Course Objectives: Survey of Brit Lit

Course Learning Outcomes

1. understand the historical context surrounding literary works including the political, social, religious, and artistic milieu in which Romantic, Victorian, and modern British authors wrote (1795 – 1990s).
2. paraphrase and understand unfamiliar and difficult language.
3. identify elements of poetry such as basic rhythms, meters, and rhyme schemes; uses of metaphor; the conventions of the sonnet and other poetic forms.
4. identify the elements of prose genres (fiction, drama, satire): plot, setting, character, theme, irony, and argument.
5. in classroom conversation, make inferences about literature that rest on textual evidence and logic.
6. articulate a critical position or interpretation; gather and use textual or critical evidence to support a particular interpretation.
7. appreciate the artistry of individual British authors writing between 1795 and the present.
8. understand how the expanse of the British Empire has helped create a lively postcolonial literature.

I hope to help you enjoy and understand Literature (and not just that which we read in/for this class), provide you will some tools for increased understanding of the literature you read (or at least an idea of where to find material that will help you increase your understanding), and help you to formulate and express your thoughts--written and spoken--concerning Literature. Keep in mind I am not some oracle of Literature. I prefer to explain what people do not understand and to provide background and context for the writings we will read and let you puzzle things out as much as possible. Don't expect me to lecture on and explain what writings "mean." I don't have all the answers to what we will read (assuming such answers exist). This does not mean that a piece of literature means whatever you want it to mean; interpretations need to be based on specific elements and their contexts within the text and broader texts. However, I have considerable experience reading, studying, interpreting, and criticizing literature. This I will share with you.

Pass the Class!

The primary goal of this class is to get you to pass the class by demonstrating an awareness and understanding of Literature. You'll do this by reading and re-reading the assigned material, writing essays with a fairly high degree of proficiency, writing and responding to journals pretty much daily, passing exams, giving presentations, asking questions and taking part in class discussions. Because passing students receive their writing intensive credit from this class, you cannot pass the course without submitting each of the revisable literature reviews, submitting mandatory revisions (explained later), and successfully completing at least 60 percent of the journals. Missing or failing on any one these elements--essays and more than 40 percent of the journals--means you may fail the course with a 0.0.

Help you Write Effective Essays

A goal of this class is to help you not only pass, but to help you develop skills and strategies so you can write effective essays for other classes. This will happen best if you come to class each day and do as is expected of you. This also requires that you engage in the writing process, which means having a draft on days they are due, submitting essays for response and grading the day they are due, and revising essays when it is mandatory to do so. All of this requires not just reading the assigned material briefly, once, or not at all, but often several times before it will make sense. Not doing so can lead to failing the class.

Build Literacies

A third goal of this course, wrapped up in the course content and its delivery, is increased traditional, cultural, social and technological literacies at both functional and higher levels. Functional literacy in a traditional sense means you can read and write well enough to function effectively in society. In a technological sense it means you are master of the machine rather than the other way around. We'll work toward an critical literacy in a traditional and technological sense. This will give you a greater sense of how rhetoric and technology function to shape society and culture and how you can use them to shape your own place in the world.

Understand the Importance of Being Here

Some students fail to make this connection, but much of our course’s success depends on the quality of class discussion and participation, so please come to class having read and thought about the assignment. If you miss a class, you must get any information you missed from a classmate or the blog. All students have one-week of personal leave days for the quarter, and all absences--excused or unexcused--are equal. Students missing three or fewer classes will have a .3 bonus added to their final grades (assuming that all work and revisions have been turned in, each individual essay has earned at least a 2.0, the final grade at that point is at least 2.0). Students missing more than three days, but no more than one-week's worth classes will receive the grade they earn. Students missing more than one week of class will have a .1 deducted from the final grade for each day's absence after the first week, and at two-weeks worth of absences, will fail the course. If you find this to be objectionable, you have two choices: make it to class as expected or find another class. I am not at all flexible about this.

