Syllabus
English 2233.002
Instructor: Dr. Elizabeth Mac Crossan
Office hours: 10:30-11:30 a.m. MWF (please make appointment by e-mail)
Required Texts: Greenblatt, et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th edition, Vol. 2
Waugh, Evelyn. Brideshead Revisited. (any edition)
Smith, Zadie. White Teeth. (any edition)
Catalogue Description: 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Completion of the Core Curriculum requirement in literature. Study of representative works of British literature from 1700 to the present. Required of students majoring in English.
Course Description, Goals, and Expectations: This course is a continuation of the study of British literature. The term “British Literature” is a complicated one and only gets more complicated in the period we will cover in this course. We will begin with an understanding of the complexities of the idea of “British Literature,” and consider works in their historical, artistic, and spatial contexts.
This course gives students the opportunity to (further) develop a basic knowledge of the aesthetic and theoretical principles of literature, respond critically to the works covered as individual and human expressions of values and aesthetics within historical and social contexts, and to include this study in an overall understanding of the implications of cultural differences (and similarities) and global issues. *Respectful behavior in the classroom and putting forth the effort to learn something new are required in this course.* This means coming to class on time and prepared, participating in discussions like a scholar (you do not have to accept other opinions, but you should pay attention to them and try your best to understand the basis for them, if for no other reason than to strengthen your own argument!), turning off cell phones, not surfing the Internet during class, or engaging in any other behavior that distracts others.
Grading: All assignments and exams are due when they are scheduled. Neither I nor office staff will report grades by telephone, fax, or e-mail.
Portfolio of reading responses—To help you keep track of the reading load, students will keep a portfolio of ½ page responses to each reading assignment. These responses should be done before coming to class to discuss the readings. Each response should include a very brief summary of the work and any questions that you have on reading the text. As a study tool, I recommend jotting down answers to your question as you come to them, either in class discussion or further research. You may need this information again at some point! The portfolio is due on March 3 and April 25. Please date and title each entry, keep them in order, and type them. Each ½ of the portfolio is worth 20 percent of your final grade.
Paper—You will write an 8- to 10-page paper on a topic of your choice (with instructor approval). I encourage you to treat this paper as an independent study, choosing a topic that you care about and want to invest the time and effort in. The paper is due at the end of the semester, and it will be worth 20 percent of your final grade.
Exams—There will be a midterm exam (worth 15 percent of your final grade) and a cumulative final exam (worth 25 percent of your final grade).
I encourage you to utilize the academic support services available to you through the Tomás Rivera Center (TRC) to assist you with building study skills and tutoring in course content. These services are available at no additional cost. There are several locations on the Main Campus and Downtown. For more information, visit the Web site at or call (210) 458-2838 Downtown, and (210) 458-4694 at 1604.
Please visit for university disability services information.
Please visit (section 203) for university policies regarding scholastic dishonesty, which includes, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying academic records, and any act designed to give unfair advantage to the student… etc. (Basically, cheating, lying, and helping others to cheat or lie will not be tolerated… just so we’re clear.)
Schedule
Jan. 10—Orientation to course
Jan. 12—Norton pgs. 1-25
Jan. 14—Barbauld, pgs. 26-38
Jan. 17—MLK day, no class!
Jan. 19—M. Wollstonecraft, pgs. 167-208
Jan. 21—Edgeworth, pgs. 226-242
Jan. 24—W. Wordsworth, pgs. 243-245, 258-274, 302-305, 317, 319
Jan. 26—Coleridge, pgs. 424-426, 446, 471-473
Jan. 28—M. Shelley, pgs. 955-970
Jan. 31—The Victorians, pgs. 979-1001
Feb. 2—Mill, pgs. 1043-1077
Feb. 4—Tennyson, pgs. 1109-1112, 1114-1118, 1123-1125, 1188-1189
Feb. 7—Dickens, pgs. 1236-1248
Feb. 9—Darwin, pgs. 1538-1555
Feb. 11—Industrialism, pgs. 1556-1580
Feb. 14—Gender, pgs. 1581-1606
Feb. 16—Empire, pgs. 1607-1634
*Feb. 18—Stevenson, pgs. 1643-1685
Feb. 21—EXAM
Feb. 23—20th Century +, pgs. 1827-1850
*Feb. 25—Conrad, pgs. 1885-1887, 1890-1947
Feb. 28—Woolf, pgs. 2080-2092
Mar. 2—Lawrence, pgs. 2243-2245, 2269-2273, Eliot, pgs. 2286-22932319-2325
Mar. 4—Orwell, pgs. 2378-2379, 2384-2393
Mar. 7—Stoppard, pgs. 2752-2777
Mar. 9—pgs. 2777-2802
Mar. 11—2802-2820
March 14-18—Spring Break!!
Mar. 21—Handout on the novel
Mar. 23—Waugh
Mar. 25—Prologue-1.1
Mar. 28—1.2-1.3
Mar. 30—1.4-1.5
Apr. 1—1.6-1.8
Apr. 4—2.1-2.2
Apr. 6—2.3-Epilogue
Apr.8—Smith
Apr. 11—Ch. 1-2
Apr. 13—Ch. 3-5
Apr. 15—Ch. 6-8
Apr. 18—Ch. 9-11
Apr. 20-Ch. 12-14
Apr. 22—Ch. 15-17
Apr. 25—Ch. 18-20
Apr. 27—Review for final exam, PAPERS DUE!
1:30-4 p.m., Wed., May 4—Final Exam
Changes may occur! If you miss a class, find out if the schedule has changed!.