CONCENTRATION IN LITERATURE
ENG 604: Research Methodology
This course will introduce students to the basic ways of writing a research paper or thesis. Beginning with conceptual clarity, the course will introduce students to methods of library research, including on the Internet and the use of primary and secondary materials. Students will be taught how to pose research questions, the use of annotations, bibliography and the basic tenets of literary and cultural research.(3 Credits)
ENG 605: Contemporary Literature in English
Literature of the late 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century will be looked at in this course. This will cover a wide span including writing from the UK and the USA, but other Anglophone literatures as well, showing how English is a global language and the many varieties of English writing prevalent in the world today. Postcolonial and postmodern approaches to literature will be emphasized in this course.(3 Credits)
ENG 611: Basic Readings in Feminist Literary Criticism
This course will take students through the main writings of western literary tradition from the 'first' to the 'second' wave. As part of the reading of the 'third' wave of feminist literary criticism, which critiques the 'eurocentricism' of the previous writers, the course will concentrate on writing from South Asia. Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir, Kate Millett will form the first part of this course. The second part will look at the writings of Elaine Showalter, Ellen Moers and Tillie Olsen. The third part of the course will look at Cora Kaplan, Gayatri Spivak and selected writings by Terry Lovell, Toril Moi and Mary Jacobus. The course will end by concentrating on the Indian subcontinent looking at the critical writings of Susie Tharu, Kumkum Sangari, Niaz Zaman and Firdous Azim.(3 Credits)
ENG 612: Basic Readings in Postcolonial Literary Criticism
Beginning from the writings of Edward Said, the course will look at the later developments of postcolonial theory as represented by Homi Bhabha and Gayatri Spivak. Once the field is laid out, we will look at writers from Africa and the Caribbean, such as Franz Fanon, Leopold Senghor or Ngugi wa Thiongo to widen the scope of postcolonial responses to literature. Contemporary postcolonial critics such as Ania Loomba, Robert Young and Alta Aima will be included as part of the reading list.(3 Credits)
ENG 613: Basic Readings in Postmodern Literary Criticism
With the deconstructionist moment inaugurated by Jacques Derrida, the approaches to western intellectual thought underwent a complete transformation. We will look at the development of postmodernist thought through the writings of Derrida, Lyotard, Jameson and Baumann to see how this transformation has worked. Postmodernism also introduces students to the new forms of culture and the relationship between technological transformations and critical thought.(3 Credits)
ENG 614: World Literature in Translation
Modern prose texts from different non-Western cultures in English translation will be studied in this course. Students will be encouraged to apply the different critical methodologies they have learnt at undergraduate level as well as the ones they are being introduced to at MA level, to elucidate the texts.(3 Credits)
ENG 615: Nationalism and Literature
Fredric Jameson has called 'third-world' literatures a process of nation-making. Aijaz Ahmed has critiqued this concept, seeing it as yet another example of Eurocentric ways of looking at 'other' cultures. This course will look at 'founding' texts from 'third-world' nations, to see to what extent they are a narration of nation making. Examples of readings include the novels of Bankim and Tagore, or the new African writings by Ngugi wa Thiongo or Chinua Achebe.(3 Credits)
ENG 616: Classical Literary Theories of the Eastern and Western Traditions
This course will look at the classical literary theory of ancient Greece, concentrating on Aristotle, Plato and Longinus. From the Indian tradition we will look at the place of the rasas and the Natyasastra to understand how literature was thought of in our own culture. From the Arabo/Persian tradition, we will look at writings on the qasida and on poetic forms to see how Persian poetry was written and discussed.(3 Credits)
ENG 617: Literature and Popular Media
Literature is normally placed in what has come to be known as 'high' culture. But literature can also be popular culture as is seen by the best selling status of many a literary work, as well as the cult status enjoyed by some writers. This course will look at the interconnection between literature and popular culture, as well as the place of literature in media such as film and TV.(3 Credits)
ENG 671: Cultural and Media Studies
This course will look at contemporary popular culture as well as the audio-visual media. It will look at cultural theory to understand the workings of ideology, and how they get reflected in literature. As literary writing is giving way to the audio-visual media in contemporary times, this course will also look at film texts, TV and the Internet to see how cultural attitudes are formed and disseminated in postmodern times.(3 Credits)
ENG 618: Tracing a Feminist Tradition: 18th and 19th century women's writing
Is there a feminist or woman's tradition' This tradition can be traced from the 18th century writings of Mary Wollstonecraft, to the rise of the Gothic in the 18th century, the great realist novels of the 19th century including writers like Charlotte Bronte and George Eliot. This course will look at this body of writing critically to question the notion of a 'tradition' of writing, and to see how the 19th century 'woman question' is reflected in its literature.(3 Credits)
