Welcome to English 252, "survey of major works and writers in British literature from the Romantic age to the present." Consider yourself very lucky: in this class you'll get to read some of the most interesting, innovative, influencial, and challenging English works ever written.
Texts:
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th ed., Volumes D, E, and F (sold in bundle).
Mary Shelly, Frankenstein, Norton Critical Edition, 1996.
Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, Harcourt, Inc., 2005.
Roddy Doyle, The Committments, Vintage, 1993.
J.D. Ballard, War Fever, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999.
Leaving Kansas, DuckNuts Inc., 2007.
Aims:
Grades and Coursework:
Final grades are based on a simple tally of points earned for the semester. Each assignment includes its own criteria.
Critical Essay: 40 pts., 40%
Three Oral Performances: 10 pts., 10% (#1 = 2 pts.; #2 and #3 = 4 pts. each)
Three Imitative Creative Works: 10 pts., 10% (#1 = 2pts.; #2 and #3 = 4 pts. each)
Final Exam: 40 pts., 40%
Ungraded Daily Work and Attendance/Participation: check-plus, check, check-minus, minus.
Daily work includes quizzes, student-lead discussion, Blackboard Discussion Forum sessions, very brief research projects, in-class minute papers, freewriting, and assorted other activities. Attendance/Participation checks record your presence in each session, with plusses or minusses acruing for late arrivals or departures, weak or strong participation, and preparedness (did you read the scheduled assignment? did you have questions or ideas ready at hand? did you bring any necessary textbooks? etc.)
Occasionally you'll write a brief essay which will count as daily work. Even though it doesn't receive points, this sort of essay will give you practive writing and provide important feedback you can use for the Critical Essay assignment.
Checked daily work provides a picture of your overall performance in the class, and will be factored subjectively into your final grade. A weak or strong record of daily work, along with my overall sense of your contributions to and involvement in the class, may result in a loss or gain of points from your semester score. In serious cases, the difference may be a full semester grade or more. If you ever have concerns or questions about your standing in the course, don't hesitate to contact me (preferrably by email or after class).
The final scale looks like this:
90-100 pts. = A
79-89 = B
68-78 = C
57-67 = D
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES
In all cases below, email me when you've completed the work for further instructions. (You'll likely be asked to answer some questions, write a minute-essay, briefly research a particular question, or something along those lines, depending on the length and difficulty of the item in question.)For 3 extra semester points, view one of the following films:
- Roman Polanski's Tess (2 hrs. 52 mins.), based on Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
- John Schlesinger's Far From the Madding Crowd (2 hrs. 46 mins.), based on Hardy's novel of the same name.
- Ken Russell's Women in Love (2 hrs. 11 mins.), based on Lawrence's novel of the same name.
- Any full-length version of Frankenstein.
- Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (2 hrs. 33 mins.), based on Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
- Karel Reisz's The French Lieutenant's Woman (2 hrs. 4 mins.), based on John Fowles' novel of the same name.
Or, for 5 extra semester points, read one of the following novels:
- John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman, aprx. 448 pp.
Or, for 2 extra semester points, read any Harry Potter novel.
Or, for 3 extra semester points, read Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest."
Reading and Study Habits
Why are we watching films (required and for extra credit) in this class?