ENGL 2112-H World Literature II -- Syllabus Dr. Robinson



Fall Semester 2000

12:30-13:45 pm, TT in Newton 1107

Office: Newton 3303B

Office Telephone: 681-0155

English Department Telephone: 681-5471

Office Hours: By appointment

E-Mail: DWROB@gasou.edu

Homepage: http://www.oneeyedman.com/home/

Class discussion forum: http://www.litphil.gasou.edu/cgi-bin/mwf/forum.pl



REQUIRED TEXTS:



PURPOSE: This is the second segment of the two-part sequence of courses providing an overview of the Western tradition in literature from the beginnings (with the ancient Jews and Greeks) down to the present century. By "Western" is meant, roughly, European, along with those regions of the world colonized by Europeans, such as the Americas. The period that we will be discussing, approximately the last three centuries, contains several highly complex cultural and historical movements. In the course of reading our literature selections, we will have to orient ourselves with respect to phenomena such as Rationalism and its Romantic counter-reaction; the growth of industrialism, capitalism, and colonialism; the birth of evolutionary theory, psychoanalysis, and modern physics; and the advent of radical political ideologies and, in the 20th century, ideological wars. This is the historical background against which literary movements like Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Modernism, and Post-Modernism need to be examined. There are two broad goals to this course: first, to construct a historical understanding through literature of the Western culture that has shaped us, and second, to gain skill at reading diverse texts.



PROCEDURES & PROVISOS: The reading load will be quite heavy, so do not fall behind. Class discussions will begin with an examination of the day's comments submitted by the class to the on-line forum (see the handouts describing how this will work). There will be no make-up examinations. Note: cellular phones, pagers, and other disruptive electronic equipment must be turned off while you are in class. Failure to observe this rule will negatively impact your participation grade. An exception will be made for emergency medical personnel, but for no others.



GRADING: Participation will be graded based on the on-line forum (See the handouts for details.). Three examinations will be given, each non-comprehensive. These will consist of identification questions: an excerpted piece of writing will be presented, and you must identify it and discuss it in detail, showing a knowledge of the entire work from which it was drawn. These passages will be ones that we have specifically discussed in class. (Attendance will not be taken, but you probably won't pass these exams if you don't attend regularly -- your choice!) You will not be tested on the material in the headnotes of the reading assignments, but if you are interested in doing well, read the headnotes. The course grade will be calculated as follows:





Participation......................... 25%
Exam I................................. 25%
Exam II ............................... 25%
Exam III (Final).................. 25%
Total............................ 100%


Tentative Class Schedule: Students are responsible for any changes to this schedule which may be announced in class. The page numbers given below refer to the Wilkie & Hurt anthology unless otherwise indicated. All of the assigned reading is due on the day it is first listed.



WEEK 1
Tuesday 8-22 Introductory remarks. Discussion of literary terms.
Thursday 8-24 Introduction to the Enlightenment.
WEEK 2
Tuesday 8-29 Moliere, Tartuffe (20-69).
Thursday 8-31 Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Part IV (213-265).
WEEK 3
Tuesday 9-5 Swift, continued.
Thursday 9-7 Pope, "An Essay on Man" (275-288).
WEEK 4
Tuesday 9-12 Voltaire,Candide (292-359).
Thursday 9-14 Introduction to Romanticism. Rousseau, Confessions, Book 1 (365-392).
WEEK 5
Tuesday 9-19 Rousseau, continued. Review.
Thursday 9-21 Midterm I.
WEEK 6
Tuesday 9-26 Goethe, Faust, Part I (397-569).
Thursday 9-28 Goethe, continued
WEEK 7
Tuesday 10-3 ** October 3 is the withdrawal deadline **

Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience, (575-603).

Thursday 10-5 Blake, continued.
WEEK 8
Tuesday 10-10 Shelley, Frankenstein (671-799).
Thursday 10-12 Shelley, continued.
WEEK 9
Tuesday 10-17 Introduction to Realism. Flaubert, "A Simple Heart" (980-1001).
Thursday 10-19 Tolstoy, "The Death of Ivan Ilyitch" (1093-1133).

WEEK 10
Tuesday 10-24 Ibsen, A Doll House (1138-1186).
Thursday 10-26 Ibsen, continued. Review.
WEEK 11
Tuesday 10-31 Midterm II.
Thursday 11-2 Introduction to Modernism. Baudelaire, poems (1340-1349).



WEEK 12
Tuesday 11-7 Baudelaire continued.
Thursday 11-9 Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1722-1726).
WEEK 13
Tuesday 11-14 Conrad, "Heart of Darkness" (1425-1485).
Thursday 11-16 Conrad, continued.
WEEK 14
Tuesday 11-21 Kafka, "The Metamorphosis" (1634-1666). Wright, "Big Boy Leaves Home" (1863-1889).
Thursday 11-24 THANKSGIVING
WEEK 15
Tuesday 11-28 Camus, "The Adulterous Woman" (1824-1835).
Thursday 11-30 Borges, "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" and "The Circular Ruins" (1837-1852).
WEEK 16
Tuesday 12-5 Brecht, The Good Woman of Setzuan (1752-1805).
Thursday 12-7 Brecht, The Good Woman of Setzuan (1752-1805). Review.


Final Examination: Thursday, December 14, 8-10 pm in the usual place.