Course Description Sheet

Course Description Sheet De La Salle High School

Course Title: British Literature

Instructor: Alexandra Stevenson, voicemail (925) 288-8100 ext 7041; email [email protected]

Texts: Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th Edition Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh

Course Description: The British Literature course aims to teach students to appreciate and gauge the significance and meaning of British authors throughout the centuries. The course is designed to give a chronological overview of British literature and is broken into three distinct periods: Early British Lit., Romantic, and Post-Romantic. The course will also emphasize the importance of historical, social, and political context.

Course Outcomes:

The course outcomes have been designed to prepare the student for the rigors of a college level English course.

Reading: A. The student will be able to analyze and critique the texts while examining the significance of social, historical and political context. B. The student will be able to identify various themes within each text and will be able to create clear links between various genres. C. The student will be able to recognize the use of common British conventions within the novels, poems, etc. and will be able to appreciate their influence on setting, character, plot, and theme.

Writing: A. The student will be able to discuss the presence of various elements within each text. He/She will also be able to analyze the significance of theme and symbolism within each text. B. The student will be able to expand upon and enrich his understanding of the literary essay while honing both his/her writing and critical thinking skills. C. The student will be able to develop strong and original theses regarding the various texts and will be able to express his/her analysis of the literature with confidence.

Speaking and Listening: A. The student will be able to formulate and ask questions that will enhance class discussion. B.. The student will be able to determine the value of their own insights as they relate to the study of British Literature. C. The student will be able to clearly communicate what he/she has learned and will be able to lead discussions with confidence on any of the texts within the course.

Course Outline

Begin with Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go

Middle Ages to 1485 A. Beowulf B. Chaucer – Canterbury Tales

Sixteenth Century(1485-1603) A. Marlowe – Dr. Faustus

Early Seventeenth Century(1603-1660)/Late Seventeenth Century/Restoration(1660-1798) A. Donne – Poetry B. Milton – Paradise Lost C. Swift – Gulliver’s Travels

Romantic/19 th Century(1798-1832)

A. Blake – Poetry B. Keats – Poetry C. Bronte – Wuthering Heights

Victorian(1832-1901)

A. Tennyson - Poetry B. Browning – Poetry

Modern/20 th Century(1901-present)

A. Eliot – Poetry B. Welsh – Trainspotting

English Department Policies

1. Late work - You are present at school when the work is assigned and due. - Turn it in the next school day for half the credit it would have earned. After that the assignment earns a zero. - This applies to large assignments (i.e. essays, projects) and small assignments (i.e. study questions, vocab. work, etc.) - Mechanical problems (“My printer broke”, etc.) do NOT excuse assignments. If you have such a problem, bring in a hand-written copy or an electronic copy that YOU are responsible for printing and submitting by the end of the day. You may also e-mail or fax a copy to your instructor. -All essays must be submitted to tunritin.com. If the essay is not submitted to turnitin.com by the date specified by the teacher, it will receive a 0.

2. Absences & missed work - For large assignments only, absence does NOT excuse an assignment. If you are absent the day a paper is due, you may e-mail it to the teacher, fax it to the school, have someone hand-deliver it to the school, etc. - For small assignments, if you are absent from school the day work is due, you must turn the assignment in the day you return. If you are absent when it is assigned, you will have the same amount of time to complete the work as your classmates. - If you are absent for an exam you will need to arrange a time to make it up with your teacher. - If you miss a quiz the teacher may ask you to take a makeup at his/her discretion. - For extended absences you will be expected to make arrangements with your instructor for the completion of missed work.

3. Grading - A student’s grade will be computed as follows: Papers/Projects - 50% Tests/Quizzes - 25% Speaking/Listening Assignments - 15% Outside Reading - 10% - No extra-credit assignments will be offered. - The grade earned is the grade given. No rounding up!

4. Legibility - All assignments must be legible. - Any assignment that a teacher deems illegible will be returned to the student and must be re- written and resubmitted the following school day. Such re-submitted work will be scored just like late work (i.e. half-credit when re-submitted the following day and no-credit thereafter). All major papers must be typed.