Work Effectively with Others

For each assignment, and pretty much every day, in this class you will be working with other students and myself. When doing so, you are to offer constructive feedback to help group members improve the paper they have written. My goal is to help you not only learn to recognize good writing and articulate what makes it so, but to offer help and suggestions on how to improve your classmates' reading and writing and to enable you to learn something about the people in your groups. This creates a community of learners in our classroom where you can learn that written communication is to be read, not just stuffed away in a drawer or to be given to an instructor to be marked up with red ink (Normally I use blue or black on paper). This is also done so you can learn that each member of this class can offer you something to enrich your life and your scholarly pursuits. The rule for responding to the work of others is to do so with honesty (as opposed to being "brutally frank"), respect and courtesy. We are here to help each other improve as readers and writers, not to laugh at or judge each other. I understand that responses from other students are not always the best, but part of the reason we do this is so you are able to give better feedback once you are through with this and other reading/writing classes.

Engage in Self-reflection

I want you to think about what it is you are doing and how you could possibly do it better. In part, this means beginning your literature reviews well before the drafts are due so you can let your ideas simmer in your mind. This also means not reading the assignments and writing and responding to blogs at the last minute. I would also like you to consider how your behavior as a student affects others in the class. Respect and courtesy are key. Self-reflection is key to the reading and writing process.

209 Schedule

Fall 2011 English 209: British Lit 1800 to Present

Preliminary Reading and Writing Calendar

Sept 19	Sept 20	Sept 21	Sept 22	Sept 23
			Introduction and reasons for writing; literary biography; Romanticism Lecture	WPA Conference; No Class; Romantic Period (1-23)
Sept 26	Sept 27	Sept 28	Sept 29	Sept 30
Blake, from Songs of Innocence: Introduction (81), The Lamb (83), The Little Black Boy (84), Chimney Sweeper (85), Holy Thursday (86)	Blake, from Songs of Experience: Introduction (87), Holy Thursday (90), Chimney Sweeper (90), London (94), the Tyger (92)		Blake "illumination" project and presentation	Burns: Holy Willie's Prayer (132), To a Mouse (135), To a Louse (136), Auld Lang Syne (137)
Oct 3	Oct 4	Oct 5	Oct 6	Oct 7
Wordsworth: Tintern Abbey (258), World is Too Much With Us (319), Composed Upon West Minster Bridge (317), London, 1802 (319).	Coleridge: Rime of the Ancient Mariner (430)		Burke: Reflections (152), Paine: Rights of Man (163), Wollstonecraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Women (167-195)	book club formation day; Shelley: Hymn to Intellectual Beauty (766), Ozymandias (768), Ode to the West Wind (772), Defence of Poetry (837).
Oct 10	Oct 11	Oct 12	Oct 13	Oct 14
Keats: On Seeing Elgin Marbles (883), Sonnet: When I have Fears (888), Ode on Melancholy (906)	Victorian Age (979-1000), Mill: On Liberty (1051), The Subjection of Women (1060)		Essay One Assignment and Expectations; Gaskell: Old Nurse's Story  (1222); Dickens: A Visit to Newgate (1239)	Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest (1698)
Oct 17	Oct 18	Oct 19	Oct 20	Oct 21
Conrad: Heart of Darkness (1890)	Kipling: The Man Who Would be King (1794)		Hardy: Hap (1868), Ah, Are You Digging My Grave? (1879), Convergence of the Twain (1878), Channel Firing (1877)	Essay One Draft for evaluation
Oct 24	Oct 25	Oct 26	Oct 27	Oct 28
Seminar One	101 Portfolio Readings; Book Club Work Day		Essay One due for grading	Midterm Exam
Oct 31	Nov 1	Nov 2	Nov 3	Nov 4
Poets of The Great War--Brooke, Sassoon, Owen, Rosenberg. (poems to be assigned)	Yeats: Easter, 1916 (2031), Adam's Curse  (2028), The Second Coming (2036), Sailing to Byzantium (2040)		Book Club Work Day	Midterm Book Club Presentations
Nov 7	Nov 8	Nov 9	Nov 10	Nov 11
Joyce: The Dead (2172)	Eliot: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (2289), Tradition and the Individual Talent (2319) LAST DAY TO DROP CLASS!		Independent Research and Writing; no class meeting.	Veteran's Day Holiday; No Class
Nov 14	Nov 15	Nov 16	Nov 17	Nov 18
Woolf: A Room of One's Own (2092)	Lawrence: Odour of Chrysanthemums (2245), The Horse Dealer's Daughter (2258), How Beastly the Bourgeois Is (2282)		Essay Two draft due for grading evaluation	Book ClubWork Day
Nov 21	Nov 22	Nov 23	Nov 24	Nov 25
Seminar Two	Essay Two due for grading	Faculty Work Day; No Class	Thanksgiving Holiday	Thanksgiving Holiday
Nov 28	Nov 29	Nov 30	Dec 1	Dec 2
Book Club Work Day	Book Club Presentation		Book Club Presentation	Book Club Presentation
Dec 5	Dec 6	Dec 7	Dec 8	Dec 9
Book Club Presentation	Dead Day: No Classes	Finals	Final: 11:30-1:30	Finals

