English 285: 19th and 20th Century British Literature
Spring 2007
Instructor: Karen
R 7-10:10 pmHome EC 114
Office: Lit and Lang 131Office Hours MTWR 9-10
and by appointment
Course Description: We have the impossible task of covering over 200 years of literature and hundreds of influential writers in the span of 16 weeks; a ridiculous task I know but one that is well worth the effort. I know the common reputation of British literature: dry, humorless, difficult to read, insanely self-conscious, sexually repressed. And while on the page the British may appear “dull,” the last two centuries witnessed some of the most exciting technological, sexual, philosophical, geographical, spiritual and political crises that still haunt us today. What makes British literature of the last two centuries interesting, at least to me, is that it was frequently a barometer measuring the changes in beliefs and power systems of the time. Although there will be an occasional “How to read a poem” lecture, for the most part, this class will focus on the interrelationship between literary works (poetry, painting, films, novels, short stories, belle lettres), the quickly evolving British culture, and the shifting of power relations (at times this class will seem a bit philosophical). Because I’m weird the course will be partially organized chronologically and semi-thematically. Each Unit will focus on a significant time period, and within each time period we will discuss three or more major themes. Each class period will be devoted to a specific theme: class, colonialism, individuality, morality, sexuality, gender, war & loss, existence & meaning, self-destruction. To some of you these topics may seem titillating, and to others disturbing (and to others boring). Regardless of your personal investment in the topics, I will expect you to engage with each topic maturely, intellectually, and respectfully. Failure to respect the class and its discussion will warrant my wrath.
One last note about the class: this will be an intense course—I expect you to contribute as much as I do by discussing topics, raising questions, and performing your own analyses of texts. As with all classes, if you want to learn, you need to work, so do the reading and the homework BEFORE every class. I will not tolerate people who feed off of their fellow class members and will either humiliate parasites, or expel them. If you stay in this class, you are committing to being active and engaged, and your promise on the queen mum’ to never whine, bitch, or complain about the work load.
On to Business. . .
What you NEED:
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Three Oriental Tales ed by Alan Richardson
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
De Profundis by Oscar Wilde
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Women in Love by DH Lawrence
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe CS Lewis
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
What you need to DO:
Assignments: (subject to modification)
- Study Questions (150 points)
- Exams (300 points)
- 2 group analyses (150 points; 75 each) (Our Mutual Friend and The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man)
- 1 paper (150 points)
- Reading quizzes (150 points)
- Attendance and Participation (100 points)
Grading: There are 1000 points possible for the course, and your final grade will be the sum of the points you have earned. There are only two caveats to this policy:
1)3 or more absences—excused or not-- will result in an “F” for the course.
2)If you are caught plagiarizing any work you submit for a grade, you will not only fail this course, you also get a file set up with the dean of students, and a note on your transcript declaring your academic dishonesty.
Plagiarism: Any paper with your name on it signifies that you are the author--that the wording and the major ideas are yours, with exceptions indicated by quotations and citations. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of other's material (words and ideas). Because it is such a serious offense, evidence of plagiarism will result in the following: a failing grade on the assignment, an F in the class, and a report filed with the Dean. In short, don’t do it!
To aid in preventing plagiarism I will be requesting a disk copy of your papers so I can run them through a plagiarism search engine.
*** Plagiarism also applies to reading cliff notes, spark notes, IN PLACE OF reading the actual work. When you are tested on material or when you write about it, you are claiming to have read the work; reading spark notes and online synopses are reading another person’s and presenting it as your own. I might also add that most of the time the notes will only give you the plot, something we will only loosely concerned with.
I am always willing to discuss a grade with you, if my comments are not clear.
- I will only discuss grades during office hours or appointments.
- I will not discuss a grade the second, or even the day I hand it back to you. You will first need to review your assignment and ask yourself honestly what you did for it and what you think you deserve, and then you should comb through my comments, before even thinking about coming to see me.
- Do not expect me to change a grade simply because you had a personal problem, or because you did not understand the assignment, or because you weren’t feeling well, etc. In order to avoid this problem altogether, I recommend that you ask many questions in class and that you come and see me before an assignment is due so that you are not always backtracking with your grade.
Being British. . . .
Deportment:
- Respect me, yourself, and the other students in this classroom by behaving appropriately. You should listen when others are talking, wait your turn to speak, and stay focused on what is happening in the room. Those doing other work, writing notes, talking with others, in general, wasting my and other students’ time will be asked to leave.
- Come on time. Late entrances disrupt the class and are quite rude. You will also find that lates will detract from your grade.