ENG 619: 20th Century Feminist Readings of Literature
Women continued their expansion into the realms of literature in the twentieth century. Beginning with Woolf's A Room of One's Own, this course will follow this expansion by examining feminist developments in English criticism. We will use the literary criticism of Kate Millet and 1960s criticism, to analyse texts from a radical feminist perspective. Stemming from this review we will use Elaine Showalter's tracing of a woman's tradition, and we will see how this is linked to other readings of literature such as those done by Cora Kaplan and the socialist feminist stream. Finally we will delve into the realm of 'other' women's voices through black feminist literary criticism as well as critical readings of Native American female writers.(3 Credits)
ENG 620: Transnational Feminism: Reading Literature Inter-culturally
The main objective of this course is to acquaint students with the universal nature of feminism. This course focuses on issues relating to women's diversity through different genres of literature by women writers. It includes texts written from and addressing a variety of viewpoints, identity and experiences, which are shaped not only by societal definitions of gender, but also by constructions of race, sexuality and class.Beginning with the Introduction of Inderpal Grewal and Caren Kaplan's Scattered Hegemonies: Postmodernity and Transnational Feminist Practices, this course critically examines the tradition in women's writing, deconstructs the pervasive images of women in literature, and analyses the way in which women use language to define their experiences. A variety of works by Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, Egyptian, Latin American, African, British, and American women will be studied, including novels like Sultana's Dream, Map of Love, Ice-Candy-Man, Joys of Motherhood, The House of Spirits, Sexing the Cherry, Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Raven a play by Caryl Churchill; poetry by Kamala Das, Sappho, Adrienne Rich, Sylvia Plath; and essays by Arundhati Roy.(3 Credits)
ENG 621: Gender Theories and Feminist Readings of Literature
Is there any distinction between sex and gender' How are gender stereotypes created' Do male authors write differently from female authors' Do men and women read differently' What does it mean to define a particular piece of writing as 'feminist' Women and literature is the subject that draws a direct connection between life and literature. This course examines the cultural and social construction of gender and debates on gender in literature through the lens of gender and feminist theories. It aims to concern itself with sexual difference, images of men and women in literature, the biological, social, and cultural construction of femininity and masculinity, as well as how gender intersects with age, race, class, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. This course will look at the writings of Virginia Woolf and Simone de Beauvoir to see how the realist novel in English can be read. It will proceed to look at feminist analyses by Kaplan, Spivak and Judith Butler to look at contemporary writings and critically analyse the literary representation of women.(3 Credits)
ENG 622: Reading English Literature Post Colonially: From Shakespeare to Defoe
Post-colonial re-readings of literature have proceeded through a re-examination of the English literary canon. This course will look at early English literature, from the plays of Shakespeare to the novels of Defoe to see how the colonial theme and depictions of the other occur in the English writing of the period of exploration and the beginnings of empire.(3 Credits)
ENG 623: Postcolonialism and Literature: The Nineteenth Century
This course will involve a re-reading of the nineteenth-century novel post-colonially. Students are expected to read novelists from Charlotte Bronte of the early nineteenth century to Rudyard Kipling of the late nineteenth century. This course will also look at the response from the colonized world, and will read the English writings of the Bengal Renaissance, with authors such as Michael Madhusudan Dutt or Bankim Chandra Chatterjee to see how nineteenth-century colonialism influenced the growth and development of literature.(3 Credits)
ENG 624: Postcolonialism and the Contemporary World: Reading "Other" Englishes
English as a world language has implications for its literature. English writing from other sites, such as the Caribbean, the African continent and South Asia are witness to this international status of English. From its initial nomenclature as Commonwealth writing to its present day status as postcolonial writing in English, this body of texts represents a rich tapestry of writing.(3 Credits)
ENG 625: Translation and the Study of Literature
Cultural and literary transactions globally require a process of translation, not only from one language to another, but often from one medium to another. This course will look at translation not between languages alone, especially between English and Bangla, but will also see how literature translates into other cultural media, notably film and television.(3 Credits)
ENG 626: Postmodernist American Literature: from the 1960's to the present