Writing Assignment

The primary thrust of this assignment is to propel you to engage in effective research, to understand the scholarship taking place with regard to what you are writing about, and your demonstrating that you can effectively engage not just the assigned readings, but the scholarship as well. To this end, the writing assignments consist of a mini-literature review.

The Basics

Your essay/literature review must contain the following:

• Standard essay format of introduction, body and conclusion;
• The introduction should provide authors' names (full name on first mention, last name only after that), the titles of the text being summarized, and the point the summary's response is seeking to make. Of course, you also need to introduce the poet and poem(s) you will be working with in the same way. Additionally, there should be some general, background, information the text and/or author and the point that will be raised by the thesis. This general information will typically be used (and probably should be used) to set up the thesis after the introduction of the text being summarized. When mentioning the text and author for the first time, a one-sentence summary of the whole should also be provided. Keep in mind that you are not only introducing the topic of the essay, but yourself as a writer.
• The body of the essay should capture the essence of the summarized article (first part) and clearly articulate your view of the assigned reading as it relates to the world and/or your life today (second part).
  
• The summary should do the following:In doing so, pay particular attention to the following:
  
  • Provide proportional representation. If the author(s) provide just a few paragraphs for a particular notion, you should be equally brief. If they provide quite a few paragraphs, then you should provide summary proportionally.
  • Make it clear these are author's words. To do so, you should introduce his words with something such as this: In chapter one, "Introductory," Mills stresses the idea that . . .." I hope you get it from this example.
  • Present the material beibng summarized in the same order the author(s) do(es).
  • Hit on all of the major ideas/details.
  • Rely minimally on quotes; paraphrasing is fine. Quotes should be no more than 3-5 words, give or take. Citations required.
  • Provide citations and attributions to make it clear who is the thinker behind the words and ideas from the sources.

• This assignment calls for a response that makes clear how the piece of literature/scholarship you summarized sheds some light on your understanding of the poem(s) orpoet. Generally speaking, your paragraphs will follow this format:
  
  • Provide a topic statement that makes clear the topic of the paragraph, which is whatever light is shed on the poet or poem(s) by the essay.
  • Explain briefly why this point is one someone should care about when reading the author's works.
  • Provide an example from the author to illustrate this point, with proper citaton.
  • Provide a passage from the summarized text that makes clear how it sheds light on the author's work(s).
  • Conclude the paragraph with an explanation establishing a reasonable relationship between the data of this paragraph and the claim of the thesis. In short, connect the dots for your reader.

• The conclusion should leave the reader with some sense of finality. This sense will, of course, depend upon the claim of the thesis. Many students simply restate the thesis and rephrase the introduction. While such restatement can serve the purpose of reiteration, it does little, if anything, to advance the overall argument. Instead, it reminds readers what they already read. One way to get more out of a conclusion is to seek to drive home the point of the thesis. Think of the conclusion as your last chance to get readers to see things your way. You can re-emphasize the importance of the issue the thesis addresses, you can plug that issue into a broader, more global context. Whatever you do, find some way to make your essay stick with your reader as you wrap up while NOT adding any new information.
• The summarized article(s) must be annotated and submitted with the essay when turned in for grading.

Book Clubs

Book Club Choices

(All synopsizes taken from Amazon.com)

A Star Called Henry: RFrank McCourt (Angela's Ashes) said that "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood." The sentiment might just as easily have come from the fictional lips of Henry Smart, the hero of Roddy Doyle's remarkable novel of Dublin in the early twentieth century. The son of a one-legged hit man, young Henry is the third child born but the first to live through infancy. He is also the second Henry--the first having died, and become a star in the mind of his mother. Soon, his father has all but abandoned the growing family, and at 9 Henry is on his own, running wild in the streets, thieving to stay alive. By the time he is 14, Henry has become a soldier in the new Irish Republican Army and in one long and harrowing chapter, readers view the events of the Easter Rising of 1916 from his position in the thick of it. When the shooting starts, Henry aims not at the British but at the store windows across the street. "I shot and killed all that I had been denied, all the commerce and snobbery that had been mocking me and other hundreds of thousands behind glass and locks, all the injustice, unfairness and shoes--while the lads took chunks out of the military." Though the uprising is eventually crushed and the leaders executed, Henry escapes to live--and fight--another day. Hardly any other writer alive can create families and neighborhoods full of mutually involved people with such easy authority. And nobody alive uses filthy language with such exuberant expressive virtuosity.

Jane Eyre: Charlotte Bronte's heroine Jane Eyre, may not have been graced with beauty or money, but she had a spirit of fire and was filled with integrity and a sense of independence - character traits that never waned in spite of all the oppression she encountered in life. Jane, who is the tale's narrator, was born into a poor family. Her parents died when she was a child and was sent to live with her Uncle and Aunt Reed at Gateshead. Jane's Uncle truly cared for her but Mrs. Reed neglected her while she pampered and spoiled her own children. Upon the death of Jane's Uncle, Mrs. Reed sends Jane to the Lowood School, a poor institution run by Mr. Brocklehurst, who believed that suffering made grand people. At Lowood, Jane met Helen Burns, a young woman a little older than Jane, who guided her with vision, light and love. Helen later dies from fever, in Jane's arms. Jane stayed at Lowood for ten years, two as a teacher. Jane applies for the position of governess and found employment at Thornfield, owned by a Mr. Rochester. All is not as it seems at Thornfield. There is a strange servant who lives and works in an attic. Ms. Bronte brings to the fore such issues as gender relations the mid-19 century, women's equality, the treatment of children and of women, religious faith and hypocrisy (and the difference between the two), the realization of self, and the nature of love and passion. It is at once startlingly fresh and a portrait of the times.

Pride and Prejudice: The first sentence of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice must be among the most quoted in literature. As usual, Austen trains her sights on a country village and a few families--in this case, the Bennets, the Philips, and the Lucases. Into their midst comes Mr. Bingley, a single man of good fortune, and his friend, Mr. Darcy, who is even richer. Mrs. Bennet, who married above her station, sees their arrival as an opportunity to marry off at least one of her five daughters. Bingley is complaisant and easily charmed by the eldest Bennet girl, Jane; Darcy, however, is harder to please. Put off by Mrs. Bennet's vulgarity and the untoward behavior of the three younger daughters, he is unable to see the true worth of the older girls, Jane and Elizabeth. His excessive pride offends Lizzy, who is more than willing to believe the worst that other people have to say of him; when George Wickham, a soldier stationed in the village, does indeed have a discreditable tale to tell, his words fall on fertile ground. Having set up the central misunderstanding of the novel, Austen then brings in her cast of fascinating secondary characters: Mr. Collins, the sycophantic clergyman who aspires to Lizzy's hand but settles for her best friend, Charlotte; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy's insufferably snobbish aunt; and the Gardiners, Jane and Elizabeth's low-born but noble-hearted aunt and uncle. Some of Austen's best comedy comes from mixing and matching these representatives of different classes and economic strata, demonstrating the hypocrisy at the heart of so many social interactions. And though the novel is rife with romantic misunderstandings, rejected proposals, disastrous elopements, and a requisite happy ending for those who deserve one, Austen never gets so carried away with the romance that she loses sight of the hard economic realities of 19th-century matrimonial maneuvering. Good marriages for penniless girls such as the Bennets are hard to come by, and even Lizzy, who comes to sincerely value Mr. Darcy, remarks when asked when she first began to love him: "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley." She may be joking, but there's more than a little truth to her sentiment, as well.

