NAVIGATION: Index of Dr. Weller's Class Materials Index of English 341 Materials

Syllabus for English 341, Winter 2016


(8:00 am - 9:30 am MWF Patterson Hall 116)
Web address of this syllabus:
https://shakespeare-navigators.com/courses/English341/Syllabus_English_341_Winter_16.html.

Student Learning Objectives:

  1. Students will have a passing familiarity with the characteritics of the British literature of the eras covered in the course.
  2. Students will be able to present a persuasive analysis of at least one work by each of the major authors discussed in class.

Texts:

  • The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 9th Ed. Vols. C & D.
  • Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility.
  • Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre.

  • Calendar:

    The Restoration and Eighteenth Century:

    Monday, January 4: Introduction
    Looking Ahead: Projects on John Dryden
    Lecture Notes: "Restoration & 18th Cent. Overview"

    Wednesday, January 6: John Dryden, Mac Flecknoe

    Reading Assigments:
    —Introduction, "The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century 1660 -1775," through "Restoration Literature, 1660 - 1700" (pp. 2177 - 2199).
    —Introduction, "John Dryden 1631 - 1700" (pp. 2208 - 2209).
    Mac Flecknoe, introduction and text (pp. 2236 - 2242)
    Lecture Notes: "Dryden"
    Looking ahead: Some comments on possible student presentation topics for the Restoration and Eighteenth Century.
    Friday, January 8: Sex
    Reading Assignments:
    —Introduction to Aphra Behn (pp. 2307-2309)
    —Aphra Behn, "The Disappointment"
    —Introduction to John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester (pp. 2296 - 2297)
    —John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester, "The Imperfect Enjoyment"
    Discussion Questions:
    On Rochester's "The Imperfect Enjoyment."
    On Behn's "The Disappointment."

    Monday, January 11: Jonathan Swift
    Reminder: Your fellow-students are already beginning to sign up for the first presentation: See the board. Also see my page, About the Student Presentations.

    Reading Assignments:
    —Introduction to Jonathan Swift (pp. 2464 - 2466)
    —"Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift"
    A Modest Proposal
    —"The Lady's Dressing Room" and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, "The Reasons that Induced Dr. S. to Write a Poem called The Lady's Dressing Room"

    Notes and Discussion Questions:
    —On "Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift"
    —On A Modest Proposal
    —On "The Lady's Dressing Room" and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, "The Reasons that Induced Dr. S. to Write a Poem called The Lady's Dressing Room"

    Wednesday, January 13: Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele
    Reading Assignments:
    —Introduction to Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele (pp. 2639 - 2641)
    Spectator 2, Spectator 10, Spectator 69, & Spectator 519.

    Discussion Questions on The Spectator

    Friday, January 15: The Comedy of Manners & Sheridan's The Rivals
    Notes for a Lecture on The Comedy of Manners and Sheridan's The Rivals.

    Monday, January 18: Martin Luther King Day Holiday: EWU Closed -- No Classes

    Wednesday, January 20: Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The Rivals (video)

    Friday, January 22: Discussion of The Comedy of Manners and The Rivals.
    Discussion Questions on The Comedy of Manners and The Rivals.
    Monday, January, 25: Student Presentations
    1: Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels. -- Jamie Cotner and Benjamin Gaynor
    2: Daniel Defoe, Roxana. -- Michael Davies and Jared Reed
    3:
    4: Aphra Behn, Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave. -- Richard Hoffman
         Practice Quiz Opens at 3:00 p.m.

    Wednesday, January 27: Student Presentations
    5:
    6: Sir Isaac Newton, letter on optics. -- Tanner Goodhue
    7: John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress. -- Austin Heddon
    8: Eliza Haywood, "Fantomina; or, Love in a Maze." -- Eloy Velasco
    9: Thomas Gray, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" -- Zachary Swanger
    10: William Cowper, "The Castaway" -- Casey Phinney
    Friday, January 29: No class meeting: First Quiz open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

    The Novel and Rationalism v. Romanticism

    Monday, February 1: The Rise of the novel and Sense and Sensibility
    Notes for a Lecture on the Rise of the Novel.
    Sense and Sensibility (video -- first 56 minutes)
    Wednesday, February 3: Sense and Sensibility (video -- last 80 minutes)
    Friday, February 5: Discussion of Sense and Sensibility
    Discussion Questions on Sense and Sensibility.
    Monday, February 8:
    Continuation of the discussion of Sense and Sensibility.
    Jane Eyre (video first 36 minutes).
    Wednesday, February 10:
    Jane Eyre (video last 85 minutes)
    Friday, February 12: unscheduled
    Monday, February 15: Presidents' Day Holiday: EWU Closed -- No Classes
    Wednesday, February 17: Discussion: Comparing Sense and Sensibility and Jane Eyre
    Discussion Questions
    Friday, February 19: Novels Quiz

