INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE AND VISUAL CULTURE

BTAN22002BA
Fall semester, 2015

Seminar, 2hrs, graded Instructor: Hudácskó Brigitta

2 year BA
nd
Office hour: Monday 14.00-15.00, Room
104
Monday, 18.00-19.40 (Rm 54) Tuesday 12.00-13.00, Room 104
Tuesday, 10.00-11.40 (Rm XIV) E-mail address:
brigitta.hudacsko@gmail.com

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The aim of this seminar course is to help

students acquire the basic skills related to reading, interpreting, decoding
literary and visual texts, it also introduces them to some major and helpful
critical concepts/terms (narrative, plot, character, symbol, figures of
speech, perspective etc.) Texts to be read will include short stories as well
as other cultural narratives, for instance, visual texts like music videos,
advertisements, and moving images.

REQUIREMENTS: Students are expected to read/watch the assigned

texts for each class as this is the basis of classroom participation, and it
also contributes to the final grade.
PLOT TESTS can be expected at the beginning of each seminar to check
students’ familiarity with the plot of the reading material assigned for the
given class If the total of the vocabulary tests does not reach 60% percent
the entire course fails to be graded.
MID-TERM TEST: an in-class essay concerning the generic, thematic,
interpretative aspects of literature. The length should be app. two (hand-
written) pages long. No additional material can be used. Themes will be
discussed earlier during the seminars, sample questions will be given in
due time for students to prepare.
END-TERM TEST: objective test concerning all the previously covered
material; definitions, general outline of certain generic or literary issues,
short essay questions on particular literary and visual works. The test must
be written at the time scheduled in the syllabus. Failing to do so or not
achieving 50% of the total score will count as course failure, and only one
re-sit test will be scheduled to make up for the failure. If you fail both
the in-class essay and the end-term test, the grade is 1 as it is
possible to rewrite only one of these.

CLASS ATTENDANCE: no more than three missed classes can be

tolerated.

Assessment of in-class essays:

The essays must have a clear statement of thesis, and all the further
statements must be related to this central topic or question. The text
(arguments, agreements and disagreements) must be organised
coherently so that the point you make and your flow of thoughts must be
clear for the reader. The essays must, naturally, be finished with a well
articulated conclusion which is supposed to be the culmination of your
proposed arguments.

The essays will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

 the articulateness of the thesis;
 the clarity of the position you take;
 the quality of the arguments;
 the coherence of the structure;
 the level of your language.

The essays will not be evaluated on the basis of what your tutor’s position
is in a certain issue, so feel free to elaborate your own ideas—but do it in a
sophisticated way.
If the percentage for the essay and the end-term does not add up to 50%,
the final grade cannot be achieved, the course is failed.

Neither in-class essays, nor end-term tests can be rewritten. If the essay is
two short, or too badly written, and receives a very low percentage, the
student will have to write a very good end-term test in order to get a
grade for the course. Unlike exams, both the essay and the end-term
assess how students have been studying during the entire semester. If the
mark for the essay and the end-term does not add up to 50 %, the final
grade for the course will be 1. Only vocabulary tests can be rewritten, as it
is described above.

GRADING POLICY

Course Percenta In-class essay Points

components ge evaluation
plot tests 10% statement of thesis 3
classroom 20% quality of argument 12
discussion coherence of 12
in-class essay 35% structure
objective test 35% level of language 8
total 100% total 35

Overall Grade
percentag s
e
87-100% 5
75-86% 4
63-74% 3
51-62% 2
0-50 % 1
(N.B. NO GRADE CAN BE OBTAINED UNLESS ALL THE COURSE
COMPONENTS ARE FULFILLED)

WEE DATE TOPIC

K
14/15 What is culture? / The multiplicity of cultures
1 Sept
Judy Giles and Tim Middleton: “What Is Culture?”

2 21/22 Reading Fiction / Plot vs. Story

Sept
John Updike: “A&P”*
William Faulkner: “A Rose for Emily”*

3 28/29 Characterization, Character analysis:

Sept David Sedaris: “The Man in the Hut,” “Old Faithful”

Setting
James Joyce: “Araby”*
“The Gunfighter” (short film)
4 05/06 Narration
Oct
How I Met Your Mother: “The Goat,” “How I Met Everyone
Else,” “Last Cigarette Ever”
Selected news stories
5 12/13 Irony
Oct
David Sedaris: “Us & Them,” “Remembering My
Childhood on the Continent of Africa”
6 19/20 Introduction to Gender Studies
Oct
Caitlin Moran: How to Be a Woman (excerpt)
Charlotte Perkins Gilman: “The Yellow Wallpaper”
7 26/27 Consultation Week. (No class) 
Oct
8 02/03 IN-CLASS ESSAY
Nov

9. 09/10 Reading Music Videos

Nov
10. 16/17 Reading Advertisements
Nov
Home assignment: Find an advertisement (print or
video) and prepare a short analysis of it. Make sure to
bring the advertisement to class.
 11. 23/24 Reading Cinematic Texts
Nov
Watching 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
12. 30 Discussion of film
Nov/
01
Dec
13. 07/08 END-TERM TEST
Dec
14. 14/15 Evaluation
Dec

Texts marked with an * can be found in Kennedy’s Fiction. The rest of the
material will be made available online.