ENG 206:
Modern British Literature
Section MA: Monday/Wednesday,
2:00-3:15 pm,
M 211
Bradley Hall, Y-203
516-572-7185, ext. 25686
e-mail: [email protected]
|
ENG 206:
Modern British Literature
|
Bradley Hall, Y-203 e-mail: [email protected] |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. |
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Print-friendly (MS Word) course outline
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Other printable
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Model for Evaluation of Student Writing
Works
Cited page (Instructions & Sample)
Cover Page for Research Essays (Sample)
Standard MLA Format for Essays
Revision and Editing Checklist
Incorporating Sources
Paragraph Outline
Essay Outline
DESCRIPTION:
Students are introduced to major British writers from the late 18th through the
early 21st centuries. Works of writers such as Wordsworth, Arnold, Dickens,
Wilde, Woolf, Eliot, Yeats, Osborn, Lessing and Amis are studied in the context
of their times and their literary and cultural values. Writing is an integral
component of the course.
Prerequisites: ENG 102 or ENG 109.
This is an introductory course in British literature from the Romantic and Victorian periods to contemporary time. Students do not need to have taken ENG 205 (Early British Literature) before taking this course; however, it is assumed that students have successfully completed the prerequisites for this course, ENG 100/101 and ENG 102, or their equivalent. Therefore, students are expected to have the necessary background and experience in analyzing, discussing, and responding to literature, as well as the ability to conduct independent research and to write correctly documented research essays using MLA format.
Students are cautioned that this course requires extensive reading, writing, and discussions; students not prepared to read (up to 150 pages/week), to write on a regular basis, and to take an active part in class discussions should not consider taking this course.
OBJECTIVES:
At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:
Discuss the works of major British writers in the following contexts:
~ Literary periods (Romantic, Victorian, and Modern)
~ Social movements
~ Intellectual movements
Greenblatt, Stephen, et. al., eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 9th ed. Package 2. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012 (Available used starting at $48.50 at Amazon.com***)
Dickens, Charles. Hard Times, ANY EDITION. (Available used starting at $0.01 at Amazon.com***)
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. Maurice Hindle. New York: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 978-0-141-43947-1 (Available used starting at $2.42 at Amazon.com***)
Note: Any editions of Hard Times and Frankenstein are acceptable. However, those editions of Frankenstein based on the 1818 text, not the 1831, are preferred by most contemporary scholars. In addition, English majors�or anyone considering pursuing further literary studies�should consider purchasing the Norton Critical Editions version of Hard Times and Frankenstein, which contain authoritative texts, historical backgrounds and contexts, and a selection of useful criticism.
Supplemental readings and materials may be assigned at the instructor�s discretion.
Recommended Texts:
Hacker, Diana and Nancy
Sommers.
Rules for Writers, 7 ed. Boston:
Bedford/St. Martin�s, 2012.
(Available
used starting at $21.35 at Amazon.com
***)
or any other current college-level handbook including 2009 MLA updates.
A good college-level dictionary
Recommended
additional texts:**
Ackroyd, Peter. Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination. New York:
Nan A. Talese, 2002.
(***)�
---. The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein<. New York: Nan A. Talese, 2010. (Available starting at $14.85 at Amazon.com***)�
Baugh, Albert C. and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language, 3 ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1978.
Bloom, Harold. How to Read and Why. New York: Scribner, 2000. (Available starting at $1.00 at Amazon.com***)
---., ed. Romanticism and Consciousness: Essays in Criticism. New York: W. W. Norton, 1970.
Casagrande, June. Grammar Snobs are Great Big Meanies: A Guide to Language for Fun and Spite. New York: Penguin, 2006. (Available starting at $4.27 at Amazon.com***)
Chandler, Alice K. A Dream of Order: The Medieval Ideal in Nineteenth-Century Literature. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1971. (Available starting at $0.01 at Amazon.com***)
Chevalier, Tracy. Burning Bright. New York: Dutton, 2007.
Crystal, David. The Stories of English. New York: Overlook Press, 2004.
---. Words, Words, Words.
New York: Oxford U P, 2006. (Available used starting at $9.28 at Amazon.com***)
Denby, David. Great Books: My Adventures with Homer, Rousseau, Woolf, and Other Indestructible Writers of the Western World. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. (Available used, starting at $1.37, at Amazon.com***).
Dirda, Michael. Classics for Pleasure. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2007.
Fraser, Rebecca. The Story of Britain: From the Romans to the Present: A Narrative History. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005.
Fulghum, W. B. A Dictionary of Biblical Allusions in English Literature. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1965. (Available used, starting at $3.99, at Amazon.com ***).
Gaul, Marilyn. English Romanticism: The Human Context. New York: W. W. Norton, 1988.
Gould, Stephen Jay. "The Monster�s Human Nature." Dinosaur in a Haystack: Reflections in Natural History. New York: Harmony, 1995. 53-62. (Available starting at $1.70 at Amazon.com***)
Hoobler, Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein. New York: Little, Brown, 2006.
Houghton, Walter E. The Victorian Frame of Mind, 1837-1870. New Haven and London: Yale U. P., 1985.
