Weekly Breakdown for Introduction to Literary Studies.

(ELL102)

Here’s an updated course suggestion with a “greater emphasis on

literary genres”.
Course Title: Introduction to Literary Studies (ELL102)
Level: BS 1st Semester
Course Code: ELL102

Course Description
This course introduces students to English literature as a cultural
and historical phenomenon, emphasizing the study of literary
genres. It spans various historical periods from the Renaissance to
the present, analyzing the development of key genres such as
poetry, the novel, and drama. Students will also be introduced to
literary theory, providing the foundation for literary critique and
evaluation. Special attention will be given to how different literary
forms evolve in response to cultural and historical changes.

Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, students will:
1. Understand the history of various literary genres, from
Renaissance poetry to Modernist novels.
2. Analyze excerpts from key works in each genre, examining form,
style, and content.
3. Apply different critical frameworks to analyze texts.
4. Understand the relationship between genres and their
historical/cultural contexts.
5. Assess the impact of literary movements and genres on global
literature.

Course Structure & Weekly Breakdown:

Week 1: Introduction to Literary Studies

Topics:
What is literature? Overview of literary studies and its cultural and
historical significance.
Introduction to literary genres: Poetry, Prose, Drama, and
**Fiction.
Key principles of literary criticism.
Reading:
William Henry Hudson, Introduction to the Study of Literature
(1913), and Chapter 1: What is Literature?
Mario Klarer, Introduction to Literary Studies* (1999), Chapter 1:
Introduction to Genres.

Week 2: The Origins and Development of Poetry

- Topics:
- Poetry as a genre: Definitions, forms, and structures (e.g.,
sonnets, epics, lyric poetry).
- The evolution of English poetry from Chaucer to the
Renaissance and beyond.
- Introduction to poetic forms: Lyric, narrative, dramatic poetry,
and blank verse.
- Reading:
- Andrew Sanders, the Short Oxford History of English Literature,
Chapter 2: Renaissance Poetry.
- Excerpts from Shakespeare’s Sonnets and John Milton’s
Paradise Lost.
- Teacher Suggestions:
- Focus on poetry analysis: How to analyze meter, rhyme, and
symbolism.
- Discuss the historical context of Milton’s Paradise Lost,
focusing on its religious and political themes.

Week 3: The Rise of the Novel

- Topics:
- The birth of the English novel in the 18th century.
- The evolution of narrative fiction: From Robinson Crusoe to
Gothic novels and Realism.
- Key genres: Picaresque novel, Billings’s roman, Gothic novel.
- Reading:
- Andrew Sanders, the Short Oxford History of English Literature,
Chapter 4: The Rise of the Novel.
- Excerpts from Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Mary
Shelley’s Frankenstein.
- Teacher Suggestions:
- Explain how the novel genre was influenced by historical
events like colonialism and the Industrial Revolution.
- Discuss the Gothic genre and its impact on modern horror
literature.
- Use Robinson Crusoe to explore the themes of isolation, self-
reliance, and imperialism.
Week 4: The Drama - Tragedy and Comedy
- Topics:
- Introduction to dramatic forms .Tragedy, Comedy,
Tragicomedy, and Historical plays.
- Key periods of drama: The Elizabethan era, Restoration
Comedy, and Modern Drama.
- Shakespeare as the master of Tragedy and Comedy.
- Reading:
- Andrew Sanders, the Short Oxford History of English Literature,
Chapter 3: The Development of Drama.
- Excerpts from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and The Tempest.
- Teacher Suggestions:
- Focus on the tragic structure of Shakespeare’s plays. Discuss
Hamlet as an example of tragic flaw and revenge.
- Contrast tragedy and comedy using The Tempest, emphasizing
themes of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Week 5: Romantic Poetry and the Sublime

- Topics:
- Romanticism and the evolution of poetry in the 19th century.
- Focus on the sublime, nature, and emotion as central themes.
- Key poets: William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
John Keats, Percy Shelby Shelley.
- Reading:
- Andrew Sanders, the Short Oxford History of English Literature,
Chapter 5: The Romantic Period.
-Excerpts from Wordsworth’s Lines Composed a Few Miles
above Tin tern Abbey and Keats’ Ode on a Grecian Urn.
- Teacher Suggestions:
- Discuss Wordsworth’s concept of the sublime in nature and
emotion.
- Encourage students to analyze the use of metaphor and imagery
in Romantic poetry.

Week 6: Victorian Realism and the Novel

- Topics:
- The rise of realism in the Victorian era: Novel as a social
critique.
- The role of the novel in depicting industrial society and social
issues.
- Key novelists: Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy.
- Reading:
 - Andrew Sanders, the Short Oxford History of English Literature,
Chapter 6: The Victorian Novel.
- Excerpts from Dickens’ Great Expectation and Eliot’s
Middleman.
- Teacher Suggestions:
- Focus on how Dickens uses social realism to critique Victorian
society.
- Discuss gender roles and social mobility in middleman,
considering Eliot’s social commentary.