This course will cover the writers of the Beat Generation of the 1950's including Burroughs and Ginsberg to the writings of Vonnegut and Pynchon to see how postmodernism has a direct influence on the representation of American culture and society.(3 Credits)
ENG 627: Post Modernist British Literature: from the 1980's to the present 3 Credits
Salman Rushdie is perhaps the iconic writer of contemporary Britain, mixing as he does the post-colonial with the post-modern. Other contemporary writers such as Ian Mcewan will be looked at to see how the realist tradition continues in England, especially with the invention of such forms as the docu-novel. 'Other' Englishes also form a part of this course looking at the writings of Hanif Kureishi or Zadie Smith.(3 Credits)
ENG 628: Postmodernism in translation: Spanish and French traditions
This course will look at the relationship between modernism and post-modernism. The French tradition will be represented by the writings of Robbe-Grillet, Marguerite Duras as well as Monique Wittig. The Spanish tradition will start with Cervantes, go on to the new world, looking at the writings of Gabriel Garcia Marques and Mario Vargas Llosa.(3 Credits)
ENG 629: Postmodernism and the visual media
Post-modernist theories are concerned with the creation of meaning as well as the instability of meaning. Post-modernism has blended with cultural studies to analyse the contemporary visual media including television and film, the Internet, billboards and advertisements. This course will look at the visual media as the meeting-point between commerce and cultural production, and analyse the creation of images and their impact on our cultural lives.(3 Credits)
ENG 698: Thesis
Students in the Literature concentration are required to complete a thesis of 7,000 to 12,000 words on a topic of their choice and approved by their thesis advisor. The thesis will have to be presented and defended in front of a committee composed of at least one faculty member and one external examiner. (6 Credits)
CONCENTRATION IN ELT & APPLIED LINGUISTICS
ENG 604: Research Methodology
This course will introduce students to the basic ways of writing a research paper or thesis. Beginning with conceptual clarity, the course will introduce students to methods of library research, including on the Internet and the use of primary and secondary materials. Students will be taught how to pose research questions, the use of annotations, bibliography and the basic tenets of literary and cultural research.(3 Credits)
ENG 603: Teaching Reading and Writing Skills
This course will equip students with knowledge and understanding of the principles, design and procedure underlying the teaching of reading and writing skills. The writing component will involve a critical examination of both process writing and genre-based approaches and relate these theories to the teaching of writing. In teaching reading skills, critical issues like role of the reader's prior knowledge, cultural background and interest, and text features (text structure, signalling) will be examined. A variety of reading genres, textbooks, journal articles, online sources, newspapers, magazines and literary texts will be used for the purpose. Following contemporary approaches (content-based, task-based, etc.), students will be trained to select appropriate content and design meaningful tasks to teach and test the two skills.(3 Credits)
ENG 609: Aspects of Language
In this course students will explore the nature of language, its complexity and its diversity. It will equip students with the knowledge of linguistic concepts and principles of linguistic analysis with English as the primary source of data. The first part of the course will focus on the core areas of language study: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. The second part of the course will focus on the sociological and psychological aspects of language.(3 Credits)
ENG 641: Methods and Techniques in ELT
This course will take students through the history of English language teaching from grammar translation to communicative language teaching and other current communicative approaches. Students will have the chance to discuss and practice a range of different teaching methods and techniques. The emphasis of the course will be on the principles and techniques of teaching the four skills, as well as grammar and vocabulary.(3 Credits)
ENG 642: English as a Second Language: Theory and Practice
The course examines the process of acquiring a second or additional language. The aim of this module is to introduce students to the psycholinguistic approaches related to second language acquisition including comprehension and production of language, learner characteristics (attitude, aptitude, motivation etc.), cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies, interlanguage and other theories of second language acquisition (Monitor model Acculturation, Accommodation etc). The course will also include a study of the pedagogical implication of SLA research.(3 Credits)
ENG 643: Sociolinguistics and Psycholinguistics
This course introduces the students to the sociological and psychological aspects of language. The sociological aspects will comprise language variation and change, language and gender, language and culture, language policy and planning and world Englishes including Pidgin and Creole. The psychological aspects will include perception, production and comprehension of speech in first language acquisition. Examples will be drawn both from Bangla and English languages. The course will also include a study of the various theories of first language acquisition: Behaviourism, Cognitivism, Innatism etc.(3 Credits)
