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IFLS 134 II
Days and Times: MW, 14:00-15:15/ Room: LP 106
Instructor: Sunyoung Ahn
COURSE DESCRIPTION: IFLS 134 English Reading is a course for English majors with a
goal to enhance English reading proficiency and critical thinking. The class will explore the ways of
reading that will equip students to analyze, assess, and critique the assigned texts, both in terms of
their stylistic and argumentative features. The objective is to train an eye to recognize why the texts
are written in the way they are and to be able to articulate their cultural, ethical, and political function
outside their textual worlds. Students will be encouraged to develop an acute awareness to the very
processes of reading and writing throughout the semester.
CLASS FORMAT: The class will mainly be structured around reading key passages and discussing
their imports, as well as looking into the ways English is used as a language. It is thus important that
students come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. Advanced English speaking skills
are not required.
COURSE THEME: Animals and Meat. Food has recently been a theme of much discussion
in a number of disciplines ranging from environmental studies to sociology to literature. For
instance, in conjunction with the rise of critical animal studies and concern for animal welfare in
North America, there has been an increase in the studies of how meat is put on American tables.
This course will explore some of the key academic and jornalistic texts that approach this topic from
sometimes contradicting and sometimes concurring perspectives. There is, for example, a line of
inquiry that studies the cultural and anthropological meaning of animals in the United States and
elsewhere, as well as an investigative analysis of the living conditions of animals that are slaughtered
and processed into meat. Yet others may associate the production of meat with problems of food
sustainability, thus offering institutional and policy-related overviews of the meat industry. One of
the issues that the course will explore as it navigates the differing viewpoints is the constructedness
of animals to which the very meaning of the human and the lives of humans are entangled.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS/GRADING GUIDELINES: Attendance (10%) Attendance is
mandatory. Absences and lateness will be penalized according to the policies outlined by Korea
University. Participation (10%) Participation includes engaging in discussion, listening to
discussions, and putting efforts in in-class activities. Quizzes (20%) There will be ten quizzes,
usually consisting of five questions. These are to ensure that students read the texts on time, and will
thus consist of basic questions that check on facts. Two, two-page response papers (20%): These
are very brief writing assignments asking students to respond to a particular passage in the text by
analyzing its argument, rhetorical mode, and formal features. A more specified guideline will be
provided in due time. Presentation (10%): Each student will be asked to present for 10 to 15
minutes on a text of their choice. Midterm exam (15%) and Final exam (15%): These exams will
consist of multiple-choice questions, True-False questions, and brief essay questions.
PLAGIARISM and ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: Plagiarism is a serious academic breach.
Students must always acknowledge the sources they consult and cite with quotation marks. Acts of
cheating and any other forms of dishonesty are violations of the university policy.

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Semester Schedule (subject to change)

Week

Schedule and Assignments

Week 1
8.31 (M)
Week 1
9.02 (W)
Week 2
9.07 (M)
Week 2
9.09 (W)
Week 3
9.14 (M)
Week 3
9.15 (W)
Week 4
9.20 (M)
Week 4
9.22 (W)
Week5
9.27 (M)
Week 5
9.29 (W)
Week 6
10.05(M)
Week 6
10.07(W)
Week 7
10.12(M)
Week 7
10.14(W)
Week 8
10.19(M)
Week 8
10.21(W)
Week 9
10.26(M)
Week 9
10.28(W)
Week10

Introductions
Animal Liberation, Peter Singer

pp. i-xiii, pp. 1-23

Animal Liberation, Peter Singer

pp.95-157
Quiz 1

Animal Liberation, Peter Singer

pp.159-183

In Defense of Animals

pp.13-26

The Case for Animal Rights, Tom Regan

pp.1-33, pp.218-231
Quiz 2

The Sexual Politics of Meat, Carol J. Adams

pp.11-49

The Sexual Politics of Meat, Carol J. Adams

pp.50-73
Quiz 3

NO CLASS

National Holiday

Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan

pp.1-11, pp.287-333

Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan

Quiz 4
pp. 334-363, pp. 391-411

Food Politics, Marion Nestle

pp. vii-xii, pp.1-28

Food Politics, Marion Nestle

pp.29-66, pp.95-110
Quiz 5

Global Appetites, Allison Carruth

pp. 1-18

No Class

Reading Day

Mid-Term Exam
In Meat We Trust, Maureen Ogle

TBA

In Meat We Trust, Maureen Ogle

Quiz 6

Animal Makes Us Human, Temple Grandin

TBA

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11.02(M)
Week 10 Animal Makes Us Human, Temple Grandin
11.04(W)
Week 11 Embodied Food Politics, Michael S. Carolan
11.09(M)
Week 11 Embodied Food Politics, Michael S. Carolan
11.11(W)

Quiz 7
TBA
Quiz 8

Week 12
11.16(M)

Fast Food Nation, Eric Scholosser

TBA

Week 12
11.18(W)

Fast Food Nation, Eric Scholosser

Quiz 9

Week 13 The Meat Business, ed. Geoff Tansey and Joyce DSilva
11.23(M)

pp.187-213

Week 13 The Meat Business, ed. Geoff Tansey and Joyce DSilva
11.25(W)

pp.214-238
Quiz 10

Week 14 Defending Beef, Nicolette Hahn Niman

11.30(M)

pp.1-5, pp. 9-49

Week 14 Defending Beef, Nicolette Hahn Niman

12.02(W)

Paper#1 due
pp.209-241

Week 15 The Birth of a Jungle, Michael Lundbland

12.07(M)

TBA

Week 15 The Birth of a Jungle, Michael Lundbland

12.09(W)

Paper#2 due

Week 16 No CLASS
12.14(M)

Reading Day

Week 16 Course Evaluation / Final Exam

12.16(W)