Levine, George and U. C. Knoepflmacher, eds. The Endurance of Frankenstein. Berkeley: U of California P, 1979. 243-248. (Available starting at $39.95 at Amazon.com***)
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: Classics Illustrated Deluxe Graphic Novels. Adapted by Marion Mousse. New York: Papercutz, 2009. (Available used starting at $3.19 at Amazon.com***).
Sisman, Adam. The Friendship: Wordsworth and Coleridge. New York: Viking, 2007.�
*Note that all major reading selections for the semester are available online, as indicated by links (see Schedule, below). However, students must have a copy of the appropriate text(s) with them for each class session, whether they have purchased the textbook or printed out hardcopy from the Internet; no excuses about computer or printer problems will be accepted. In addition, although the three longer works (Frankenstein- the 1818 ed., Hard Times, and The Importance of Being Earnest) are also available online, students who do not purchase The Norton Anthology of English Literature should obtain paperback versions or library copies.
** Recommended additional texts are not required purchases, and have not been ordered for the course; however, they provide�depending on the course� alternative readings, historical and cultural backgrounds, criticism, personal literary responses, or entertaining revisions. Students who find themselves becoming deeply interested in one or more of the required readings may find these interesting and/or useful. Texts indicated with a dagger (�) are only provisionally recommended, as I have not read these works yet, although they have received excellent reviews or recommendations.
*** Prices listed at Amazon.com do not include shipping, and are accurate as of posting date only; no guarantees of prices or availability are express or implied�.
As per the Nassau Community College attendance policy, �Students are expected to attend all classes. Absences due to illness or for other serious reasons may be excused at the discretion of the instructor. Students are advised that absences in excess of 10% of the total class meetings may result being dropped from the course� (page 67 in the 2014-2015 college catalog). Students must not only attend every class and lab meeting, but also arrive on time, be prepared, and take an active part in class (see Participation, below); students may be required to sign in each class session to verify their attendance. Excessive absences or latenesses will adversely affect your grade. Students unable to attend class should contact the instructor regarding their absence; in addition, students are responsible for submitting all work on time regardless of absences. In addition, once students get to class, they are expected to stay in the classroom until the class is over. Leaving class early or getting up in the middle of class is considered disruptive behavior and should happen only in extreme emergencies.
Classroom Behavior:
Students are expected to be present, prepared,
attentive, and active participants in the learning process. As such, any
distracting or inappropriate behavior or unauthorized use of electronic devices
is strictly prohibited. Eating, sleeping, texting, or other inappropriate
behavior will result in your being asked to leave the class. According to
the �Student Code of Conduct,� �The College is committed to providing an
atmosphere in which students have freedom to learn and engage in the search for
truth, knowledge, and reason in accordance with the standards set forth by the
academic community. Conduct that adversely affects a student�s responsible
membership in the academic community shall result in appropriate disciplinary
action.� Appropriate disciplinary action may include but is not limited to
probation, suspension, and expulsion from the college. See the Nassau Community College
�Classroom Management Policy� (page 24-5 in
the college catalog) and
�Student Code of Conduct� (pages 34-9 in
the college catalog).
Plagiarism and Cheating:
Plagiarism includes copying or paraphrasing another�s words, ideas, or facts
without crediting the source; submitting a paper written by someone else, either
in whole or in part, as one�s own work; or submitting work previously submitted
for another course or instructor. Plagiarism, cheating, or other forms of
academic dishonesty on any assignment will
result in failure (a grade of zero) for that assignment and may result in further disciplinary
action, including but not limited to failure for the course and expulsion from
the college. See the Nassau Community College
policy on
�Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism� (page
20 in
the college catalog).
Essay Submission
(General Essay
Instructions):
For each of the assigned essays and projects, a topic or list of topic choices
will be provided. Your work must be on one of the assigned topics for
that assignment or developed in consultation with the instructor* or it will
receive a grade of �F�.
You must obtain prior approval to write on topics other than those listed below; speak to me before or after class to set up an appointment during my office hours. Approval must be obtained at least one full week in advance of the due date. See details below.
All writing assignments must be received by the instructor on or before the due date, by the beginning of the class period, as indicated on the schedule, below. Essays submitted by email or otherwise submitted late will not be accepted; see below. All at-home work must be typed (in 12-point Times New Roman), double-spaced, with one-inch margins, and stapled when submitted. In-class work must be neatly printed in blue or black ink on loose-leaf composition paper or in bluebooks provided by the instructor and double-spaced�. All essays must also include a proper heading (see Purdue Online Writing Lab's Formatting and Style Guide), including Word Count; have an appropriate, original title; contain a clear, explicit, assertive, objectively worded thesis statement (thesis statements must be underlined); and (unless otherwise indicated) avoid use of I or you throughout. Finally, all work should be grammatically correct, free of errors in mechanics, grammar, usage, spelling, and documentation, and will be evaluated according to the Model for Evaluation of Student Writing. Please refer to the Paragraph Outline or Essay Outline and Revising and Editing Checklist for additional assistance.
