The British Experience in Literature

Transcription

1 The British Experience in Literature HU 2538 R01 MWF 12:05-12:55 Walker 120A Dr. Laura Kasson Fiss Office: Walker 333 Office Hours: Tuesdays 10-11:30, Thursdays 12:30-2, and by appointment. Course Description Complete coverage of British literature in a single semester is impossible; rather, this course intends to give you a sampling of works from different periods and genres from Beowulf to the present. To give our discussions some overarching connection, I have selected the theme of Hauntings. Throughout the semester, we will ask who is being haunted by what in the texts we study, both literally and figuratively. We will encounter figures haunted by monsters, by ghosts, by things that go bump in the night and by various aspects of the literary tradition. Course Learning Objectives This course is keyed to University Learning Goal 4: Creative and Critical Thinking. For more information, see More specifically, this course aims to develop the following skills: - Knowledge of British literary history - Formal analysis of literary texts - Construction of literary arguments in thesis-driven analytical essays Assignments and Grading: Grading System Letter Grade Percentage Grade points/credit Rating A 93% & above 4.00 Excellent AB 87% 92% 3.50 Very good B 81% 86% 3.00 Good BC 77% 80% 2.50 Above average C 71% 76% 2.00 Average CD 65% 70% 1.50 Below average D 60% - 64% 1.00 Inferior F 59% and below 0.00 Failure I Incomplete; given only when a student is unable to complete a segment of the course because of circumstances beyond the student s control. X Conditional, with no grade points per credit; given only when the student is at fault in failing to complete a minor segment of a course, but in the judgment of the instructor does not need to repeat the course. It must be made up by the close of the next semester or the grade becomes a failure (F). A (X) grade is computed into the grade point average as a (F) grade.

2 British Experience in Literature Fiss Spring Grade Breakdown Presentation 15% Paper 1 15% Paper 2 15% Midterm 15% Final 20% Quizzes/Exercises 10% Class Participation 10% Presentation: Over the course of the semester, each student will give a 10-minute presentation to start class off. You will sign up for your presentation date at the beginning of the semester. At least 24 hours before your presentation, let me know the rough topic of your presentation ( is fine). Papers: To build the skill of writing a thesis-driven analytical essay, you will write two papers over the course of the semester. The first will consist of a series of answers to directed questions, culminating in the proposal of an argument. The second will be a more traditional essay. Midterm and Final Exams: These exams will feature passage identification, multiple choice and short answer questions, and longer written responses. Quizzes and Exercises: There will be unannounced quizzes on the reading throughout the semester as well as in-class activities that will result in gradable exercises. Class Participation Class is your time to practice the skills assessed in the course, to make sure you re understanding what s unfolding, to experiment, and to have fun. I encourage each of you to speak up every class, to talk to each other, and to bring up any questions about things that interest or puzzle you. The majority of your class participation grade will be determined by your speaking; if this is particularly hard for you, let me know early in the semester and we ll see what we can arrange. Course Policies Attendance: Each student is granted two absences for reasons of health, scheduling, and/or alarm clock malfunctions. (It s best if you let me know ahead if you plan to use it, but it s not necessary.) Each additional absence will result in a 10% penalty to your participation grade. Excessive absences will incur an additional penalty. Exceptions to this policy must be mediated through the Dean of Students Office. Late Assignments: Papers will be penalized 5% for each 24-hour period that they are late. Unless otherwise specified, all assignments are due at the beginning of class on the indicated day. Quizzes and other in-class exercises cannot be made up if they are missed. Rescheduling presentations in advance will be treated on a case-by-case basis, but an unannounced absence on the day you re scheduled to give a presentation will incur a steep penalty. Communication: I will communicate with the class as a whole via Canvas announcement when I have something I need to say between classes; please make sure your settings are such that you

