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



Fall Semester, 1999

11-12:15 TT in Tech 2110

Office: Newton 3303B

Office Telephone: 681-0155; English Department Telephone: 681-5471

Office Hours: By appointment

E-Mail: dwrob@gasou.edu

Homepage: http://www2.gasou.edu:80/facstaff/david-r/



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, Australia, and parts of Africa. 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 various literary movements 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.



GRADING: The main activities of this class will be reading, talking about reading, and writing about reading. The reading load itself is strenuous, sometimes 100 or more pages a week. In order to keep us on track, there will be frequent quizzes on the reading assignments, checking both for completeness and comprehension; these will not normally be announced. There will be two midterm exams testing you on recognition and understanding of passages from the assigned reading; the final exam will be the same, plus an essay. Finally, the time spent in class will be graded: attendance is required, all students are required to participate in the class discussions, and all students must contribute questions on the reading to the online discussion described below. Six or more absences (after the first week) resulting in an F for participation. The course grade will be calculated as follows:



Quizzes........................ 20%
Participation................ 20%
Midterm I.................... 15%
Midterm II .................. 15%
Final............................ 30%
Total...... 100%


ONLINE DISCUSSION: In order to build a sense of community and to promote discussion in this large class, I am creating a discussion forum on my website for use by you in formulating questions and comments about the reading material. Your contributions to the forum will form part of your participation grade, and they will serve to start the discussions in class. The procedure will be as follows: by midnight the evening before class when a reading assignment is due, you must log onto my website and leave a comment in the forum. You may ask a question, state an idea, or respond to the questions and ideas of others. (Conversation is welcome.)

COURSE SCHEDULE: The daily reading schedule is posted on my website. I will not distribute a paper copy of it, though you may choose to print one out. Students are responsible for any changes to this schedule which may be announced in class or entered on the website. The page numbers given 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 8/24 Introductory remarks.
Thursday 8/26 Discussion of literary terms.
WEEK 2
Tuesday 8/31 Introduction to the Enlightenment.
Thursday 9/2 Moliere, Tartuffe (20-69).
WEEK 3
Tuesday 9/7 Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Part IV (213-265).
Thursday 9/9 Swift, continued. Pope, "An Essay on Man" (275-288).
WEEK 4
Tuesday 9/14 Voltaire,Candide (292-359).
Thursday 9/16 Midterm I.
WEEK 5
Tuesday 9/21 Introduction to Romanticism. Rousseau, Confessions, Book 1 (365-392).
Thursday 9/23 Goethe, Faust, Part I (397-569).
WEEK 6
Tuesday 9/28 Goethe, continued.
Thursday 9/30 Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience, (575-603).
WEEK 7
Tuesday 10/5 Blake, continued.
Thursday 10/7 Shelley, Frankenstein (671-799).
WEEK 8
Tuesday 10/12 Shelley continued.
Thursday 10/14 FALL BREAK
WEEK 9
Tuesday 10/19 Introduction to Realism. Flaubert, "A Simple Heart" (980-1001).
Thursday 10/21 Tolstoy, "The Death of Ivan Ilyitch" (1093-1133).

WEEK 10
Tuesday 10/26 Ibsen, A Doll House (1138-1186).
Thursday 10/28 Midterm II.
WEEK 11
Tuesday 11/2 Introduction to Modernism. Baudelaire, poems (1340-1349).
Thursday 11/4 Discussion of Midterm II results. Baudelaire continued.



WEEK 12
Tuesday 11/9 Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1722-1726).
Thursday 11/11 Conrad, "Heart of Darkness" (1425-1485).
WEEK 13
Tuesday 11/16 Conrad, continued.
Thursday 11/18 Kafka, "The Metamorphosis" (1634-1666). Wright, "Big Boy Leaves Home" (1863-1889).
WEEK 14
Tuesday 11/23 Camus, "The Adulterous Woman" (1824-1835).
Thursday 11/25 THANKSGIVING
WEEK 15
Tuesday 11/30 Brecht, The Good Woman of Setzuan (1752-1805).
Thursday 12/2 Brecht, continued.
WEEK 16
Tuesday 12/7 Borges, "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" and "The Circular Ruins" (1837-1852).
Thursday 12/9 Review.


Final Examination: Tuesday 12/14 11 am to 1 pm in the usual place.