Description:
This course covers in three modules writings described in literary histories as Romantic, Victorian, and Modern. We will launch our discussions of these periods by interrogating these terms and exploring questions of language, politics, and literary periodization in works by authors associated with these terms. We will also read critical articles that made pioneering interventions in debates about canonical writers and their preoccupations with class, the nation, empire, and social change.
Required Texts:
British Literature (The Longman Anthology)
Vol 2A: The Romantics and their Contemporaries
Vol 2B: The Victorian Age
Vol 2C: The Twentieth Century
Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Salman Rushdie, East, West
Course requirements and grade distribution:
| Regular Attendance and class participation | 15% |
| Two five page papers | 40% |
| Midterm exam | 20% |
| Final exam | 25% |
Attendance: Regular attendance is required in this class. More than three unexplained absences will affect your grade. I do not want to be responsible for seeking explanations for absences. In case of illness or athletic absences please inform me by email or in class.
Papers: Papers should be typed double-spaced with a 1" margin on all sides. Please use only 12 pt. font. Papers should be of good print quality and should carry the name of the course, the date of submission and your name on the top left or right hand corner or on a separate cover sheet. PLEASE STAPLE YOUR PAPERS.
Papers must be turned in on time and all extensions negotiated ahead of time.