3 British Experience in Literature Fiss Spring receive notice of such announcements. Please check your at least once a day. The best way to reach me for quick, directed questions is via ; however, I cannot guarantee an immediate reply, particularly overnight. I am happy to discuss more complicated matters, such as papers in progress, in person. If you cannot make my office hours, let me know and we can schedule an appointment. You can also request an appointment during my office hours to be sure of my availability. University Policies Student work products (exams, essays, projects, etc.) may be used for purposes of university, program, or course assessment. All work used for assessment purposes will not include any individual student identification. Michigan Tech has standard policies on academic misconduct and complies with all federal and state laws and regulations regarding discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of For more information about reasonable accommodation for or equal access to education or services at Michigan Tech, please call the Dean of Students Office, at (906) or go to Required Texts Do your best to get these editions. It matters most for the earlier texts; do be sure to get the same translations of the first two texts. Beowulf (Seamus Heaney translation) ISBN Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (W. S. Merwin translation) ISBN Horace Walpole, Castle of Otranto (Oxford World s Classics) ISBN Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (Oxford World s Classics) ISBN T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land ISBN Virginia Woolf, A Room of One s Own (Mariner Books) ISBN Tom Stoppard, Arcadia ISBN Additional materials will be posted on the course s Canvas site Course Schedule Week 1 M 1/12 Introduction to course W 1/14 Beowulf to p. 57 (line 835) F 1/16 Beowulf to p. 149 (line 2199) Week 2 M 1/19 No class: Martin Luther King Jr. Day W 1/21 Finish Beowulf F 1/23 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to p. 55 Week 3 M 1/26 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to p. 115 W 1/28 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to end

4 British Experience in Literature Fiss Spring F 1/30 Paper 1 Due Week 4 M 2/2 Early Modern Poetry Thomas Wyatt, Whoso list to hunt (for comparison, Petrarch, Rima 190) Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophil and Stella 1: Loving in truth William Shakespeare, Sonnet 130: My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun Sonnet 135 : Whoever hath her wish, thou has thy Will Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth Sonnet 144: Two loves I have W 2/4 Early Modern Poetry con t. John Donne, Holy Sonnets 14: Batter my heart Holy Sonnets 10: Death be not proud The Flea The Sun Rising F 2/6 No Class: Winter Carnival Recess Week 5 M 2/9 Early Modern Poetry, concluded Katherine Philips, A Married State Upon the Double Murder of King Charles Friendship s Mystery, To My Dearest Lucasia On the Death of My First and Dearest Child, Hector Philips John Milton, On Shakespeare When I Consider How My Light is Spent On the Late Massacre in Piedmont Methought I Saw My Late Espousèd Saint W 2/11 Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto to p. 59 (end of Ch. 2) F 2/13 Finish Otranto Week 6 M 2/16 Romantic Poetry William Blake, from Songs of Innocence, The Chimney Sweeper, The Lamb From Songs of Experience, The Tyger, The Chimney Sweeper William Wordsworth, I wandered lonely as a cloud Sonnets: Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 W 2/18 Romantic Poetry, con t. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner F 2/20 Romantic Poetry, con t. Percy Bysshe Shelley, A Song: Men of England Ozymandias John Keats, On First Looking into Chapman s Homer On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again Ode on a Grecian Urn When I have fears that I may cease to be

5 British Experience in Literature Fiss Spring Week 7 M 2/23 Midterm Review W 2/25 Midterm (in class) F 2/27 Victorian Poetry I Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Lady of Shalott The Charge of the Light Brigade Break, Break, Break Lewis Carroll, Jabberwocky Edward Lear, Limericks Week 8 M 3/2 Victorian Poetry II Christina Rossetti, Goblin Market Jane Eyre to p. 26 (end of ch. 3) W 3/4 Jane Eyre pp (end of ch. 9) F 3/6 Jane Eyre pp (end of ch. 13) Spring Break: 3/9-3/13 Week 9 M 3/16 Jane Eyre pp (end of vol. 2, ch. 2) W 3/18 Jane Eyre pp (end of vol. 2, ch. 6) F 3/20 Jane Eyre pp (end of vol. 2) Week 10 M 3/23 Jane Eyre pp (end of vol. 3, ch. 3) W 3/25 Jane Eyre pp (end of Vol. 3, ch. 8) F 3/27 Jane Eyre pp. 410-end Week 11 M 3/30 Paper review session: Draft of Paper 2 due W 4/1 Charles Dickens, Christmas Carol (public reading text) F 4/3 Paper 2 due Week 12 M 4/6 Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Final Problem and The Adventure of the Empty House W 4/8 T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land sections 1-2 F 4/10 The Waste Land to end Week 13 M 4/13 Virginia Woolf, A Room of One s Own pp (to end of ch. 2) W 4/15 A Room of One s Own pp (chs. 3 & 4) F 4/17 A Room of One s Own pp. 78-end

6 British Experience in Literature Fiss Spring Week 14 M 4/20 Tom Stoppard, Arcadia Act 1 W 4/22 Arcadia Act 2 F 4/24 Exam review Exam Week Final exam (during scheduled time)