ENG 644: Approaches to Teaching Grammar
The essential aim of this course is to increase students' explicit knowledge of selected aspects of English grammar and their pedagogical applications with respect to the needs of learners of English as a foreign/second language.(3 Credits)
ENG 645: Discourse Analysis
The course will explore the relationship between the use of language and its social context. It will include the study of the functions of language, rules and procedures of discourse analysis, analysis of spoken and written discourse through an understanding of the role of context, cohesion, coherence, speech acts, cooperative principles etc. The focus will be on the methods of discourse analysis and how to work with various kinds of research data, including official documents, conversations, interviews and literary discourse. (3 Credits)
ENG 646: Computer Assisted Language Learning
The course will equip students with the tools to integrate computer technology appropriately into language teaching and learning. It will provide an overview of different types of programs and approaches to using CALL software in the language classroom. Basic training in computer technology, and software related to language teaching and learning will be an integral part of the course. (3 Credits)
ENG 647: World Englishes
The course surveys the social and linguistic characteristics and roles of English in societies around the world. It will attempt to examine the differences in the status of English in different countries of the world and their sociopolitical and educational implications. Topics will include: spread of English in the world; functions and statuses of Englishes world-wide; the three varieties of English; British and American English; English in South Asia (with special emphasis on Bangladesh) and the characteristics of New Englishes. There will be opportunity to compare the different functions of English language in postcolonial nations and the extent and nature of nativized varieties, which have developed.(3 Credits)
ENG 648: Teacher Education
This module is designed for students to get acquainted with various issues involved in their professional development. It will include understanding of the theories and principles of teacher education, lesson plan and evaluation, classroom observation, modes of teaching and learning, micro-teaching, counselling and feedback. A major concern of the module will be to familiarize students with current research and methodologies pertaining to teaching and learning.(3 Credits)
ENG 649: Material Design and Evaluation
The course will aim at developing students' understanding of the theories and principles of effective material design. It will include evaluation, selection and adaptation of existing materials. It will provide students with the tools for designing materials for the ELT curriculum.(3 Credits)
ENG 650: Teaching English for Specific Purposes
This course will expose students to the theory and practice of teaching English for specific purposes. It will train students to identify the language needs of specific disciplines, examine and assess suitable teaching materials, and design appropriate and meaningful activities for various occupational and educational purposes. The course will also include a study of the current issues, trends and research methods in ESP.(3 Credits)
ENG 651: Testing and Evaluation
This course goes through the basic concepts in testing, such as, purposes, kinds and basic requirements of tests. The course also looks at test formats, testing and assessment of different skills, test construction and development, approaches to scoring and marking and test administration.(3 Credits)
ENG 652: Curriculum and Syllabus Design
This course studies the background of the language syllabus design; various types of syllabi; needs analysis and the problems faced by syllabus designers. It also investigates the decision-making process that involves planning, developing, implementing, evaluating and modifying syllabi.(3 Credits)
ENG 653: Teaching Practicum
The overall aim of the course is to make the students develop effective teaching skills. Students will be required to teach English language to various levels of students ranging from primary to tertiary at different educational institutions. The teaching will also comprise the teacher's observation of students' performance to be followed by a process of feedback on students' teaching performance.(3 Credits)
ENG 654: Phonetics and Phonology
This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of general phonetics and a basic knowledge of the phonology of English. It will include aspects like articulation and description of speech sound, speech mechanism, consonants, vowels, syllable structure and prosodic features such as stress, rhythm and intonation. The secondary aim of the course is to introduce students to pronunciation pedagogy, focusing on how to develop pronunciation activities for Bangladeshi students acquiring English pronunciation.(3 Credits)
ENG 698: Thesis
Students in the Applied Linguistics and ELT concentration also have to take ENG 698 (Thesis) in their final semester. They may write a thesis (of 7,000 to 10,000 words) on a topic of their choice and approved by their thesis advisor; which then has to be presented and defended in front of a committee composed of at least two faculty members and one external examiner.(6 Credits)