English 4/5115-01W: Renaissance Literature
Course Policies and Syllabus
Spring 2012 Dr. Meg Pearson
PAFF 307 megp@westga.edu
TR, 12:30-1:50 pm 678-839-4892
Office hours: M 2-5 pm; TR 2-4 pm and by appt. TLC 2240
Course Goals
· Students will develop in-depth understanding of English Renaissance literature in its European and world historical and social context.
· Students will develop an understanding of how those specific contextual details affect literary history.
· Students will develop the ability to apply theoretical argument to the historical conditions that shape the production of literature.
· Students will recognize the implications of different critical and theoretical readings as culturally invested products.
· Students will understand the points of congruence between literature and other disciplines.
· Students will demonstrate in both oral and written work a discipline-specific critical facility through convincing and well-supported analysis of related material.
· Students will demonstrate their command of academic English and the tenets of sound composition by means of thesis-driven analytical prose.
· Students will learn to use discipline-specific computer technologies related to the study of language such as listservs, word processing, and internet research.
Course Texts
Greenblatt et al., eds. Norton Anthology of English Lit: Volume(s): B Sixteenth Century & Early Seventeenth Century
CourseDen: We will use this tool for paper submissions primarily, but I will also use it to have class should I need to cancel a class because of a sick child. I will notify you over email should this become necessary. (I will use your mywestga.edu email. Be able to access it.)
Requirements
Participation & Discussion (20%): Students will come to class having read the material and having prepared questions and comments for the group. The majority of the class will be discussion, so prepare accordingly. You may not sit in class like a stump. Unpreparedness will result in something nasty, such as a quiz.
Short Papers (20% each, 40% total): Two 3-4 page papers that undertake a critical and thesis-driven analysis of a passage, section, or scene from a text we’ve read. See syllabus for dates.
Final Project (40% total): Each student will present a formal five-minute talk about their research project during the final exam period (10%) in addition to the final paper of 7-8 pages (2250-2500 words) with a research bibliography of at least five sources (30%). See syllabus for due dates.
Course Policies
Attendance:
You are expected to attend every class session regularly. What we cover in class is what you need to know. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to contact another student for an explanation of what was covered. I offer you 4 absences to do with as you like—use them wisely for the inevitable "stuff" that will mess up your semester: illness, traffic, death in the family, etc. I do not care whether they are excused or not. If you miss 5 classes for whatever reason, however, you will not pass this class. You’re responsible for counting.
Deadlines and Late Papers:
All papers and drafts are due online via Course Den (or via email in case of server trouble) at a deadline established on the syllabus. I will grade the paper using “track changes” in MS Word and return it to you via CourseDen or email. Every day that passes after the due date means that your paper loses a letter grade. I will only accept essays electronically this semester. Extensions will be granted only in cases of verifiable emergency and/or if we have spoken about it beforehand.
Formatting and Submitting Papers:
All take-home papers will be turned in using our CourseDen page. However, they should still have all the appropriate formatting required by MLA standards. All papers should be typed in a simple font in 10-12 point typeface. Always leave one-inch margins on each side. Papers are always to be double-spaced. Always cite your sources. And finally, always make a back-up copy of every paper you write.
You will sometimes find it necessary to email me your papers, such as when you would like me to look over your draft. Please send papers to megp@westga.edu or, if that’s not working, to mfpearson@gmail.com. When I receive your email with an attachment, I will email you back right away to say “Got it.” If you submit something to me, not to CourseDen, and I do not email you back within 24 hours, I have not received your paper. Resend it.
CourseDen will let you know when you’ve submitted, and you can double check it yourself. If you have having troubles with CourseDen, please get in touch with the University ITS people. I cannot help you, sadly. Plan for such technological failures. They are part of life.
The departmental grading rubric for all upper-division written work may be found here. I have lots of writing tips and terms and links on my website, too: http://www.westga.edu/~megp.
Academic Honesty:
Plagiarism or cheating, whether it is using the words and/or ideas of another
without properly giving credit to the source(s), submitting someone
else’s work as your own, submitting your own work completed for another class
without my permission, collaborating on individual exercises, or otherwise
violating the university's code of academic integrity will not be tolerated,
and infractions will be severely punished. Familiarize yourself with the
proper rules for citation for the English department (MLA) and the university’s
policy on academic dishonesty: http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/Plagiarism/pladef.html.
If an idea does not come fully-sprung from your own skull, you need to figure out whose idea it is and give them credit through citation. If you cheat in my class, you will receive an automatic F for the class. Do not test this.
Extra Help:
If you feel you need help or if you have any questions regarding the class,
come by my office, Room 2240 in the TLC. I will always be in my office and
prepared to offer assistance during my office hours. If for some reason
you are unable to see me during my office hours, we will arrange an alternative
meeting time. Contact me via email to set up an appointment. Also, do not
forget about the Writing Center where the instructors and staff work to assist
writers at any point in the writing process. For more information or to make an
appointment, e-mail the Writing Center at writing@westga.edu.
Contacting Me:
I am most easily tracked down using email: megp@westga.edu. (Please note that mpearson@westga.edu is NOT ME. Poor Mike Pearson is very tired of hearing from my students.) You may also contact me using the email function in CourseDen. Please e-mail me from your university account in order to make it easier to identify the sender of the e-mail and to avoid unnecessary security or virus risks.
Special Needs:
The University of West Georgia adheres to the Americans for Disabilities Act,
known as ADA, which requires that all programs at the university be accessible
to people with disabilities. If you have a registered disability that will
require accommodation, please see me in my office at the beginning of the
semester. If you have a disability that you have not yet registered through the
Disabled Student Services Office, please contact Dr. Ann Phillips in 272 Parker
Hall at (678) 839-6428.
Syllabus
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Tuesday |
Thursday |
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1/10 First Day History Overview Sidney, The Defense of Poesy, esp. pp. 959-end, beginning with “Poetry, Philosophy, History” |
1/12 Sir Thomas Wyatt (“The long love that in my thought doth harbor,” “Whoso list to hunt,” “Farewell, Love,” “I find no peace,” “They flee from me”) Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (“The soote season,”“Alas! So all things now do hold their peace” “Wyatt resteth here”) |
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1/17 Faith in Conflict Tyndale, “Obedience of a Christian Man” Calvin, “Institution of Christian Religion” Askew “First Examination” Southwell, “The Burning Babe” |
1/19 Elizabeth I “Speech to the House of Commons, 1/28/63,” “Doubt of Future Foes,” “Monsieur’s Departure,” “Speech to the Troops at Tilbury” |
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1/24 Spenser, Faerie Queene, Book 1, Canto 1 |
1/26 FQ, Book 1, Canto 7 |
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1/31 FQ, Book 1, Canto 8 |
2/2 FQ, Book 1, Canto 9 |
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2/7 FQ, Cantos 11-12 |
2/9 Sidney Sonnets 1,2,5, 15, 20 Spenser sonnets 1, 37, 54, 67 Short Paper #1 Due |
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2/14 Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, Scenes 1-5 |
2/16 Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, Scenes 6-end |
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2/21 Shakespeare sonnets 12, 15, 18, 20, 110, 129, 130, 135, 138 |
2/23 Shakespeare excerpts from Twelfth Night and King Lear (TBA) W Day Friday |
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2/28 John Donne “The Flea,” “The Sun Rising,” “The Canonization,” “Valediction: Of Weeping,” “The Ecstasy,” “Holy Sonnet 14,” “Hymn to God my God” |
3/1 Mary Wroth All selections from Pamphilia to Amphilanthus |
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3/6 Webster, Duchess of Malfi, Acts 1-3 |
3/8 Webster, Duchess of Malfi, Acts 4-5 |
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3/13 Short Paper #2 Due The Gender Wars: Swetnam & Speght (pp. 1543-1549) |
3/15 Francis Bacon “Of Truth,” “Of Marriage and the Single Life,” “Of Superstition,” “Of Studies” (both versions), “The Advancement of Learning” |
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3/20 Spring Break |
3/22 Spring Break |
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3/27 Milton Prose Excerpts from: Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (pp1748-51), Areopagitica (pp. 1816-25) |
3/29 MP @ CEA CONFERENCE – MOVE TO COURSE DEN! |
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4/3 Milton “L’Allegro,” “Il Penseroso,” Herrick, “Delight in Disorder,” “Farewell to Sack” Philips, “A Married State” Marvell “To His Coy Mistress” |
4/5 Paradise Lost, Book 1 |
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4/10 Paradise Lost, Book 9 |
4/12 NO CLASS – UNDERGRADUATE CONFERENCE |
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4/17 Final Papers/Projects |
4/19 last day of class |
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4/24 Finals week – no class |
4/26 FINAL EXAM TIME 11:00-1:30 pm (presentations) Final Papers Due at CourseDen by 8 am |