COURSE UNIT TITLE

: RELIGION IN AMERICAN LITERATURE

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
AKE 6052 RELIGION IN AMERICAN LITERATURE ELECTIVE 3 0 0 8

Offered By

American Culture and Literature (English)

Level of Course Unit

Third Cycle Programmes (Doctorate Degree)

Course Coordinator

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ESRA ÇÖKER

Offered to

American Culture and Literature (English)

Course Objective

This course aims to enhance students' understanding of the importance of religious themes and issues in American literature starting from the colonial times to the present through intensive reading and discussion of influential essays and literary texts.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   Explore the significance of American Protestant thought in light of representative works and essays of American literature.
2   Understand the influence of civil religion on American culture and values.
3   Distinguish religious discourse related to the formation of American identity in selected texts.
4   Analyze moral issues (such as faith, death, after-life, a sense of belonging, death, after-life) in selected texts.
5   Demonstrate high competency in critical thinking and analytical skills.

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Introduction: Interpreting the Sacred Class Discussion
2 Religion and Culture "Religion as a Cultural System" Clifford Geertz. 87- 126. Selected Readings from Religion and Culture --Michel Foucault
3 Religion in American Life "In God We Trust : Religion in American Life" American Cultural Studies pp. 100-122. "Civil Religion in America." The Robert Bellah Reader. 225-246.
4 The 17th Century New England Mind: The Covenant Tradition Class Discussion
5 Errand into the Wilderness; Perry Miller Class Discussion
6 Scarlett Letter Class Discussion
7 Scarlett Letter Class Discussion
8 Northrope Frye ---The Great Code Class Discussion
9 Northrope Frye ---The Great Code Class Discussion
10 Deconstructing Faith Jacques Derrida Acts of Religion Mark C Taylor "Erring: A Postmodern Theology"
11 Deconstructing Faith Slavoj Zizek The Puppet and the Dwarf: The Perverse Core of Christianity
12 Sheri Tepper --Grass Class Discussion
13 Sheri Tepper --Grass Class Discussion
14 Sheri Tepper --Grass Class Discussion

Recomended or Required Reading

Bataille, Georges. Theory of Religion. New York, Zone 1990.
Bellah, Robert and Steven M Tipton, eds. The Robert Bellah Reader. Durham; Duke UP,
2006.
Deridda, Jacques. Acts of Religion. New York: Routlege, 2001.
Deloria, Vine Jr. God is Red: A Native View of Religion. Golden; Fulcrum, 1973.
Frye, Northtop. The Great Code: The Bible and Literature. San Diego; Harvest, 1982.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. 1850. Philadelphia; Courage, 1986.
Miller, Perry. Errand into the Wilderness. Cambridge; Belknap-Harvard UP; 1956.
---. The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century. Cambridge; Belknap-Harvard UP;
1983..
Paden, William. Interpreting the Sacred: Ways of Viewing Religion. Beacon, 2002.
Tepper, Sheri S. Grass. New York; Bantam, 1989.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

1. Courses: Courses are the primary components of instruction among teaching strategies to lay the theoretical basis of subject and introduce the reading material relevant to the studied topic. Courses display a central role in getting to know the terms and concepts defining the topic.
2. In-Class discussions: In-class discussions aim at questioning the applicability of course material to diverse situations and thus increasing the factual tangibility of the information. The last hour of each weekly lecture is reserved for discussions.
3. Visual presentations and films: It includes the in-class projection of visual data such as pictures, illustrations, photographs, and maps as well as films and documentaries complementing the topic.

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MTE MIDTERM EXAM
2 FCG FINAL COURSE GRADE
3 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE MTE * 0.40 + FCG* 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. Midterm exam covers the topics instructed in class from the beginning of semester to the day of the exam.
2. Final exam covers the topics instructed in class after the midterm exam to the end of the semester, with some vital references to the content of the midterm exam.
3.Some exam questions are essay type questions that require students to use their analytical and comprehension skills.
4. Students are expected to give reference to the primary sources that they use.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

1. Students are required to attend 70% of the course schedule.
2. No dictionaries are allowed during the exam. All vocabulary used in the exam are covered previously in the class and expected to be familiar to the student.
3. Any form of cheating in the exam will result in a zero grade and also in disciplinary action.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

korpez@hotmail.com veya esra.coker@deu.edu.tr

Office Hours

Will be scheduled according to the annual program schedule.

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 12 3 36
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 12 7 84
Preparation for midterm exam 1 15 15
Preparation for final exam 1 15 15
Preparing presentations 2 15 30
Preparing assignments 1 10 10
Final 1 3 3
Midterm 1 3 3
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 196

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6PO.7PO.8PO.9PO.10PO.11PO.12PO.13PO.14PO.15PO.16PO.17
LO.144435355545
LO.233435355545
LO.35544555555
LO.45544355555
LO.55544355555