COURSE UNIT TITLE

: WOMEN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

DEGREE PROGRAMMES

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
ELECTIVE

Offered By

American Culture and Literature

Level of Course Unit

First Cycle Programmes (Bachelor's Degree)

Course Coordinator

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR FÜSUN ÇOBAN DÖŞKAYA

Offered to

American Culture and Literature

Course Objective

This course aims to introduce the genre of autobiography and its historical development and to discuss with students the necessary methods and terms to analyze it. The main activity of the course is to examine the main characteristics of women autobiographers and to analyze the works of important women autobiographers. The fact that writing autobiography, which is defined as an adventure of the mind, is considered to be a man's work and that the name of this course is a defiance. In addition, the focus will be on how women's autobiography differs from men's autobiography.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   To have knowledge about autobiography and women s autobiography.
2   To have a basic knowledge of some autobiography based concepts.
3   To be capable of interpreting sources on women s autobiography and doing textual analysis.
4   To be capable of using course s terminology.
5   To have a basic knowledge of theoretical approaches used in autobiography studies.

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Definition of Autobiography: Historical Development, Autobiography. First Examples: Saint Augustine, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Wordsworth, Freud, Goethe. Autobiography and the Body. Introduction
2 Autobiography Studies: Roy Pascal, Paul de Man, Sigmund Freud, Dilthey, Georg Misch, Georges Gusdorf, Karl Weintraub. Class Discussion
3 The effects of Marxism and Structuralism on Autobiography studies. Class Discussion
4 Autobiography Studies after 1970s: The death of the subject and the effects of Michel Foucault and Roland Barthes Class Discussion
5 Autobiography and ideology: Leigh Gilmore Forgotten identities become the subject of autobiography: Women, immigrants, homosexuals. Class Discussion
6 Post-1990 autobiography studies: The growth of autobiography studies in the light of new theories. Class Discussion
7 History of Women's Autobiographies: The first religious texts written in the Middle Ages. 17th century, 19th century, Industrial revolution. Estelle Jelinek's historical study of women's autobiographies. Class Discussion
8 Mid-Term Exam
9 Women Autobiography examples: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Kate Millett, Gertrude Stein, Doris Lessing Class Discussion
10 Women Autobiography examples: Gertrude Stein, Doris Lessing Class Discussion
11 Autobiography Researchers: Sidonie Smith, Nancy Chodorow Class Discussion
12 Effects of Feminist theoreticians on Autobiography Studies: Helene Cixous, Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigaray Class Discussion
13 Women's Autobiography in the Ottoman Empire and the early examples in Turkey. Class Discussion
14 Examples from Turkey: Halide Edip Adıvar, Sabiha Sertel, Samiha Ayverdi, Cahit Uçuk, Mina Urgan, Afet Inan Class Discussion
15 General Evaluation Review
16 Final Exam

Recomended or Required Reading

Jelinek, Estelle. (1980). Women's Autobiography: Essays in Criticism. Bloomington & London: Indiana University Press.
Jelinek, Estelle. (1986). The Tradition of Women s Autobiography: from Antiquity to the Present. Boston: Twayne Publishers.
Aksoy, Nazan. (2009). Kurgulanmış Benlikler. Iletişim.
Smith, Sidonie and Watson, Julia. (1998). Women, Autobiography, Theory: A Reader. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Smith, Sidonie and Watson, Julia. (2001). Reading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life-Narratives. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Explaining the topic to students through interactive presentations and supporting it with visual materials, followed by in-depth analysis of the topic through student discussions.

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MTE MIDTERM EXAM
2 FIN FINAL EXAM
3 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE (RESIT) MTE * 0.40 + FIN * 0.60
4 RST RESIT
5 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE (RESIT) MTE * 0.40 + RST * 0.60


Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria

1. Ability to understand and define basic concepts correctly
2. Relating related concepts to each other and using them in context.
3. Analyzing a given text or discourse and using the terminology in the course content effectively.
4. Using language correctly and effectively.
5. Relating and applying the knowledge learned to real in real world examples.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

1. 70% attendance is compulsory.
2. It is important to attend classes and come to class by reading the subject beforehand.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

fusun.doskaya@deu.edu.tr

Office Hours

Monday 08:30-09:30
Tuesday 08.30-09:30

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 13 3 39
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 13 4 52
Preparation for midterm exam 1 16 16
Preparation for final exam 1 22 22
Final 1 2 2
Midterm 1 1 1
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 132

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6PO.7PO.8PO.9PO.10PO.11PO.12PO.13PO.14
LO.1343555
LO.2355
LO.34345555
LO.4545555
LO.545555

CONTACT INFORMATION
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Phone: +90(232) 412 12 12 - Fax: +90 (232) 464 81 35

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