students knowledge about the American geography, character and history will be tested. After that, they will be given a map of the United States of America so that they can describe the geographical location of America, its states, its regions, its climate....etc. Then, students were required to read the book given so that they know the story of composition of the United States and thus be prepared for the next section that is the American character.

      Quelque resources et activité pour la section:

         you will find below all resources and activities for the lecture:



    • Lecture 01

      Intitulé de section:

                                     American Character: Oneness vs Diversity


      Character of America: The People | BYU Independent Study






      L'objectif de la section:

      At the end of this section, students will be able to:

      1- Know what is meant by the typical American character.

      2- Recognize the diversity of America: Climate, population, ethnic minorities, races, languages, cultures...etc.

      3- understand all American typical governmental and societal traits including: democracy, equality, social mobility and social movements.

      4- be able to answer correctly the assignment at the end of the lecture because its mark is going to be added to the whole TD mark for the module.

      Une petite description sur la section:

       This lecture provides students with a general knowledge about the typical American character, the traits that made America considered as a land of diversity and the features of the American government. Therefore, American democracy principles including equality, social mobility and social movements. At the end of the lecture, students should correctly answer the questions of the online test that turn around their understanding of the lecture itself.

      Quelque resources et activity pour la section:

      All the resources, readings, questions of the lecture will be found below:

      • Lecture 01: Warm-Up Questions Chat

        Before the start of the lecture, a chat between students and the lecturer is done. students should individually answer these questions and then try to discuss their answers in groups. After that, group answers will be shared with the lecturer. the questions are:

        1. - where is America situated?
        2. - what are the main borders of America?
        3. - what are the major features of being an America?
        4. - what do we mean by American democracy?
        5. - is America a land that is supporting equality between its citizens?
        6. - why America is considered as a very democratic country?


      • Lecture 01: American Character Lesson

        This document explains the different elements of the lecture. After the explanation of the lecture,  students, thus, have to read thoroughly the lecture to find all the elements dealt with in the discussion of the questions of the warm up. This lecture includes:

        1. PDF of the lecture.
        2. Assignment
        3. Further readings.
        4. Glossary.
      • Lecture 01: Assignment

        In an essay, Describe the progress of the American democracy through history using quotes and extracts from the American Constitution and the American Declaration of Independence.

      • Lecture 01: Glossary

        This glossary provides students with the definition of all unclear, key words of the lecture.

    • Lecture 02

      Intitulé de la section:

                                          A Nation of Immigration

      The Language of Immigration and Politics - Re-imagining Migration



      Objectif de la section:

      At the end of this lecture students will be able to:
      1. understand the history of immigration in America.
      2. know the different immigration waves in America.
      3. apprehend the different historical events that created the American ethnic groups.
      4. differentiate between America: a salad bowl and America: Melting pot.

      Petite Description de la section: 

      This lecture describes America as a land of immigrants narrating the history of immigration in America. Moreover, the immigration waves in America are to be studied in the lecture focusing on the change of the American regulations from openness to restrictions that decreased the number of immigrants in America. At the end, the lecture highlights the different contributions of immigrants in building America in different domains.

      Quelque resources et activitiés pour la section:

      all resources of the lecture can be found bellow:



    • Final Test

      L'intitule de la section:

      Second Semester Test in History and Civilization of the English Language

      L'objectif de la section:

      This section aims at:

      1. Testing students' understanding of the lectures.
      2. Preparing students for the final exam of the module.
      3. Finally, establishing a room for chat between students and tutor about the questions of the test.

      Une petite description de la section:

      This section is composed of a test of the module and a chat about it between students and tutor.