ENGL 121: British Literature, 19th to Early 20th

Transcription

1 ENGL 121: British Literature, 19th to Early 20th Century Course Overview and Objectives Required Texts Reading Assignments Discussion Forums Writing Assignments Final Exam Grading Academic Policies Lessons COURSE OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES This course covers literature written between 1789 and One of the goals of this course is to immerse you in some of the best and best known works from the three periods we will study Romantic, Victorian, and Modern so that you will have a good understanding of what kind of works emerged from each period. Further, we will study the historical and social conditions of these periods so that you will understand not only how and what writers from each period wrote, but also why they did so and why the shifts between the periods occurred. We will read poetry, plays, and novels from three very different periods of literature. You will learn what you love and what you hate. Hopefully, you will come to appreciate those works you like least, as they will help you better articulate why you love those you do. The course will be divided into nine lessons: 1. Introduction to the Class and to Each Other 2. Introduction to the Romantic Age: The First Generation Romantics

2 3. The Second Generation Romantics 4. Victorian Poetry 5. Victorian Novel: Charles Dickens 6. Transitional Artists: Victorians to Moderns 7. Modern Fiction: Virginia Woolf and James Joyce 8. T. S. Eliot 9. Final Exam Preparation The number of days given to each of the nine lessons depends on the amount and depth of the material to be covered. Each lesson includes reading assignments, notes, and discussion forum questions. Some lessons include a writing assignment. Lessons 2 through 6 are divided into several topics, each with its own readings and discussion forum questions. At the end of the course, you will take a final exam. Sections below describe these elements of the course in detail. REQUIRED TEXTS See the course description for the most up to date list of materials. READING ASSIGNMENTS It is essential to keep up with the reading assignments. Reading assignments include primary sources, introductory materials on the period covered, biographical introductions of the authors, and Internet resources. All, plus my introductions and notes in each lesson, are required reading. DISCUSSION FORUMS A discussion forum is our online classroom, and has the potential to bring meaning to all of the material you read on your own. You need to have certain information and tools in order to read literature, but in order to read literature well, you need to consider different perspectives. With thoughtful and respectful responses and questions from you, our forums will enable us to broaden our view of the literature we read and of ourselves. Each lesson has its own discussion forum. I expect you to read the required works carefully before posting to the forum. With careful reading, your responses will be thoughtful and worthwhile. Please do not be afraid to ask questions in the forum. If you're puzzled, know that somebody else is too, and your question may spark good discussion. Further, if your interpretation of a piece is far different from the others that have been discussed, all the more reason to post it! Every post counts whether it's a new thread or a reply to another's post. The only time I won't count a post is if it is 1) after the last date of the lesson; 2) one of more than one post on either the last or penultimate date of the lesson; or 3) when it's one of more than one thoughtless posts that either just repeats information or is truly insubstantial. Full participation entails reading others s posts as well as writing your own. It is best to visit the forum for a given lesson and read posts from your classmates several times a week. We all benefit when every student contributes

3 to the discussion by reading and posting thoughtful ideas, questions, and responses frequently. If you have never used an online discussion forum before, it's best to dive in fearlessly. Please use the same name throughout the course so that I can easily find all your posts. In order to get full credit for participation, posts should be spread out throughout the lesson period and topics; posts all posted on the same day/last day of the lesson will not receive full credit. Here is a breakdown of how many times you must post for each lesson: Lesson 1, Introduction: at least 2 posts Lesson 2, Early Romantics: at least 6 posts Lesson 3, Late Romantics: at least 5 posts Lesson 4, Victorian Poetry: at least 6 posts Lesson 5, Victorian Novel: at least 6 posts Lesson 6, Transition: at least 5 posts Lesson 7, Woolf/Joyce: at least 7 posts Lesson 8, Eliot: at least 2 posts Lesson 9, Final: at least 2 posts (1 question, 1 response) WRITING ASSIGNMENTS You will complete four writing assignments of varying lengths. Writing assignments are explained in each lesson. # Lesson Title Length 1 Lesson 2 Interpreting Meter and Rhyme 2 pages 2 Lesson 4 Victorian Visual Art and Victorian Literature PowerPoint 3 Lesson 5 Victorian Lit: The Novel 3 pages 4 Lesson 7 Modern Symbol in Woolf 3 pages All assignments should be submitted as attachments via the Assignments section of Sakai (see left hand navigation bar). With the exception of the Lesson 4 assignment (a PowerPoint presentation), all assignments should be submitted in Microsoft Word document format (.doc or.docx), not as text pasted into the body of the message. Papers must be submitted by 11 pm on the day they are due. Please read Hints for Writing a Strong Paper (see left hand navigation bar). In addition to offering guidelines for writing, this page suggests the criteria I will use to evaluate your papers. At the end of your paper, please write a pledge that the paper is entirely your own work and type your name as an indication that you understand the honor code (see Honor Code in introductory material) and you are handing in work that is completely your own. FINAL EXAM For the final exam, you will be responsible for all assigned readings, including the biographical information of the authors we read, all introductory materials, all materials from assigned websites, and the discussion forums.

