Politics, Place and Identity:

Scottish Fiction in the Nineteenth Century

ENGL 3993

May Session 2012

Instructor: Dr. Joseph Hughes

Email:

Course Description:

From roughly 1750 to 1800 Scotland was the unrivaled intellectual center of the world. In 1748 David Hume published An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. In 1759 James Watt began tinkering with steam and,in 1776, brought the first modern steam engine to market—the same year Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations. Historians have argued for quite some time that these advances in philosophy, engineering and political economy during the eighteenth century laid the foundations of modernity. The argument of this course is that this so-called ‘golden age’ did not disappear at the turn of the century. On its foundation, an extremely rich literary culture developed over the course of the nineteenth century. This course is designed to immerse us in depth and complexity of this second period. We will study the major authors of the period, from Walter Scott to Robert Louis Stevenson. We will visit the major literary institutions of nineteenth century Scotland, from Edinburgh Review to Blackwood’s Press. And we will visit museums, libraries, kirks and other cultural institutions which continued to develop the spirit of the Scottish Enlightenment. In the end you should have a concrete sense of the richness and depth of Scotland’s culture in the nineteenth century.

Required Texts:

Please purchase these editions ASAP:

Scott, Sir Walter. The Bride of Lammermoor, Oxford: 2009. ISBN: 0199552509

Hogg, James. The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Oxford: 2010. ISBN: 0199217955

Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales, Oxford: 2008. ISBN:0199536228

Course Requirements:

1. Participation (50%)

Participation forms the largest part of your final grade. Participation means what you think it means: being there, being awake, being attentive, and being engaged. It means completing the readings on time and engaging thoughtfully with course materials whether they are texts, paintings or tours. But because we will be a small group in constant conversation with one another ‘participation’ takes on a unique meaning here: it means that you will work hard to create a vibrant intellectual community and strive to maintain a culture of inquiry and, ideally, sanity.

2. Essay (30%)

There will be one five- to seven-page essay due for this course. The requirements for the essay will be handed out on the last day of class and the essay itself will be due via email by June 28th.

3. Commonplace Book(20%)

We are going to read and hear and see a lot in one month. In order to keep track of all this information we are going to adopt a method from renaissance scholars who complied information relevant to their researches in ‘commonplace books’. Each day, in a notebook of some sort, you should keep track of those things which seem important to you. I will collect these and read them at the end of the course (so keep your records limited to course material) and I will return them to you by the end of June. They will be evaluated according to the consistency and regularity of entries and by the level of insight and engagement evidenced.

Grades:

Below is the College of Liberal Arts’ description of letter grades. This is the same description we will use. If you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to ask.

Grades Defined by University
Grades describe levels of achievement. University legislation prescribes the grades and symbols that will be reported on the student's transcript.

A-F Grade Base

A / Achievement outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements.
B / Achievement significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements.
C / Achievement meeting the basic course requirements in every respect.
D / Achievement worthy of credit even though it does not fully meet the basic course requirements in every respect.
F / Performance failing to meet the basic course requirements.

Numerically:

A 94-100% C+ 77-79%D-60-63%

A-90-93%C74-77%F0-59%

B+87-89%C-70-73%

B84-87%D+67-69%

B- 80-83D64-67%

Texts/Topics / 10:00 - 12:00 / 1:00 - 3:00
Week 1
Monday 14
Tuesday 15
Wednesday 16 / Depart US
Thursday 17 / Intro to Edinburgh / City Tour
Friday 18 / Walter Scott, Lammermoor / Class / Guest Lecture: Alex Thomson
Saturday 19 / Walter Scott, Lammermoor / Class / Walter Scott Monument
2:30: Writer’s Museum
Week 2
Monday 21 / Walter Scott, Lammermoor / Class: National Gallery / Portrait Gallery
Tuesday 22 / Walter Scott, Lammermoor / Free / Arthur's Seat
Wednesday 23 / Walter Scott, Lammermoor / Class / Guest Lecture: Penny Fielding; 3:00
Thursday 24 / Poems (Handout) / Glasgow / Guest Lecture: Kristeen McCue
Friday 25 / Walter Scott, Lammermoor / Class / Guest Lecture: Tim Baker
Saturday 26 / Greyfriars
Week 3 / Texts/Topics / 10:00 - 12:00 / 1:00 - 3:00
Monday 28 / Hogg, Confessions / Free / Scottish Dancing (7:30)
Tuesday 29 / Hogg, Confessions / Class / Class
Wednesday 30 / Hogg, Confessions / Free / Walking Tour: Edinburgh Review and Blackwood’s
Thursday 31 / Hogg, Confessions / Class / Free
Friday 1 / Hogg, Confessions / UNESCO Trust / St. Giles
Saturday 2 / Highland Tour / Highland Tour
Week 4
Monday 4 / Stevenson, Jekyll and Hyde / Class / Walking Tour: Stevenson’s Edinburgh
Tuesday 5 / Stevenson, Jekyll and Hyde / Class / Deacon Brodie’s Tour (1:30)
Wednesday 6 / Stevenson, Jekyll and Hyde / Free / Free; Burke and Hare(7:00pm)
Thursday 7 / Stevenson, ‘Body Snatcher’ / Class / Free
Friday 8 / Free / Free / Free

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