Professor Lesley Danziger

English 285

Professor Lesley Danziger English 285 Spring 2005

Section: 1144 Time/Place: 9:35-12:45 p.m. Home Economics 114 Office: Lit. & Lang 129 Office Hours: Th 10-12:00 and by appointment phone: 714-432-5920 e-mail: [email protected] Web: www.occ.cccd.edu/online/ldanzige

Required Texts: The Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume 2 7th Edition Persuasion by Jane Austen- Norton Critical Edition Preferred A Passage to India – E.M. Forster

Critical Approach This course will explore English literature of the nineteenth and twentieth century. My critical approach reflects my understanding of literature as both universal and specific. Literature is universal in that it explores ideas and concerns relevant to any time and culture. Literature is specific in that it emerges from, and contributes to, a specific cultural and historical context. Moreover, I believe that each reader responds differently to the “meaning” of the text; therefore, various readings of the text are to be respected, provided the different interpretations can be supported by the language of the text.

Each text will be approached and discussed in terms of these kinds of questions:  What does the content and language of the text tell the reader about specific cultural and historical values and concerns?  How do the texts reflect universal concerns about personal and political idealism and reality, about the clashes between tradition and progress, technology and nature, about relationships between men and women, parents and children.  Can you present sufficient evidence from the text that supports your interpretation?

Goals  To familiarize students with excellent examples of nineteenth and twentieth century English Literature  To increase student ability to read literature from a contemporary critical perspective  To increase student awareness about the changing nature of English culture in this time period as it is reflected in the literature  To improve students' ability to analyze and respond to literature with depth and sophistication in verbal and written forms.

Expectations  Come to class - more than three absences and you may be dropped  Don't be late - once I have taken roll, you are absent  Turn your work in on time - Journals especially must be turned in on the day I request or they drop to half credit the next class, then no credit.  Be honest - if you are caught cheating in any form, you receive an F on the assignment. Be especially careful with plagiarism in your use of the internet. It is much better to over- cite your references than to fail to cite information or direct quotes and be guilty of plagiarism. The college policy on plagiarism is outlined in the English Department Tip Sheet.  Get involved - class participation does count - although I don't assign specific points, I reserve the right to boost borderline grades on the basis of participation  Be respectful of others in the class - turn cell phones off before class begins, raise your hand to make a point, don't distract other students with side discussions  Take charge of your own learning. If you miss an assignment, check my web site, contact a study buddy, and finally email me. If you are having trouble in class, come to one of my office hours or contact me for an appointment. If you miss a class, I expect you to call or email and explain why. Bring your work next time and be prepared for the next assignment. Journals If you have been in one of my literature classes before, you know how much I believe in the value of students writing journal responses to the literature we read. I focus on in-depth reading of fewer works rather than superficial reading of more texts. Blame it on my English education. Students usually find the journals somewhat of a pain at first, and then very valuable by the end of the class. Here are the ground rules for the journals:.  One-two pages typed  No right answer: Journals should reflect your understanding of the text - what the text tells you about the author/the cultural values being explored, demonstrated, questioned or celebrated - how these values compare to those expressed in your contemporary culture  Your interpretation must be supported by specific references to the text (book, page and line citations in parenthesis)- minimum of two textual citations - several short quotes better than one or two long ones  I have assigned approximately 10 journals for the semester - you are responsible for 8

Grading I grade on a points system, with a percentage basis. I don't grade on the curve. 90% and above = A; 90%-80% = B; 80%-70%=C; 70%-60%=D.

Your grade will be based on the following assignments. Class points may vary.  Journal Responses – 10 assigned- 8 required 80  Mid-Term - Jane Austen and Romanticism 100  Research Paper on Outside Text 100  Research Paper In-Class Presentation 20  In-Class Exam: Twentieth Century (Final) 100 Total Points 400 Extra Credit I do allow 2 extra credit activities for 5 points each. You may earn extra credit by attending a cultural event such as a movie/play/art exhibition/lecture that reinforces or relates to what we are studying and submitting a one page journal. Let me know of any event that is going on so I can spread the word to other students.

Syllabus

Week 1: 2/4 Introduction to Class: Syllabus/Journals/Outside Reading Contemporary Critical Theory and this class Introduction to Jane Austen and Persuasion Assignment Read Chapters 1-14 of Persuasion – use study guides Write Journal #1: One Page Response –typed, double- spaced, minimum 4 short quotes cited Chapters 1-14: Comment on Ann's relationship with the key people around her in the first half of the novel. What does her relationship with these people reveal about her own strengths and weaknesses and the strengths and weaknesses of the society in which she lives.