Please refer to the following as well:
Formatting and
Style Guide
(Purdue
Online Writing Lab)
Incorporating
Sources (class handout)
Class Plagiarism Policy (on syllabus)and
the
LaGuardia Community College Policy on Academic Integrity (.pdf).
You might also find the following additional resources useful:
Works Cited page (Instructions & Sample)
(Microsoft Word document)
Avoiding Plagiarism (Houghton-Mifflin web site)
Practice Incorporating Sources into Your Work (Houghton-Mifflin web site)
MLA Documentation of Films: Works Cited and
In-Text Citations
MLA format
(Purdue University�s Online Writing
Lab)
Also, one would think that this would not even need to be stated, but read the work or works about which you are writing, and read them carefully! Do not rely upon your general impressions based on what you think was said in class, or on what you read online. There is no reason for your essays to contain factual errors.
Please feel free to communicate any concerns or questions to me before the essays are due; I will be available to meet with any student who needs assistance or additional instruction. Please speak to me before or after class or email me to set up an appointment during my office hours.
� On format, handwriting, and neatness, see Chase, Clinton I. �Essay Test Scoring: Interaction of Relevant Variables.� Journal of Educational Measurement 23.1 (1986): 33-41 and
Marshall, Jon C. and Jerry M. Powers. �Writing Neatness, Composition Errors, and Essay Grades.� Journal of Educational Measurement 6.2 (1988): 306-324.
Revisions:
All failing essays may be revised and
resubmitted by the due dates announced when the graded essays are returned.
Essays receiving a passing grade
may also be revised and resubmitted, but only after the student has met with
the instructor during office hours (by appointment only) to discuss
revisions.
Revisions must be substantially revised, not merely �corrected� versions of the original essay (revisions should be based upon the Revising and Editing Checklist and relevant information from class and the textbooks), and must be submitted with the original graded essay and/or draft(s) attached. Evidence of substantial revision may result in a better grade for the assignment.
If you did not submit a completed essay on time, you will receive a grade of 0 and may not submit a �revision.�
Make-up Exams/Late Work:
All assignment deadlines and scheduled exam dates are provided at the
beginning of the semester; therefore, late papers will not be accepted nor will
make-up opportunities be offered, except under extraordinary circumstances with appropriate documentation; work submitted after deadlines
will receive a grade reduction of 10% for each day it is late. Excuses such
as �crashed computers,� �lost flash drives,� or �empty printer ink cartridges� will not
be accepted; therefore, all essays or work should be saved both on your
computer�s hard drive and again on removable storage device, and students
should keep backup copies of all work submitted.
Disabilities and
Accommodations:
If you have a
physical, psychological, medical, or learning disability that may impact your
ability to carry out assigned course work, I urge that you contact the Center
for Students with Disabilities (CSD), Building U. (516 572-7241). The counselors
at CSD will review your concerns and determine reasonable accommodations you
are entitled to by the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. All information and documentation of disability
remain confidential.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Attendance and
Participation (10%):
As this class will combine both lecture
and discussion, students are expected both to attend every session and to take
an active part in class�joining
in discussions and raising questions. Discussion is one of the best ways to
clarify your understandings and to test your conclusions; therefore, it is
imperative that all students participate regularly in order that we may together
discover what each selection �means� to us. Open discussion always involves personal exposure, and thus the taking of
risks: your ideas may not be the same as your fellow students� or even the
instructor�s. Yet as long as your points are honest and supportable, they will be respected by all of us in the classroom. Questions, discussion,
disagreement, and laughter are all encouraged in this class (However, ridicule
or scoffing is never tolerated).
Quizzes (10%):
With the exception of the first
day, class may begin with a short (five- to ten-minute) quiz or writing
assignment on the reading(s) for the day, at the instructor�s discretion. Quizzes missed due
to tardiness may not be made up. At the end of the semester, the lowest
quiz grade will be dropped. Total number of quizzes during the
semester will determine the point value of each; that is, if 11 quizzes are
given (lowest quiz grade will be dropped), each quiz is worth up to one full
point.
Essays (2 @ 20%):
Students will
complete two essays during the semester; topics should be selected from the list
of suggestions provided (see Essay Topics,
below) or developed in consultation with the instructor.
Each should be at least five to seven pages (1000-1250 words
minimum),
with a
cover page and
Works Cited page (cover
page and Works Cited do not count toward the
five- to seven-page requirement),
and stapled when submitted.
. The paper must be
argumentative (persuasive), with a clear, explicit, and assertive thesis
statement (underlined), and must use
a minimum
of five to seven sources, including at least one to three primary sources (the text
or texts discussed)
and three to five secondary sources. Essays should be grammatically correct, free of
errors in mechanics, grammar, usage, spelling, and documentation, and will be
evaluated according to the
Model for Evaluation of Student Writing.
Please refer to the
Essay Outline and
Revising and Editing Checklist for
additional assistance, as well as Writing About
Literature,
Writing a
Literature Paper, and
Getting an A
on an English Paper.
Exams (2 @ 20%):
Students will complete two exams: an in-class midterm and a final during the designated final exam
period. These exams will each evaluate students� recognition and
comprehension of material studied during the previous weeks, covering specific
texts, literary themes, and cultural and historical backgrounds. The exams may
combine objective questions and short essay answers, and students may be
entitled to use notes or textbooks for the essay portion of the exams.