Week 7: Modernist Poetry and Prose

- Topics:
- The Modernist movement in literature: Fragmentation, stream of
consciousness, and the questioning of traditional forms.
- Key modernist writers: T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and James
Joyce.
- Reading:
- Andrew Sanders, the Short Oxford History of English Literature,
Chapter 7: Modernism. T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and Virginia
Woolf’s Mrs. Galloway

- Teacher Suggestions:
- Focus on the breakdown of linear narrative and disillusionment
in Modernist works.
- Encourage close reading of The Waste Land to explore the
poetic fragmentation and inter-textual references.

Week 8: Postmodern Fiction and the End of the Novel

- Topics:
- Postmodernism: Characteristics of self-reflexivity,
intertextuality, and play.
- Key postmodern authors: Thomas Pynchon, Jeanette Winter-
son, and Salesman Rushdie.
-Reading:
- Andrew Sanders, the Short Oxford History of English Literature,
Chapter 8: Postmodernism.
- Excerpts from Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and Pynchon’s
The Crying of Lot.

- Teacher Suggestions:
- Introduce the idea of deconstructing the traditional novel.
Discuss the fragmentation and meta-narrative techniques in
Rushdie’s work.
Week 9: Literary Theory and Criticism
- Topics:
- Overview of major critical approaches: Formalism, Marxism,
Feminism, Psychoanalysis, Post-colonialism.
- How to read and analyze texts using these frameworks.
- Reading:
- Mario Klarer, Introduction to Literary Studies (1999), relevant
chapters on critical approaches.

Week 10: Course Review and Final Assessment

- Topics:
- Review of major genres: Poetry, Novel, Drama, and
Postmodernism.
- How literary movements and genres evolve in response to
cultural and historical contexts.
- Teacher Suggestions:
- Provide a comprehensive review of key texts, genres, and
critical approaches.
- Final discussion session

This approach will allow students to explore “how different

literary forms have developed” throughout history and how
they can analyze texts through the lens of “genre theory” and
“literary criticism”.
Weekly Breakdown for Introduction to Language Studies
(ELL103)

Level: BS 1st Year

Course Code: ELL103
Course Duration: 14 Weeks
Total Hours: 42 (3 hours/week)

Week 1: Introduction to the Course & Overview of Language

Topics:
- Introduction to the course and overview of syllabus
- What is Language? Why is language central to human
experience?
- Defining language, its functions, and its significance in society
- Basic concepts in linguistics: phonology, morphology, syntax,
semantics, and pragmatics

Teacher Suggestions:
-Interactive Class Discussion: Start with a simple question: What is
language? Encourage students to share their definitions and
perspectives.
- Introduce Key Linguistic Terms: Use basic examples from
students' native languages to explain key linguistic concepts.

Week 2: Language Origin

Topics:
- Language as a divine gift
- Natural sound source theories (e.g., Bow-Wow theory, Pooh-
Pooh theory)
- Social interaction source theories (e.g., La-la theory, Ding-dong
theory)
- The physical adaptation sources (e.g., adaptation of human vocal
cords)
- The genetic source (innate theory)

Teacher Suggestions:
- Comparative Analysis: Discuss different theories of language
origin and have students compare and debate them.
- Group Activity: Assign groups to research and present a
particular theory of language origin.

Week 3: Speech vs. Writing

Topics:
- The primacy of speech over writing
- Key differences between speech and writing
- Origins of writing systems
- Types of writing systems: Logographic, syllabic, alphabetic

Teacher Suggestions:
- Class Debate: Have students debate the statement, “Speech is
more natural than writing.”
- Visual Aids: Show examples of different writing systems
(hieroglyphs, cuneiform, and alphabet) and their historical
contexts.

Week 4: Language as Human Faculty

Topics:
- Human language vs. animal communication
- Characteristics of language: Design features (Arbitrariness,
Discreteness, Productivity, etc.)
- Animals lack language: A controversy

Teacher Suggestions:
- Case Studies: Introduce case studies like Koko the gorilla (sign
language) to discuss the boundaries of animal communication.
- Class Discussion: Discuss the key differences between human
language and animal communication systems.

Week 5: Language Families

Topics:
- What is a language family?
- Major language families around the world (Indo-European, Sino-
Tibetan, Afro-Asiatic, etc.)
- How languages evolve into families and subfamilies

Teacher Suggestions:
- Interactive Maps: Use world maps showing the distribution of
major language families.
- Student Research: Ask students to choose a language family and
present a brief overview of its subfamilies and characteristics.

