Course Description (MA Degree)

Transcription

1 Course Description (MA Degree) Eng. 508 Semantics (3 Credit hrs.) This course is an introduction to the issues of meaning and logical interpretation in natural language. The first part of the course concentrates on the issue of reference in natural language and presents some analytical approaches to it. This includes the theory of semantic logical and predicate calculus, the logical interpretation of full propositions and the semantics of logical operators in natural language. Eng. 510 Introduction to Generative Grammar (3 Credit hrs.) This course discusses and evaluates the early transformational generative approach to syntax. The conceptual and empirical basis for this approach as expounded in Chomsky's Syntactic Structures and Aspects of the Theory of Syntax will be presented. A variety of phrase structure rules, syntactic transformational models will also be discussed. Eng. 516 Introduction to Linguistics (3 Credit hrs.) The course aims at introducing the students to the following: 1. Basic concepts and terms of general linguistics (language, speech, competence, performance, structure, grammar, feature, morpheme, phoneme, morphology, syntax, semantics...etc.) 2. Historical development of linguistics, including a brief introduction to different schools (Port-Royal, Neogrammarian, Prague Circle, Firthian, Post-Bloomfield Ian, Generative-transformational, Case, Lexical, functional..) 3. The relationship between linguistics and other disciplines; 4. Major branches of "micro-linguistics" "(linguistics proper)", phonology, morphology, syntax. and semantics. Eng. 517 Structure of English 1 (2 Credit hrs.) This course aims at providing a general introduction to English phonetics and phonology. It deals with traditional and current views of English phonology with special emphasis on the theory of distinctive features and generative phonology.

2 Eng. 518 Structure of English 2 (2 Credit hrs.) Fundamentals of morphological and syntactic analysis, the structure of English morphology and English syntax (word formation, sentence, clause and phrase types and structures) are the main focus of this course. Eng. 519 Research Techniques (2 Credit hrs.) This course is designed to acquaint the student with research techniques and to clarify the relationship between the formulation and execution of a thesis and research techniques used in the development of that thesis. The first part of the course will involve training in research and active introduction to library resources. The second part will concern itself with short papers that entail the incorporation of research techniques. The texts used in the course will be poems, essays and short stories. Eng. 537 Chaucer (3 Credit hrs.) Students in this course undertake an independent study of some short selected poems, and read one of the poems aloud in middle English and translate it into acceptable modern English. Eng. 538 Renaissance or post- Renaissance poet (Milton) (3 Credit hrs.) This course concentrates on Milton s Paradise Lost, but introduces it with analyses of The Nativity Ode, Comus, Lycidas, and some sonnets. Some references will be made to Areopagitica. Background concepts like the great chain of being will be discussed. Semester work will include at least two short papers and a long paper on an aspect of Paradise Lost preceded by a class presentation. Eng. 541 Shakespeare 2 (3 Credit hrs.) The students are required to read and watch dramatic production on tape of one or two plays at least from each of the recognized sections of the Shakespeare canon. Through a close reading in class of parts of the more important plays they are helped to recognize the dramatic function of both verse and prose in Shakespeare's plays.

3 Eng. 553 Practical Criticism (2 Credit hrs.) This course lays down the basic background for reading critically. It acquaints the student with different critical methods and critical terminology and tools associated with each of them. Reading well-selected representative samples, the student is expected to show competence in identifying the various critical methods and benefiting from them in studying texts. Eng. 586 History of Western Thought (2 Credit hrs.) This course focuses on the development of Western thought as a context necessary to a better understanding of Anglo-American literature. It particularly sheds light on those aspects of Western thought most relevant to literature and literary criticism. Eng. 511 Modern Theories in Linguistics (3 Credit hrs.) This course takes a look at traditional and current theories of language: Structuralism, functional and Rank and Scale Grammar, Transformational Generative grammar, Government and Binding, Principles and parameters, Head-Driven phrase Structure Grammar, Case Grammar, Lexical Functional Grammar and the minimalist program. Eng512 Translation (2 Credit hrs.) This course has a theoretical component dealing with the history of the theory of translation and some specific problems of literary translation. The practical, which should be emphasized, deals with translating into English, selections of creative material from various genres. Eng. 515 Language Testing (2 Credit hrs.) This course takes a look at types of language tests (achievement, proficiency, aptitude, integrative, discrete point, communicative, etc.) Characteristics of a good test (reliability, validity, discrimination) will be looked into from both the theoretical and practical perspectives. Eng. 518 Topics in Psycholinguistics (3 Credit hrs.) This course aims at dealing with the major issues in psycholinguistics. These issues include: language comprehension (construction, utilization, memory, perception, inference), language production (plans, execution of plans),

