English 212A: Survey of British Literature Jonathan Randle

MWF 11:00-11:50 Office: J309 925-3269

Fall 2008, 3 hour lecture course e-mail: randle@mc.edu

Jennings 305 www.mc.edu/~randle

A version of this document in MS Word format is available here.

Prerequisites

Students should have completed or received credit for Eng 101 and 102. Students should be advised that not having completed the English composition core requirement (101 and 102) before taking Eng 212 may cause substantial difficulties in satisfactorily completing the writing assignments of the course.

Course Description

“A survey of major British literary figures and their works. Fulfills the core curriculum requirement.” (2008-9 Undergraduate Catalog 149)

Rationale for Eng 212: Survey of British Literature

• The course fulfills part of the requirements for the students’ “core” at Mississippi College. As part of the core, it is designed to help students develop critical thinking and reading skills, to introduce them to cultures outside of their experience, and to enhance their appreciation of the arts and creative expression.
• The course supports the mission statement of Mississippi College by offering students a traditional liberal arts content course which stimulates the students’ intellectual development and which through the reading of literature raises issues related to the living of a balanced, satisfied and meaningful life.
• This course also satisfies part of the requirements for a major in English at Mississippi College by introducing students to major male and female writers, important texts, and significant contexts in the study of British literature.

Learning Objectives

• The student will learn to identify major male and female writers, important texts, and significant contexts in the study of British literature.
• The student will continue to develop critical reading and thinking skills.
• The student will continue to develop writing skills related to clear expression of ideas and support of those ideas within a well developed essay.

Academic Integrity Statement

The English Department adheres to Mississippi College’s academic integrity policy as outlined in the current Undergraduate Catalog: “Mississippi College students are expected to be scrupulously honest. Dishonesty, such as cheating or plagiarism, or furnishing false information, including forgery, alteration or misuse of University documents, records or identification, will be regarded as a serious offense subject to severe penalty, including, but not limited to, loss of credit and possible dismissal. See the current Mississippi College Student Handbook or University Policy 2.19 for specific information regarding penalties associated with dishonest behavior at Mississippi College.” (2008-9 Undergraduate Catalog 60).

Outline of Topics to be Covered

Students will read works from the following general chronology:

1. The Anglo-Saxon period

2. The Medieval period

3. The Renaissance

4. The Commonwealth and Restoration

5. The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Centuries

Works may be organized in the course either historically or thematically.

Methods of Instruction, Requirements, Assessment, and Grading Scale

As with all of the literature surveys offered in the English department, this course is not designed for English majors, but rather as a general introduction to significant trends of thought and writing – in this case, within the British Isles from around AD 1000 to the present. I have chosen some representative works from each of the chronological units listed in the course outline (above); I will expect you to become familiar with these works through reading, and (if necessary) consultation of supplementary texts, by the class period for which they are assigned.

Reading quizzes will be given frequently in order to assure me that you are keeping up with the assigned reading. Occasional writing assignments will also be made, in which you will be able to demonstrate a wider knowledge of the text(s) in question. Neither the reading quizzes nor the writing assignments can be made up, so it is important that you attend class regularly.

By far the most crucial component of the class is your willing participation – both in reading and in discussing what you have read. I have no intentions of creating a group of students who think exactly as I do, or who can parrot everything that I say. Read and think for yourselves, and come to class prepared to discuss what you have read and thought about. Debate and disagreement are welcomed, as long as they are conducted in a spirit of academic inquiry.

Any take-home assignments will be taken up at the start of the class period on the due date. If your paper is not turned in with the others when they are taken up in class, it is considered late. See below for the English Departmental Late Paper Policy. All writing assignments should meet the minimum assigned page limit, and they should also be double-spaced, with 12 point standard Times New Roman font and one inch margins. Papers should include proper MLA parenthetical references (where applicable; see the MLA Handbook or online documentation guides [available from the Leland Speed Library website] for proper documentation formats). Papers not formatted according to these guidelines will not be graded.

Your final grade will be determined by the following calculations:

Midterm examination 200

Final examination 200

Reading quizzes 100

Take-home writing assignments 100

TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS 600

I will use the following grading scale to determine your scores on each assignment:

A = 93-100% 558-600 points

B = 85-92% 510-557 points

C= 75-84% 450-509 points

D= 65-74% 390-449 points

F= below 64% below 389 points

Text and Required Materials

Abrams, M. H., et al. Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors. Eighth Edition.

Additional material made available through distribution in class or online.

Attendance

The English Department adheres to Mississippi College’s attendance policy as outlined in the current Undergraduate Catalog:

“Class attendance is an essential part of university education, and students are expected to attend regularly and punctually all classes and laboratories for which they are registered. Cumulative absences may result in a lowered grade or loss of credit for the course. Tardiness is also subject to penalty, as is any failure to complete required class work on time. Although some specific requirements may vary according to the nature and structure of the course, the following guidelines summarize university policy:

1. Class attendance is required, and accurate records are kept.

2. Students must not accumulate excessive absences.

Attendance, continued

A student receives a grade of F in a course immediately upon accumulating the following number of absences, whether excused or unexcused:

12 in semester classes meeting 3 times per week

[. . .]

