Information Package
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Program of American Culture and Literature (English)

ACL256

INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL STUDIES 2

Course Code
ACL256
Semester
Fourth Term (Spring)
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
6
Course TypeCompulsory Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study2
SemesterFourth Term (Spring)
ECTS6
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Analyze signs pertaining to culture through the perspective of Semiotics.
  2. Apply a critical cultural approach to case studies in contemporary American society.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme Components
Course DescriptionBuilding up on the skills acquired in Introduction to Cultural Studies 1, this course focuses on the study of culture through verbal as well as visual means drawing from advertising pictures, photographs, films, videos, and selected readings. Case studies relating to contemporary American culture and life enhance the students? ability to analyze culture critically and systematically.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction: What is Culture? What is Cultural Studies? What is Semiotics?
2nd Week Chapters 1-2: Definition, How Signs Work
3rd Week Chapter 3: Signs, Symbols, and Signals
4th Week Chapters 4-7: Metaphor: Communicating by Analogy, Metonymy: Communicating by Associations, Language and Speaking, Syntagmatic Analysis of Texts
5th Week Chapters 8-9: Forms of Signs, Visual Aspects of Signs
6th Week chapter 10-11: Problems of Signs, Denotation and Connotation
7th Week Chapters 12-15: Imaginary Signs, Signs that Lie, Men's Looks: Signifiers and Life-Style, Coherence in Signs
8th Week MIDTERM
9th Week Chapters 16-19: Who Uses Signs, Signs and Identity, Terms Associated with Signs, Signs and Images
10th Week Holiday
11th Week Midterm
12th Week Chapters 20-22: No Sign as Sign, Signs that Confound: Optical Illusions, Sign Modifiers
13th Week Chapters 23-27: Manifest and Latent Meanings in Signs, Analyzing Signs and Sign Systems, Codes, Characteristics of Codes, Meaning
14th Week Work Toward Group Projects
15th Week Work Toward Group Projects
16th Week Presentation of Group Projects
17th Week HOLIDAY
18th Week Revision and Wrap up
Recommended or Required ReadingRequired Reading:
Berger, Arthur Asa. Signs in Contemporary Culture: An Introduction to Semiotics. 2 nd ed. Wisconsin: Sheffield, 1999.
Recommended Reading:
Cobley, Paul, and Litsa Jansz, eds. Introducing Semiotics. Cambridge: Totem, 1997.
During, Simon, ed. The Cultural Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 1993.
Grossberg, Lawrence, Cary Nelson, and Paula Treichler, eds. Cultural Studies. NY: Routledge, 1992.
Hall, Stuart, ed. Representation: Cultural Representation and Signifying Practices. London: Sage, 1997.
Surber, Jere Paul. Culture and Critique: An Introduction to the Critical Discourses of Cultural Studies. Nashville, TN:
Westview, 1997.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Questions/Answers
  • Project
  • Other
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 40
Quiz 2 10
Project 1 20
Total(%) 70
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 70
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 30
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 2 2
Preparation for Quiz 2 2 4
Individual or group work 14 6 84
Preparation for Final exam 1 10 10
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 10 10
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 2 2
Homework
Project 1 16 16
Quiz 2 1 2
Total Work Load172
Total Work Load / 30 (h)5.73
ECTS Credit of the Course6
Language of InstructionEnglish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2
K1 X X
K2 X X
K3 X X
K4 X X
K5 X X
K6 X X
K7
K8
K9
K10 X X
K11
K12
K13
K14