    The Romantic Era

    Monday, February 22: Class Canceled
    Wednesday, February 24: Introduction to the Romantic Era
    Notes for an introductory lecture on the Romantic Era
    A few comments on some possible subjects for student presentations:
    The Romantic Era
    Link to the sign-up sheet for presentations on the literature of the Romantic Era.
    Friday, February 26: William Blake, Songs of Innocence, "The Chimney Sweeper" (81); Songs of Experience, "The Chimney Sweeper"; "The Tyger"
    Notes for a lecture on Blake's Chimney Sweeper Poems
    Discussion Questions on Blake's "The Tyger"
    Monday, February 29: Robert Burns, "To a Mouse"; "Song: For a' that and a' that"
    Notes for a Lecture on Robert Burns
    Wednesday, March 2: William Wordsworth, "Ode: Intimations of Immortality"
    Discussion Questions on Wordsworth's "Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood."
    Friday, March 4: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "The Eolian Harp"; "Frost at Midnight"
    On Coleridge's "The Eolian Harp"
    On Coleridge's "Frost at Midnight"
    Monday, March 7: Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Mont Blanc, Lines Written in the Vale of Chamouni"
    On "Mont Blanc"
    Wednesday, March 9: John Keats, "When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be"; "Ode on a Grecian Urn" ; "To Autumn"
    Keats page


    Friday, March 11: Student Presentations -- You might be interested in looking at my page, "A few comments on some possible subjects for student presentations: The Romantic Era."
    Time Slot #1: 10:00 - 10:15: William Blake, "The Sick Rose" -- Jamie Cotner & Benjamin Gaynor
    Time Slot #2: 10:20 - 10:35: Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Mask of Anarchy" -- Richard Hoffman
    Time Slot #3: 10:40 - 10:55:
    Time Slot #4: 11:00 - 11:15:


    Monday, March 14: Student Presentations
    Time Slot #5: 10:00 - 10:15: Mary Shelley, "The Mortal Immortal" -- Michael Davies & Jared Reed
    Time Slot #6: 10:20 - 10:35: Keats, "Ode on a Grecian Urn" -- Austin Heddon
    Time Slot #7: 10:40 - 10:55: George Gordon, Lord Byron, "Manfred" -- Eloy Velasco &Zachary Swanger
    Time Slot #8: 11:00 - 11:15: Anna Laetitia Barbauld, "The Caterpillar" -- Casey Phinney


    Wednesday, March 16, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.: The Romantic Era Test will be available online. You will have 90 minutes to answer 25 multiple choice questions and write an answer to an essay question.

    Grading

    Tests: There will be three tests. Each will cover lectures, discussions, student presentations, and assigned reading. Each test will be given a percentage grade. Here is how the average of the percentage grades convert into a quarterly grade:

    95% = 4.0 (A) 86% = 3.1 (B+)77% = 2.2 (C+)68% = 1.3 (D+)
    94% = 3.9 (A) 85% = 3.0 (B) 76% = 2.1 (C+) 67% = 1.2 (D+)
    93% = 3.8 (A) 84% = 2.9 (B) 75% = 2.0 (C) 66% = 1.1 (D+)
    92% = 3.7 (A-) 83% = 2.8 (B) 74% = 1.9 (C) 65% = 1.0 (D)
    91% = 3.6 (A-) 82% = 2.7 (B) 73% = 1.8 (C) 64% = 0.9 (D)
    90% = 3.5 (A-) 81% = 2.6 (B-) 72% = 1.7 (C-) 63% = 0.8 (D)
    89% = 3.4 (A-) 80% = 2.5 (B-) 71% = 1.6 (C-) 62% = 0.7 (D-)
    88% = 3.3 (B+) 79% = 2.4 (B-) 70% = 1.5 (C-) 61% = 0.0 (F)
    87% = 3.2 (B+) 78% = 2.3 (C+) 69% = 1.4 (C-)


    Presentations: Each student is required to make or participate in two presentations, one for each of first and last units in the class.
         Please see my Page about student presentations.

         Normally, your reward for making or participating in a presentation will be a bonus of .3 added to your grade for the quarter. However, an extraordinary presentation will be worth a bonus of .4; a poor one (one which adds nothing to the editorial material in the text) will be worth no extra credit; and failure to make or participate in any one presentation will incur a penalty of .3 subtracted from your grade for the quarter.

    Attendance: This course requires a lot of group work, so attendance is important. Therefore: Beginning with the fourth one, each unexcused absence will earn of penalty of .1 of a quarterly grade point, to be deducted from your grade for the quarter after everything else that counts towards your grade has been calculated.

    Courtesy


    Academic Integrity