Writing Course Review Form (1/12)
I. General Education Review – Writing Course
Dept/ProgramSubject / English/ Lit / Course # (i.e. ENEX 200) / LIT 355
Course Title / British Romanticism
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office.
Please type / print name / Signature / Date
Instructor / Louise Economides / 9/10/12
Phone / Email / x 2263
Program Chair / Jill Bergman
Dean / Chris Comer
III. Type of request
New / One-time Only / Change / Remove
Reason for new course, change or deletion / Scheduled review of W courses
IV Overview of the Course Purpose/ Description: Provide an introduction to the subject matter and course content.
Although the specific content of the course varies from semester to semester, the course is designed to introduce students to major writers and genres of the British Romantic period. A significant theory component is also present, so that students gain a sense of the recent critical reception of texts from this period, major issues in Romantic scholarship over time, etc. Please see specific syllabus attached.
V Learning Outcomes: Explain how each of the following learning outcomes will be achieved.
Student learning outcomes :
Use writing to learn and synthesize new concepts / Writing assignments ask students to engage with key concepts covered in lectures of the course.
Formulate and express written opinions and ideas that are developed, logical, and organized / All papers require standard college essay format and the development of logical, organized interpretations.
Compose written documents that are appropriate for a given audience, purpose and context / Writing topics invite students to enter into ongoing critical conversations about major texts of the period.
Revise written work based on constructive comments from the instructor / Major papers require drafting and revision.
Find, evaluate, and use information effectively and ethically (see http://www.lib.umt.edu/informationliteracy/) / Major papers for the course require students to find and employ at least three critical sources.
Begin to use discipline-specific writing conventions / The course builds upon discipline-specific writing conventions assumed to be covered in lower division courses such as LIT 201. We discuss different models of interpretation/ discipline-specific writing employed by professional critics.
Demonstrate appropriate English language usage / Appropriate use of grammar, mechanics and citation format is one of the criteria for evaluation on all written work in the course.
VI. Writing Course Requirements
Enrollment is capped at 25 students.
If not, list maximum course enrollment. Explain how outcomes will be adequately met for this number of students. Justify the request for variance. / Enrollment is capped at 25 students and outcomes can be met for this number of students.
What instructional methods will be used to teach students to write for specific audiences, purposes, and genres? / We cover close reading techniques for poetry as well as prose, given the high percentage of poetry on the syllabus.
Which written assignments will include revision in response to instructor’s feedback? / Both major papers require drafting and revision.
VII. Writing Assignments: Please describe course assignments. Students should be required to individually compose at least 16 pages of writing for assessment. At least 50% of the course grade should be based on students’ performance on writing assignments. Clear expression, quality, and accuracy of content are considered an integral part of the grade on any writing assignment.
Formal Graded Assignments / Two 8-10 page research papers (please see attached assignments); Written overview for group presentation (5 pages).
Informal Ungraded Assignments / Students are often asked to respond in writing to focused questions about a text at the beginning of class as preparation for discussions.
VIII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form. ß
For assistance on syllabus preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
The syllabus must include the following:
1. Writing outcomes
2. Information literacy expectations
3. Detailed requirements for all writing assignments or append writing assignment instructions
Paste syllabus here.
ENLT 355: ROMANTICISM AND SOCIAL JUSTICE (FALL 2008)
Tues/Thurs 3:40-5pm, Davidson Honors College 120
Prof. Louise Economides ()
Office: LA 233 Office hours: TBA
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Required Texts:
Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic Period (Vol. 2A, 7th ed)
Austen, Jane. Mansfield Park. Norton Critical Edition only.
Equiano, Odaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Equiano.
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Course Description:
In this class we will explore British Romantic literature within the context of emergent social justice movements in the late 18th and early 19th century. That is, we will examine how major literary texts of the period speak to Enlightenment and post-Revolutionary notions of “universal rights,” particularly the issues of class inequity, slavery, women’s rights and animal rights. We will consider how the poetry and prose of Romantic writers negotiates tensions within rights discourse, and how/why literary texts can be seen as either forwarding social justice, working against it, or offering alternative visions of what could constitute social emancipation. Along the way, we’ll also be covering major aesthetic innovations within Romantic poetry and prose. Finally two films, Amazing Grace and Mansfield Park will also be screened for the course.
