UPDATED 4-29-09
Spring 2009
Monday - Wednesday
55835: 11 am-12:15 pm
76265: 3-4:15 pm
4076 Wescoe Hall
Prerequisites (from University timetable):
Admission
to English courses numbered 300 and above is limited to students who
have completed the freshman-sophomore English requirements or their
equivalents. All students are required to enroll in ENGL 101 and to
remain continuously enrolled in ENGL 101 or ENGL 102 until ENGL 102 (or
ENGL 105) has been completed. All CLAS students, as well as students
from several other schools, are also required to complete a 200-level
English class.
Enrollment (from University timetable) :
Students may neither add nor
change sections in any English course after January 22, without
departmental permission. For courses numbered above 200, instructor's
permission is required to add or change sections. The last
day to add classes with permission is February 12.
The Department of English reserves the right to
terminate administratively the enrollment of any student who misses two
consecutive class meetings during the first two weeks of the semester.*
Should an emergency situation cause the student to miss two consecutive
class meetings, the student should contact the instructor(s) or the
English Department, 864-4520, immediately.
Students who decide to drop English classes should
do so promptly so that other students may enroll in the class.
The last day to drop classes online is February 5. The last day
to withdraw from classes under any circumstances is April 16.
Drop policy (English Department statement):
If you are having trouble succeeding in the course,
it is especially important that you consult with me so that we can
develop a plan of action that may enable you to complete the
course. If you decide to drop this class, please refer to the
Website below:
<http://www.registrar.ku.edu/current/schedule.shtml>
From Feb. 6-April 16, you will be assigned a grade of W. You may not drop or withdraw after April 16, 2009.
Course description
and texts:
This course is a survey of
British literature of the Romantic, Victorian, Modernist, and contemporary
periods. We will be concerned in this course not only with close readings of the literature and literary form
but also with some of the political and social issues that serve as context
for the literature. Our readings will include essays, poetry, drama, short
fiction, and novels. Do note that this will be a poetry-intensive course.
These books are available for purchase.
1. 15%: Attendance, participation in discussion (online and in class), group work, and short assignments. You will be expected to access materials online and participate in Blackboard discussion blogs. You must participate in the Blake blog, any blog discussions that replace days cancelled by the University or by Prof. Conrad, and at least four others. Youare responsible for keeping track of your blog postings. All readings and blog postings should be completed before class on date listed on the syllabus. You are expected to attend every class; contact me by e-mail (kconrad @ ku.edu) before or as soon as possible after your absence if you must miss class. Please do not attend class if you are ill. Documentation will assure an excused absence, but is not required for me to excuse an absence. You should post on the day's readings if you must be absent, excused or unexcused; this will help maintain the rest of your participation grade. Six unexcused absences will result in failure of this course. You are responsible for keeping track of your own absences.
2. 30%: Exams: a midterm and final examination (identification and short essay) as listed on the syllabus. (15 % each.)
3. 55%: Two papers of 2000 words (approx. 7 pages). Paper topics will be available online two weeks prior to the due date on Blackboard website. You should read the grading guidelines, available on Blackboard, and review the plagiarism policy below before handing in your papers.
Reading and assignment schedule
This
schedule is likely to change. For the most accurate reading and assignment
schedule, pay attention to updates given in class. Updates will eventually
be reflected on this website.
All
readings should be completed by the day listed on the syllabus. Online
discussions are listed on the date on which they are likely to start; the
due date for participating in the discussion for credit is listed in parentheses
(although of course you are welcome to discuss beyond the deadline). All texts, including online discussion texts, marked with
* before them are fair game for the midterm and final, even if not discussed
in the classroom. Check this site before studying for the exam for the most up-to-date list of fair-game texts.
[January 19: MLK Day. No class.]
January 21: Introduction.
Course outline and goals.
Introduction to the Romantic period.
Online
discussion (before Jan 26): Blake, from *Songs of Innocence and *Songs of Experience 156-166; 169-183.
