English 207-Survey of British
Literature I
Professor Melissa D. Aaron
Room 5 126 MW 6-7:50
Office: 24-229
Office hours M 2-5, W 2-3, Th 1-3, and by appointment
Phone: 869-3839
Email:maaron@csupomona.edu
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| Discussion Board | Paper #1 |
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| Paper # 2 |
Required texts
The Longman Anthology of British Literature, Volume
A. Second compact edition.
Course description
This class will serve as an introduction, not only
to British literature up to the 18th century, but also to the culture (s) that
produced it. We will explore some of the assumptions that undergird these texts—assumptions
about religion, gender, class, human relationships and the way the world works.
Some of these assumptions you will recognize, and some will seem very foreign
to turn of the millennium Southern California. It is my hope that by examining
the belief system of this culture, you will be challenged to think about your
own, too.
There can be no such thing as a truly comprehensive survey. I have selected
texts that represent the full span of the period we are studying, a variety
of genres—narrative poetry, lyric poetry, epic, drama, and prose—and
a variety of topics. Some of the authors we'll be reading are well-known canonical
authors, and some you may not have heard of before. In the end, it is my hope
that you will have gotten a fairly good sampling of these texts.
Course requirements
You will need access to a computer and the Internet
for this course-if this will present a problem, please contact me.
The discussion boards are password protected for security reasons. In order
to access them, you need your Cal Poly username and password. If you don’t know
it, go to the Computing Commons on the fifth floor of Building 98 (the pointy
building) and they will be happy to assist you.
Participation—includes short, ungraded assignments—25%
Midterm—25%
2 papers, 25% each
All work handed in to me must be typed and double-spaced in ten or preferably twelve point font. The font I'm using for this, Times New Roman, is nice and easy to read. Please type your name, the class and section number, my name and the date in the upper-right hand corner, and the title centered at the top of the first page. Do not have a title page, and please, please staple your papers together.
The short, ungraded assignments will be done electronically on a threaded discussion board. They are discussion-related and will count towards your participation grade. Since they are time-sensitive, they cannot be made up.
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Attendance policy
You can't participate if you're not here, obviously.
Here are some reasons you don't want to be absent:
More than three absences and your grade will be lowered. Six or more and you
will fail the course. Extreme tardiness (more than ten minutes late) counts
as an absence.
I don't distinguish between excused and unexcused absences, and here's why. If you miss class, you'll miss discussion, my commentary on the texts, homework assignments, etc. In a remarkably short period of time, you'll find yourself terribly behind, and it will be next to impossible for you to catch up. The attendance policy is to help you succeed, not to punish you. If you are faced with illness or emergency please let me know right away, and the same applies if you want questions answered or additional help. I check my email very regularly and you can also always come to my office hours.
And please turn off all cell phones,
beepers, etc., before you come to class.
Plagiarism
Did you know that "plagiarism" comes from
the Latin word for "kidnapper?" That's because it's theft, and the
University and I will treat it that way. I don't want to go into all the dire
consequences that will ensue; so don't do it. Enough said. You might want to
check my plagiarism statement
on my courses page.
I count using the Cliff's Notes as plagiarism in all cases. Don't use them, period; they will only confuse you and irritate me. If you need additional help or information, please email me or ask me for authorized and useful sources of assistance.
You may be surprised to know that yes, you can steal from yourself. Turning in a paper for credit that you have already submitted to another class for credit without explicit permission is considered plagiarism by the University and will be treated as such.
If you use someone else's ideas or words, you have to credit them. Here are two rules to help you with this: are you giving credit where credit is due? If someone wanted to find out more about the information you cited, or look up the quote, do they have enough information to do it? I would like you to use MLA documentation. On my web site, under “Resources,” you will find various writing resources, including an online MLA style guide, with full information about documentation (including online sources).
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Course syllabus
Week 1: September 24th
Class does not meet this week.
Week 2: September 26th
M Intro to course. History, etc. For Wednesday,
read section on The Middle Ages (pp. 3-27) and Beowulf. Please note—it
is strongly recommended that you read the prefaces and introductions to each
section and selection. It is worth the time and trouble.
W Beowulf.
Week 3: October 4th
M Beowulf.
W Arthurian myth: pp. 136-69, 225-46. Recommended but not assigned:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Week 4 October 11th
M. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, General Prologue.
W Chaucer, The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale.
Week 5: October 18th
M Chaucer, The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale.
W Chaucer, The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale. Intro to medieval
drama.
Week 6: October 25th
M Second Shepherd's Play.
W Second Shepherd's Play. Take home midterm.
Week 7: November 1st
M Class does not meet. For Wednesday,
read intro to Early Modern period, (pp. 391-411), and Wyatt, 419-24, Spenser
(579-90), and Sidney (590-94).
W Early Modern era and sonnets: Wyatt, Sidney and Spenser.
Week 8: November 8th
M Shakespeare (pp. 733-41), Wroth (pp. 816-820), and
Tracts on Women and Gender (pp. 824-44).
W Intro to Elizabethan drama: Dr. Faustus.
Week 9: November 15th
M Dr. Faustus.
W Travel and discovery literature: pp. 666-681. First paper due.
Week 10: November 22nd
M God, girls, and gardens: Herrick, Herbert and
Marvell, pp. 844-58.
W Class does not meet.
Week 11: November 29th
M: The Beggar’s Opera, pp. 1275-1345.
W The Beggar’s Opera, pp. 1275-1345. Second paper due.
Exam TBA.
maaron@csupomona.edu