| EngLit 1175 19th-Century British Literature Fall 2004 |
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Course Description
Beginning with William Blake and ending with J. M. Barrie, this course examines the figure of the child as a site of cultural contestation in the nineteenth century. During this period, imagining childhood became central to the project of conceptualizing self and state. We will study the myriad ways in which childhood emerges as a site of ideological conflict in the work of authors like William Wordsworth, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, Christina Rossetti, and George Eliot.
Required Texts
Barrie, J. M. Peter Pan. New York: Dover, 1999.
Blake, William. Songs of Innocence and Experience. New York: Dover, 1986.
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Penguin Classics, 1996.
Course Pack.
Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. New York: Penguin Classic, 2002.
Eliot, George. Silas Marner. New York: Penguin Classic, 1996.
N.B.: All texts, including the Course Pack, are available at the 1/18/08 ewhere, try to get the editions listed above (it simplifies class discussion if we are all on the same page). Also, please go in and get the Course Pack as soon as possible, since you may have to order it if the first batch runs out. The Course Pack is also on reserve at Hillman Library.
Schedule of Meetings
August
T 31 Introduction(s)
UNIT ONE: THE ROMANTIC CHILD
September
H 2 The Pre-Romantic Child
- Isaac Watts, from Divine Songs (1715): “A General Song of Praise to God,” “Praise to God for Learning to Read,” “The All-Seeing God,” “Against Idleness and Mischief,” “The Sluggard” [ONLINE]
T 7 Original Innocence
- William Blake (1757-1827), Songs of Innocence (1789)
H 9 Fearful Symmetry
- Blake, Songs of Experience (1794)
- 4-6 Page Paper Assignment Distributed
T 14 Innocence and Experience
- Blake, Songs of Innocence and Experience, cont.
H 16 The Romantic Child
- William Wordsworth (1770-1850), “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” (1802-4, 1807), the “Boy of Winander” passage from The Prelude (1805, 1850), the “Lucy Gray,” poems (1800), “Resolution and Independence” (1802, 1807) [CP]
T 21 More Wordsworth
- Wordsworth, from Lyrical Ballads (1798): “Anecdote for Fathers,” “We are Seven,” “Tintern Abbey” [CP]
H 23 The Lady Romantics
- Mary Darby Robinson (1758-1800), from Lyrical Tales (1800): “All Alone,” “The Alien Boy” [CP]
- Amelia Opie (1769-1853), “The Orphan Boy’s Tale” (1802) [ONLINE]
- Joanna Baillie (1762-1851), “A Mother to her Waking Infant” (1790), “A Child to His Sick Grandfather” (1790), “To a Child” (1840) [ONLINE]
F 24 4-6 Page Paper Assignment Due
UNIT TWO: THE VICTORIAN CHILD
T 28 The Surplus Population
- Charles Dickens (1812-1870), Oliver Twist (1838): Book I, Chapters 1-12
H 30 Oliver Twist, Book I, Chapters 13-22
October
T 5 Oliver Twist, Book II, Chapters 1-7
H 7 Oliver Twist, Book II, Chapters 8-14
T 12 Oliver Twist, Book III, Chapters 1-8
H 14 Oliver Twist, Book III, Chapters 9-15
T 19 Victims of the World Unite
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861), “The Cry of the Children” (1843) and “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point” (1850) [CP]
H 21 Women and Children First
- Coventry Patmore (1823-1896), excerpts from “The Angel in the House” (1858) [CP]
- John Ruskin (1819-1900), from Sesame and Lilies (1865): “Of Queens’ Gardens” [CP]
T 26 Oliver’s Female Counterpart
- Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), Jane Eyre (1847): Volume I, Chapters 1-9
H 28 Jane Eyre, Volume I, Chapters 10-15
November
T 2 Jane Eyre, Volume II, Chapters 1-6
- Note: If you have an edition that is not divided up into volumes, read Chapters 16-21
H 4 Jane Eyre, Volume II, Chapters 7-11
- Note: If you have an edition that is not divided up into volumes, read Chapters 22-26
T 9 Jane Eyre, Volume III, Chapters 1-6
- Note: If you have an edition that is not divided up into volumes, read Chapters 27-32
- 5-6 Page Paper Assignment Due
H 11 Jane Eyre, Volume III, Chapters 7-12
- Note: If you have an edition that is not divided up into volumes, read Chapters 33-38
