Information Package
baskent.edu.tr

Program of American Culture and Literature (English)

ACL332

CONTEMPORARY CRITICAL THEORY

Course Code
ACL332
Semester
Sixth Term (Spring)
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
5
Course TypeCompulsory Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study3
SemesterSixth Term (Spring)
ECTS5
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Define a variety of literary theories and their functions from the late twentieth century to the present,
  2. Acquire the knowledge of major concepts and principles of recent philosophical developments in contemporary literary theory,
  3. Show ability to read, contextualize and compare various theoretical texts.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme Components
Course DescriptionThis course offers a survey of modern and contemporary literary and cultural theories starting with the linguistic turn in the twentieth century to the affective turn of the present. Its aim is to equip students with analytical and critical understanding of the recent developments in contemporary theories.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction: Preliminaries
2nd Week (Continued)
3rd Week New Theories on the Rise: Saussure?s Linguistic Theory
4th Week The New Criticism, Formalism
5th Week Structuralism, Post-Structuralism, and Post-structural (Deconstructive) Criticism
6th Week (Continued)
7th Week Psychoanalytical and Archetypal Criticism
8th Week MIDTERM EXAMINATION
9th Week The Reception Theory and Reader-Response Criticism
10th Week Hermeneutic Criticism.
11th Week Marxist Criticism
12th Week Feminist Criticism
13th Week Ecocriticism
14th Week Post-Colonialism and Post-Colonial Criticism
15th Week Sacrificial Feast / No Class
16th Week General Review and Conclusions
Recommended or Required ReadingAbrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 6th ed. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1993.
Birns, Nicholas. Theory After Theory: An Intellectual History of Literary Theory From 1950 to the Early Twenty-First Century. Broadview Press, 2010.
Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. 4th ed. Prentice Hall, 2007.
Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Blackwell, 1996.
Goodman, Robin Truth, editor. The Bloomsbury Handbook of 21st-Century Feminist Theory. Bloomsbury, 2019.
Klages, Mary. Literary Theory: The Complete Guide. Bloomsbury, 2017.
Leitch, Vincent B. Literary Criticism in the 21st Century: Theory Renaissance. Bloomsbury, 2014.
Parker, Robert Dale. How to Interpret Literature: Critical Theory for Literary and Cultural Studies. Oxford UP, 2008.
Rice, Philip and Patricia Waugh. Modern Literary Theory: A Reader. 3rd ed. Arnold, 1996.
Ryan, Michael. Literary Theory: A Practical Introduction. Blackwell, 1999.
Selden, Raman, and Peter Widdowson, Peter Brooker, editors. A Reader's Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory. Routledge, 2017.
Simmons, John, editor. From Agamben to Zizek: Contemporary Critical Theorists. Edinburgh UP, 2010.
Vint, Sherryl, editor. After the Human: Culture, Theory and Criticism in the 21st Century. Cambridge UP, 2020.
Waugh, Patricia, editor. Literary Theory and Criticism: An Oxford Guide. Oxford UP, 2006.
Webster, Roger. Studying Literary Theory: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Arnold, 1996.
Wimsatt, W. K. and Cleanth Brooks. Literary Criticism: A Short History. Routledge, 1957.
Wolfreys, Julian. Introducing Criticism in the 21st Century. Edinburgh UP, 2015
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Questions/Answers
  • Presentation
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 40
Assignment 1 20
Total(%) 60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 40
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 2 2
Preparation for Quiz 1 5 5
Individual or group work 14 4 56
Preparation for Final exam 1 15 15
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 10 10
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 2 2
Homework 1 10 10
Presentation (including preperation) 1 10 10
Total Work Load152
Total Work Load / 30 (h)5.06
ECTS Credit of the Course5
Language of InstructionEnglish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2 LO3
K1 X X X
K2 X X X
K3 X X X
K4 X X X
K5
K6
K7 X X X
K8 X X X
K9 X X X
K10 X X X
K11
K12 X X X
K13
K14 X X X