ENGLISH 314: Brit. Lit. after 1800, Conrad

Last updated 11-12

Fall 2009
4019 Wescoe
TR 11 am-12:15 pm
Professor Kathryn Conrad

Office hours:  W 1:30-3:30 pm, 3043 Wescoe
Office phone: 4-2572 
E-mail (best way to reach me): kconrad [at] ku.edu
Course website:  http://people.ku.edu/~kconrad/314f09.html
Blackboard website (for discussion blogs, grades): https://courseware.ku.edu/webapps/login/?campus_id=1

Skip to...[Course description & grading policy] [Other resources] [Reading and assignment schedule]    

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 August 26, 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 September 17.  
    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 September 10.  The last day to withdraw from classes under any circumstances is November 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>

Recording of Classes (Adapted from KU Faculty Council statement): 
    At KU, course  materials prepared by the instructor, together with the content of lectures, are the property of the instructor. Video and audio recording of lectures without the consent of the instructor is prohibited.  On request, the instructor will usually grant permission for students to audio tape lectures, on the condition that these audio tapes are only used as a study aid by the individual making the recording. Unless explicit permission is obtained from the instructor, recordings of lectures may not be modified and must not be transferred or transmitted to any other person, whether or not that individual is enrolled in the course. 

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.

Grades consist of three major components:
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. You are responsible for keeping track of your blog postings. All readings and blog postings should be completed before class on the 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 with a virus. 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 1500-2000 words (approx. 5-7 pages)--this is a guide, since quality is more important than absolute word count.  Be concise and precise but also be sure to make the space needed to make your argument. 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.
Grading Policy (CLAS guidelines):
    In this course we will be using the new +/- grading scale, approved by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to describe intermediate levels of performance between a maximum of A and a minimum of F.  Intermediate grades represented by plus or minus shall be calculated as .3 units above or below the corresponding letter grade. 

Policy on Student Academic Creations (English Department statement):
    Since one of the aims of this course is to teach students to write for specific audiences, ungraded student-authored work may be shared with other class members during the semester in which you are enrolled in the class.  Please do not submit materials on sensitive subjects that you would not want your classmates to see or read, unless you inform the instructor in advance that you do not want your work shared with others. 
    Other uses of student-authored work are subject to the University’s Policy on Intellectual Property and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.  If your instructor desires to use your work outside of this class (e.g. as a sample for another class or future classes), you will be asked to fill out and sign a written form authorizing such use. 


Other resources:
Plagiarism:
    Plagiarism is stealing and passing off someone else's ideas or words as one's own or using information from another's work without crediting the source.  Any detected cheating offense--including but not limited to plagiarism; the unauthorized use of crib sheets, texts, or other materials during an examination or quiz; the copying of another student's work (even with the permission or aid of that student, who is thereby culpable); the use of prewritten essays (the student's own or someone else's); the uncredited adoption of another writer's interpretation of a work; the copying of all or part of websites; or the unauthorized use of work written for another assignment or class--will be reported to the University. A record of each verified offense will be kept throughout the student's association with the University (Adapted from FSE statement).
     Plagiarism is not a game, nor is it simply a "shortcut" when time presses.  It is a very serious form of academic misconduct and will be treated as such in this class. When you consult outside sources for ideas--through published or unpublished essays, interviews, the Internet, conversation, etc.--you must cite those sources clearly in your work. I understand that academic work can be daunting: if you are struggling with an assignment, are unclear about my expectations, or are behind on your work, please consult me. There is always a better path than plagiarism; I can work with you to help you find your own voice while incorporating others' ideas appropriately. If after reading the statement above, you are still unclear about what constitutes plagiarism, ask me BEFORE turning in an assignment.  In my class, I guarantee that it is better to turn in a paper late than to plagiarize.  One of the goals of English courses is helping you to improve your writing, and plagiarism undermines that process entirely.  
    A plagiarized  assignment will result in failure of the assignment (no credit given); it also impacts your larger course grade more than a paper that merely receives an F, and will usually result in failure of the course. The Department of English has a zero-tolerance policy on plagiarism. Formal records are kept by the Department of English and reported to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, who also keep them on file. I may also send a copy of the plagiarism form to the home department or school of any student who is found to have plagiarized.

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.

August 20: Introduction.
Course outline and goals.
Introduction to the Romantic period.
Online discussion (before 8/26):  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.)

August 25: 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

August 27: 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 9/1 class): W. Wordsworth, *"Preface to Lyrical Ballads" 408-420.

September 1: 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

September 3: The Romantic period (cont.)
[W. Wordsworth, cont]
D. Wordsworth, *"A Field of Daffodils," from Grasmere Journals 555
    "Thoughts on My Sick-bed" 548
Joanna Baillie, *"London" 362
Online discussion (before 9/10 class): Robinson and Coleridge.

