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Program of American Culture and Literature (English)

ACL373

THE AMERICAN WEST

Course Code
ACL373
Semester
-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
4
Course TypeElective Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study-
Semester-
ECTS4
Name of Lecturer(s) -
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Recognize the geographical, historical, and symbolic aspects of the American West,
  2. Know how the American West has been transformed into a myth.
  3. Discuss the influence of the American West on national identity.
  4. Analyze how the American West has been reflected through literary and historical texts and films.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme Components
Course DescriptionThe aim of this course is to analyze the process of westward expansion and the making of the myth of the West which has a significant role in the formation of the American `frontier? concept both geographically and symbolically. It discusses how the myth of the West has shaped American identity and evaluates fictional texts, as well as historical texts and films accordingly.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction: The American West as a Concept
2nd Week Frontier as a Concept and Its Relation to the American West
3rd Week The American West: Historical Process
4th Week The American West: Historical Process
5th Week The Making of the Myth of the American West
6th Week American Identity and Its Relation to the American West
7th Week Midterm
8th Week Analysis of Selected Texts
9th Week Analysis of Selected Texts
10th Week Analysis of Selected Texts
11th Week Analysis of Selected Texts
12th Week Analysis of Selected Texts
13th Week Analysis of Selected Texts
14th Week Analysis of Selected Texts
Recommended or Required ReadingAquila, Richard, ed. Wanted Dead or Alive: The American West in Popular Culture. Urbana and Chicago: U of Illinois P, 1996.
Athearn, Robert G. The Mythic West in Twentieth-Century America. Lawrence: UP of Kansas, 1986.
Bredahl, A. Carl, Jr. New Ground: Western American Narrative and the Literary Canon. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1989.
Davis, Robert Murray. Playing Cowboys: Low Culture and High Art in the Western. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 1992.
Mogen, David. Wilderness Visions: The Western Theme in Science Fiction Literature. 2nd ed. Ed. Daryl F. Mallett. San Bernardino, CA: Borgo, 1993.
Mogen, David, Mark Busby, and Paul Bryant, eds. The Frontier Experience and the American Dream: Essays on American Literature. College Station: Texas A&M UP, 1989.
Nash, Gerald D., and Richard W. Etulain, eds. Researching Western History: Topics in the Twentieth Century. Albuquerque: U of New Mexico P., 1997.
Robertson, James Oliver. American Myth, American Reality. New York: Hill and Wang, 1980.
Smith, Henry Nash. Virgin Land: The American West as Symbol and Myth. 1950. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1970.
Tompkins, Jane. West of Everything: The Inner Life of Westerns. New York: Oxford UP, 1992.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Questions/Answers
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 40
Assignment 2 10
Quiz 2 10
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 2 2 4
Individual or group work 14 2 28
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 2 10 20
Total Work Load118
Total Work Load / 30 (h)3.93
ECTS Credit of the Course4
Language of InstructionEnglish
Work Placement(s)No

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