English 212 E:
Survey of British Literature
3 hour lecture course
Instructor: Dr. Marrs
Office: 314
Office hours: MF 1:15-2:15
TTh 1:05-2:05
Email: marrs@mc.edu
Prerequisites: Students should have completed or received credit for Eng 101 and 102.
Course Description (Catalog): A survey of major British literary figures and their works. Fulfills the core curriculum requirement.
Rationale for Eng 212: Survey of British Literature:
1. The course fulfills part of the requirements
for the students “core” at
2. The course supports the mission statement of
3. This course also satisfies part of the
requirements for a major in English at
Learning Objectives:
1. The student will learn to identify major male and female writers, important texts, and significant contexts in the study of British literature.
2. The student will continue to develop critical reading and thinking skills.
3. The student will continue to develop writing skills related to clear expression of ideas and support of those ideas within a well developed essay.
Attendance: Your attendance is especially important in this class and your grade will suffer with more than a couple of absences! That is not a threat; it is an observation. See pp. 54 of the General Bulletin for details and for the appeals process; in this course, 8 absences result in an automatic “F” grade. Appeals of absences may be directed according to the guidelines in the General Bulletin: “If a student misses more than the number of class periods specified in university policy and believes that there are reasonable explanations for the absenses [sic], 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” (p. 54).
Makeup Exams: All makeup exams will be given on dead day ONLY. If you miss the makeup exam on dead day, you will not be given another chance to take the exam.
Academic Integrity Statement: “
honest. Dishonesty, such as
cheating or plagiarism or furnishing false information, including forgery,
alteration or misuse of College 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” (MC General Bulletin,
p. 57).
Outline of Topics To Be Covered:
Students will read works from the major periods of British Literature, including
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.
Text and Required Materials:
Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors. Seventh Edition.
Class hand-outs
Blue books are required for all major
exams.
Recommended: a modern English translation of
The Canterbury Tales.
Requirements:
* Four major exams, final, reading quizzes, short writing assignments, and collaborative assignments.
* Daily quizzes and group assignments cannot be made up. I will drop the lowest of these daily grades at the end of the semester.
* I follow the attendance policy
of
* Attendance and timeliness are required.
This course will consist of lecture, class discussion, in-class writing, and collaborative work. Occasionally, you will be given a writing assignment that you will complete for the following class period. We will have frequent daily quizzes on the assigned reading. To get the most out of this class, you will need to interact with the course material--think about it, write about it, talk about it, and certainly read it--not just listen to me lecture. For this class, your participation is essential. We will read the works assigned in relation to their historical context and talk about how the works reflect the concerns and issues of their time.
This course will help you gain knowledge and understanding of canonical British writers, along with an understanding of the cultural and social contexts in which these authors wrote. It will also help you develop critical skills as you actively read and write about the works studied.
Four Exams: 60%
Final: 20%
Quizzes: 10%
Memorization: 10%
Reading Schedule
TTh
Week One
Aug.25 Introduction to the course; Anglo-Saxon England
Week Two
Aug. 30 Beowulf, p.28, line 64- p.45, line 862; p.46. line 924- p.49, line1064;
p.55, line 1251 – p.66, line 1798.
Sept. 1 Middle Ages;
“General Prologue” to the
Week Three
Sept. 6 Prologue to “The Wife of Bath’s Tale.”
Sept. 8 Exam #1
Week Four
Sept.13 Renaissance; Christopher Marlowe, Dr. Faustus
Sept.15 Dr. Faustus
Week Five
Sept. 20 Shakespeare, Sonnets
Sept. 22 Shakespeare, Henry IV
Week Six
Sept. 27 Henry IV
Sept. 29 Exam #2
Week Seven
Oct. 4 17th
Century;
Oct. 6 Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 1, pp.723-732; Book 4, pp.777-788; Book 5, pp. 794-797
Week Eight
Oct. 11 FALL RECESS
Oct. 13
Week Nine
Oct. 18 The Restoration; Classical Models
Oct.20 Dryden, “MacFlecknoe;” Pope, “Rape of the Lock”
Week Ten
Oct. 25 Swift, Part One, Gulliver’s Travels
Oct. 27 Exam #3
Week Eleven
Nov. 1 19th Century
Nov. 3 Wordsworth, Coleridge. Memorization assignment.
Week Twelve
Nov. 8 Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets
Nov. 10 Tennyson
Week Thirteen
Nov. 15 Browning
Nov. 17 Matthew Arnold
Week Fourteen
Nov. 22 Exam #4
Nov. 24 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Week Fifteen
Nov. 29 Virginia Woolf
Dec. 1 Memorization
Week Sixteen
Dec. 6 Review
FINAL EXAM WILL BE HELD DURING FINALS WEEK—NO EARLY EXAMS.
ALL MAKEUP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN ON DEAD DAY.
Student Information Sheet
(To be turned in to the instructor)
NAME: MAJOR:
EMAIL ADDRESS: CLASSIFICATION:
What English courses have you
taken at
Name three important English writers.
Describe yourself in two sentences.
I AFFIRM THAT THE INSTRUCTOR HAS EXPLAINED THE MEANING OF PLAGIARISM AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF HAVING COMMITTED PLAGIARISM. SHE HAS ALSO DISCUSSED METHODS OF DOCUMENTATION AND ATTRIBUTION TO AVOID PLAGIARISM.
__________________________________
Signature