English 314: British Literature After 1800
Professor Kathryn Conrad
Spring 2004
7-10 pm
4076 Wescoe Hall
Office hours: 2035 Wescoe, Tuesdays 1-3 pm and by appointment
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 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.
- Damrosch, David, ed. The Longman Anthology of British Literature, 2nd edition, vols. 2A, 2B, and 2C.
- Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Norton.
Grades (consist of three major components)
- 15%: Attendance, participation in discussion (online and in class), group work, and short assignments. Students will be expected to access materials online and participate in Blackboard discussion boards. Students must participate in the first Blake forum and the Virginia Woolf forum (and those for a that take the place of any days cancelled by the University), and in at least three others. All readings to be completed by date listed on the syllabus. Students are expected to attend every class and should contact me by e-mail or phone before your absence if you must miss class. Three unexcused absences will result in failure of this course.
- 30%: Exams: a midterm and final examination (identification and short essay) as listed on the syllabus. (15 % each.)
- 55%: Two papers of 5-6 pages. (27.5% each.) Paper topics will be available here two weeks prior to the due date. Students are encouraged to come up with their own topics, but must clear them with me before writing. At least one paper must be on a poem.
Paper topics, paper #1
Paper topics, paper #2
Other Resources
Students with Disabilities: The staff of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), 135 Strong (Lawrence), 785-864-2620 (V/TTY), coordinates accommodations and services for KU courses. If you have a disability for which you may request accommodation in KU classes and have not contacted them, please do as soon as possible. Please also see me privately in regard to this course (Adopted from SSD statement).
Writing Center: Most colleges and universities have a writing center, a place for students to talk about their writing with trained peer consultants. At KU, we call our writing centers Writer's Roosts. When you visit, bring your work in progress and an idea of what you would like to work on-organization, support, documentation, editing, etc. The Roosts are open in several different locations across campus; please check the Writing Center website for current locations and hours. The Roosts welcome both drop-ins and appointments, and there is no charge for their services. For more information, please call 785-864-2399 or send an e-mail to writing@ku.edu (Adopted from Writing Center Statement).
External links: The Blackboard website contained a list of relevant external links.
Weather cancellations: Call 785-864-SNOW to discover whether classes have been cancelled by the University due to inclement weather.
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; 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 (Adopted from FSE statement).
If after reading the statement above, you are still unclear about what constitutes plagiarism, ask me before turning in an assignment. A plagiarized assignment will result in failure of the assignment and may result in failure of the course. Plagiarism will be reported to the college.
Updates
5/11: The texts that are fair game for the final are now marked on the schedule (see explanation below)
Other information: if you can't take the regularly scheduled Tuesday exam, you can take the exam Monday night in 4019 Wescoe, 7-9.
If you need to take this option, contact me in advance.
I will hold papers (probably for a very very long time); if you want them back with comments, let me know.
Old Updates
4/26: Bruegel's Icarus painting at http://web.sbu.edu/theology/bychkov/bruegel_icarus.html
4/26: Paper topics ready
3/10: Scott McCloud's adaptation of Porphyria's Lover and Anthony Hecht's "Dover Bitch" (also linked below)
3/9: Note new final draft paper deadline: Thursday, March 11, 5 pm, 2035 Wescoe, under door.
3/9: Texts that might be on the midterm are now marked on the syllabus below
3/7: Grading guide for papers: see Blackboard: Course Documents
3/7: New schedule in April
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). Online discussion texts marked with * are fair game for the midterm and final, even if not discussed in the classroom.
5/11: All texts that are fair game for the FINAL are now in red and (for those of you printing this out without a color printer) marked with an asterisk before the title. But, to simplify, it's pretty much everything from March 30 on; I won't include the Wilde or the other late Victorian material.
| Date | Reading |
|---|---|
| January 27 | Introduction. |
| February 3 | The Romantic period (Longman Vol 2A) |
| February 10 | The Romantic period |
| February 17 | The Romantic period |
| February 24 | The Romantic period & the Victorian period |
| March 2 | The Romantic period & the Victorian period (Longman Vol 2B) |
| March 9 | The Victorian period |
| March 11 | 5 pm: Final draft of paper due, 2035 Wescoe, under door if I'm not there |
| March 16 | MIDTERM EXAMINATION. No rescheduling without detailed medical documentation. Exam will only take 1 1/2 hours. |
| March 23 | SPRING BREAK 5/11: All texts that are fair game for the FINAL are now in red and (for those of you printing this out without a color printer) marked with an asterisk before the title. But, to simplify, it's pretty much everything from March 30 on; I won't include the Wilde or the other late Victorian material. |
| March 30 | The Modern Period (Longman Vol 2C) |
| April 6 | The Modern Period |
| April 13 | The Modern Period |
| April 20 | The Modern Period |
| April 27 | The Modern Period |
| May 4 | Contemporary British Literature |
| May 11 | Contemporary "British" Literature |
| May 13 | Paper #2 due by 5 pm, 2035 Wesco |
| May 18 | FINAL EXAMINATION, 7-9 pm (regular classroom) |