Extra
Credit (possibly various opportunities, at 1�2
points each):
Note: As a general rule, extra credit only helps if you have already completed all of the assigned work, and will not make up for missing an essay (or two, or three). Extra credit opportunities will be announced in class, and they will also be posted here as well as on the class Announcements page, so do not ask at the end of the semester for �extra credit� to bring your average up.
Extra Credit Opportunities:
�8):Poetic Recitation (2-4 points Extra Credit): Students may select and memorize one of the selections below to be recited in front of the class for extra credit. Memorization serves the student�s skills of reading lines carefully and making judgments about how particular passages can be interpreted. A single recitation is worth 2 points extra credit; a second recitation will earn an additional 2 points. There will be opportunities for recitation twice during the semester, on the day of the midterm and final exams; students must sign up for these dates at least one week in advance, as sufficient time must be allocated for completion of the exam.
Possible selections for Recitation 1 (March 16
Blake,
�London� (132-3): 16 lines Wordsworth,
�Expostulation and Reply�
(280-1): 32 lines Wordsworth,
�The
Tables Turned�
(281-2):
32 lines Byron,
�She Walks in Beauty� (617-18): 18 lines Shelley,
�Ozymandias� (776): 14 lines Keats,
�Ode on a
Grecian Urn� ll. 1-10, 41-50 (930-31): 20 lines Tennyson,
�Ulysses� ll. 44-70 (1170-72): 26 lines Hopkins,
�God�s
Grandeur� (1548): 14 lines
Possible selections for Recitation 2 (May 11
�13): Owen,
�Dulce
et Decorum Est� (2037): 28
lines Yeats, �The Second
Coming� (2099):
22 lines Eliot, �The
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock� ll. 1-22 (2524-27):
22 lines Eliot, �The Hollow Men� I: ll.
1-18 (2543-46): 18
lines Auden, �Mus�e des Beaux Arts� (2685): 21 lines Others
to be announced
Additional Extra Credit Opportunities to date:
The Critique of Reason: Romantic Art, 1760-1860
Friday, March 6 through Sunday, July 26
The first major collaborative exhibition between the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art, The Critique of Reason offers an unprecedented opportunity to display together treasured works from both museums� collections. The show comprises paintings, sculptures, medals, watercolors, drawings, prints, and photographs by such iconic artists as William Blake, Th�odore G�ricault, Francisco de Goya, and Joseph Mallord William Turner. The broad range of work selected challenges the traditional notion of the Romantic artist as a brooding genius given to introversion and fantasy. Instead, the exhibition�s eight thematic sections juxtapose arresting works that reveal the Romantics as attentive explorers of their natural and cultural worlds.
Writing Center Grammar Review Workshops (1 point each)
Building Compound and Complex Sentences,
Using Relative Pronouns and Clauses ,
Using Tenses Correctly, Subject-Verb Agreement, the Verb PhraseTuesday Club Hour Series: Library L233A (except February 10: Bradley Hall Ballroom
February 10
11:30 am to 12:45 pm
Building Compound Sentences
February 24
11:30 am to 12:45 pm
Building Compound Sentences
March 3
11:30 am to 12:45 pm
Building Complex Sentences
March 24
11:30 am to 12:45 pm
Using Relative Pronouns & Clauses
April 7
11:30 am to 12:45 pm
Using Tenses Correctly
Tuesday Evening Series: CCB Building (*Evening Activity Hours: Regular Class Cancelled-- but check with your instructors.)
February 10
5:30pm-6:50pm EAH*
Building Compound Sentences
March 10
7:00pm-8:20pm EAH*
Building Complex Sentences
Wednesday Afternoon Series: Bradley Hall Ballroom
February 25
2:00 pm to 3:15 pm
Building Compound Sentences
March 11
2:00 pm to 3:15 pm
Building Complex Sentences
March 25
2:00 pm to 3:15 pm
Subject-Verb Agreement
April 8
2:00 pm to 3:15 pm
The Verb Phrase
Thursday Club Hour Series: Bradley Hall Ballroom
February 26
11:30 am to 12:45 pm
Building Complex Sentences
March 12
11:30 am to 12:45 pm
Subject-Verb Agreement
March 26
11:30 am to 12:45 pm
The Verb Phrase
To reserve a seat at these workshops, please stop by or call:
The Writing Center in Bradley Hall (Bldg. Y) at 572-7195
The Writing Center Annex on 2nd floor of Library, room L233 at 572-3595
Topics include: Locating and Evaluating Sources, Integrating Sources into an Essay,Writing Center Spring 2015 MLA Research and Documentation Seminars (1 point each)
MLA Sessions:
| Wednesday April 15 | 2:00 am to 3:15 pm | Bradley Ballroom |
| Tuesday April 21 | 8:30 pm to 9:50 pm* | CCB Room TBA |
| Thursday April 23 | 11:30 am to 12:45 pm | Bradley Ballroom |
| Tuesday April 28 | 11:30 am to 12:45 pm | Library L233A |
| Thursday April 30 | 11:30 am to 12:45 pm | Bradley Ballroom |
| Tuesday May 5 | 11:30 am to 12:45 pm | Bradley Ballroom |
| Thursday May 7 | 11:30 am to 12:45 pm | Library L233A |
Evening Activity Hour*
APA Sessions
| Thursday March 26 | 11:30 am to 12:45 pm | Library L233A |
| Thursday April 9 | 11:30 am to 12:45 pm | Library L233A |
| Tuesday April 21 | 11:30 am to 12:45 pm | Library L233A |
Seating is limited!
Register in advance by calling or visiting the Writing Center.
The Writing Center is located in Bradley Hall (Y Bldg., Ballroom) 572-7195
and in the Library (L Bldg., Room L 233) 572-3595
e-mail: [email protected] www.ncc.edu/writingcenter
Note: Extra credit will be given for attending MLA workshops only. Details about APA workshops are provided for your information only.
Final average will be calculated as follows:
|
10 points |
|
|
10 points |
|
|
Essays (2 @ 20 points each) |
40 points |
|
20 points |
|
|
20 points |
|
|
Extra Credit (if any) will be added to the final total. |
|
Final average will determine the grade received for the course, as follows:
|
Final Percentage |
Final Grade |
|
90�100+ |
A |
|
85�89 |
B+ |
| 80�84 | B |
|
75�79 |
C+ |
|
70�74 |
C |
|
65�69 |
D+ |
| 60�64 | D |
|
0�59 |
F |
|
Note: Percentages ending in .5 or greater are rounded up. Therefore, 79.5 rounds to 80, a B, but 79.4 rounds to 79, a C+. |
|
�
SCHEDULE AND PROJECTED OUTLINE:
| IMPORTANT DATES: SPRING 2015 SEMESTER | |
| Monday, Jan. 19 | Martin Luther King, Jr. Day � COLLEGE HOLIDAY � offices closed |
| Tuesday, Jan. 20 | Day, Evening & Distance Education Classes Begin |
| Friday, Jan. 23 | Weekend Classes Begin |
| Monday, Jan. 26 | Last Day Drop/Add |
| Tuesday, Feb. 10 | Evening Activity Hour: 5:30 p.m. class will not meet |
| Friday, Feb. 13 | Evening Classes Do Not Meet (classes beginning after 5:01pm) |
| Feb. 14�19 | Classes Do Not Meet |
| Monday, Feb. 16 | Presidents� Day � COLLEGE HOLIDAY � offices closed |
| Tuesday, Feb. 17 | COLLEGE HOLIDAY � offices closed |
| Friday, Feb. 20 | Day classes do not meet (Classes that begin before or at 5:00 PM) |
| Mar. 30�Apr. 5 | Classes do not meet � Spring Break |
| Friday, Apr. 3 | Passover/Good Friday � COLLEGE HOLIDAY � offices closed |
| Friday Apr. 10 | Last Day Automatic W |
| Tuesday, April 14 | Evening Activity Hour: 8:30 p.m. classes will not meet |
| Wednesday, May 6 | Evening Classes Extended by Five Minutes for Final Exams |
| Thursday, May 7 | Evening Classes Extended by Five Minutes for Final Exams |
| Sunday, May 10 | Weekend Classes End |
| Monday, May 11 | Evening Classes Extended by Five Minutes for Final Exams |
| Tuesday, May 12 |
Evening Classes Extended by Five Minutes for Final Exams; Evening Classes End |
| Monday, May 18 | Day & Distance Education Classes End |
|
NOTE: All dates subject to change.
|
|
Projected Schedule of Readings and Assignments
Note: All readings below are required, and must be completed by the day indicated; the only exceptions are those indicated with an asterisk (*), which are recommended additional readings or resources.
Red text indicates due dates or links to assignments; Blue text indicates links to assignments, resources, or online versions of texts (Note: While every effort is made to verify the accuracy and usefulness of these links and their contents, no guarantees are made. Please notify me of any broken or outdated links at [email protected]).
Note: This schedule is subject to revision according to the instructor�s discretion, the Academic Calendar for the semester, school closings due to inclement weather or other reasons, and the progress of the class. Additions or changes will be announced in class, and they will also be posted here as well as on the class Announcements page.
|
Mon., 19 Jan. |
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: College Closed |
|
Tue., 20 Jan. |
Day, Evening & Distance Education (online) Classes Begin |
|
Wed., 21 Jan. |
Introduction: Syllabus, texts, policies, assignments |
|
Mon., 26 Jan. |
Last Day Drop/Add Class cancelled |
|
Wed., 28 Jan. |
The Romantic Period and Timeline (2-30): The Revolution Controversy and the �Spirit of the Age� (183-4)
Edmund Burke:
from Reflections on the Revolution in France (187-94) |
| Mon., 2 Feb. | Class cancelled (again) |
|
Wed., 4 Feb. |
William Blake (112-116) From Songs of Innocence (118-125) (see image of Blake�s engraving here): �Introduction� (see image here ), �The Lamb� (image), �The Little Black Boy� (image, also here), �The Chimney Sweeper� (image), �Holy Thursday� (image )
From Songs of Experience (125-135) (see image here): �Introduction� (image), �Holy Thursday� (image), �The Chimney Sweeper� (image), �The Sick Rose� (image), �The Tyger� (image), �London� (image)
*See also, Chevalier, Tracy. Burning Bright. New York: Dutton, 2007. |
|
Mon., 9 Feb. |
Blake continued William Wordsworth (270-72), from Lyrical Ballads: Preface - 1802 ed. (292-304); �We Are Seven� (278-9); �Expostulation and Reply� and �The Tables Turned� (280-282); �My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold� (335) Samuel Taylor Coleridge (437-9): �The Lime-Tree Bower My Prison,� �The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,� �Kubla Khan� (441-462); �Frost at Midnight� (477-79)
*See also,
Goss, Theodora. �Singing
of Mount Abora.�
Lightspeed Science Fiction and
Fantasy July 2012. |
|
Wed., 11 Feb. |
Essay 1 Topic Proposals due
Coleridge
continued;
*See also: |
|
14�19 Feb. |
Classes do not meet |
|
Mon., 23 Feb. |
John Keats (901-3): �On First Looking into Chapman's Homer� (904); � La Belle Dame Sans Merci � (923-4); �Ode to a Nightingale,� �Ode on a Grecian Urn� (927-931) |
|
Wed., 25 Feb. |
Essay 1 DueMary Shelley (981-3): Frankenstein. Read at least Preface - 1818 ed; Introduction - 1831 ed; Vol. I.*See also: Edison Studios' Frankenstein (1910); also here Online quiz on Mary Shelley�s Frankenstein Dirda, Michael. "Mary Shelley." Classics for Pleasure. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2007. 185-88. LaValley, Albert J. "The Stage and Film Children of Frankenstein: A Survey." The Endurance of Frankenstein. Eds. George Levine and U. C. Knoepflmacher. Berkeley: U of California P, 1979. 243-248. Gould, Stephen Jay. "The Monster�s Human Nature." Dinosaur in a Haystack: Reflections in Natural History. New York: Harmony, 1995. 53-62. Hoobler, Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein. New York: Little, Brown, 2006. Zakharieva, Bouriana. "Frankenstein of the Nineties: The Composite Body." Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein, 2 ed. Ed. Johanna M. Smith. Boston: Bedford, 2000. 416-431. |
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Mon., 2 Mar. |
Frankenstein continued: read at least through Vol. II |
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Wed., 4 Mar. |
Revising and Editing *See also: Works Cited page (Instructions & Sample); Cover Page for Research Essays (Sample); Revision and Editing Checklist; Incorporating Sources |
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Mon., 9 Mar. |
Frankenstein continued: finish Vol. III |
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Wed., 11 Mar. |
Essay 1 Revisions Due
The Victorian Age and Timeline (1016-1043)Thomas Carlyle (1044-48): from Past and Present (1067-76)John Stuart Mill (1086-88): from On Liberty (1095-1104) |
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Mon., 16 Mar. |
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1156-59): �Ulysses,� �Break, Break, Break� (1170-74)Robert Browning (1275-8): �Rabbi Ben Ezra� (1322-8); �Fra Lippo Lippi� (1300-09); �My Last Duchess� (1282-3); Matthew Arnold (1369-73): �Dover Beach� (1387); Gerard Manley Hopkins (1546-48): �God�s Grandeur� (1548); �Pied Beauty� (1551); �Spring and Fall� (1553-54)
*
See also, Gould, Stephen Jay. �Red
in Tooth and Claw.� Natural History
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Wed., 18 Mar. |
Midterm Exam |
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Poetry recitations (Extra credit) Arnold, Hopkins, continued (as needed)
William Morris
(1512-22): �The
Defence of Guenevere�;
* See also, Chandler, Alice K. A Dream of Order: The Medieval Ideal in Nineteenth-Century Literature. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1971. |
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Mon., 23 Mar. |
Industrialism: Progress or Decline? (1580-81)
Friedrich Engels: from
The Great Towns
(1589-97) The �Woman Question": The Victorian Debate about Gender (1607-10)
Sarah Stickney Ellis:
from
The Women of England: Their Social
Duties and Domestic Habits
(1610-12) Charles Dickens: Hard Times
* See also, Rudder, Christian. Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No One's Looking). [Now York]: Crown, 2014. |
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Wed., 25 Mar. |
Hard Times, continued |
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30 Mar.� 5 Apr. |
SPRING BREAK � Classes do not meet |
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Mon., 6 Apr. |
Midterm
Revisions Due Hard Times, continued |
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Wed., 8 Apr. |
Hard Times, continued
Late Victorians (1668-1671) |
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Fri., 10 Apr. |
Last Day Automatic W |
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Mon., 13 Apr. |
The Twentieth Century and After and
Timeline
(1886-1913)
|
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Wed., 15 Apr. |
Voices from World War I
(2016-18):
Siegfried Sassoon
(2023-24): �They�
*See also: |
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Mon., 20 Apr. |
Essay 2 Due |
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Wed., 22 Apr. |
|
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Mon., 27 Apr. |
T. S. Eliot (2521-2547): �The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,� �The Hollow Men,� �Journey Of The Magi� |
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Wed., 29 Apr. |
W. H. Auden (2677-2687): �Mus�e des Beaux Arts,�
�In
Memory of W. B. Yeats,�
The Unknown Citizen,�
� September 1,
1939�
*See also: |
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Mon., 4 May |
Voices from World War II (2704-2706) Virginia Woolf
(2706-2710): from
Three
Guineas, �[As a Woman I Have No Country]� Nation, Race, and Language (2718-21)
Claude McKay (2721-23): �Old
England,� �If We
Must Die�; �America� (handout)
*See also: |
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Wed., 6 May |
Margaret Atwood (2967-82): �Death
by Landscape [.pdf],� �Miss
July Grows Older�
Seamus Heaney (2951-2967): �Digging,� �The
Grauballe Man,� �Casualty,� � *See also: Quintus Horatius Flaccus, Odes I. 34 (from The Odes and Carmen Saeculare of Horace. John Conington. trans. London. George Bell and Sons. 1882) Fawbert, David. Connecting with Seamus Heaney. Information about The Tollund Man and, more generally, �Bodies of the Bogs.� Archaeology. Archaeology.org May 2010. Web. T.P. Tolland's �Lagan Towpath (in Memory of Tom Carr),� showing his use of light and color, and the much darker (in both senses) �Boglands (for Seamus Heaney).� as well as his obituary: �T.P. Flanagan: Artist and Teacher Whose Work Inspired Seamus Heaney.� The Independent (U.K.) 19 April 2011. Web. |
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Mon., 11 May |
Final Exam |
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Wed., 13 May |
Conferences (by appointment only!) |
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Mon., 18 May |
Day & Distance Education Classes End |
ESSAY
TOPICS:
For each of the assigned essays, a list of topic choices is provided.
Your essay must be on one of the assigned topics for that assignment
or developed in consultation with the instructor*. All essays must be submitted on or before the due date, by the
beginning of the class period; late work will not be accepted.
For each of the essays, select one of the topics to discuss in a clear, well-developed, coherent, thoughtful, and properly documented (MLA format) argumentative essay of at least five to seven pages (1000-1250 words minimum), with a cover page and Works Cited page (cover page and Works Cited do not count toward the five- to seven-page requirement). The paper must be argumentative (persuasive), with a clear, explicit, and assertive thesis statement (underlined), and must use a minimum of five to seven sources, including at least one to three primary sources (the text or texts discussed) and three to five secondary sources; secondary sources must be scholarly criticism or analysis, not summaries, reviews, or �analysis� from sites such as e-Notes, SparkNotes, Wikipedia*, 123HelpMe, or Gradesaver.com. Essays must contain quotations from or other references to your sources, and these references should be used to support your assertions about the text; you must include at least one short quotation, one long�block�quotation, and one paraphrase, and these sources must be properly documented (utilizing MLA format), and integrated into your writing smoothly and correctly. See also Research Paper checklist.
* On use of Wikipedia in college-level research, see Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales on PBS NewsHour, here: �I don't think at a university level it makes sense to cite any encyclopedia in an academic paper. That's just not what an encyclopedia's role is in the research process. Maybe if you're in junior high, you know? If some kid out there is twelve years old and they wrote something and they put in a footnote, we should be thrilled, right? That's his first start on the idea of crediting other people with ideas and things like that, but at the university level? No, it's a bit junior high to cite an encyclopedia.�
Please refer to the following as well:
Formatting and
Style Guide (Purdue Online
Writing Lab)
Incorporating
Sources (class handout)
Class Plagiarism Policy (on syllabus), as well as the Nassau Community College Policy on
Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism (page 63 in
the college catalog).
You might also find the following additional resources useful:
Works Cited page (Instructions & Sample)
(Microsoft Word document)
Avoiding Plagiarism (Houghton-Mifflin web site)
Practice Incorporating Sources into Your Work (Houghton-Mifflin web site)
MLA format (Purdue
university's Online Writing Lab)
Be sure to focus carefully on the topic: formulate a strong, objectively worded thesis, and avoid plot summary. Remember that these are formal essays: they must have an appropriate, original title; contain an introduction, body, and conclusion; have a clear, explicit, assertive, objectively worded thesis statement; and avoid use of �I� or �you� throughout.
Please feel free to communicate any concerns or questions to me before the essays are due; I will be available to meet with any student who needs assistance or additional instruction. Please speak to me before or after class or e-mail me to set up an appointment during my office hours.
Essay 1: Due Wednesday, 25 February
Blake�s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience present several complementary pairs of poems (for example, �The Lamb� and �The Tyger,� �The Chimney Sweeper� and �The Chimney Sweeper,� �Holy Thursday� and �Holy Thursday�). How do these and other such paired poems, not only those discussed in class, illustrate Blake�s thesis that they show �Two Contrary States of the Human Soul"? You may include in your discussion Blake�s engravings in relation to this thesis.