Attendance and Participation:
- I expect you to come to every class with your reading and writing assignments completed, prepared to participate in class discussion and group work. Don’t waste my time and yours by not coming prepared. Unprepared students may be asked to leave the class.
- You are allowed ONE absence (no questions asked) during the course. Any absences beyond that will affect your grade, and may result in your being asked to drop the course (see above). You will not be allowed to make up missed work, unless you show responsibility by contacting me before the day you miss class (this does not mean leaving a message 5 minutes before class starts).
- You are always responsible for work done in and outside class, even when you are absent. It is your responsibility to contact another member of the class or me as soon as possible, so that you may return to class prepared.
Managing your time:
- This class requires you to read anywhere from 100 to 200 pages a week. GASP! I know for most of you this is SHOCKING.And right now you are thinking “what else can I take to meet this requirement?” If you manage your time well, this class is very doable. Read 15-25 pages a day, a whopping hour a day will keep you caught up in this class. Also, I promise you will learn a ton in this class and you won’t regret staying in it.
- Don’t read Cliff notes or Literary Websites in place of doing the actual reading. Not only will you screw yourself by earning Neanderthal scores on the quizzes, but you will be committing a form of academic dishonesty: claiming you have done work you haven’t done and claiming someone else’s ideas as your own.
Queen Karen:
- I encourage you to take advantage of my office hours (see front page). You can use my office hours to discuss any aspect of the class: one of the readings, your paper ideas, grades, writing issues, etc. If you cannot make my office hours, feel free to make an appointment with me.
- If you need to reach me, you may email me. I would also like you to be sure to give me your phone number and email address so that I may call you at 6 in the morning.
Tentative Reading Schedule
Unit 1: Romeos and Floozies: The Romantics (1790-1832)
R 2/1:Syllabus, analysis basics, very very brief recap of 18th Century and Age of
Enlightenment; Gothic fiction warm-up.
R 2/8:Topic: Violence, Incest, and Fratricide—reactions to the Enlightenment and precursors to Romanticism (the Sublime and the Beautiful)
Read: Vathek and “The Giaour” in Three Oriental Tales and handout Edmund Burke from
“A Philosophical Enquiry into the origin of Our ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful”
R 2/15: Topic: Topic: Zee French Revolution—freedom from Institutional Tyranny
Read: in handout “The Eolian Harp” by Coleridge, “Ode: Intimations of Immortality from
Recollections of Early Childhood” by Wordsworth, “The Chimney Sweeper,” “The Sick
Rose” “London” and “The Human Abstract” by William Blake
Book 1 of Persuasion
(Additional Reading choices Due for Honors)
R 2/22: Topic: Love and Sex in the Rising Colonial Power
Read: Book 2 and 3 of Persuasion also look at the “alternate ending” in the appendix,
and “La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” by Keats “Properzia Rossi” by Hemans
Unit 2: The Victorians and Social Diseases (1832-1901)
R 3/1: Topic: Class and Filth
Read: Book one of Our Mutual Friend and handout including Chadwick, Carlyle, and
Engels
R 3/8:Topic: The battle for the self
Read: Book 2 of OMF
First one hour exam
R 3/15: Topic: Victorian Sex
Read: Book 3 of OMF
Group Analyses tonight
R 3/22: Topic: Decadence and the end of the world
Read: Oscar Wilde “The Importance of Being Earnest” and De Profundis
(Honors Short papers 1, 2, 3 Due)
Spring Break No class on Thursday 3/29
Unit 3: The Moderns: playtime in mourning
R 4/5: Topic: Language and communication
Read: Section 1 of The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
R 4/12: Topic: World War I and the Irish Question
Read Section 2 in Portrait
Second one Hour exam
R 4/19: Topic: Meaning and Writing the self
Read: handout on Freud handout, Section 3 in Portrait
R 4/26: Topic: Sex and War
Read: Chapters 1-15 in Women in Love
Group Analyses tonight
(Annotated Bibliography due for honors)
R 5/3:Topic: Death and Authority (oh and maybe some censorship)
Read: Finish Women in Love
Group Analyses tonight
(Honors Short Papers 4 and 5 Due)
Unit 4: Postmodernity and the blank years
R 5/10: Topic: Fictional Religion and WWII
Read: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Some Trainspotting
(Honors conferences Before Class 4 pm-6pm. Please make a 30
minutes appointment with me: we will go over the books, your annotated bibliography, and your paper plans)
R 5/17Topic: Existentialism, “My Heroin!”
Read: selections from Trainspotting
Third one hour exam
R 5/24: Topic: Cannibals at the trough—the Thatcher Years
Watch: The Cook, the Thief, his Wife, and her Lover
Paper Due
(Honors Long Paper Due)