4 Your final exam will be on the date listed on the Schedule from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. It will become available in the Assignments section (via the left hand navigation bar) at 7:30 pm and you will have until 9:30 pm to complete and submit it through the Assignments section. The exam will consist of essay questions. More details will be given in Lesson 9, and through the discussion forum as we get near the final exam period. GRADING Your final grade for the course will depend on the following: participation in the discussion forum = 20 percent writing assignments = 60 percent the final exam = 20 percent. ACADEMIC POLICIES By enrolling as a student in this course, you agree to abide by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill policies related to the acceptable use of online resources. Please consult the Acceptable Use Policy on topics such as copyright, net etiquette, and privacy protection. As part of this course, you may be asked to participate in online discussions or other online activities that may include personal information about you or other students in the course. Please be respectful of the rights and protection of other participants under the UNC Chapel Hill Information Security Policies when participating in online classes. When using online resources offered by organizations not affiliated with UNC Chapel Hill, such as Google or YouTube, please note that the Terms and Conditions of these companies and not the University s Terms and Conditions apply. These third parties may offer different degrees of privacy protection and access rights to online content. You should be well aware of this when posting content to sites not managed by UNC Chapel Hill. When links to sites outside of the unc.edu domain are inserted in class discussions, please be mindful that clicking on sites not affiliated with UNC Chapel Hill may pose a risk for your computer due to the possible presence of malware on such sites. Honor Code Remember that as a student of UNC Chapel Hill, you are bound by the University's Honor Code: It shall be the responsibility of every student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to obey and support the enforcement of the Honor Code, which prohibits lying, cheating, or stealing when these actions involve academic processes or University students or academic personnel acting in an official capacity. An especially serious Honor Code violation is plagiarism. The UNC Libraries Plagiarism Tutorial offers tips on how to avoid plagiarism in a fun and informative format. Also see the UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center's page on plagiarism what it is and how to avoid it. Office of Accessibility/Special Accommodations

5 If you are a student with a documented disability, you can receive services through Accessibility Resources & Service. You must self identify through Accessibility Resources to receive services or accommodation from either of these offices. Accessibility Resources works closely with programs, offices, and departments throughout the University to help create an accessible environment. The office is located in Suite 2126 of the Student Academic Services Building (SASB), 450 Ridge Road, Chapel Hill, NC, and is open from 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday. You can contact them by phone at or 711 (NC RELAY) or by at accessibility@unc.edu. LESSONS Lesson 1: Introduction to the Course and to Each Other Lesson 2: Introduction to the Romantic Age: The First Generation Romantics Lesson 3: The Second Generation Romantics Lesson 4: Introduction to the Victorian Age: The Major Victorians Lesson 5: Victorian Novel: Charles Dickens Lesson 6: Transitional Artists: Victorians to Moderns Lesson 7: Modern Fiction: Virginia Woolf and James Joyce Lesson 8: T.S. Eliot Lesson 9: Introductions The Discussion Forum Sending an Assignment: Sorting out the Stereotypes: What is it to be Romantic, Victorian, Modern? The Eighteenth Century The Age of Reason The French Revolution, 1789 The Romantic Period, Meter and Rhyme William Blake William Wordsworth Samuel Taylor Coleridge Paper Assignment: Interpreting Meter and Rhyme George Gordon, Lord Byron John Keats The Victorian Age, Alfred, Lord Tennyson Robert Browning Christina Rossetti Dante Gabriel Rossetti Presentation Assignment: Victorian Visual Art and Victorian Literature Charles Dickens Paper Assignment: Victorian Lit: The Novel Theoretical Approaches to Literature Oscar Wilde George Bernard Shaw The Twentieth Century and Modernism World War I Poets Modern Fiction Virginia Woolf James Joyce Paper Assignment: Modern Symbol in Woolf T.S. Eliot Final Exam Preparation

6 The University of North Carolina Send comments and questions to