At the end of this course, the students; 1) will be able to discuss how myths relating to the West have shaped American cultural identity, 2) will be able to analyze the concept of the frontier both geographically and symbolically, 3) will be able to discuss the contribution made to the myth of the West by women and ethnic minorities.
MODE OF DELIVERY
Face to face
PRE-REQUISITES OF THE COURSE
No
RECOMMENDED OPTIONAL PROGRAMME COMPONENT
None
COURSE DEFINITION
The course explores the myth of the American West, which has played a significant part in the development of frontier traditions in American literature and culture. Besides literary texts, contemporary accounts of the frontier expansion and films on the American West will be studied as cultural documents defining and representing the frontier experience.
COURSE CONTENTS
WEEK
TOPICS
1st Week
Introduction: The West in the American Imagination
2nd Week
Going West: Beginnings of the Frontier Experience
3rd Week
Going West: "Civilizing" the Wilderness
4th Week
Life in the West: Women's Experiences
5th Week
Student Presentations
6th Week
Student Presentations
7th Week
The Frontier Closes: End of an Era
8th Week
The West in Popular Literature: The Emergence of the "Western"
9th Week
The West in Popular Literature: The Emergence of the "Western"
10th Week
The West in Popular Culture: Hollywood and "Western" Films
11th Week
The West in Popular Culture: Hollywood and "Western" Films
12th Week
Student Presentations
13th Week
Student Presentations
14th Week
Review: The Legends of the West and American Identity
RECOMENDED OR REQUIRED READING
Aquila, 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,Presentation
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND CRITERIA
Quantity
Percentage(%)
Project
1
30
Attendance
1
10
Presentation of Article
2
20
Total(%)
60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)
60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)
40
Total(%)
100
ECTS WORKLOAD
Activities
Number
Hours
Workload
Midterm exam
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work
14
5
70
Preparation for Final exam
1
10
10
Course hours
14
3
42
Preparation for Midterm exam
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam
1
3
3
Homework
Project
1
60
60
Article Presentation
2
25
50
Weekly Articles and Resource Research
14
5
70
Total Workload
305
Total Workload / 30
10,16
ECTS Credits of the Course
10
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
English
WORK PLACEMENT(S)
No
KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES (KLO) / MATRIX OF LEARNING OUTCOMES (LO)