Burmese Days: In 1930, Kyauktada, Upper Burma, is one of the least auspicious postings in the ailing British Empire--and then the order comes that the European Club, previously for whites only, must elect one token native member. This edict brings out the worst in this woefully enclosed society, not to mention among the natives who would become the One. Protagonist James Flory is a timber merchant, whose facial birthmark serves as an outward expression of the ironic and left-leaning habits of mind that make him inwardly different from his coevals. Flory appreciates the local culture, has native allegiances, and detests the racist machinations of his fellow Club members. Alas, he doesn't always possess the moral courage, or the energy, to stand against them. His almost embarrassingly Anglophile friend, Dr. Veraswami, the highest-ranking native official, seems a shoo-in for Club membership, until Machiavellian magistrate U Po Kyin launches a campaign to discredit him that results, ultimately, in the loss not just of reputations but of lives. Whether to endorse Veraswami or to betray him becomes a kind of litmus test of Flory's character. Against this backdrop, Orwell throws the shadow of romance. The arrival of the bobbed blonde, marriageable, and resolutely anti-intellectual Elizabeth Lackersteen not only casts Flory as hapless suitor but gives Orwell the chance to show that he's as astute a reporter of nuanced social interactions as he is of political intrigues.

Grades and Grading

I hate grading! I like teaching, I like reading what you write, I like giving comments and suggestions on how to improve what you have written, but I hate putting a grade on your work. However, it’s something we are both stuck with. For better or worse, the grading of writing is not entirely objective. However, neither is it predominately subjective. Your work will be evaluated and responded to by using particular guidelines that will be given with each assignment.

Grades for the Course

Scoring Breakdown

• Two Literature Review Writing Assignments: 20 percent each/40 percent total
• Reading Journals: 20 percent
• Midterm: 7.5 percent
• Final: 15 percent
• Midterm Book Club Presentation: 2.5 percent
• Final Book Club Presentation: 10 percent
• Seminar Participation: 2.5 percent each/5 percent total

Exam Scoring

Exams will receive a percentage grade that is then translated to a numerical grade point that corresponds to a letter grade. For instance, a 98 percent correspond to a 4.0 which corresponds to an A. At the other end of the spectrum, anything below a 60 (as in 50 or lower) percent corresponds to a 0.0 which corresponds to an F. In between, 75 percent corresponds to a 2.1 which corresponds to a C. For greater detail, see the Grade Scoring Guide. I'll provide more details about the scoring of exams as we prepare to take the midterm.

How to Pass the Class

• Understand that "pass" means earn at least a 0.7 though my hope is that everyone earns a much higher grade than that.
• Attend class each day, pay attention, engage in the in-class activities and take notes.
• Submit all work--summaries, drafts for review, drafts for grading, revised drafts, etc.--in class on the day they are due, no excuses.
• Develop a study strategy for tests and use it!
• Participate fully in your book club group
• If you don't understand or are confused, ask questions.
• Visit me in my office to go over your drafts; visit the peer tutors for help.
• Understand that this is a difficult class and be willing to do what it takes to get it done.

How to fail this class

• Understand that "fail" means a 0.0.
• Don't attend daily. Missing more than two weeks worth of class results in automatic failure, no matter the reasons.
• When you are here, don't take notes, don't pay attention, don't engage in the in-class activities, just don't care.
• Don't submit annotations, summaries, drafts for review, drafts for grading or revised drafts when due.
• If any ONE essay draft or required revision is missing from the writing assignments, you'll receive a 0.0 for the class.
• Don't ask questions when things don't make sense.
• Don't show up for tests or presentations
• Don't ask for help from me or peer tutors, no matter how much you need it.
• Plagiarize (which means submitting work that is not yours with the intent that I consider it your work)
• Give up because it's hard (it will be, at times).