Week 2: 2/11 Discuss Persuasion Chapters 1-14 – Journal #1: Due Assignment: Read: Chapters 15-end – use study guides Read: Tony Tanner “In Between : Persuasion” (Back of Norton Edition) Write Journal #2: Chapters 15-20: Comment on how Ann's relationships with the key people around her has changed. To what do you attribute this change? How much does it reflect personal change and how much could positive changes in Ann reflect positive changes in British society? Tony Tanner's essay talks at length about the novel as a commentary on a changing society.

Week 3: 2/18 - Holiday

Week 4: 2/25 Discuss Persuasion Chapters 15-end Discuss Tony Tanner’s essay Assignment: Read: Introduction to Romanticism in Norton Edition Read: William Blake - see Romantic Poetry Assignments for specific poems Write Journal #3 Blake was an iconoclastic poet who saw the world from a deeply religious perspective. The two books of poems, "The Songs of Innocence and Experience," represent the world in terms of the "two contrary states of the human soul" (Norton). What are the contrary states of the human soul that Blake portrays in his poems? What does he perceive in society that is damaging for the human soul?

Week 5: 3/4 Discuss Blake Assignment: Read Wordsworth and Coleridge – see assignment sheet for specific poems Write Journal #3 Wordsworth and Coleridge set out to write a completely new kind of poetry that emphasized the importance of imaginative literature in "keeping human beings emotionally alive and morally sensitive" (Norton). Give examples from their poetry that illustrate this purpose.

Week 6: 3/11 Discuss Wordsworth and Coleridge: Assignment Read: Shelley and Keats Write Journal #4 Shelley and Keats are often identified as the second wave of Romantics, focusing primarily on the gap between the ideal and the real. Compare their different approaches to this theme.

Week 7: 3/18 Discuss Shelley and Keats Assignment Review for Mid-Term - Austen and the Romantics

Week 8: 3/25 In-Class Mid-Term Read: Introduction to Victorian Literature Prepare for Outside Text Oral Presentations Write Draft of Outside Research Paper

SPRING BREAK - MARCH 28-APRIL 1 Week 9: 4/8 19th Century Outside Text Presentations Research Paper Draft Due- see Rubric Movie: George Eliot- The Mill on the Floss Assignment: Read Victorian poetry: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning and Tennyson Write Journal #5: How do these different Victorian poets explore the role of women?

Week 10: 4/15 Discuss: Victorian Poetry 19th Century Outside Text Presentations

Assignment: Read Introduction to Twentieth Century: Modernism and Postmodernism Read: Twentieth Century Modernist Poetry (Eliot, Smith, Yeats, Graves)– see handout Write Journal #6: What different types of alienation do modernists convey in their poetry? How do they convey this sense of alienation stylistically?

Week 11: 4/22 Discuss Modernist Poetry: Eliot, Smith, Yeats, Graves Assignment: Read Modernist Short Stories: Lessing, Lawrence Write Journal #7: According to the texts, what seems to have caused the emotional alienation depicted in the short stories of Lessing and Lawrence?

Week 12: 4/29 Discuss Lessing and Lawrence Lecture on Postcolonialism Introduction to Forster A Passage to India Final Due - Outside Research Paper Assignment Read Forster Chapters 1-11 Mosque Write Journal #8: How has colonialism affected both the English and the Indians?

Week 13: 5/6 Discuss Forster Chapters 1-11 Twentieth Century Outside Texts Assignment Read Forster Chapters 12-24 Write Journal #9: How does the trial expose the true relationship between the English and the Indians? Who is to blame for what happened ? Week 14: 5/13 Discuss Forster Chapters 12-24 Twentieth Century Outside Texts Read Forster Chapters 25-end Write Journal #10: How do these last chapters illustrate the problem of interpersonal and intercultural connection in a colonial or imperial frame of reference? Final Research Paper Due Next Time

Week 15: 5/20 Discuss Forster Chapters 25-end Movie - Hanif Kureishi's My Beautiful Laundrette Postmodernism and Contemporary British Literature

Turn in Research Paper Assignment: Prepare for final

Week 16: 5/27 In-Class Final: Twentieth Century Literature - Forster et al