Recommended:
Browse illuminated Blake plates at The
William Blake Archive.
(It'll take you a few clicks to get to
the pictures, but once there, you'll have a huge range of
choices.
When you get to an actual poem, you can use the center menu to look at
different versions [click the "compare" button] and you can also
enlarge the images.)
January 26: The Romantic period (Longman Vol
2A)
Blake,
poems from *Songs of Innocence
and *Songs of Experience 156-166; 169-183
see
also color plates 6 - 9 at the beginning of Vol 2A
January 28: The Romantic period (cont.)
Innocence & Experience, continued.
Blake, (browse)The Marriage of Heaven and Hell 183-196
Blake, "Jerusalem" at Poet's Corner (also available on Wikipedia and other sites.)
Recommended:
Browse illuminated Blake plates at The
William Blake Archive. (see note above)
Online
discussion (before Feb 2 class): W. Wordsworth, *"Preface to Lyrical Ballads" 408-420.
February 2: The Romantic period (cont.)
W.
Wordsworth,*"Preface to Lyrical
Ballads" 408-420
*"Composed upon Westminster
Bridge, Sept. 3, 1802 450
*"I wandered lonely as a cloud"
526
*"Ode: Intimations of
Immortality..." 528
"Surprized by joy" 536
February 4: The Romantic period (cont.)
D.
Wordsworth, *"A Field of Daffodils,"
from Grasmere Journals 555
"Thoughts on My Sick-bed" 548
Joanna
Baillie, *"London" 362
Online
discussion (before Feb 9 class): Robinson and Coleridge.
February 9: The Romantic period (cont.)
Coleridge
*"The Eolian Harp" 572
*"Kubla Khan" (with preface)
614
*"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
580
February 11: The Romantic period (cont.)
Coleridge, cont.
Mary
Robinson, *"To the Poet Coleridge" 616
Online
discussion (before Feb 16 class): Shelley and Keats.
February 16: The Romantic period (cont.)
Keats
*"La Belle Dame sans Mercy"
(both versions) 946-949
*"Ode on a Grecian Urn"
955
Shelley
from *"A Defence of Poetry"
867-876
"To Wordsworth" 816
*"Ozymandias" 823
February 18: The Romantic period (cont.)
Keats & Shelley
cont., plus
*"Ode to the West Wind" 835
February 23:The Romantic period & the Victorian period.
Bronte,
*Jane Eyre (through the red room incident.)
First draft of paper #1 due in class.
Online
discussion (before March 4 class): *Jane Eyre.
February 25: The Romantic period & the Victorian period (cont.)
*Jane Eyre (through Jane's arrival at Thornfield: approx 1/2 of book.)
March 2: The Romantic period & the Victorian period (cont.)
*Jane Eyre (through Ch. XXVII)
March 4: The Romantic period & the Victorian period (cont.)
*Jane Eyre (through end).
Online discussion (optional reading): Darwin, from The Descent of Man
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March 9: The Victorian period (Longman Vol 2B)
C.
Rossetti, *"Goblin Market"
1731
March 11:
MIDTERM
EXAMINATION. No rescheduling without detailed medical documentation.
March 16ff: SPRING BREAK
Note: asterisks from
here on out denote material that is fair game for the final.
March 23: The Victorian period (cont.)
R.
Browning, *"Porphyria's Lover"
1411
*"My Last Duchess" 1415
Recommended:
Scott McCloud's adaptation of "Porphyria's
Lover" .
March 25: The Victorian period (cont.)
Arnold,
*"Dover Beach" 1662
A. Hecht, "Dover
Bitch"
1663.
Online discussion (before March 30 class): Wilde.
