English 479: Representation of Ireland and Scotland in the 19th Century

Prof. Kathryn Conrad and Prof. Ann Rowland
Fall 2011
MW 11 am-12:15 pm * 114 Blake Hall
Prof Conrad's office hours:  MTWTh 1:30-3:30, 3043 Wescoe
Prof. Rowland's office hours:  MW 2-4, 3044 Wescoe

Administered on Blackboard

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)

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.

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 19. From September 13-November 16, you will be assigned a grade of W. You may not drop or withdraw after November 16.

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, 785-864-4520, immediately.

If you are having trouble succeeding in the course, it is especially important that you consult with us 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 Registrar's website.

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 or discussions 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 class sessions 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 will examine the literary, cultural and political relations between England, Scotland and Ireland from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century in order to complicate our understanding of what constitutes "English" (and "British") literature. England's empire may have stretched around the globe in the nineteenth century, but the dynamics of colonialism began at home in the interactions between the cosmopolitan center and the Gaelic peripheries of the British Isles. We will examine representations of the Irish and the Scottish, many from writers who had one foot in English/"British" culture and one in the culture of either Scotland or Ireland. We will also examine historiography, political cartoons, and folklore that will help us understand the cultural and political exchange—and tensions—amongst these countries.

Several texts are available online; they will be linked to the syllabus below (see Reading and Assignment Schedule). Where an online link is not available, the document should be available under Blackboard's "course documents" link. If you have any trouble with the links, please let Prof. Conrad know ASAP by email.

These books are available for purchase. All are Penguin editions. Other editions are acceptable, but you will be responsible for figuring out where we are in the text; we will give page numbers for the Penguin editions.

See reading schedule. The Portable James Joyce and Ulysses are the bare minimum; you can get all of your readings from those two texts and the Web. The other books I have ordered are recommended.

• Edgeworth, Maria.  Castle Rackrent and Ennui.
• Scott, Sir Walter.  Waverley. 
• Hogg, James. The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner.
• Stoker, Bram.  Dracula.
• Stevenson, Robert Louis.  Kidnapped.
• Bourke, Angela.  The Burning of Bridget Cleary.

* Recommended: Faigley, Lester. The Brief Penguin Handbook. 4th ed. Note: we will not refer to this text specifically; it is for your own use as a style guide.

Grades (consist of three major components)

Attendance (15%): (including "field trip" to Spencer Research Library) participation in discussion (online and in class), and blog postings. You will be expected to access materials online and participate in Blackboard discussion blogs. You must contribute at least four blog posts, PLUS additional posts if the class has been cancelled by the instructors or the University (other than the dates listed below), and any other posts to compensate for absences or to improve your participation grade (especially if you don't contribute aloud in class). To count, blog postings should be about a paragraph, should be thoughtful and written clearly, and should take into consideration what has already been posted. You are responsible for keeping track of your blog postings (i.e., count them--we won't do so until the end of the semester).
    All readings and blog postings should be completed before class on the date listed on the syllabus (unless we say otherwise in class). The only exception to this is if you miss class; in that case, you may make up participation for that day by posting on a prompt for the text we discussed while you were absent.
    You are expected to attend every class; contact Prof. Conrad or Prof. Rowland by e-mail 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 us to excuse an absence. More to the point, our combined decades of experience teaching suggest that you will not succeed if you do not attend regularly.

Exams (30%): a midterm and final examination (identification and short essay) as listed on the syllabus. Final is not cumulative. (15% each.)

Original research and writing assignment (55%): This assignment has three parts: the Spencer Annotated Bibliography (approx 5 pp.; 20%); the prospectus (approx. 1 p., double-spaced; 5% ); and the final essay (approx. 5-6 pp.; 30%). You should read the assignments in detail on Blackboard; review the grading guidelines, available on Blackboard; and review the plagiarism policy below before handing in your papers (including the rough drafts).

Grading Policy (CLAS guidelines): In this course we will be using the +/- 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

KU Libraries English Language and Literature guide: This guide was created by Julie Buchsbaum and includes much helpful information about databases, research, and scholarly resources.

Students with Disabilities: The staff of the Office of Disability Resources, 22 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 us privately to discuss appropriate accommodation for this particular course. See the Student Access Center website for more information.

Writing Center: For help with your writing, we strongly encourage you to contact the KU Writing Center. At the Writing Center you can talk about your writing with trained tutors or consult reference materials in a comfortable working environment. You may ask for feedback on your papers, advice and tips on writing (for all your courses), or for guidance on special writing tasks. Please check the Writing Center website for current locations and hours. The Writing Center welcomes 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. The website is loaded with helpful information about writing of all sorts, so even if you consider yourself a good writer, check it out! (Adapted from English Department statement)

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 without specific and accurate attribution; 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. Credit that work carefully, and credit both quotation (even a few words) and paraphrase.

We understand that academic work can be daunting: if you are struggling with an assignment, are unclear about our expectations, or are behind on your work, please consult one of us. There is always a better path than plagiarism; we 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 one of us BEFORE turning in an assignment (even a rough draft). In our class, 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 will also result in an official reduction of grade for the course, usually to an F. Both of these sanctions are recorded on an Academic Misconduct Form and submitted to the Department and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, both of which keep them on file. If a student is found to have committed academic misconduct previously, the sanction will be more severe (e.g., suspension or expulsion from the University). The Department of English has a zero-tolerance policy on plagiarism. We may also send a copy of the plagiarism form to the home department or school of any student who is found to have plagiarized.