There is often a sudden change of mood or emotion in Wordsworth�s poetry. Explain why Wordsworth uses this technique, citing specific examples from several different works.
Compare ideas of nature and natural processes in several of the Romantic poets; for example, does Keats use nature as a teacher the same way Coleridge and Wordsworth do in their poems? Or, compare Shelley�s �Ode to the West Wind� and Keats�s �To Autumn.� Explain your answer by using specific references to poems by each author.
Mary Shelley�s
Frankenstein
is subtitled �The Modern Prometheus"; in addition, she includes below the
title an epigraph from
Paradise Lost:
Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould me man? Did I solicit thee
From Darkness to promote me?
In what way does Shelley draw upon the Prometheus myth and/or
Paradise Lost
in her novel? Why?
An analytical essay of your own choosing, developed in consultation with the instructor, involving one or more works from the Romantic period. You must discuss the topic with me and you must develop and submit a clear, well-written, one- to two-page topic proposal for approval by Wednesday, 11 February. No essays on alternative topics will graded without the approved topic porposal attached. Proposals should include an explanation of the topic you have chosen, your reason for the selection, your focus and opinion, and a clear, well-written, explicit, and assertive preliminary thesis; you may also include a preliminary idea of the plan of the paper, its intention, or research question. Your work should take the following form:
Topic: the general topic selected.
Rationale: why you have chosen to research and write about this
particular topic.
Focus: a narrowed form of the subject, and the issue, question, or debate
involved.
Opinion: your subjective opinion on the debate or issue.
Thesis: your opinion, worded objectively.
Note: No essays on alternative topics will be graded without the approved topic proposal attached.
Midterm Revisions (optional): Due
Mon., 6 April
You may submit a revised version of your midterm exam; however, rather than
merely a �corrected� versions of the original essay, it must be substantially
revised and expanded:
a
well-developed, coherent, and thoughtful essay of at least three to five pages
(750 to 1000 words)
and must be submitted with the original graded bluebook essay attached. Evidence of
substantial revision may result in a better grade for the assignment.
Remember that essays must have an appropriate, original title; contain an introduction (with an explicit, assertive thesis, underlined), several body paragraphs supporting the thesis, and an appropriate concluding paragraph; and avoid use of I or you throughout. Be sure to use appropriate topic sentences and transitions to guide the reader. Also, you should not merely summarize the works, or regurgitate what you think was said in class, but respond to them in a thoughtful, critical manner. Be sure to include evidence or examples from the specific text or texts that you are writing about, but do not retell the story, and do not copy directly except when quoting. Remember to incorporate sources correctly: use signal phrases, use block form where appropriate, and document with parenthetical citations (cite poetry by line numbers and prose by page numbers) and a Work or Works Cited reference at the end of the essay.
Note: This is not a research essay; the only sources utilized or quoted should be the texts themselves. Use of secondary sources, whether credited or not, will be considered grounds for failure.
Essay 2: Due Monday, 20 April
How does historical context shape the Victorian poets? That is, how are their themes, their understanding of poetry, their attitude towards life shaped and reflected by their era, and how does this distinguish them from the Romantic poets?
In the nineteenth century, a number of poets adapted (or attempted) the Arthurian legends: not only Tennyson (The Idylls Of The King) and Morris (�The Defence of Guenevere�), but also Matthew Arnold, A. C. Swinburne, et cetera. Compare the treatment of one or more specific Arthurian legends in several of the Victorian poets; for example, how is the story of Tristan and Iseult rewritten by various poets? Or, how does Morris�s treatment of Guenevere differ from Tennyson�s?
Two concerns of the Victorian period were industrialism and its effects and �The Woman Question,� the debate about gender and the role of women. Compare the treatment of one of these themes in at least two different works not discussed in class.
In The Metaphysical Poets (1921), T. S. Eliot states that the modern poet �must become more and more comprehensive, more allusive, more indirect, in order to force, to dislocate if necessary, language into his meaning.� Explain how Eliot and/or other modernist poets either adhere to or violate this principle, citing specific examples from several different works.
The modernist period is, chronologically, closer to the Victorian age than to the early twenty-first century. Select a pair of nineteenth-century (Romantic or Victorian) and twentieth-century works and discuss their continuities and differences. In what respects, if any, is the twentieth-century work closer to our own era than the corresponding nineteenth-century work? Some possible pairings include Keats�s �Ode on Melancholy� and Hardy�s �The Darkling Thrush,� Arnold�s �Thyrsis: A Monody� and Auden�s �In Memory of W. B. Yeats,� Wordsworth�s �Ode: Intimations of Immortality� and Yeats�s �Among School Children,� and Wollstonecraft�s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and Woolf�s A Room of One�s Own.
An analytical essay of your own choosing, developed in consultation with the instructor, involving one or more works from the Victorian period, the twentieth century, or the twenty-first. As above, you must discuss the topic with me and you must develop and submit a clear, well-written, one- to two-page topic proposal for approval. The deadline for submission of proposals is Wednesday, 8 April. As above, no essays on alternative topics will be graded without the approved topic proposal attached.
Last Revised: Saturday 9 May 2015
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Main page: www.Brian-T-Murphy.com
