Course Information
TEXTS: The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volumes D (The Romantic Period) and E (The Victorian Age)
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
The Aims of This Course:
To familiarize you with the broad outlines of the traditional nineteenth-century British literary scene in poetry, with brief forays into prose. Because the time is short and the literature vast, we will sample a limited number of authors rather than attempting a truly comprehensive survey. We will consider literature within the historical and cultural contexts of the century in general, and we will attempt to locate both individual works and larger “movements” within the broad history of ideas in culture as they were evolving in England and the rest of the world during the 19th century. As a result, we will necessarily consider also intellectual, philosophical, political, social and cultural developments in England during an age of determined imperialist expansion, revolutionary industrial and scientific progress, and increasingly diversifying intellectual and philosophical inquiry. Finally, because this is a relatively small class, I very much hope that we will be able to engage in informed conversation about literature, reading, and culture within a variety of historical, social, critical, and intellectual contexts.
What You Can Expect to Do in This Course:
The Department of English has articulated its expectations about what sort of skills, activities, and experiences students should expect to gain or sharpen in courses at various levels of the curriculum. For courses at the 300 level (like this one), you should expect to do the following:
● engage in an intensive study of the subject matter of 19th-Century British literature, in both broadly inclusive terms and in more narrowly focused ones;
● be aware that there are a variety of theoretical and critical approaches to the materials we will study and be able to apply at least one of these approaches to our work;
● understand the purposes of primary and secondary research and be able to carry out research appropriate to the subject of this course;
● engage in critical academic discourse, both in the classroom and on paper, employing language and forms of discourse suitable to the assigned task and to an audience of educated adults.
About What I Expect from You:
While I do not expect you to be familiar with any of our material in advance, I do expect you to know how to read literary works with some insight and sophistication about both subject matter and the formal features of the genres. I expect you to come to class, to talk about what you read, and to share with one another as we try to make greater sense of the material we will study over the course of the semester. This will require some effort from everyone. It is generally assumed that preparing for one’s university courses requires at minimum about three hours for every hour of class meeting time. That is probably about accurate for this course; if you cannot or will not make that sort of time commitment for preparing for classes, you may want to think about whether you should remain in the group.
Course Requirements and Grade Standards:
1. A Midterm Examination, in the form of an essay you will write outside class time. You will have about a week to prepare your essay, on a topic I will provide. This examination counts for 25% of your course grade.
2. A Comprehensive Final Examination (i. e., covering all the course materials) written during Final Examination week. This exam will include both “objective” questions (involving names, dates, details of texts and contexts, passages from required reading, and classroom discussions) and two essay questions (you will be able to choose from multiple topics that I may circulate in advance). This examination counts for 35% of your course grade.
3. A substantial Course Portfolio, which will include both reading notes and supplementary research and study materials. The portfolio is described in detail in a separate part of the information packet. This portfolio will count for 40% of your course grade.
A Note on Class Participation:
In keeping with the letter and the spirit of the Integrative Studies requirement, I consider your participation in our group work to be a vital part of this course, especially since the small size of this course is specifically intended to facilitate discussion. You can expect your final course grade to reflect the extent to which you have made consistent, helpful, and thoughtful contributions to our work.
Disclaimer Section:
This course has been approved as an Integrative Studies course under the General Education program and meets the criteria for including and satisfying the following components:
1. Critical thinking which may include but is not limited to investigating arguments, engaging in research, gathering data, performing qualitative and quantitative analysis, assessing conclusions, analyzing controversies, exploring assumptions underlying beliefs and concepts, uncovering the origins and consequences of intellectual bias.
2. Writing on which the instructor comments.
3. Oral expression.
4. Consideration of human diversity appropriate to the subject matter of the course.
This course has also been certified for the Achievement Centered Education (ACE) program, instituted beginning fall 2009. (This is the “new” general education required of incoming students.
By passing this course, you will fulfill ACE Learning Outcome 5: “Use knowledge, historical perspectives, analysis, interpretation, critical evaluation, and the standards of evidence appropriate to the humanities to address problems and issues.” Your work will be evaluated by the instructor according to the specifications described in this syllabus. At the end of the term, you may be asked to provide samples of your work for ACE assessment as well.
Department of English Policy on Class Attendance
“The Department of English expects students registered for English classes to attend all scheduled class meetings and to have a reasonable excuse for any absence. Instructors are expected to lower the grades of students who miss classes without reasonable excuses and to penalize any work turned in late because of such absences. Students who miss more than twenty percent of the scheduled class meetings of any course will ordinarily fail the course for that reason alone, except that (1) if absences occur before the Withdrawal Passing period ends, the student may receive a “W” grade, and (2) if the absences are excused by the instructor or approved UNL policy and a large majority of them occur after the work of the course has been substantially completed, the student may receive an Incomplete (“I”) grade. In both of these cases, it is assumed that the student meets the eligibility requirement stated in the Schedule of Classes. Members of the teaching staff may have more restrictive attendance policies than are here stated.”
You should know that I support this policy. I believe that, especially in a class like this one, the in-class work is a vital part of the overall course. Because of its interactive and unscripted nature, the in-class work cannot be “made up,” and if you choose to “blow off” the class attendance requirement, you will fail the course. Twenty percent of the “scheduled meetings” in a regular semester TR course equals six class periods; do keep that number in mind. I will.
Students with Disabilities:
Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the instructor for a confidential discussion of their individual needs for academic accommodation. It is the policy of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln to provide flexible and individualized accommodation to students with documented disabilities that may affect their ability to fully participate in course activities or to meet course requirements. To receive accommodation services, students must be registered with the services for students with Disabilities (SSD) office, 132 Canfield Administration, 472-3787 voice or TTY.
Questions, Problems, Issues, etc.
If at any time you have questions about the course, my expectations, or your performance – as well as about anything else that may be relevant to our work as a class and/or your own individual work, goals, plans, or whatever – please feel free to speak with me privately. I will hold regular office hours at the announced times, but I am on campus most days until mid-afternoon and so we can generally arrange appointments at other mutually convenient times.