COURSE UNIT TITLE

Offered By

American Culture and Literature

Level of Course Unit

Third Cycle Programmes (Doctorate Degree)

Course Coordinator

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR NILSEN GÖKÇEN ULUK

Offered to

American Culture and Literature

Course Objective

The purpose of this course is to develop en overall view of American literary history and study some important authors who innovate, instead of the existing literary tradition, perpetual and original fashions culminating in a school of their own and a body of disciples on whom they leave indelible imprints. We will examine how these innovations are constructed in the works of these pioneering authors and how they manifest themselves in the works of their followers in ways differing from both the old tradition and the original manifestations of the new. Since some of these interactions reach beyond borders, we will also examine the influences of these literary innovators internationally.
The selected author of this semester is Edgar Allan Poe. After a discussion of the nature of his literary innovations, we will focus on his influence on various authors of the Romantic, Gothic, and particularly French Symbolist traditions.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Recomended or Required Reading

Criticism:
Eric W. Carlson, Recognition of Edgar Allan Poe
Elizabeth Phillips, Edgar Allan Poe: an American Imagination
---., Poe's Seductive Influence on Great Writers
Charles Haines, Edgar Allan Poe: His Writings and Influence
Ian Walker, Edgar Allan Poe: The Critical Heritage
Scott Peeples, Afterlife of Edgar Allan Poe
Lois Davis Vines, Poe Abroad: Influence, Reputation, Affinities
Celestine Pierre Cambiaine, Influence of Poe in France
Fiction:
Edgar Allan Poe, Tales of Mystery and Imagination
---., The Gold Bug
---., Arthur Gordon Pym
---., Selected Verse and Prose
Hawthorne, "The Minister's Black Veil" and "Rappaccini's Daughter"
Melville, Moby Dick
Thomas Mann, The Buddenbrooks
Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes
Paul Auster, The New York Trilogy
Steven King, Gerald's Game
Walter de la Mare, The Return
Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Jorge Luis Borges, Labyrinths
Terry Southern, Flash and Filigree
William Golding, The Lord of the Flies

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture
Discussion
Text Analysis
Student Presentations

Assessment Methods

Successful / Unsuccessful

Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria

Either the midterm or the final of this course will involve writing a research paper. The minimum criteria in the evaluation of this assignment will be the sensibleness and coherence of the argument, fluency of the development of ideas and thoughts, the quality and range of research, the intellectual level of the analyses and syntheses of the sources, their integration to the main idea, and the success in the accuracy, fluency in the idiomatic usage of language. The latest version of the MLA documentation style shall be employed in the research paper. The Wrks Cited must include at least ten secondary sources. Study aids such as Cliffsnotes, Sparksnotes will not be accepted as part of the Works Cited.
The minimum criteria for the in-class exam with essay type questions include the logical associations with the question, coherence and consistency in the unfolding and development of the idea(s), and the accurate and fluent usage of language.
In the presentations the minimum criteria for evaluation are an overall command of material, clarity and succinctness of verbal expression, organization of thoughts and ideas, timing, and the knowledgeableness of the presenting student in answering questions in the ensuing discussion.
In order to be able to follow class discussions and lectures, the students must read the required material for the week. Each student is thus expected to be ready to participate in an intellectually stimulating discussion of the texts. In addition, s/he is expected to establish ties between the present and previously introduced material in order to be able to develop a wider perspective on underlying issues.
In the quizzes, the questions are tailored to evaluate the student s class preparation for the day; therefore, they will be based on facts in rather than interpretations of the assigned materials.
In all sorts of exams, personal interpretations must be supported by facts and fact-based knowledge on the part of the student.
The grade from class participation will be earned based on the intellectual level of the student s class participation in discussions.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

Any attempt at plagiarism at research papers will result in failure in this course and start a legal process against the student.
The minimum attendance requirement for this class is 70 %.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

Address:Faculty of Letters Building Office A 220
Phone: (232) 301 86 78
E-mail: gokcenils@yahoo.com

Office Hours

By appointment

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes