English 2120-26H: British Literature
Dr. Margaret E. Mitchell
Fall 2007 MW 2:00-3:15 TLC 1204
Office: TLC 2235
Email: mmitchel@westga.edu
Website: http: //www.westga.edu/~mmitchel
Phone: 678.839.4852
Office Hours: Office Hours: MW 3:30-4:30; T 10-11 and 1-4; by appt.
****See my homepage (address above) for presentation guidelines****
Course Description
Description: This course will offer a sweeping survey of some of the highlights
of British literature from the medieval period to the present. Along the way, we
will seek to explore and understand the world that produced this literature, to
acquire a sense of Britain through the ages—from feudal lords and vassals to the
age of empire, from Victorian workhouses to London air raids. We will read
literature in the context of the political, cultural, philosophical, and
scientific developments that helped to shape it. We will supplement our
extensive readings in poetry and fiction by examining other kinds of cultural
texts—paintings, popular journalism, political tracts, diaries. Students will be
actively engaged in the process of constructing this historical backdrop through
research and visual presentations, and will incorporate this perspective into
analytical essays on literary texts.
Texts: The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th Edition.
Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë; Wide Sargasso
Sea, Jean Rhys.
Requirements
It will be crucial that you keep up with the reading for this class. Frequent quizzes (with a writing component) will make it worth your while to come prepared. In a small class like this, you owe it to your fellow students to come to class ready to contribute informed, thoughtful insights to our discussions. I strongly encourage you to take notes on the reading: quizzes will be open-note, so any notes you take (NOT, however, the texts themselves) will be available to you as you take quizzes. I’ll also expect you to be ready to bring specific passages to the attention of the class in order to focus and deepen our discussions. You must bring the text(s) under discussion to each class. Because participation counts toward your grade, you should make a point of speaking at least once during each class. There will also be occasional short in- or out-of-class writing assignments designed to develop your analytical prowess and work on writing strategies; I won’t accept these late. You’ll prepare a short research presentation, unearthing a historical “artifact” (a document, artwork, law, etc) that serves to illuminate the world of the text under discussion. (Details on these will be provided.) You will be required to write two longer (5 page) critical essays for which you will receive a list of possible topics in advance (you’ll also have the option of developing your own topics). Drafts are required, not optional, along with all process-based assignments associated with each paper. These will be graded as homework assignments, so failure to complete them (on time) will lower your overall grade. You may elect to revise (substantially) your first essay, in which case I will replace your original grade with the new one.
Grade breakdown
15 essay 1
15 midterm
20 essay 2
20 final
10 presentation
20 classwork/active presence
Policies and Procedures
Your active presence is essential to the success of the class. Quizzes and in-class writings cannot be made up regardless of the reason for your absence. (Exception: if you know in advance that you will need to miss a class, contact me and we can arrange for you to make up the quiz or assignment for that day.) Essays will drop a third of a letter grade for each day they are late (from a B to a B-, for instance)—including weekends. Papers will be accepted only in class; please don’t email them to me or leave them in my mailbox unless you’re specifically instructed to. You may miss three classes without penalty. There is no such thing as an excused absence. I assume that illness or other pressing circumstances may legitimately cause you to miss three classes in the course of the semester; I don’t need to know your reasons. Beyond that, however, absences will affect your grade, regardless of your reasons. I will deduct half a letter grade for your fourth absence, another half for your fifth, and another half for your sixth. If you miss more than six classes you will automatically fail the course. If you do miss class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and arrange to obtain handouts, notes, or information. (If you have truly extraordinary circumstances documented by the university, of course, please meet with me to discuss your options.)
Please come to class on time. If you are late three times it will count as an absence; lateness will also affect your ability to complete quizzes or in-class writings within the amount of time allowed. If you arrive late, it is your responsibility to speak to me at the end of class so that I can mark you late, rather than absent; I won’t interrupt class to do this, and might otherwise not remember. Please turn off cell phones and other potential sources of electronic disturbance before you enter class and remove them from sight. If such a device does go off during class, or if I see you checking messages, etc., I will mark you late.
Assignments and information relevant to the class will be posted regularly on my website. It is your responsibility to check this.
