Reading and Analysis (ELIT103)

Dept. of English Language and Literature | Fall 2022-2023

Tuesday 10.00-12.50 @ Room B-313
Assist. Prof. Serhat Uyurkulak | serhat.uyurkulak@fbu.edu.tr
Office hours: Mondays 10.00-12.00, Thursdays 11.00-13.00
(Please make an appointment by email.)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course is designed to familiarize students with relatively more informed ways of text reading and
analysis that go beyond immediate reader responses. The course will encourage students to discuss
and interpret sample poems, short stories, plays, and other forms of prose by using the basic literary
terms that they will learn.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

According to the designated learning outcomes of this course, students will:

 Comprehend the differences between literary text types,
 Know the analytical and interpretive concepts unique to different literary text types,
 Develop a literary insight that exceeds the established attitudes and reactions of readers of
literature,
 Acquire a rich understanding of basic literary terms such as author, work, reader, meaning,
and figures of speech.

COURSE POLICIES and REQUIREMENTS:

Students are required to read the assigned texts before coming to each class. They are expected to
be prepared for each session and to participate in class discussions. Their participation will be
graded.

Course schedule, materials or policies may change during the semester. Students should keep
themselves informed and updated about these changes by regularly checking the course
announcements made by email and/or on the course page.

Throughout the semester, students will be given two pop-quizzes, one midterm exam, and one final
exam. They will be informed about the scope and structure of these examinations later in the
semester.

ACADEMIC HONESTY and DISCUSSION ETHICS:

Plagiarism (intihal, akademik hırsızlık) is “taking” someone’s ideas and words from a printed or an
online source and using them in one’s assignments or exams without proper acknowledgement and
citation. Plagiarism of any kind is a serious academic and ethical misconduct. Copying information or
text from somebody else is also a violation of academic honesty that is as grave as plagiarism.
Both plagiarism and copying require strict disciplinary action. Cases of plagiarism and copying
detected in assignments and/or exams will be reported to the University and will result in failing this
course. One must keep in mind that with the advanced Turnitin platform integrated with the FBU’s
Blackboard platform, detecting such cases is extremely easy.

In this course, students are expected to abide by the rules of academic (and civic) discussion.
Accordingly, any idea can be freely expressed and discussed so far as it does not have an aggressive
attitude towards others, does not contain insult, is based on real knowledge, and is related to the
course topics. Differences among individuals must be respected. No one can be discriminated against
because of their ideas, convictions, beliefs, and/or identities.

ATTENDANCE:

According to the YÖK and Fenerbahçe University regulations, a minimum rate of 70% must be
maintained by students in terms of attendance to classes. Consequently, students should not miss
more than 12 class sessions (4 weeks in total) to be successful in this course. If you miss more than
12 sessions, you will directly fail.

SEMESTER GRADE EVALUATION:

Two pop-quizzes: 10% + 10%

Midterm exam: 30%
Final Exam: 50%
(Satisfactory participation in class discussions will roll your lower quiz grade up to 100.)

COURSE MATERIALS:
The poems, short stories, plays, and other prose works to be discussed in this course will be provided
by the instructor. All course materials will be uploaded to the course’s Blackboard page under
“İÇERİKLER”, organized by weeks.

Students are expected to visit the course page regularly to download the texts that will be analyzed
and interpreted each week.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

Week 2 Oct. 11 Introduction to the course, overview of the syllabus and policies
What do we mean by “English Literature”?
What is “active reading”?

Week 3 Oct. 18 V.S. Naipaul – “B. Wordsworth” (1959)

William Wordsworth poems accompanying the story

Week 4 Oct. 25 V.S. Naipaul’s short story and W. Wordsworth’s poems continued

Week 5 Nov. 1 Jamaica Kincaid – “Girl” (1984)

Ursula K. Le Guin – “She Unnames Them” (1985)

2
Week 6 Nov. 8 A.S. Byatt – “The Thing in the Forest” (2000)

Week 7 Nov. 15 William Blake – “The Chimney Sweeper” (I and II),

“The Little Black Boy,” “London,” (1789-1794)

Make up Date will Pre-midterm exam review.

for Week 1 be Please bring your specific questions that you want to discuss.
announced

Week 8 MIDTERM EXAM WEEK

Week 9 Nov. 29 William Butler Yeats – “The Second Coming” (1920)

W.H. Auden – “Musée des Beaux Arts” (1940)

Week 10 Dec. 6 e.e. cummings – “the sky was can dy” (1925)
Louise Glück – “Gretel in Darkness” (1975)
Martin Espada – “My Father as a Guitar” (2000)

Week 11 Dec. 13 Virginia Woolf – “Professions for Women” (1931)

Week 12 Dec. 20 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o – “Decolonizing the Mind” (1986)

Week 13 Dec. 27 Susan Glaspell – Trifles (1916)

Week 14 Jan. 3 Steven Korbar – What Are You Going to Be? (2011)

Week 15 FINAL EXAM WEEK