COURSE UNIT TITLE

Offered By

Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies (English)

Level of Course Unit

First Cycle Programmes (Bachelor's Degree)

Course Coordinator

PROFESSOR DOCTOR ATALAY GÜNDÜZ

Offered to

Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies (English)
English Translation and Interpreting

Course Objective

This course explores the dynamic interplay between literature, culture, and language across key historical periods, focusing on the concept of zeitgeist the spirit of the times. Students will examine how dominant ideologies, worldviews, and cultural paradigms shift over time, shaping and reflecting the human experience. Through close readings of seminal works, the course traces the evolution of thought, entertainment, and identity from the medieval era to the modern age.Beginning with the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, students will delve into the medieval worldview, humor, and its cultural fabric. Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream provides a lens into the Renaissance, its Greek influences, and the emergence of enduring themes in Western culture. Moving to the Age of Reason, Jane Austen's works illuminate decorum, social order, and the birth of the novel as a literary form. Dickens Hard Times contextualizes the Industrial Revolution, exploring its effects on education, ideology, and the environment. Ibsen's A Doll House introduces the struggles and aspirations of 19th-century women s movements, while Shaw's Pygmalion interrogates class distinctions in England and the role of language in identity and social mobility.This course equips students with critical tools to analyze literature as a reflection and driver of cultural and historical change.Modernism and the stream of consciousness are explored through Joyce s Ulysses (Calypso), revealing the cultural foundations of language, relativity, and the individual as subject.The course also examines political and cultural dynamics through films and plays. Gandhi (1982) introduces colonialism and British imperialism, while Fugard s Master Harold and the Boys sheds light on South African apartheid and systemic racism as hegemonic ideology. The film The Green Book will be used to explore segregation in the USA and its social implications.

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

1. English Studies Book: An Introduction to Language, Literature and Culture by Rob Pope, Routledge,New York. 2009.
2. The Comparative Perspective on Literature: Approaches to Theory and Practice ed. Clayton Koelb and Susan Noakes, Cornell University Press. 1988.
3. Cultural Theory & Popular Culture: An Introduction, by John Storey, Pearson Education Ltd. 2009.
4. Gifford, H. (2021). Comparative literature. Routledge.
5. Damrosch, D., & Spivak, G. C. (2011). Comparative literature/world literature: A discussion with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and David Damrosch. Comparative Literature Studies, 48(4), 455-485.
6. Klarer, M. (2013). An introduction to literary studies. Routledge.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Face to face and interactive courses. Students are expected to come class having read the assigned texts which are given to them weekly and to participate in class discussions and practices. Students are also expected to submit two midterm papers based on invidual research.

Assessment Methods

Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None.

Assessment Criteria

1. Two midterm exams and a final exam will be given throughout the term.
2. Students are expected to come class having read the texts that are assigned to them weekly and to participate in class discussions and practices. Students are also expected to submit response papers based on invidual research.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

1. Attendance is required
2. Homeworks must be handed in on the due date.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

To be announced.

Office Hours

To be anounced by the instructor.

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes