British Romantic-Era Poetry

English 4/802L                                        

Spring 2013                             
        
          

Stephen C. Behrendt     
319 Andrews; 472-1806
office: 11-1230 TR,
and by appointment

email Stephen C. Behrendt

 

 

                            John Constable.  Helmingham Dell. 1825-26.

Course Information

Texts

Romanticism: An Anthology, ed. Duncan Wu. 4th edition (required)
The Cambridge Companion to British Romanticism. Ed. Stuart Curran. 2nd edition (optional)
Marilyn Gaull. English Romanticism: The Human Context (optional)

The cultural dynamic of Romanticism in Britain

What we call the Romantic Period (1780 –1835) saw the world change dramatically in the wake of revolutions in America and France and in commerce and industry — and of course in the arts. Suddenly all things seemed possible again —not for the wealthy and privileged only, but for everyone, men and women, whose voices were heard increasingly then and are being rediscovered today. Poets wrote about the great subjects — personal and national liberty, the natural world, the hopes and fears of humanity — but also about the ordinary world around them, a world that they now saw much differently and which they in turn worked to transform still further for the better. But they also dealt – really for the first time – with what today we think of as the profound alienation and de-humanization that comes with the modern industrial empire, especially in the wake of the draining wars against France and her allies that had lasted nearly a quarter of a century and that culminated at Waterloo in June 1815. In this course we will trace these poets as they worked to steer the national ship – and the human spirit – toward that better and fairer world in which they so passionately believed.

The rationale for this course, done in this way

There are many possible ways to arrange a course in British Romantic-era poetry. We can study one author at a time, or we can put them into clusters; we can arrange the course in terms of themes or subject areas; we can place the poets in “conversation” (in print and in person) with one another and with other contemporary writers, thinkers, artists and public figures. The fact is that most of the principal writers in poetry and prose knew one another and one another’s works; they often responded directly or indirectly in their own works to those of their contemporaries; and this community of writers developed a sense of intellectual and artistic community that participated widely and actively in the social, political, religious, intellectual, scientific and cultural evolution of Britain’s rapidly expanding global commercial and industrial empire .

If you check my website you can see how I have tried various of these arrangements in the past. For this semester, I have decided that we will proceed more or less chronologically, focusing usually on a single author at a time, but pursuing all sorts of connections among all the writers and artists of their time as we do so. By semester’s end, I hope we will all have a better and fuller sense of the dynamic cultural interrelations in which Britain’s poets played such a significant part.

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 400 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

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 may include both “objective” questions (involving names, dates, details of texts and contexts, passages from required reading, and classroom discussions) and will certainly include 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 research-based course project, which will offer you the opportunity to study in greater detail some aspect of the course and its concerns that you consider especially relevant to your own personal interests and career objectives. This project 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 class 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 MWF course equals nine 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.

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