I check my email regularly; this is always a good way to contact me. University policy dictates that we correspond via your westga email account rather than any email accounts you might have.
I expect you to preserve an atmosphere of courtesy, respect, and intellectual maturity in the classroom, to take your own work and that of the other students seriously. Very little is less respectful than napping: if you fall asleep, you will receive one warning; the second time you will be asked to leave and counted as absent.
If you have special needs of which I should be aware, please meet with me as soon as possible to discuss satisfactory arrangements.
Academic Honesty
Presenting the language or ideas of someone else as your own constitutes plagiarism--whether your source is a friend, a relative, or a critic; whether the uncredited material is a phrase, a paragraph, or an entire paper; whether it is a formal or an informal assignment; whether the language is exact or paraphrased. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the class; will be reported to the English Department, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and the Student Judicial Officer; and may have consequences at the university level. There will be no exceptions, no negotiations. “Accidental” plagiarism is plagiarism nevertheless. If you are ever concerned about what constitutes plagiarism, please consult me. You may also see the English Department website for more details and resources (see the link on my website).
Schedule
(Subject to adjustment. Changes will be announced in class and posted on my website).
W 8/15 Introduction. Seamus Heaney, “Digging.”
Medieval England
M 8/20 Beowulf. Trans. Seamus Heaney. Norton 26-61. Includes intro.
W 8/22 No Class. Intensive reading; research project.
Guidelines for Research Project.
M 8/27 Beowulf. Finish.
14th Century
W 8/29 Chaucer: The General Prologue and the Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale.
16th century
M 9/3 Labor Day. No class.
W 9/5 Chaucer: The General Prologue and the Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale.
M 9/10 William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night (Acts I and II)
W 9/12 Twelfth Night (Acts III, IV and V) Essay # 1 assigned.
17th century
M 9/17
Be sure to read the author introduction in the Norton for each poet.
John Donne: “The Flea” (603); “Song” (604); “Love’s Alchemy” (611); “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (611)
Ben Jonson: “Queen and Huntress” (647); “To the Memory of My Beloved, The Author, Mr. William Shakespeare, and What He Hath Left Us” (648)
Robert Herrick: “The Vine” (667), “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” (669)
Andrew Marvell: “To His Coy Mistress” (677), “The Definition of Love” (678)
W 9/19 17th Century poetry, continued. Bring mountain of notes to class.
M 9/24 Come to class with a rough draft of your first essay. In-class workshop.
18th Century and Restoration
W 9/26 Papers due. Finish 17th Century Poetry. Discuss "The Law's Resolutions of Women's Rights," 1632.
M 10/1 “The Rape of the Lock,” Pope; "A Modest Proposal," Swift; Hogarth
W 10/3 Midterm Exam
M 10/8 Excerpts from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
W 10/10 No class (I’ll be at a conference). (Strategically, you should start reading Jane Eyre)
19th Century
M 10/15 Olaudo Equiano
W 10/17 William Wordsworth: “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey,” “Preface to Lyrical Ballads,” “Nutting”
M 10/22 Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
W 10/24 Jane Eyre read through chapter 19 (also referred to as vol. 2 chap. 4; p. 231)
M 10/29 Jane Eyre Read THROUGH Vol. 3 chap.2 (a.k.a. chapter 28, or p. 378)
W 10/31 Finish Jane Eyre.
M 11/5 Robert Browning: "Porphyria's Lover," "My Last Duchess" ; Alfred, Lord Tennyson: "Mariana," "The Lady of Shalott." James Joyce, “The Dead.” Make sure you read author intros in the anthology.
W 11/7 --William Butler Yeats: "September, 1913"; "Easter, 1916," "The Second Coming"; T. S. Eliot: "The Hollow Men." Read both author introductions in the Norton. Essay # 2 assigned.
20th Century
M 11/12 Virginia Woolf, “Modern Fiction.”Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys.
W 11/13 Wide Sargasso Sea.
M 11/19 W 11/21 Thanksgiving break. No class.
M 11/26 Writing workshop: Rough drafts.
W 11/28 Auden: "Musée des Beaux Arts"; Larkin: , "Church Going"; Walcott:"A Far Cry from Africa."
M 12/3 Last day. Essay #2 due.
Final Exam. Mon. Dec. 10 2-4.