Department Essay/Writing Grading Criteria

An "A" paper . . .

• Conveys immediately the person behind the words: an individual voice speaking clearly from the page;
• Has a title and lead that work together smoothly to indicate the direction, scope, and tone of the whole piece.
• Readers feel the writer's assurance and have no doubt about what is being communicated.
Offers an original and engaging focus; Is packed with information and pertinent detail. Carefully chosen examples have a "just right" feel to them. Vivid language, deft comparisons, and colorful images both please and inform;
• Organizes the material smoothly, logically. Readers do not stumble or hesitate over the sequence of facts or ideas;
Has varied sentences, with rhythm and emphasis appropriate to the meaning. Phrasing is often fluent, even graceful, and the sentences read well aloud;
• Offers accurte word choices, especially verbs, that are consistent, unambiguous, and sensitive to connotations;
• Has appropriate, helpful punctuation;
• Displays next to no errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation.

An "A" paper is not necessarily flawless; there is no such thing in writing. But it reflects a writer who is in full control of the material and the language.

A “B” paper has many of the fine qualities of an “A” paper, but . . .

• the voice and tone are less apparent, though the writing is ultimately successful;
• the introduction fulfills its purpose, though readers may sense that it hasn’t delivered on its promise or that it could be more developed;
• the thesis is specific and controls the paper, though the writer may not explicitly connect the supporting evidence to the thesis;
• the information is integrated effectively, with only an occasional awkward passage;
• the analysis is effective, though it would benefit from a little more commentary and insight ;
• the writing exhibits clarity of expression, with only an occasional lapse into wordiness or cliché;
• diction is largely effective, though verbs may lack energy and action;
• syntax and mechanics are mostly successful: very few errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation characterize the prose.

A “B” paper reflects a writer still developing mastery over his or her material and style.

A "C" paper has a number of these characteristics . . .

• a thesis controls the paper, though it may be awkwardly worded or vague; the focus may occasionally digress in such a way as to distract readers;
• organization is occasionally tangled or difficult to follow;
information is adequate, though the development may lack concrete detail or be too general, inappropriate, or repetitive;
• sentences have little structural variety, and phrases may often be awkwardly placed;
• diction may lapse into wordiness or clichés;
• some errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation may distract the reader.

A "C" paper will do: it's adequate, but it gives readers the impression of fuzziness or of the writer’s lack of assurance. Readers must work to understand what they are reading.

A "D" paper has has a number of these characteristics . . .

• writer's haste, carelessness, lack of attention, or inability to craft direct or even simple sentences;
• is not adequate in the categories listed above for C, B or A papers;
• may make sense, but only when readers struggle to find that sense. The writer obviously has scant control of the material;
• displays multiple grammar and spelling errors and often a sloppy visual presentation as well.

A “D” paper compels readers to work unnecessarily hard to comprehend the essay.

An "F" paper . . .

• is unacceptable because it contains plagiarized material, shows a complete misunderstanding of the assignment whatever its quality, or its prose fails to meet the basic communication requirements of standard written English.

Particular criteria and expectations will be provided with each assignment.

Grade Scoring Guide

Percentage

100-97            4.0                              

96                    3.9                               A  (Superior Achievement)

94                    3.7

93                    3.6

92                    3.6                               A-

91                    3.5

89                    3.4

88                    3.3                               B+

86                    3.1

85                    3.0                               B  (Above Average Achievement)

83                    2.8

82                    2.7                               B-

81                    2.6

79                    2.5

78                    2.4                               C+

76                    2.2

75                    2.1                               C  (Average Achievement)

73                    1.9

72                    1.8                               C-

71                    1.7

69                    1.5

68                    1.4                               D+

66                    1.2

65                    1.1                               D  (Minimum Achievement)

63                    0.9

62                    0.8                             

59-                  0.0                               F  (Failure)