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Engl 112:H1, 2008-09English Literature in Historical PerspectiveTuesday/Thursday 9:30-10:50 Instructor: David S. Miall Office hours: HC 4.27: Thurs 1:30-2:30; Friday 1:30-2:30 |
Schedule: Autumn / Winter | Assignments | Other information
Course description
[From Department outline] This course will introduce students to materials from a range of national, cultural, and, especially, historical contexts, and to methods of reading historically. It will encourage the exploration of developments in language and literature over time, including the concepts of "the literary" and of "genre" themselves. It will be concerned with the conditions and pressures under which texts were originally produced, and with the regeneration, reframing, and continuing reception of historical texts to the present day. Students can expect to encounter texts from the earliest writings in English to contemporary works that invoke literary history even as they reshape, transform, or reject it.
Specifically, in this section we will interrogate the notion of the literary at the outset; the literature of the course will then be organized largely in terms of genre (poetry, drama, fiction, including verse narrative and non-fiction). While most of the literature will be drawn from the English tradition, we will also read texts from the Caribbean (Walcott), Ireland (Swift, Heaney), and Canada (Atwood). During three short "interludes" we will study a range of essays from Intersections, focusing on three topics: reading, evolution, and social constructivism. In addition we will study sections from Conversations about Writing in class when appropriate. The class will include a number of ungraded writing exercises. Approximately thirty per cent of class time will be devoted to the study and practice of writing in one form or another. Resources for the course will include the Norton literature site: you should register yourself on this using the registration code provided in your edition of the Norton Anthology. See: wwnorton.com/literature. You are also advised to purchase a good English dictionary, such as the The Canadian Oxford Dictionary.
Reading
Required texts:
Norton Anthology of English Literature, Major Authors, 8th
ed. 2 vols
Intersections: Readings in the Sciences and Humanities. 2nd ed. Scott,
Perkins & Rothwell (Pearson)
Conversations about Writing: Eavesdropping, Inkshedding, and Joining In.
Sargent & Paraskevas. (Thompson Nelson)
Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin (Random House / Seal).
Schedule
| Week | Reading | Notes |
| Sept 4 | Introductions. Reading. | |
| Sept 9 | What is literature? A Romantic view: Wordsworth, from Lyrical Ballads: "We Are Seven" (1487), "Lines Written in Early Spring" (1489), "Resolution and Independence" (1533) | Literariness; Notes on "We Are Seven" |
| Sept 16 | Coleridge, "Frost at Midnight" (1650), "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (1615); from Biographia Literaria, Chapters 4 (1660), 14 (1664). | "Frost" study website; Conversations, notes; Mariner notes |
| Sept 23 | What is literature? A Modernist view: D. H. Lawrence, "The Horse Dealer's Daughter" (2590); "Why the Novel Matters" (2601) | Lawrence intro; Woolf and Modernism; Conversations, 2 |
| Sept 30 | Woolf, "Modern Fiction" (2429) Narrative. Conrad, Heart of Darkness (2326). |
Essay I due / errors Conrad: Modernism; Approaches; History |
| Oct 7 |
-- Conrad, Heart of Darkness cont. |
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| Oct 14 | Interlude: Reading. Intersections: Karp (95), Winn (307), Romano (182), Ozick (147) | Two
Cultures (Wikipedia) Ozick, from Intersections |
| Oct 21 | Beowulf (26) | Questionnaire results |
| Oct 28 | Swift, Gulliver's Travels (974) | Narrative
features Swift, additional materials; Gulliver: Students' notes |
| Nov 4 | -- Swift, Gulliver's Travels cont. | Swift critics / source |
| Nov 11 | Tuesday: Remembrance Day holiday,
no class Drama. Shakespeare, Twelth Night (510) |
Essay II due (13th) |
| Nov 18 | -- Shakespeare, Twelth Night cont. | Film notes / Students' notes |
| Nov 25 | Interlude: Evolution. Intersections:
Belsie (10), Darwin (20), Hardison (57) Beckett, Endgame (2662) |
Evolution, notes |
| Dec 2 | last class this term -- Beckett, Endgame cont. | |
| Dec 16 | Tuesday 9:00. Mid-session Examination (one hour) | |
| Jan 6 | Poetry: Lyric. Shakespeare Sonnets (various: 497) | Sonnets,
notes Essay III due (8th) Sonnets: sentences |
| Jan 13 | Donne, various (600) | Carey on Donne [John Carey, John Donne: Life, Mind, & Art (1981)] |
| Jan 20 | Interlude: Constructivism.
