Palo Alto College
Department of English
English 2322
British Literature I
Fall, 1997, WWW Section Included
Michael S. Seiferth
Faculty Office Building, 131
Telephone: 921-5049 (Office)
Telephone: 824-4136 (Home)
Telephone: 824-1564 (FAX)
Internet Addresses
(If you have access to an on-line service or are registered on the District e-mail server, you may write to me with your inquiries, and I shall respond as quickly as possible. If you have access to the World Wide Web, you will find many of the course documents available for reading or downloading.)
http://lonestar.texas.net/~mseifert/
mseifert@texas.net
mseifert@accdvm.accd.edu
OFFICE HOURS (INCLUDING OPEN COMPUTER LAB)
To Be Arranged Fall, 1997
By Appointment Until Labor Day
The Palo Alto College Teaching Center, funded in part through Title III, has made it possible for me to develop cogent and centrally significant materials, which will help my students conceive of literature in terms of the aesthetic, the historical, and philosophical dimensions which inform the periods and the works of the men and women writing in and about America beginning in the late fifteenth century through the American Civil War. I am grateful for the opportunity not only to expand central texts and, thus, understanding, but also to study the use of electronic media in developing a WWW Home Page for English courses. During the Fall of 1996, Palo Alto College will "go on line" with English 2322; students studying from a distance as well as on-campus studednts will be able to take full advantage of the resources on the NET! Further, I received a scholarship to attend the Ninth Annual Colonial Williamsburg History Forum, Americans on Approval: Immigrants Encounter the Land of Opportunity, November 2-4, 1995; the movement of people from England to the Americas is a study of the social, political, religious, and economic causes which informed the literature of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries both in England and America. I have included many references to this Forum in English 2322. On November 6-10, 1966, I attended the Tenth Annual Colonial Williamsburg History Forum, "The First Amendment Reconsidered,B and the questions concerning the freedom of the press echoed John Milton's Areopagitica Finally, I am grateful to the NEH for its grant given to me during the summer of 1994, where I spent a delightful semester at LSU, Baton Rouge. It is here that I learned the nature of tragedy and comedy, both ideas, of course, which inform and generate the power of Shakespeare's King Lear and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The epic journeys taken by Beowulf and Gawain, as well as Adam and Eve, not only tell us of intrinsic values of the cultures they represent, but also of the vision of the British people at various times in their history. These epic works move towards a redefinition of laws and government informed by the divine, but in the hands of a hero whose works often move the race towards extending the boundaries of the tribe to include a new connection with the deity. The result is a harmony, a ,kosmos, reflecting the new society, ably represented in our course by Beowulf and Sir Gawain and Adam and Eve This new culture, of course, forms the foundation of our understanding of the literature written between the eighth century and the late eighteenth century, the scope of our course. Through a release-time grant offered by the Palo Alto College Teaching Center, ably administrated by Susan Hammond, I was offered the luxury of time to reflect, synthesize, and develop the course materials for English 2322, British Literature I. Finally, I thank my students enrolled in the first class on the WWW who served as part of this experiment. Lori Seiler designed the first page as part of the Requirements for English 2322. You are invited to visit her page on King Lear.
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION:
This course is a survey of British literature from its Anglo-Saxon beginnings through the Restoration and the eighteenth century. A research paper or term project [major critical study] is required.
(PREREQUISITE: ENGLISH 1301 AND 1302)
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. To present the chronological study of British literature from its Anglo Saxon beginnings through
the Restoration and the eighteenth century.
2. To introduce the student to the various genres, movements, and styles of literature found with-
in the chronological period. Here genre implicates epic, tragic, comic, and lyric forms of literature.
3. To acquaint the student with the historical, religious, social, intellectual, and economic
influences affecting British literature and the English language.
4. To develop the rhetorical skills taught in freshman English especially as they apply to critical
analyses papers and an informative or argumentative research paper or term project.
5. To help students recognize form and pattern in literary works as a means of understanding
their meanings.
6. To help students understand the influence of race, class, and gender on literature and interpretation.
STUDENT COMPETENCIES:
1. To know the chronology of period covered by the course in terms of the historical, political, literary, religious, and economic FACTS presented in the text, class notes, and study aids.
2. To apply the characteristics of a specific movement or style or genre to specific works of
literature, realizing a fuller understanding of the meaning of epic, tragedy, comedy, and the lyric.
3. To comprehend basic historical, religious, social, intellectual, and economic influences on
British literature and on the English language.
4. To demonstrate rhetorical skills taught in freshman composition especially as they apply to critical analyses and an informative or argumentative research paper or term project.
5. To recognize and evaluate form and pattern in literary works as a means of understanding
their meaning.
6. To evaluate and understand the influence of race, class, and gender on literature and the history
of ideas in Medieval, Renaissance, Seventeenth Century, and Eighteenth Century thought.
METHODS OF ASSESSMENT:
INSTRUMENTS STUDENT COMPETENCIES
ASSESSED
__________________________________________________________
1. Objective quizzes #1, #3
2. Objective exams
Essay Exams
[Mid-term] #2, #3, #4, #5, #6
3. Major critical
papers #2, #3, #4, #5, #6
4. Major term or
research
project #2, #4, #6
5. Final examination
[comprehensive] #3, #4, #5, #6
EVALUATION:
1. Quizzes ......................................10%
2. Two Hour Exams or
One Mid-Term Exam ..................20%
3. Three Critical Papers. ................30%
4. Research Paper, Term Project,
or Major Critical Paper................20%
5. Final Examination
[Comprehensive]..........................20%
EVALUATION for WORLD WIDE WORLD COURSES:
1. Specific WWW Investigation and Evaluation Assignments.....30%
2. Critical Papers other than the Term Project........30%
3. Final Project Including WWW Page............40%
GRADING SCALE:
Quizzes and objective sections of examinations: Scale 1-100 with 70% minimum competency. The grading scale is as follows: "A" = 100-90;
"B" = 89-80; "C" = 79-70; "D" 69-60; "F"= Below 70%. Essay examinations, critical papers, and term research papers or projects evaluated in terms of departmental "Grading Standards" (Distributed as part of the course material).