March 30: The Victorian period (cont.): the Fin de Siecle
Wilde,
Aphorisms 2044
*Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest 2004-2043
Online
discussion (before April 1 class): Modernism
--REMINDER: Have you done your 4 required blog postings yet (not counting Blake)?--
April 1: The Modern Period (Longman Vol 2C)
Eliot,
*"The Love Song of J. Alfred
Prufrock" 2509-2512
Browse Vorticist manifesto 2310
April 6: The Modern Period (cont.)
class cancelled due to instructor illness
April 8: The Modern Period (cont.)
Yeats, *"The Second Coming" 2399
"Sailing to Byzantium" 2401
Online
discussion (before April 13 class): Joyce.
April 13: The Modern Period (cont.)
Joyce, *"Nausicaa," from Ulysses 2473-2495
April 15: The Modern Period (cont.)
Virginia
Woolf, *Mrs. Dalloway
(through p 2585)
Online
discussion (before April 27 class): Woolf.
April 20: The Modern Period (cont.)
Virginia
Woolf,* Mrs. Dalloway
(through p 2608).
April 22: The Modern Period (cont.)
Virginia
Woolf,* Mrs. Dalloway
(p 2633 (through the line before "One of the triumphs of civilisation, Peter Walsh thought").
April 27: The Modern Period (cont.)
First draft of paper #2 due.
Virginia
Woolf,* Mrs. Dalloway
(finish)
Online discussion (before May 4 class): What is British literature?
April 29: The Modern Period (cont.)
Auden,
*"Museé des Beaux Arts"
2903
Bruegel's
Icarus painting at http://web.sbu.edu/theology/bychkov/bruegel_icarus.html
"In Memory of W.B. Yeats"
2904
"Lullaby" 2908
*"September 1, 1939" 2909
April 30 (Thurs), [Office hours by appt, 202 Nunemaker. ALREADY BOOKED]
May 1 (Fri) Open office hours, 9-10:45, 202 Nunemaker.
First come, first served.
May 4: Contemporary "British" Literature
Heaney,
*"Punishment" 3057
ní
Dhomhnaill, "Why I Choose to
Write in Irish, or, The Corpse That Sits Up and Talks Back" 3100-3108
*"As for the Quince" 3099
May 4 (Mon):
[Office hours by appointment 10-10:40, 3025 Wescoe. ALREADY BOOKED]
Open office hours (regular time), 1-2:30, 3025 Wescoe. First come, first served.
May 5 (Tuesday): Open office hours, 10 am-4 pm, 202 Nunemaker. First come, first served.
May 6: Contemporary "British" Literature (cont.)
Last day; final evaluations
Monty
Python, *"Travel Agent" 2832
Walcott,
*"A Far Cry from Africa" 3047
[Note:
online discussion after May 6 class does not count as one of the 4 total
required discussion postings, although it does count toward the more general
participation grade.]
May 6 (Wed):
Office hours by appointment 10-10:40 am, 3025 Wescoe. Email for appt.
Open office hours (regular time), 1-2:30, 3025 Wescoe. First come, first served.
May 7 (Thurs), Open office hours 10 am-4 pm, 202 Nunemaker. First come, first served.
May 8 (Fri, STOP DAY), Open office hours 10 am-noon, 202 Nunemaker. First come, first served.
Monday, May 11: Final
draft of *both* papers
due by 5 pm. If you want to turn in by e-mail or Digital Dropbox,
use .doc, .rtf, or .pdf formats; if you submit digitally, you still
need to bring your FIRST DRAFT of the first paper with my comments to
the exam. If you turn in the papers in person, please bring them to
Nunemaker and leave them with the staff. If you require an extension for any reason, you must be prepared to take an incomplete for the course.
No office hours during exam week.
FINAL
EXAMINATION as scheduled. If you would like to take your exam at the time for the other class, you must get it approved with me by 5 pm on STOP DAY. Rescheduling available for
students with conflicting final examination times, following University
rescheduling rules; again, contact me by 5 pm on STOP DAY.
11 am class: Wednesday, May 13, 10:30-12
3 pm class: Tuesday, May 12, 1:30-4
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