2021-2022 Sprıng Graduate Electıve Course Catalogue
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2021-2022 SPRING SEMESTER DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE Graduate (MA) Programme Elective Course Catalogue |
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| ENGY 5554
Postcolonial Literature and Multiculturalism II Dr. Esen KARA |
In this course we will continue to explore the representations of postcolonial and multicultural identities in contemporary literature. Through theoretical texts, we will first look at contemporary discourses and key terminologies, as well as the changing paradigms of subalternity in de-colonial thinking. We will critically examine the universalizing discourse of multiculturalism and its Euro-centric undertones in the context of globalization and analyze the forms of neo-colonialism in today’s world. Through a selection of literary texts as examples of world literature, we will discuss the importance of imagination and aesthetics for subverting dualistic epistemic traditions and re-framing official national histories. Specifically, we will focus on the intersections of gender studies, indigenous studies, and poetics and politics of memory in postcolonial writing. |
| ENGY 5590
Fictions for the Future of the EU: Confronting Fears and Building Values in the European Union by way of Literature and Art Dr. Ahmet SÜNER
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This course, which is supported by the European Union as a Jean Monnet module, intends to show students how literary and artistic fictions in general and fictions of fear in particular might be thought of as significant sources of shared value for the EU. As students interpret some important literary and cinematic examples of fictions of fear during class discussions, they will be invited to engage with questions of value, especially with a view to some of the most important issues that EU has been facing and is likely to face in the future regarding democracy, equality, immigration and the environment. They will also familiarize themselves with the discourse of values as invoked in EU documents such as Lisbon Treaty and the EU Charter of Human Rights. The students will obtain a “Jean Monnet certificate” upon successful completion of the course.
These are some of the questions that we will investigate throughout the course: How can we understand the role of literary and artistic fictions of fear in the project of building shared values in EU? How can we contribute to processes that concern “the becoming of the Union” by way of engaging with literature and art? How can literary and artistic fictions in general and fictions of fear in particular make us wonder about and reflect upon the future of EU, as well as motivate us to work towards finding solutions to its problems? The fictions selected for class discussion, especially in the first half of the course, are mainly renowned examples from literary history, including works by Shakespeare, Voltaire and Mary Shelley. Among these fictions, we will look at Frankenstein as a quintessential European fiction, where the main question consists in the necessity of, and failure in, building European values. The course will be supplemented by three informative lectures by specialists on European issues (democracy-equality by Aylin Güney; immigration by Ayselin Yıldız and environment by Defne Günay). In the second half of the course, we will have further discussions on acclaimed dystopias such as 1984, V for Vendetta and Never Let me Go, where our particular focus will be the different ways these fictions invoke the value of human dignity and the idea of resistance against injustice. Students will carry out individual projects, make individual presentations and prepare final reports on several fictions of their choice. |
| ENGY 5594
Literary Genres II Dr. Francesca CAUCHI
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The overall focus of this course is Modern European Drama. Two dramatic genres will be interrogated: realism and symbolism. The purpose of the course is to challenge these two ‘-isms’ and to examine the extent to which the so-called realist and/or symbolist dramas of Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov, Brecht, and Pinter can be said to conform to the concept of realism first propounded by Émile Zola in 1873. The properties of symbolist drama will be examined in the latter part of the course through a comparative critique of Ibsen and Lorca. |