English 4380: Late Eighteenth-Century British Literature
This course will explore a variety of genres and movements through the second half of the “long” eighteenth-century, a period known by many names: the Age of Johnson, the Age of Sensibilities, the Enlightenment, the Age of Revolutions, the Rise of the Novel… etc. We will examine the usefulness of each of these labels as they pertain to novels, the theatre, poetry, and a variety of prose forms (biography, circulated letters, essays, etc.)
Schedule of Readings & Assignments
Texts
There are five required books for this class, available at the University Bookstore:
‣ 18th Century Poetry: An Annotated Anthology (Blackwell)
Please note: this text has been previously used by Professor Backscheider in her Spring 2009 ENGL4370 course.
‣ The Broadview Anthology of British Literature, Volume 3: The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century
‣ The Female Quixote (Oxford)
‣ Rasselas (Oxford)
‣ Caleb Williams (Broadview)
These books are also available on Amazon, but if you go that route, make sure you will receive your books in time for class. When I provide electronic readings, I expect that you bring some paper-based form to class to annotate and make reference to.
General Class Policies
Course-specific Guidelines
Grade Breakdown
35%
|
Exams
|
|
20%
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Final
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15%
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Midterm
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25%
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Research Project
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5% - Worksheet | ||
5% - Mid-Semester Progress Report and Annotated Bibliography | ||
15% - Final Project | ||
20%
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Weekly Responses |
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10%
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In-Class Discussion Leading
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10%
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Class Attendance, Discussion, and Participation
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Exams
You will be evaluated periodically for your mastery of content knowledge, i.e. your understanding of points of fact (time periods, vocabulary, etc.) which will have been presented in the readings and in class. I reserve the right to include pop quizzes, if necessary.
In-Class Discussion Leading
At the beginning of the second week, I will pass around a signup sheet listing days for in-class presentations, which will occur at the beginning of class. You (and a partner, if you choose) will be responsible for a 10-20 minute presentation on one of the texts for the day's class. Your presentation should aim to explain the work, situate it in its author’s larger body of work and in its moment, and evaluate it in some way (see my rubric here). You should prepare typed notes for your presentation; these should not be in essay or script form but rather should be an outline that allows you to structure your remarks, refer to particular passages (if necessary), and remember what the hell it was you were just talking about. These notes will be collected, along with an annotated works cited sheet. If our classroom is "smart," you may choose to take advantage of our ability to show DVD clips, pages of text, and the like.
Formal Research Project
Across the semester, you will be responsible for a research project. The form that this project takes is flexible: you may choose to write a traditional 10-page research paper, or choose an alternate format: web site, creative work, a product, or an event. We will discuss the wide range of options in class. Whatever its final form, your project must emerge from significant and appropriate literary and historical research (library and Internet-based). As we go through the semester, I will require shorter assignments that will be graded. These assignments are designed to help you keep on track (a proposal worksheet, a status update, and an annotated bibliography).
Formal writing in this discipline must conform to a consistent citation format (MLA, Chicago, etc.), in 12 point clear font, double-spaced, with 1 inch margins. Work is due by 5 PM on the specified due date, via the Blackboard site's "Paper Assignments" turn-in. We will run a test prior to the first submission. Extensions on formal paper assignments (including drafts and proposals) will only be granted with more than 48 hours' notice. Late work without a prior extension will not be accepted.
A complete grading rubric is included in this syllabus. Remember: I grade you on the work I see, not on your good intentions. I expect that you will have personally proofread (and ideally, had someone else read over) your formal writing prior to handing it in. Egregious grammar errors, typos, improper citation, formatting errors, etc. are unacceptable on formal writing assignments, as they imply sloppy thought and hasty writing. Papers with such errors will be marked down a letter grade.
Informal Weekly Writing
On weeks where we meet as a group, you will write once a week in response to each other and to our assigned readings, using Blackboard. Your responses should be at least 250 words in length and should demonstrate that you have read and carefully thought about the assigned reading.
You will be assigned one of two due dates - either Monday or Wednesday at 9 PM (in other words, the night before one of our class periods.) You should use this forum to:
‣ask substantive questions about the text assigned for the next class
‣to make connections among texts
‣to identify the central arguments of a given piece
‣to identify what you see as important themes and issues
I am less interested in what you liked or disliked about the reading (although that may be relevant to your response) than in what issues you found central and why. You might also think of these pieces as useful practice for your formal writing.
As we proceed, I will point out questions and responses that I think are particularly strong (and you can check some out from a prior class here), so that you may consider them as models for your future work. I will also provide additional feedback about your individual progress in this area when you request it. Each week, I will grade your online contributions as excellent (A/90-100), good (B/80-90), satisfactory (C/70-79), poor (D/60-69), and not adequate (F/below 60). You will be able to keep track of your grades via Blackboard.
Late work in this category will be accepted up to one week afterward but will not be graded higher than a C. Missed work is automatically recorded as an F. Multiple weeks of missing questions and responses will jeopardize your ability to pass the course.