Intersections: Kuhn (106), Pringle (172), Pinker (162), Gould (49) Marvell (675), "To His Coy Mistress" |
Marvell: historical / Student group notes |
| Jan 27 | Christina Rossetti, sonnets (2140-41): "After Death"; "In an Artist's Studio"; "Goblin Market" (2143) | Rossetti / Goblin: students' notes |
| Feb 3 | Tuesday: Information Literacy session:
Rutherford South, 2.03 lab. Thomas Hardy poems (2317): "Hap"; "The Darkling Thrush"; "The Ruined Maid"; "Channel Firing" |
Hardy website; notes |
| Feb 10 | Poetry: Epic, and other forms. Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 1 (725). | Essay IV due Milton, notes Milton, illustrations |
| Feb 17 | Reading Week | |
| Feb 24 | -- Milton, Paradise Lost, Books 2 (743), 4 (778) | Milton, notes 2 |
| Mar 3 | -- Milton, Book 4 (778) Chaucer, from Canterbury Tales: "General Prologue" (170) |
Milton,
notes 3 / Student comments Chaucer, introduction |
| Mar 10 | -- Chaucer, "The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale" (207) | Chaucer, Wife of Bath notes |
| Mar 17 | Spencer, from Faerie Queene: Book 1, Cantos 1, 2 (370). Essay V proposal or abstract required (by March 17) | |
| Mar 24 | Walcott (2770); Heaney (2788) | Walcott, Heaney |
| Mar 31 |
Narrative. Atwood, The Blind Assassin |
Essay V due Atwood: Intro / Atwood notes |
| Apr 7 | Tuesday: last class. -- Atwood, The Blind Assassin cont. |
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| Apr 23 | Thursday, 9:00. Final Examination (two hours) |
Assignments and Examinations
Ther weighting of course work shown below is out of 100%; for the final grade,
however, the overall weight of course work is set at 70% while the final exam
is worth 30%. You will receive letter grades for your assignments.
| Essay I | Due Sept 30 | 10% | 750 words |
| Essay II | Due Nov 13 | 10% | 750 words |
| Mid-session exam | Dec 16 | 15% | (1 hour) |
| Essay III | Jan 8 | 15% | 1000 words |
| Essay IV | Feb 10 | 20% | 1500 words |
| Essay V | Mar 31 | 30% | 2000 words |
| Final exam | Apr 23 | (2 hours) |
NB. The Mid-session exam will cover work from the first term except for drama. The final examination will cover work from the whole course (three essay-type answers will be required, one on a topic from the first term, one on a topic from the second term).
Essay topics
1. (due Sept 30). From the Norton anthology, choose either a short, complete poem from the Romantic period or a modernist short story by Joyce, Woolf, Lawrence, or Mansfield (not previously studied in class). Offer an interpretation, focusing on those aspects of the text that in your view demonstrate its literary character.
2. (due Nov 13). Choosing one of the three texts studied in class, Heart of Darkness, Beowulf, or Gulliver's Travels, explain how your understanding of the text depends on two or more specific narrative features.
3. (due Jan 8). On drama. See list of topics.
4. (due Feb 10). Choose a poem (in the Norton) not previously discussed in class by one of the poets studied during the first five weeks of term (Jan 6 to Feb 9, Shakespeare to Hardy). Offer an interpretation of the poem that takes some account of the historical context of the poet; show in particular how historical aspects inflect the language or content of the poem. Some library research will be essential for this essay (your references will probably include five or more readings, either books or journal articles).
5. (due Mar 31). Research essay: choose your own topic. Select an author we have studied this term, and choose a text or set of texts from the Norton anthology that interests you. Identify one or more interpretive issues from the book and/or journal literature on the author, and in your essay set out reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with the interpretation(s). You may draw on formal or historical contexts. If Essay IV raised issues that you wish to pursue, a development of this essay would be acceptable (including repetition of a few sentences from it, as appropriate; Essay IV should be handed in with Essay V if you follow this option). A proposal or abstract for Essay V is required (preferably by email) by March 17 (to: David.Miall (at) Ualberta.ca). For MLA formatting guidelines, see The Owl at Purdue. Note: you are expected to follow the MLA guidelines in formatting your research essay, both for the body of the essay and for the works cited list.
Other essential information
Note that all course work must be completed prior to sitting the Final exam, unless urgent medical or personal reasons are provided prior to the date on which the exam is held.
Late submission of essays will not be accepted without compelling medical or personal reason. Essays must be handed to the instructor at the beginning of the class session at which they are due. They must not a) be given to another student to submit, b) put under the instructor's office door, or c) faxed or otherwise attempted to be submitted through the English Department office. An essay submitted in this or any other unauthorized way will be considered as having not been submitted and will receive no grade.
Class attendance and participation are expected and encouraged. Classes will begin promptly at the scheduled time. If you have to miss a class, please contact a class mate (not the instructor) before the next class to find out what you missed. If the instructor is not present within ten minutes of the beginning of class you are expected to carry out the scheduled work to the best of your ability within the allotted class time.
Note that essay writing must be your own work. A student in whose work plagiarism is detected will face serious penalties, as outlined in the code of student conduct (see further below).
You will not be able to make up a missed exam unless you provide a medical certificate or some other compelling personal reason for absence.
Final Examination Appeals. Any request for reappraisal of the Final Examination must be made in writing to the Office of the Registrar, not to the Department of English and Film Studies.
"Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar." (GFC 29 SEP 2003)
"The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University." (GFC 29 SEP 2003)
Students should consult the attached Regulations Pertaining to First-year Courses for information about appeals, reassessments, plagiarism, and external help with assignments.
Should you have any grievances concerning term work grades, you must discuss your concerns with the instructor. No official, in either the Department of English and Film Studies or the Faculty of Arts, will talk to a student about a grading disagreement unless the student first talks to the instructor. If the problem is not resolved after a meeting with the instructor, students are encouraged to talk with the Department's First Year Chair, Professor Lahoucine Ouzgane (HC 4-25; 492-7828; lahoucine.ouzgane@ualberta.ca). If a resolution is not reached with the First Year Chair, students may make an appointment with the Department Chair (if their instructor is on permanent staff) or with the Department's Associate Chair, Instruction (if their instructor is a GTA or a sessional lecturer). Please note, however, that the Department of English and Film Studies does not allow reconsideration of term work after a student writes the Final Examination.