For lesser numbers of absences, the student should expect a lowered grade in the course, with the maximum penalty of one letter grade for each week of absences (in a semester) or the equivalent.

Absence Appeal. If a student misses more than the number of class periods specified in university policy and believes that there are reasonable explanations for the absences, he/she may appeal the absences to the dean of the school in which the course is being taught. Students may obtain a Student Absence Appeal Form from the office of the appropriate dean.”

Late Paper Policy

The English Department has established the following policy for late work submitted in core English courses:

“Grades for papers as assigned on syllabus will be reduced according to the following schedule:

· after time due and up to 24 hours late: one letter grade;

· after 24 hours and up to 48 hours late: two letter grades;

· after 48 hours and up to 72 hours late: three letter grades;

· after 72 hours, any paper turned in will be given an ‘F.’

Failure to turn in an assignment will result in a grade of zero on that assignment.”

Please note that A computer or printing problem is not an acceptable excuse for late work. An essay is considered late if it is not submitted when others are collected in class on the date due.

Additional Classroom Policies

• Tardiness is both disruptive and a sign of disrespect. Be here on time, prepared for class, at 11:00 sharp each day. To this end, tardiness for any given class period will be assessed as ½ an absence. If you do come to class late, but you do not wish to be counted as absent, it is YOUR responsibility to make sure that I realize you are tardy, not absent.
• Mobile phones are a distraction and nuisance to both me and your classmates; please turn them off before class begins, and refrain from using them until you are dismissed. Yes, even to send a text message. If your phone rings during class, I reserve the right to answer it.
• You are responsible for any changes to assignments or reading schedules made in class. I will keep the webpage updated with any announced changes, so you should check with your classmates or on the website should you miss class.
• All reading assignments (listed below) must be completed for the date assigned.
• Unless assigned to be completed during a class period (as a journal or brainstorming exercise), all writing must be typewritten in order to be submitted.
• Critical correspondence or announcements may be sent out by e-mail, but only to your MC account.

The last day to drop a course for the fall term is 31 October

Tentative Course Schedule (changes will be announced in class or on the website for the course):

Week	Title	Date	Topics of Discussion	Readings
1	Introductions and Beginnings	Aug. 27 Wed.	Introduction to the course and the participants Expectations (yours and mine) Syllabus review
		29 Fri.	Beginning a study of literature What we talk about when we talk about literature Why (British) literature?
2		Sept. 1 Mon.	Labor Day; no class meeting
	Anglo-Saxon England	3 Wed.	Backgrounds to Medieval literature	The Middle Ages [1-21] Beowulf [26-66] (lines 1-1650) Beowulf [66-97] (1651-3182)
		5 Fri.	Critical questions (handout) Defining and defeating the hero (I) Social constructs (I)
3		8 Mon.	Man and Nature (I) Role of religion (I)
	Medieval England I	10 Wed.	Finish up Beowulf; Introduction and Backgrounds to the literature of the later Middle Ages	Some addenda to our discussion of Beowulf, here
		12 Fri.	Introduction to SGGK	Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [112-65]
4	Medieval England II	15 Mon.	Defining and defeating the hero (II) Social constructs (II)	SGGK, continued
		17 Wed.	Man and Nature (II) Role of religion (II) Gender (I)	The Canterbury Tales [165-70]
		19 Fri.	Introduction to the Canterbury Tales
5		22 Mon.	Critical questions Antiheroes (I) Man and Society (I) Authority Morality	“General Prologue”[170-90] “The Miller’s Tale” [191-207]
		24 Wed.	The Canterbury pilgrimage (slideshow)
	The Renaissance in England	26 Fri.	Backgrounds to the Renaissance	The Sixteenth Century [319-45] Doctor Faustus [458-9; 460-93]
6		29 Mon.	Critical questions Antiheroes (I) Knowledge (I) Tragedy
		1 Oct. Wed.
		3 Fri.
7	The Seventeenth Century and the Civil War	6 Mon.	Backgrounds to the Early Seventeenth Century	The Early Seventeenth Century [575-97] Paradise Lost [723-4]
		8 Wed.	Critical questions Antiheroes (III) Justice (I) Religion	Books I-IV [725-94] Specifically, Books I-II; you can skip out lines 376-521 in Book I
		10 Fri.		Specifically, Books III.1-343 and IV.1-535 · Some further commentary on the character of Satan in PL · A worksheet, from a previous class, identifying more quotations which show us how Milton presents Satan
8		13 Mon.	Fall Recess; no class meeting
	Seventeenth Century (continued)	15 Wed.		Paradise Lost Book IX [all] · Another commentary about Adam and Eve in PL
	MIDTERM EXAM	17 Fri.	Part I
9	MIDTERM EXAM	20 Mon	Part II
	The Enlightenment	22 Wed.	Introduction to the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason	The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century [853-76]
		24 Fri.	Critical questions Hierarchy Justice (III) Man and Nature (III)	Pope, An Essay on Man [1120-3; 1155-62]
10		27 Mon.		Pope, An Essay on Man continued
		29 Wed.	Concluding the Enlightenment; transitioning to the Romantics Critical Questions Man a