ENG 2323.02: British Literature 1780 to Present

T, 6:00-8:50 PM, Language 211

Office Hours: T, TR 12:30-2:00 and by Appointment. (Office, Language 408E)

Email: raja@postcolonial.net OR use this Contact Form

For questions about assigned reading: Reading Questions
Download Syllabus.
Introduction:
Aimed at providing a broad survey of the second half of British Literature, this course aims to introduce you to the prominent authors, works, and literary themes of this improtant phase of British Literature. During the course we will cover the Romantic, Victorian, and the Modernist periods of the Britsh Literaary tradition with a focus on the thematics, poetics, and politcs of all these prominent literary periods. Students will be encouraged to develop a range of critical reading and writing abilities in the process of reading and responding to the assigned texts.
 
Required Texts:
The Longman Anthology of British Literature, Volumes 2A, 2B, and 2C.
 
Handouts
  1. Reading Strategies

Course Policies and Requirements

 

You are expected to come prepared for class: This involves reading the assigned texts, listening carefully to your peers, and contributing your views in a collegiate and stimulating way. Attendance is mandatory.

Distribution of Points
  • Mid-Term                           200 Points
  • Online Journal Responses  200 Points
  • Presentation                        200 Points
  • Participation                      100 Points
  • Final Exam                         300 Points
  • Total                                   1000 Points 
 
YOU MUST FINISH ALL MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS TO PASS THE COURSE

Response Journals
Every week you will post your response to the readings on the discussion thread provided under Online Journals on the course website. To be able to do this you must create a user name on the course website;  you will share this user name with me for me to be able to keep a record of your postings. Your response must at least be 500 words.
Presentation (Instructions) (Schedule)
During the first week you will choose a particular text for a group presentation. Your presentation will then fall in the week in which your chosen text is scheduled for class discussion. I expect a 30-40 minutes FORMAL PRESENTATION using the insights provided by the secondary readings. You must also turn in a 3-5 page written brief of your presentation with a detailed list of your scholarly sources.  Following are some, but not all, questions you may consider:
  • What does the text say about gender, race, ethnicity, class, nation, or power and what are your views about it?
  • Did you agree or disagree with the text’s politics? why?
  • What is the text critiquing?
  • How can we relate this text to contemporary realities?
  • Does this text raise the question of justice? If so, how and for whom?
  • Does the text provide a politics for a better future?
Mid-Term Exam (Study Guide)
 The Mid-term will be an in-class essay exam administered in the eighth week.
General rules about essay exams–Courtesy, Jenny Caneen-Raja. 
Class Participation
As this course is based on a discussion format, your thoughtful participation is essential to the success of the class. I encourage collegiate, open, and thought-provoking class discussions. Remember, we are all here to learn, so let us share our ideas and knowledge to make this class into a dynamic learning experience.
Final exam (Questions)
The final exam will be a two part essay exam. Part 1 will comprise a take home exam while Part 2 will be in-class. A detailed study guide will be provided a week prior to the exam.      
Attendance
You are expected to attend the class regularly. You will be in the danger of failing the course if you miss more than TWO class sessions. 
Cheating and Plagiarism  
Plagiarism is against the law, and will result in automatic failure in the course. Simply stated, plagiarism is when you try to pass anyone else’s work as your own or if you turn in your own work written for another class. View UNT Policy on Academic Integrity.
The American Disabilities Act
Essential competencies for this course include the abilities to read written texts and write about them. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. 
Grading Scale
A 920-1000 
A- 900-919
B+ 860-899 
B 830-859 
B- 800-829 
C+ 760-799 
C 739-759 
C- 700-729 
D+ 660-699 
D 630-659 
D- 600-629 
F Less than 600 Points
 
Weekly Schedule
Week 1
Introduction to the course
 
Discussion: Introduction–“Literature and the Age” (7) and “The French Revolution and. . .” (14).
 
Reading:
Burke, Intro and “from a Philosophical Inquiry” (37-43)
Wollstonecraft, from A Vindication of. . .” (52)
Blake, Intro, “All Religions are One,” “The Chimney Sweeper” (179) and “The Tyger” (182).

Week 2

Select Presentation Topics.

Dicsussion: Burke, Wollstonecraft, Blake

Reading:

Equino, Intro and “from the Interesting Narrative” (216)

Prince, Inro and “from the History of” (225)

Wordsworth, Intro and “from the Prelude” (267), and “Tintern Abbey” (390)

Week 3

Discussion: Equino, Prince, Wordsworth

Reading:

Coleridge, Intro and “Kubla Khan” (602)

Byron, Intro and “She Walks in Beauty” (646)

Shelley, Intro and “Ozamandias” (782)

Keats, Intro and “Ode on a Grecian Urn” (913)

Week 4

Discussion: Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats

Readings:

The Victorian Age, Intro (1049-1065)

Mill, Intro and “On Liberty” (1113-1117)

Week 5

Discussion: Intro and Mill

Reading:

Elizabeth Browning, Intro and “The Runaway Slave” (1148)

Dickens. “from Hard Times” (1098)

Robert Browning, Intro and “My Last Duchess” (1328)

Week 6

Discussion: E. Browning, Dickens, R. Brwoning

Reading:

Tennyson, Intro and “The lady of Shalot” (1181)

Darwin, Intro and “On the Origin of Species” (1272-1277)

C. Bronte, Intro and “from Jane Eyre” (1299)

 

Week 7

Discussion: Tennyson, darwin, Bronte

Reading:

Hardy, Intro and “The Withered Arm” (1447)

Arnold, “Dover Beach” (1562), “Functions of Criticism” (1585)

Week 8

Mid Term

Discussion: Hardy and Arnold

Reading:

Pater, Intro and “The Renaissance” (1693-1698)

Hopkins, Intro and “God’s Grandeur” (1702)

 

Week 9

Discussion: Pater, Hopkins

Reading:

Kipling, Intro and “Gunga Din” (1742)

Macaulay, Intro and “Minute on Indian Education” (1753)

Wilde, Intro and “The harlot’s House” (1822)

Week 10
Discussion: Kipling, macaulay, Wilde
Reading:
Introduction (1923-1948)
Conrad, Heart of Darkness, 1954.
Week 11
Discussion: Intro and Conrad.
Reading:
Hardy, “The darkling Thrush” (2099)
Yeats, Intro and “Lake isle. . .” (2177) and “Easter 1916” (2181)
Joyce, Intro and “The Dead” (2229)
Week 12

Discussion:Hardy, yeats, Joyce

Reading:

Eliot, Intro and “The Love Song of. . .” (2287)

Woolf, “from a Room of One’s Own” (2442)

Lawrence, Intro and “Odour of. . .” (2501)

Week 13

Discussion: Eliot, Woolf, lawrence

Reading:

Beckett, Intro and “Endgame” (2577)

Auden, Intro and “In memory of. . .” (2622)

Forster, Intro and “The Life to Come” (2204)

Week 14 & 15

 Concluding discussions and Final Exam workshops.