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Required Work:
1) Two major papers: each paper (8-10 pages in length) will require you to use secondary sources (criticism) and to conduct research. Papers must be hard copies – I do not accept e-mailed essays (if you are unable to turn your paper in during class, put a hard copy in my mailbox in LA 133). Late policy: for each day the paper is late, final mark will be reduced by 1/3 letter grade (i.e. B- paper becomes C+, etc.). Drafts are required for both papers.
2) Group presentation: working with a peer (or peers) you will be presenting literary and/or critical texts on the syllabus for one class period. The major goal of presentations is to foster lively discussion and to engage the class with the material for that day (see “presentation guidelines” for more details). A written overview is also required, to be turned in on the day of the presentation.
3) Class participation: a certain percentage of your final grade will be based upon demonstrated participation throughout the term. This includes: 1) no more than 3 absences (more than 3 will result in a maximum grade of “C” for participation) 2) coming to class with annotated reading materials for that day 3) participating regularly in class discussions 4) showing evidence that you have read and thought about texts when instructor asks for your input during class discussions or in written input 5) active participation in small group work and presentations 6) coming to class on time (arriving late may result in an “absence” for that day).
GRADING: Papers 70% (350 points each); Presentation: 20% (150 points); Participation:
10% (100 points)
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Departmental Assessment: The English Department’s ongoing process of assessing its curriculum requires professors to read student papers to learn how students in general are progressing through the program. Your professor may request to use a copy of one of your papers for this purpose. All identifying information will be removed and participation in the evaluation process will not play any role in determining your grade. If you do not want your work used in this way, please inform your professor: non-participation will also not affect your grade for the course.
COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to changes) password for e-res: JUSTICE
All readings, unless otherwise indicated, are from Norton Anthology
ER= material on e-reserve; please print these texts and bring them to class
THE AGE OF REVOLUTION
Week One
Tues. 8/26: Course introduction – lecture on the Age of Revolution
Thurs. 8/28: “The English Controversy about the Revolution” (pgs. 117-133)
“The Arts in an Age of Revolution: 1760-1790” (ER)
Week Two
Tues. 9/2: Blake, “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”
“The Lamb” and “The Tyger” from Songs of Innocence and
Experience
Thurs. 9/4: Blake, “America: A Prophesy” (ER); from The French Revolution;
“A Song of Liberty”
Week Three:
Tues. 9/9: Wordsworth, The Prelude, from Books Ninth-Eleventh (pgs 354-363)
Thurs. 9/11: Barbauld, “Eighteen-Hundred and Eleven” (ER)
POVERTY AND CLASS REFORM
Week Four:
Tues. 9/16: Blake, “The Chimney Sweeper,” from both Songs of I and E;
“London”; Wordworth, “Simon Lee” from Lyrical Ballads
Thurs. 9/18: Wordsworth, “Tintern Abbey”
Levinson, “Insight and Oversight ...” (ER)
DRAFT ESSAY #1 DUE
Week Five
Tues. 9/23 Wordworth, “The Ruined Cottage”
McGann, from The Romantic Ideology (ER)
Thurs. 9/25: Wordworth, “Preface to Lyrical Ballads”
Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Church-Yard” (ER)
Robinson, “The Poor Singing Dame”
Clare, “The Peasant Poet”
SLAVERY AND ABOLITIONISM
Week Six
Tues. 9/30: Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (Intro + Chapts 1-6)
Group Presentation #1
Thurs. 10/2: Equiano, continued (Chapts 7-12)
Week Seven
Monday 10/6: Evening screening, Amazing Grace (time/room TBA)
Tues. 10/7: Discussion of Amazing Grace
Thurs. 10/9: Blake, “The Little Black Boy” (Songs of Innocence)
Barbauld, “Epistle to William Wilberforce” (ER)
ESSAY #1 DUE
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Week Eight
Tues. 10/14 Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
Group Presentation #2
Thurs. 10/16: Barbauld, “The Rights of Woman”; “Washing-Day”; “A Summer
Evening’s Meditation”
Week Nine
Tues. 10/21: Austen, Mansfield Park – Intro + Volume I
Group Presentation #3
Thurs. 10/23: Mansfield Park – Volume II
Week Ten
Tues. 10/28: Mansfield Park – Volume III
Thurs. 10/30: Johnson, “Mansfield Park: Confusions of Guilt and Revolutions of Mind”
Week Eleven
Monday 11/3: Evening screening, Mansfield Park (time/room TBA)
Tues.11/4: Lew, “ ‘That Abominable Traffic’: Mansfield Park and the Dynamics of Slavery”; Said, “Jane Austen and Empire”; Southam, “The Silence of the Bertrams” + Discussion of Mansfield Park (film)
DRAFT ESSAY #2 DUE
ANIMAL RIGHTS
Thurs. 11/6: Taylor, “A Vindication of the Rights of Brutes” (ER)
Bentham, from Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (ER)
Perkins, “Preface” to Romanticism and Animal Rights (ER)
Group Presentation #4
Week Twelve
Tues. 11/11: Barbauld, “The Mouse’s Petition” (ER)
Coleridge, “To a Young Ass ...” (ER)
Perkins, “Work Animals, Slaves, Servants: Coleridge’s Young Ass”(ER)
Thurs. 11/13: Barbauld, “To a Caterpillar” (ER)
Economides, “Animal Rights, Romantic Individualism and the Challenge of Multiplicity” (on-line – Rhizomes 15: Deleuze and Guattari’s Ecophilosophy) – optional revision Essay #1 due
ROMANTIC UTOPIANISM AND DYSTOPIANISM
Week Thirteen
Tues. 11/18: Shelley, “Prometheus Unbound”
Thurs. 11/20: Shelley, “Prometheus Unbound,” cont.