- Midterm Essay Exam on Oliver Twist and Jane Eyre
T 16 The Return of the Romantic Child
- George Eliot (1819-1880), Silas Marner (1861): Part I, Chapters 1-9
H 18 Silas Marner, Part I, Chapters 10-15
T 23 Silas Marner, Part II, Chapters 1-Conclusion
H 25 NO CLASS: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
UNIT THREE: THE CULT OF THE CHILD
T 30 Dainty Fruit
- Christina Rossetti (1830-1894), “Goblin Market” (1862) [CP]
- 6-8 Page Final Paper Assignment Distributed
December
H 2 The Cult of the Child
- Ernest Dowson (1867-1900), “The Cult of the Child” (1889) [CP]
- Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), assorted photographs of children [Shown in class]
T 7 The Boy of Winander, Take Two?
- J. M. Barrie (1860-1937), Peter Pan (1911): Chapters 1-9
H 9 Peter Pan, Chapters 10-17
W 15 6-8 Page Final Paper Assignment Due
Course Requirements
10% = Attendance and Class Participation
20% = Online Participation
25% = 4-6 Page Paper Assignment
20% = Midterm Essay Exam
25% = 6-8 Page Final Paper Assignment
Course Policies
Attendance: Because this course will emphasize discussion, your preparation for, attendance at, and participation in each class meeting are crucial in order for everyone—yourself included—to learn the most from this class. Since I realize that personal concerns may cause you to miss class, you will be allowed two unexcused absence. But if you need to miss another, you must present evidence of an unavoidable contingency (i.e., medical documentation if you are ill). Otherwise, each missed class will lower your final grade for the course by 1/3 (A to A-, A- to B+, and so on). Missing six or more classes—excused or unexcused—constitutes grounds for failure.
Class Participation: All students are expected to participate in class discussions, as well as in-class writing exercises and small group activities.
Online Participation: The reading and writing assignments for this course are lighter because I expect you to spend some time each week contributing to the discussion threads on the course website. Every week, you are required to post a question OR an answer to someone else’s question on the course website. Group A will post questions the first week, Group B the second week, and so on. (Groups will be assigned on the first day of class.) Please remember that online participation is required for this course. 20% of your grade depends on your thoughtful contributions to the course website.
Papers:
Writing assignments should be delivered to my mailbox in the English Department (501 Cathedral of Learning) by 4 PM on the day they are due. Late papers will be downgraded. Spelling, typographical, and grammatical errors are unacceptable in university-level work, and will adversely affect your grade. All written work must be typed and adhere to the MLA Handbook in all matters of paper format, quotation, citation, documentation, and style. If you do not know how to cite your sources according to MLA style, buy yourself a copy of the MLA Handbook or go to one of the following websites:
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/Documentation.html
Plagiarism:
If you use material from a website (or any other source) in your papers without citing where you got it, and I catch you doing it, you will receive a failing grade for the paper. If you are unsure of what constitutes plagiarism, check out the English Department website on “Avoiding Plagiarism”:
Midterm Essay Exam:
This test will be given in class on Thursday, November 11th and will cover both Oliver Twist and Jane Eyre. No make-up exams will be given except in case of documented medical or family emergencies. The exam will consist of short answer and essay questions; we will further discuss its form and scope a few weeks before you take it.
Disability Information
If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, please let me know, and contact the Office of Disability Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union, (412) 648-7890 or (412) 383-7355 (TTY) as soon as possible. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.