COURSE UNIT TITLE

Offered By

American Culture and Literature

Level of Course Unit

Second Cycle Programmes (Master's Degree)

Course Coordinator

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR NILSEN GÖKÇEN ULUK

Offered to

American Culture and Literature

Course Objective

This course is designed to analyze in the selected works of American literature the construction of the individual and the relationship between the individual and society. Since the topic to be handled initially involves the processes of the formation of the individual, Psychoanalytical, Archetypal, and Feminist-Psychoanalytical theories will provide the required background. The theories of Ethics ranging from Aristoteles to Levinas will help illuminate the processes that involve the transformation of the subject to the individual and the constructive and destructive functions of society. Finally, inner and external dynamics that motivate individuals confronted with ethical dilemmas will be examined.

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

Kuram:
Louis P. Pojman, Lewis Vaughn (der.), The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature.
Carl Gustav Jung, Four Archetypes.
Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays.
Annis Pratt (der.), The Freud Reader by Sigmund Freud.
Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays.

Kurgu:
Edgar Allan Poe, "The Fall of the House of Usher."
---., "Tell Tale Heart."
---., "The Black Cat."
---., "The Raven."
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter.
Herman Melville, Moby Dick.
---., Billy Budd.
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Bernard Malamud, The Assistant.
Ursula LeGuin, Always Coming Home.
Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin.
---., The Handmaid's Tale.
Philip Roth, Human Stain.
J. M. Coetzee, Disgrace.
---, Lives of Animals.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture
Discussion
Text Analysis
Student Presentations

Assessment Methods

Further Notes About Assessment Methods

will be annouced.

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