4 meaning and thought (representation of meaning, uses, language and thought), neurolinguistics, and communication disorders. Eng. 520 Technology and Language Teaching (3 Credit hrs.) This course aims at introducing students to technological aids to language teaching: projectors, recorders (audio and video), language labs, television, and computers. Methods of using these aids will be taught, and their potentials and limitations will be discussed. Eng. 521 Educational Linguistics (3 Credit hrs.) The primary aim of this course is to introduce students to the various techniques for teaching the four language skills, grammatical, and lexical systems. Moreover, the techniques for teaching the cultural aspects of English will be discussed. Eng. 523 Contrastive and Error Analyses (3 Credit hrs.) The course is intended to teach students the methods of both contrastive and error analyses and their applications. Students are taught various techniques and procedures of comparing the phonological, grammatical and lexical systems of different languages, with a special emphasis on Arabic and English. In the second part, the students are introduced to the concepts of "interlingua, errors, mistakes and their types and causes. Techniques and procedures of collecting data, identification of errors, and their classification as well as explanation will also be dealt with. Eng. 524 Language Acquisition (3 Credit hrs.) A survey of the major theories and research in first and second language acquisition and their applications to language teaching are discussed. Eng. 525 Bilingualism and Language (3 Credit hrs.) This course deals with the notion of bilingualism in terms of the bilingual individual and bilingual speech community, the study of the dichotomy of the compound bilingual and the coordinate bilingual, the phenomenon of codeswitching, the notions of diglossia and the linguistic continuum, and the notions of interlanguage and intralanguage.

5 Eng. 526 Trends in Educational Linguistics (3 Credit hrs.) This course introduces students to various methods of foreign language learning and teaching in use today. Recent trends and innovative approaches in language teaching and their applications are presented. Eng. 527 Research in Educational Linguistics (2 Credit hrs.) The general aim of this course is to give the students the necessary knowledge and skills for conducting research in educational linguistics. To achieve this aim, the course will deal with the following general areas: (1) The concept of research and its relationship to reasoning and science; (2) Modes of research and the scientific methods; (3) Types of variables in research; (4) Elementary descriptive and inferential statistics; (5) Measurements; (6) Writing a thesis; (7) The use of computer in research; (8) Evaluating research. Eng. 528 Language Teaching Materials (3 Credit hrs.) This course aims at introducing the students to the principles and practices involved in the preparation and evaluation of language teaching materials: design, selection, gradation, presentation and evaluation. Eng. 529 Discourse Analysis and Stylistics (3 Credit hrs.) This course introduces the students to the fast growing research in the fields of Discourse Analysis, including Pragmatics. Terms like discourse, text, register, genre, and speech acts will be explained. The course includes pragmatics and speech act theory, semantics, text linguistics, and ethnomethodology. Methods of analyzing spoken and written discourse will be explored. Eng. 530 Practicum (2 Credit hrs.) This course is designed to give the students an opportunity to do some practical work in the area of TEFL including critical observation, micro teaching and practice teaching. Eng. 535 Poetry 1 (3 Credit hrs.) The aim of this course is to survey the development of Anglo-American poetry from the Middle Ages to the contemporary period by examining representative works by major poets. The generic continuity and development of poetry provide a framework for the selection and discussion of poems, a process

6 conducted with a historical sense of the various factors at work in the history of the genre. Eng. 536 Poetry 2 (3 Credit hrs.) This is a special topic course which takes a close look at certain issues, or discusses the work of certain poets, in the Anglo-American poetic tradition. The selection of the topics is preferably based on the needs of the students taking the course and developing theses for their M.A. degrees. Eng. 545 Drama 1 (3 Credit hrs.) This course should include an advanced study of Shakespeare's dramatic work. Students will have been exposed only to one Shakespeare course on the 400 level. They would be encouraged to read as many of Shakespeare's plays as they possibly can. Much emphasis will be laid on the development of Shakespeare 's art as a dramatists. Modern trends in both the study and production of Shakespeare's plays should be emphasized. Eng. 546 Drama 2 (3 Credit hrs.) This is a special topic in the study of Drama. The course will be planned to suit the needs of students choosing drama for their thesis topic. The range of choice is unlimited and could offer special trends, special schools, influences from drama in other languages, influences from other arts, etc. Eng. 555 Novel 1 (3 Credit hrs.) The Realistic tradition in the novel starts with the 18th century English novel and proceeds to the great flourishing of the novel in the 19th century. Besides the major English novelists, Austen, the Bronte s, Eliot, Dickens, and Hardy, French, Russian and American works should be included. The students choosing this stream would have to do a lot of reading. They should be given an adequate reading list before the term starts. Eng. 556 Novel 2 (3 Credit hrs.) This is a special topic in the study of the novel. The course will be planned to suit the needs of students choosing to write their theses in this field. It could involve choice from a number of topics: the experimental novel, narrative techniques in the work of a particular author or a particular novelist, feminism

