ENGL 2212-F World Literature II -- Syllabus Dr. Robinson
Spring Semester, 1999
5-6:15 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 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.
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: all students are required to participate in the class discussions. Absences will count heavily against the
participation grade, with 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% |
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 | ||
| Thursday | 1-7 | Introductory remarks. |
| WEEK 2 | ||
| Tuesday | 1-12 | Discussion of literary terms |
| Thursday | 1-14 | Introduction to the Enlightenment. |
| WEEK 3 | ||
| Tuesday | 1-19 | Moliere, Tartuffe (20-69). |
| Thursday | 1-21 | Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Part IV (213-265). |
| WEEK 4 | ||
| Tuesday | 1-26 | Swift, continued. Pope, "An Essay on Man" (275-288). |
| Thursday | 1-28 | Catch-up |
| WEEK 5 | ||
| Tuesday | 2-2 | Voltaire,Candide (292-359). |
| Thursday | 2-4 | Midterm I. |
| WEEK 6 | ||
| Tuesday | 2-9 | Introduction to Romanticism. Rousseau, Confessions, Book 1 (365-392). |
| Thursday | 2-11 | Rousseau, continued. Discussion of Midterm I results. |
| WEEK 7 | ||
| Tuesday | 2-16 | Goethe, Faust, Part I (397-569). |
| Thursday | 2-18 | Goethe, continued. |
| WEEK 8 | ||
| Tuesday | 2-23 | Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience, (575-603). |
| Thursday | 2-25 | Blake, continued. |
| ** March 1 is withdrawal deadline ** | ||
| WEEK 9 | ||
| Tuesday | 3-2 | Shelley, Frankenstein (671-799). |
| Thursday | 3-4 | Shelley, continued. |
| WEEK 10 | ||
| Tuesday | 3-9 | Introduction to Realism. Flaubert, "A Simple Heart" (980-1001). |
| Thursday | 3-11 | Tolstoy, "The Death of Ivan Ilyitch" (1093-1133). |
| WEEK 11 | ||
| Tuesday | 3-16 | SPRING BREAK |
| Thursday | 3-18 | SPRING BREAK |
| WEEK 12 | ||
| Tuesday | 3-23 | Ibsen, A Doll House (1138-1186). |
| Thursday | 3-25 | Midterm II. |
| WEEK 13 | ||
| Tuesday | 3-30 | Introduction to Modernism. Baudelaire, poems (1340-1349). |
| Thursday | 4-1 | Discussion of Midterm II results. Baudelaire continued. |
| WEEK 14 | ||
| Tuesday | 4-6 | Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1722-1726). |
| Thursday | 4-8 | Conrad, "Heart of Darkness" (1425-1485). |
| WEEK 15 | ||
| Tuesday | 4-13 | Conrad, continued. |
| Thursday | 4-15 | Kafka, "The Metamorphosis" (1634-1666). Wright, "Big Boy Leaves Home" (1863-1889). |
| WEEK 16 | ||
| Tuesday | 4-20 | Camus, "The Adulterous Woman" (1824-1835). |
| Thursday | 4-22 | Brecht, The Good Woman of Setzuan (1752-1805). |
| WEEK 17 | ||
| Tuesday | 4-27 | Brecht, continued. |
Final Examination: Thursday, April 29, 5-7 p.m.,in the usual place.