Week Fourteen
Tues. 11/25: Shelley, “The Triumph of Life” ESSAY #2 DUE
Thurs. 11/27: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Week Fifteen
Tues. 12/2: “The Triumph of Life” + de Man, “Shelley Disfigured”(ER)
Thurs. 12/4: Barbauld, “Eighteen-Hundred and Eleven”
ESSAY ONE: ENLT 355 Due: Thurs. 10/9 Length: 8-10 pages. Bibliography required. For this paper, craft an analysis of one (or more) texts on our syllabus to date. Also, please incorporate at least three secondary sources (critical analysis written by a professional in the field) into your own discussion and list this source in your bibliography. One secondary source may be one from our syllabus. The following are possible paper topics. If you would like to focus on a different topic, please see me about this in advance of turning in the paper.
1. Compare and contrast the representation of the French Revolution in texts by two writers of the Romantic period. How does each author characterize the origin and the significance of the Revolution? Is the Revolution ultimately justified or deconstructed in the author’s work? How do these authors “speak to one and other” and what can we learn from their different views about the Revolution?
2. Analyze the interrelations between various forms of social oppression represented in Blake’s “America: A Prophesy.” Does the poem’s linking of sexual , racial and political oppression lend weight to its suggestion that revolution is a necessary unleashing of repressed social energies? Or is does the text’s representation of violence against women and slavery actually backfire, reflecting an underlying sexism and racism that compromises its vision of revolutionary change? Or, do these elements actually make clear the risks associated with revolutionary violence?
3. Do Wordsworth’s representations of poverty in poems like “Simon Lee” and “The Ruined Cottage” promote awareness of this problem and (implicitly) call for social reform? Or does Wordsworth’s aestheticization and/or naturalization of poverty undermine social reform in ways that Levinson and McGann critique? Is there a third position which could see Wordsworth’s poetry as performing an important social function that doesn’t amount to either reformist propaganda or reactionary political escapism?
4. Where do you stand on the controversy surrounding whether “Tintern Abbey” can be read as text that avoids confronting ugly historical and political realities associated with the abbey at the time the poem was written? Do you find Levinson’s assertion that the text employs brilliant strategies for such evasion (strategies that are characteristic of Romantic art) convincing? Or, do you feel that Levinson’s own selective interpretation of history – what Rzepka terms her “historical inaccuracies” – actually undermines her interpretation of Wordsworth? As literary scholars, what can we learn about the Levinson-Rzepka debate with regard to historicism as a methodology for approaching Romantic studies?
5. How do recent controversies surrounding Olaudah Equiano’s biography effect our reading of his Interesting Narrative? If Equiano wasn’t in fact born in Africa, does this diminish the impact of his narrative as a pro-abolitionist statement? Or, is the difference between the “actual” Equiano and the textual persona really not a critical factor in assessing his narrative’s legacy? What effect might historical distance from the events surrounding slavery play in how one answers this question?
ESSAY TWO: ENLT 355 Due: 11/25
Write a 8-10 page analysis on one (or more) text(s) on our syllabus from week seven to fifteen. Be sure to include a clear, original thesis (central argument) about the text(s) you are focusing upon, and to support this thesis with detailed textual evidence. You are also required to use one secondary source to supplement your interpretation (either from our syllabus or from your own research). The following are possible paper topics (if you would like to write on a different topic, please see me in advance of turning in the essay).