7 and the novel, the novel and other arts. The range of subjects is unlimited and the choice depends on the special interests of students. Eng. 561 Modern Schools of Criticism (2 Credit hrs.) This course has two essential purposes: firstly to familiarize the students with major developments in 20th century Anglo-American and European literary criticism, and secondly, to develop the students' practical critical skills. The course will focus on cultural, historical, psychological, ideological and formal approaches to literature, touching on more recent developments such as structuralism and deconstruction. It will also encourage the students to pay close attention to the methods a particular critic develops her or his argument, how he/she reaches conclusions about a literary work, either complete or partial. Eng. 563 Renaissance and 17th Century Literature (3 Credit hrs.) This is the first of three survey courses covering English literature from the Renaissance to the present. This course moves from Thomas Moore to John Dryden. Following the movement from Renaissance to Seventeenth Century to Restoration Literature, the course emphasizes central philosophical trends, historical events, social structures and their change in order to enable the students to relate individual works to a coherent context and background. Major writers such as Spencer, Milton, Donne and Dryden are taught side by side with minor figures such as Daniel, Drayton, Herrick and Butler, in the process of building up a comprehensive portrait of these interlocked periods. Eng. 570 American Literature (3 Credit hrs.) This is a survey course of American literature at an advanced level. It aims at introducing the student to the major authors, works, and trends in the various genres and consecutive periods. Special emphasis is given to major representative works from the colonial, eighteenth, nineteenth, and modern periods. Eng. 574 American Literature 1 (3 Credit hrs.) "The American Tradition" is what this course delineates by examining major literary works from the various periods and trends of American literature. At the heart of the tradition are the distinctive qualities derived from the American

8 cultural, geographical and historical experience, and reflected in the work of writers such as Emerson, Melville, Twain, Stevens, and Faulkner. Selected writings by authors such as these will familiarize the student with the "Americanness" of American literature. Eng. 575 American Literature 2 (3 Credit hrs.) This is a special topic course in American literature tailored as far as possible to the students needs. The course focuses on the work of a certain author, a group of authors or an issue of particular significance, which should help the student(s) arrive at a better understanding of American literature and possibly formulate an M.A. thesis. Eng. 581 Comparative Literature (3 Credit hrs.) The first course in Comparative Literature should start with a systematic introduction to the traditional areas and methods of comparative literary studies and with a discussion of contemporary theories of literature. The students must be aware of the various dimensions of comparative studies: East/West, Classical /Modern and of the different approaches through genre, form, movements and influences. The relations between Arabic and European literature should be included. Eng. 582 Comparative Literature 1 (3 Credit Hours) This involves a detailed study of cultural influences between East and West including: (1) The rise and development of Orientalist studies; (2) the tradition of Oriental (particularly Arabic) texts into European languages; (3) the influence of such translations on Western literature; (4) translations from European languages into Arabic; and (5) foreign influences on Modern literature. Eng. 583 Comparative Literature 2 (3 Credit hrs.) This is a special topic course in Comparative Literature designed according to students' interests. It may include advanced application of comparative analysis, or discussion of theoretical issues.

9 Eng. 591 Classical Heritage (3 Credit hrs.) This course is designed to familiarize students with prominent works of Classical Greek and Roman authors who have exerted a continuous influence upon subsequent world literature. Beginning with a survey of the distinctive characteristics of Greek and Latin literature as well as the social and intellectual history of the Classical Age, the course will proceed to the study of specific representative literary texts. The latter are selected to provide an understanding of the ways English literature, since the High Middle Ages, has drawn upon the classical heritage. Eng th Century and Romantic Literature (3 Credit hrs.) This is the second survey course. It surveys the major figures, genres, and trends of Neo-classical and Romantic literatures. Emphasis will be given to the important changes in literary sensibility. Eng. 593 Victorian and Modern Literature (3 Credit hrs.) This is the third survey course. It surveys Victorian and Modern Literature (English and American) excluding the novel. Emphasis is laid on the transitional changes leading to the emergence of the Modern period. Eng. 597 Seminar in Applied Linguistics (3 Credit hrs.) In the seminar various topics in applied linguistics are chosen by the class and /or assigned by the professor, researched by the students and discussed in class. Eng. 600 Thesis