Week 6: Historical Linguistics

Topics:
- What is historical linguistics?
- The study of phonological, morphological, syntactic, and
semantic changes in languages over time
- Methods of language reconstruction (Comparative Method,
Internal Reconstruction)

Teacher Suggestions:
-Lecture + Practical: Teach the basic principles of language
reconstruction and demonstrate with examples (e.g., cognates,
sound shifts).
- Discussion: Discuss how languages evolve over time and the
relevance of historical linguistics in understanding modern
languages.

Week 7: Old & Middle English Periods

Topics:
- The English language in its early stages: Old English and Middle
English
- Grammatical categories, inflections, and grammatical gender in
Old and Middle English
- Key historical events affecting English (Norman Conquest,
Viking invasions)

Teacher Suggestions:
- Text Analysis: Have students read excerpts from Beowulf (Old
English) and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (Middle English).
- Timeline Activity: Create a visual timeline of major historical
events and their impact on the English language.

Week 8: The Renaissance and Early Modern English

Topics:
- Transition from Old and Middle English to Early Modern English
- Influence of the Renaissance on language (increased literacy,
printing press)
- Grammatical categories and inflections in Early Modern English
- Shakespeare’s role in the development of Modern English

Teacher Suggestions:
- Shakespeare’s Influence: Explore how Shakespeare contributed to
vocabulary and the evolution of English.
- Discussion: Discuss the social and cultural factors that influenced
the Renaissance and the rise of Modern English.

Week 9: The 18th Century and Standardization of English

Topics:
- Major characteristics of the 18th century English language
- The problem of refining and “fixing” the language
- Swift’s proposal for reform
- Johnson’s Dictionary and its impact on standardizing English
- The role of grammarians in shaping modern English
- Vocabulary formation and the introduction of passives

Teacher Suggestions:
- Reading Assignment: Assign readings from Jonathan Swift’s A
Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English
Tongue.
- Research Assignment: Ask students to research Samuel Johnson's
Dictionary and its significance.

Week 10: The 19th Century and Language Changes

Topics:
- Key linguistic developments in the 19th century
- Sources of new words (borrowings, neologisms, industrialization,
etc.)
- Pidgins and Creoles: Definition, origin, and examples
- Spelling reforms and the development of dictionaries
- Verb-adverb combinations

Teacher Suggestions:
- Interactive Discussion: Discuss the importance of
industrialization in creating new words (e.g., "telegraph", "radio").
-Group Project: Have students analyze a specific pidgin or creole
language and present their findings.
Week 11: English Language in America
Topics:
- Americanism: American influences on the English language
- Archive features in American English
- Differences between British and American English (vocabulary,
spelling, pronunciation)

Teacher Suggestions:
- Class Debate: Discuss whether American English and British
English should be considered separate dialects or just variations of
the same language.
- Multimedia Activity: Show examples of British vs. American
English in media (films, advertisements, etc.).

Week 12: Emergence of Modern Linguistics

Topics:
- The emergence of modern linguistics: Saussure’s contributions
- Structuralism: Key concepts and ideas
- American Structuralism and the Prague School

Teacher Suggestions:
- Lecture + Discussion: Introduce Saussure’s concepts of the
signifier and signified and their impact on linguistics.
-Student Presentations: Ask students to explain how structuralism
influenced modern linguistic thought.

Week 13: Contemporary Approaches to Linguistics

Topics:
- Functional Linguistics: An overview of functionalist approaches
to language
- How linguistics has evolved since the 20th century
- Different schools of thought in contemporary linguistics

Teacher Suggestions:
- Research Activity: Assign students to research different schools
of functionalism (e.g., Halliday, Chomsky) and present their
findings.
- Discussion: Discuss how linguistic theories shape our
understanding of language today.
Week 14: Course Review and Final Exam Preparation
Topics:
- Recap of key concepts covered in the course
- Review of major linguistic theories, language evolution, and
history of the English language
- Preparation for final exam

Teacher Suggestions:
- Interactive Q&A: Conduct a final review session, allowing
students to ask questions on difficult topics.
- Group Study Session: Divide students into groups and assign
each group a topic to review and present to the class.
Final Exam
- Assessment: A written exam covering all the topics from the
course, including theoretical questions and practical applications.
This breakdown provides a structured approach to covering the
course content while keeping students engaged with interactive
activities, discussions, and projects.

As a subject specialist, I would like to suggest that a Viva (oral

examination) be conducted for major subjects at the end of each
semester, with a weightage of 5 to 10 marks

The reason behind this suggestion is that a viva would provide

students with the opportunity to verbally express their
understanding of the course content. This will help them in revising
key concepts from the semester and also practice answering
questions in a structured manner, similar to an interview setting. It
can be a valuable exercise for enhancing communication skills and
building confidence, which are important in both academic and
professional environments.

Additionally, the viva format will encourage students to reflect on

and consolidate their knowledge, giving them a chance to clarify
any doubts before moving on to new topics in the next semester.
This process will be beneficial in improving both their subject
comprehension and presentation abilities.

I believe this approach will be highly beneficial for students'

overall learning and development.