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FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

ELIT 363 Shakespeare and His Contemporaries

SYLLABUS

Academic Year Semester Lectures Classroom Credits ECTS

2021-2022 Fall Fridays 09:10-12:00 L-101 5

Instructor: Dr. Zümre Gizem Yılmaz Karahan

Office:
Phone: 596 48 68
E-mail:zumregizem.yilmaz@asbu.edu.tr
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 13:30-15:30

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION – PLEASE READ**

Please note that the instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus at
any time for any reason as deemed necessary. Students will, however, be notified in a
timely manner of any syllabus changes. Students must read their e-mails regularly, as
important information will be communicated this way.

Prerequisites None
Course Description This course introduces Renaissance and Early Modern English
drama, which covers a period from the Renaissance to the
Reformation.
Aim of the Course The primary aims of the course include to provide a survey of
the major plays of the early modern period; to situate these
plays within the social, philosophical and historical contexts;
and to develop strong close reading and analytic skills in
relation to these plays.
Learning Students who complete this course successfully are expected to
Outcomes  demonstrate sound understanding and knowing the
essentials of early modern society and drama.
 analyse and evaluate early modern plays based on their
different societal and cultural backgrounds.
 critically examine and evaluate different dramatic forms
and conventions of the period, regarding ontological,
epistemological, and cultural differences within the research
management and philosophy of the social sciences and their
impact on various social science traditions.
 to be able to develop research idea and conduct research
focusing on selected plays from different contexts.
 increase their intellectual capacity in comprehending
societal, philosophical and political formations along with
their influences on the dramatic forms of the period.
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Contribution to Overall
Assessment Instruments Frequency Grade (%)
Reflection papers 5 25
Mode of
Mid-term examination 1 25
Assessment
Final examination 1 50

Important Note
In the grading of the papers, up to 20% of the total mark will be taken off for
grammatical and writing mistakes.

Attendance
Attendance is compulsory. More than 11 (eleven) hours of absence will mean that you
have failed the course. Punctual attendance is required at every class meeting.

Plagiarism
There is no tolerance for plagiarism and cheating in ASBÜ. Plagiarism is a serious
academic offence, and therefore the students in such an act may be subject to
assignment or course failure, and even permanent expulsion from the school.

Course Outline:
Week I General Introduction to the course and Renaissance period
Week II Renaissance comedy: Nicholas Udall’s Ralph Roister Doister
Week III Revenge tragedy: Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy
Week IV Renaissance tragedy: Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus
Week V-VI Shakespearean tragedy: William Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Week VII Mid-Term
Week VIII-IX Shakespearean comedy: William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer
Night’s Dream
Week X Shakespearean problem play: William Shakespeare’s The Tempest
Week XI-XII Comedy of Humours: Ben Jonson’s Volpone
Week XIII Jacobean Tragedy: John Webster’s Duchess of Malfi
Week XIV John Ford, Thomas Dekker and William Rowley’s The Witch of
Edmonton
General Evaluation

Required Textbook  Boehrer, Bruce. Environmental Degradation in Jacobean Drama.

and Additional  Campana, Joseph and Scott Maisano, eds. Renaissance
Resources Posthumanism.
 Dresden, Sam. Humanism in the Renaissance.
(Suggested Reading)  Duckert, Lowell. For All Waters: Finding Ourselves in Early
Modern Wetscapes.
 Egenford, Laura K., ed. Elizabethan Drama.
 Estok, Simon C. Ecocriticism and Shakespeare: Reading
Ecophobia.
 Fletcher, Anthony. Elizabethan Village.
 Gassner & Quinn, eds. The Reader’s Encyclopedia of World
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Drama.
 Murray, Linda. The Late Renaissance and Mannerism.
 Tillyard, E. M. W. Elizabethan World Picture.