September 8: The Romantic period (cont.)
[Baillie, cont]
Coleridge
 *"The Eolian Harp" 572
  *"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" 580
Online discussion (before 9/10 class): Robinson and Coleridge.

September 10: The Romantic period (cont.)
Coleridge, *"Kubla Khan" (with preface) 614
Mary Robinson, "To the Poet Coleridge" 616
Online discussion (before 9/22 class): Shelley and Keats.

September 15: The Romantic period (cont.)

Shelley
    from *"A Defence of Poetry" 867-876
    "To Wordsworth" 816
  *"Ozymandias" 823
Keats
  *"La Belle Dame sans Mercy" (both versions) 946-949
Online discussion (before 9/22 class): Shelley and Keats.

September 17:
CLASS DOES NOT MEET.  Work on papers.

September 22: The Romantic period (cont.)
Keats,
*"Ode on a Grecian Urn" 955
Shelley
  *"Ode to the West Wind" 835 
Online discussion (before 10/6 class; several prompts over the 2 weeks): *Jane Eyre.
First draft of paper #1 due in class.

September 24:The Romantic period & the Victorian period.
Bronte, *Jane Eyre (through the red room incident.)

September 29: The Romantic period & the Victorian period (cont.)
*Jane Eyre (through Jane's arrival at Thornfield:  approx 1/2 of book.)

October 1: The Romantic period & the Victorian period (cont.)
*Jane Eyre 

October 6: The Romantic period & the Victorian period (cont.)
*Jane Eyre (through Ch. XX)

October 8: The Victorian period (Longman Vol 2B)
*Jane Eyre (through Ch. XXVII)

October 13:
MIDTERM EXAMINATION. No rescheduling without detailed medical documentation. 

Note: asterisks from here on out denote material that is fair game for the final.

October 15
NO CLASS; Fall Break
 
October 20: 
Jane Eyre (through end).
Online discussion (before 10/22):  Darwin, Rossetti.

October 22: The Victorian period (cont.)
Darwin, from *The Descent of Man
C. Rossetti, *"Goblin Market" 1731 

October 27:  The Victorian period (cont.): the Fin de Siecle
catch up, Rosetti, start Browning.

--REMINDER:  Have you done your 4 required blog postings yet (not counting Blake)?--

October 29: The Victorian period (cont.): the Fin de Siecle
 R. Browning, *"Porphyria's Lover" 1411 (continued)
  *"My Last Duchess"  1415
Arnold, *"Dover Beach" 1662
A. Hecht, "Dover Bitch" 1663
Online discussion (before 10/29 class):  Wilde. 

November 3: The Modern Period (Vol. 2C)
Wilde, Aphorisms 2044; Preface to Dorian Gray
*Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest 2004-2043
Online discussion (before 11/5 class): Modernism 
Final draft of paper #1 due in class.

November 5: The Modern Period (cont.)
Eliot, *"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" 2509-2512
Browse Vorticist manifesto 2310

November 10: The Modern Period (cont.)
Yeats, *"The Second Coming" 2399
          "Sailing to Byzantium" 2401
Online discussion (before 11/12 class): Yeats.

November 12: The Modern Period (cont.)
Yeats.  Begin Joyce, *"Nausicaa," from Ulysses 2473-2495
 Online discussion (before 11/17 class): Ulysses, Woolf. 

November 17: The Modern Period (cont.)
Ulysses, continued. Virginia Woolf, *Mrs. Dalloway (through p 2585)

November 19: The Modern Period (cont.)
First draft of paper #2 due.
Virginia Woolf,* Mrs. Dalloway (through p 2608).

November 24: The Modern Period (cont.)
Virginia Woolf,* Mrs. Dalloway (p 2633 (through the line before "One of the triumphs of civilisation, Peter Walsh thought").

November 26:
NO CLASS; Thanksgiving

December 1: The Modern Period (cont.)
Virginia Woolf,* Mrs. Dalloway (finish)
Online discussion (before 12/3 class):  Auden

December 3   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" 
*"Lullaby" 2908
*"September 1, 1939" 2909
 Online discussion (before 12/8 class): What is "British" literature?

December 8: Contemporary "British" Literature
Auden, continued.
Heaney, *"Punishment" 3057

December 10: Contemporary "British" Literature (cont.)
Last day; final evaluations
Monty Python, *"Travel Agent" 2832 
Walcott, *"A Far Cry from Africa" 3047
[Note: online discussion after December 10 class does not count as one of the 4 total required discussion postings, although it does count toward the more general participation grade.]

December 14 (Monday): Final draft of second paper due by 5 pm.  If you require an extension for any reason beyond this date, you must be prepared to take an incomplete for the course.

No office hours during exam week.  

FINAL EXAMINATION as scheduled:  Friday, December 18, 10:30-1.  If you would like to take your exam at another time, 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.

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