English 3122-A Syllabus Dr. David Robinson

Survey of English Literature from the Romantic Movement to the Modern Period

TEXTS

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. II, 7^th ed.

Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, 3^rd ed.

DESCRIPTION

From the Romantic Movement to the Modern Period: that means something like from 1798 to 1939, according to tradition. The former date marks the publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth & Samuel Taylor Coleridge; the latter date marks the publication of Joyce's Finnegans Wake and the death of William Butler Yeats. (The two events were not connected.) These literary events, and the ones falling in between, occur against a backdrop of political dates which were momentous for Britain: 1648 (the execution of Charles I), 1688 (the Glorious Revolution), 1789 (the French Revolution), 1799-1815 (Napoleon's empire), 1801 (the Act of Union), 1837-1901 (the reign of Victoria), 1838 (the People's

Charter), 1832, 1867, 1884-85 (the Reform Bills), 1899-1902 (the Boer War), 1914-1918 (WW I), 1939-45 (WW II). Another and equally important historical backdrop for our reading could be termed British intellectual or social history: the Enlightment, particularly Locke; the rise of industrialism and capitalism; technological revolutions ushered in by the steam ship, the railroad, the telegraph, the airplane, and modern machines of war; the expansion of political and economic empire; the decline of religious sentiment; the institution of universal education; the debate of the Woman Question; the broadening of the franchise; the rise of nationalism and ideology; and the confrontation between British and non-Western cultures.

REQUIREMENTS & GRADING

All of the introductions in the anthology sections and to the assigned authors and works are required reading; you will be responsible for that material on tests. The grade will be based on the following measures:

Participation will be based on attendance, performance on reading quizzes (no makeups), and your contributions to the online discussion forum. (See my Web site for information about getting started with the forum, and rules for its use.) The participation grade will be my overall assessment of your involvement with the class based on these objective measures. To do well, you need to attend, prepare, and contribute. As for attendance, I will give an F for participation to anyone who misses four classes after the first week.

The Short Paper will be a maximum four-page non-research interpretive essay on a topic to be announced. The Research Paper will be a 7-8 page interpretive essay making use of at least five critical resources - topic also to be announced. Both papers must conform to MLA style, and will be returned to you for revision until they do.

The Midterm will test you on the reading up to that point in the term, including head notes and background information provided in class. It can be made up only in the event of near-death experiences. The final will do the same for the material from the second half of the term, but will also include a comprehensive essay.

TENTATIVE ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE

Note: Students are responsible for all of the reading assigned for a given day; I may indicate particular poems, for example, which we will concentrate on, but I will assume that you have read the rest. Students are also responsible for any changes to this schedule that may be announced in class or posted on the Web.

Final Examination: Thursday, 2 May, 3-5 pm