Fall Semester, 2005
Library, Studio B, 8:30 - 9:20 a.m., MWF

Dr. Donna J. Hart
225 Hogue Hall
Office Phone: 664-6805
Home Phone: 664-3863
Office Hours: MWF, 1:30 - 3:20 p.m.; or by appointment.
Email: donna.hart@greenville.edu

Course Description:

This course surveys representative selections of British poetry, short stories, essays, plays, and novels written after 1800. It seeks to examine the main cultural forces at work during the Romantic Period, Victorian Era, and Twentieth Century to see how they affected what writers were writing about and the way they were writing about such issues as the role of woman, scientific and industrial advance, religious faith, the nature of beauty, etc. The course further examines how British literature has not only affected its readers in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, but also how it has influenced the literatures of colonialism and of the entire world.

Required Texts:

The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Vols. 2A, B, and C. Second Edition. Gen. Ed. David Damrosch. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., 2003.

Course Objectives:

Students will--

1. be able to list some of the important works of major British authors from 1800 to the present.
2. know the characteristics of the principal genres used by writers during this time.
3. understand some of the characteristics of the major literary movements of the time--Romanticism, rationalism, Victorianism, sentimentalism, etc.
4. be able to discuss similarities and differences between various writers, movements, and literary works.
5. know the key events in the cultural history of the periods.
6. broaden their awareness of literary backgrounds as used by these writers--(history, mythology, folklore, the Bible, etc.).
7. be able to read an unfamiliar text with reasonable comprehension of content, techniques, and characteristics.
8. know the salient biographical information about major writers of this time and place.
9. value reading of literature as a worthy pursuit in and of itself.
10. value literary analysis, the creative use of words, and the discussion of ideas as worthy pursuits in and of themselves.
11. examine and, hopefully, enhance their understanding of and expression of their own Christian faith as they listen to other witnesses, some Christian and some not.
12. find the resonance between humanity as expressed in great literature and their own human condition.

Assessment Activities:

1. Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are assessed through daily, in-class discussion, quizzes and impromptu essays and through three major unit tests. These tests will be primarily open-book, essay tests that will require synthesis of information from one time period to another, from one author to another, or from one piece of literature to another.
2. Objectives 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are assessed through class discussion.
3. Objective 8 is assessed by students electing to read additional works by an author they like.
4. Objective 9 is also assessed through successful completion of a 10-15 page research paper on some area of special interest of the student’s own choice.

Tentative Calendar:

I say this calendar is tentative because it goes without saying that there will be some emergencies during the semester. Or there may be a professional conference that I need to attend that I don't find out about until after I have completed this syllabus. Or I may be taking some other class on a field trip.

Week One--(August 31)

W - Introduction to the class. Syllabus, expectations, etc.
F - Some historical background. Read LA, Vol. 2a, 56 - 112, any 5 selections.

Week Two--(September 5)

M - The Romantics. Barbauld, 31-46.
W – Blake, 119 - 126, 129 - 135.
F – Wollstonecraft, 230 - 257.

Week Three--(September 12)

M – Wordsworth—poetry, 342, 352, 385 - 388.
W – Wordsworth and Coleridge—prose, 356 - 362, 570 - 582.
F – Coleridge—poetry, 528 - 543.

Week Four--(September 19)

M – Byron, 602, 672 - 745.
W - Shelley and Keats, 754, 760-761, 854, 865, 875, 882.
F – De Quincy, 951 - 979.

Week Five--(September 26)

M - Mary Shelley. Frankenstein (movie).
W - Movie.
F - Test One. Annotated Bibliography of 5 sources pertaining to your research paper due. Post to DDB before class time on Monday.

Week Six--(October 3)

M – The Victorians. Some historical background.
W – Carlyle. Handout of excerpt from Sartor Resartus.
F - Carlyle, LA, Vol. 2b, 1035 - 1046

Week Seven--(October 10)

M – FALL BREAK. NIGHT CLASSES ONLY.
W - Mill, 1086 - 1095.
F - Barrett-Browning, 1108 - 1135.

Week Eight--(October 17)

M - Browning, 1308 - 1312, 1315 - 1318.
W – Robert Browning.
F - Tennyson, 1141 - 1151, 1229.

Week Nine--(October 24)

M – Tennyson, 1196 - 1228.
W – Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre. (movie) ***You should be working on your research paper in these days.
F – Movie.

Week Ten--(October 31)

M – Hardy, 1429 - 1447.
W – Arnold, 1551, 1583 - 1593.
F - Hopkins, 1679, 1680 - 1681, 1683.

Week Eleven--(November 7)

M - Wilde. Importance of Being Earnest. (movie) ***You should be working on your research paper.
W - Movie.
F – Test Two. Post to the DDB before class on Monday.

Week Twelve--(November 14)

M - Twentieth Century. Some historical background.
W – Watch video: Raw Bones and Poetry on the Irish Theatre.
F - Shaw, Mrs. Warren's Profession, a handout.

Week Thirteen--(November 21)

M - Shaw. Mrs. Warren's Profession.

***Thanksgiving Vacation from November 22 - 28.

Week Fourteen--(November 28)

M – Yeats, LA, Vol. 2c, 2246 - 2251, 2262.
W – Joyce, 2274 - 2311.
F – Eliot, 2347 - 2350, 2369 - 2370. ***Your research paper is due. Post to DDB before class on Monday.

Week Fifteen--(December 5)

M – Woolf, 2485 - 2520.
W – Beckett, 2771 - 2776.
F – Modern poets. We'll just pick and choose, as we have time.

Week Sixteen--(December 12)

***Final EXAM. It will imcorporate one comprehensive question, but otherwise will focus on the Twentieth Century.