Attendance is expected and required; refer to the Bulletin for a statement of the regulations concerning attendance. Acquaint yourself, in addition, with the academic calendar. You will find important dates concerning deadlines in terms of non-performance and performance grades, i.e., drop dates.
A word concerning plagiarism.
The standard definition of the verb "to plagiarize" includes the following: "(1) To steal and use the ideas or writings of another as one's own. (2) To appropriate passages and ideas from and use them as one's own." Curiously enough, the Latin plagiarius (plunderer) forms the base of this word [American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition]. The consequences of plagiarism are serious. You may fail the assignment, the course, or even be dismissed from college. When in doubt, always give credit to your source. It is wise to err in the direction of excessive documentation. You will be informed about the nature of plagiarism as it applies to critical papers, research papers, and term projects.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Abrams, M.H., General Editior. The Norton Anthology of
English Literature, Volume I. New York: W.W. Norton Company, 1993. [Sixth Edition]
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton,
1948. (On Reserve. Audio Edition Available
Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth (With Bill Moyers, ed. Sue Flowers).
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Wife of Bath. ed. Peter G. Beidler. Boston: St. Martins, 1996.
Sewall, Richard. The Vision of Tragedy. New York: Paragon House, 1990.
In this course you will be asked to read essays and illustrative material, some of which shall be distributed to you in class. A complete set of class notes and lectures will become available on the WWW http://lonestar.texas.net/~mseifert/
You will be asked to view the following video films, some of which shall be part of the class activities. Those starred are of particular importance.
1. The Story of English Parts I and III (among others) *
2. A Hero's Journey (Joseph Campbell, author of Hero with a Thousand Faces discusses informing nature of myths and the hero.
3. Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers (Six episodes) *
4. The Renaissance. Four one-hour episodes discussing the central issues of The Reformation, the arts, The Prince,
and the science of the Renaissance.
5. Transformations of Myth Through Time, "The Search of the Holy Grail: The Parzival Legend," and "Where There Was No Path: Arthurian Legends and the Western Way," and " A Noble Heart: The Courtly Love of Tristan and Isolde."
6. Millennium "Wodaabe" Niger, West Africa [Courtly Love]
7 Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction by David Macaulay. This PBS film (animation, live action) illustrates the planning, building and cultural importance of the Gothic cathedral throughout Europe.
8. Castle by David Macaulay. This film tells the story of a fictional, but historically accurate 13th century Welsh castle and depicts the the planning, building, habitation, and siege of the fortress.
TOPICAL OUTLINE
A. Old English Period
1. History of the language and culture
2. Folk Literature
a. Beowulf
Anglo Saxon and Beowulf Pagesb. Other selected poetry
B. Middle English Period
1. History of the language and culture
2. Chaucer
a. Background for Canterbury Tales
b. "The General Prologue"
c. Selected pilgrims' tales
3. Medieval Romance
a. Arthurian legend (including Morte D'Arthur)
b. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
c. Piers Plowman
4. Folk ballad
5. Development of drama
a. Mystery and miracle plays
b. Morality play
C. Renaissance/Seventeenth Century
1. History of the language and culture
2. Drama
a. King Lear
b. I Henry IV
c. Volpone
3. Sonnet--Wyatt to Milton
4. Epic poetry
a. The Faerie Queene
b. Paradise Lost
5. John Milton
a. Selections from major and minor poetry
6. Metaphysical poetry and Cavalier poetry
D. Restoration/Eighteenth Century
1. History of the language and culture
2. Satire
a. Dryden
b. Swift
c. Pope
3. Criticism
a. Dryden
b. Pope
c. Johnson
4. Pre-Romanticism
a. Through Burns
[An eighteenth century novel is optional.]
The dates for examinations, papers, and term projects are announced on the written copies of test reviews and paper assignments. Classroom activities, the order of material, and dates due are subject to change.
All major, critical papers are to be typed and documented according to the Modern Language Association Style (MLA).
Course Outline: The Order of Assignments
1. The History of the Language (Through the Battle of Hastings 1066)
2. Old English: Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon Literatures
3. The Norman Invasion and Middle English (History of the Language Through 14th Century)
4. Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (Paper Assigned)
5. Sir Gawain and the Green Kinght
6. Medieval Drama: Everyman and Second Shepherd's Play
7. Examination
8. The Renaissance: Sidney, Spencer, Marlowe and Shakespeare (Readings Assigned in The Renaissance)
9. Mannerism: King Lear (Paper)
10. The Baroque: Donne, Marvell, Milton, Herbert
11. "Lycidas" and the pastoral elegy--paper
12. The Eighteenth Century--The Age of Reason
13. Pope, Johnson, and Dryden
14. The New Science
15. Final Examination
NOTE
The essays and background notes listed below offer you the core readings for English 2322 A combination of history, philosophny, and aesthetics, this series focuses on insights which will aid you in interpreting the primary works of our writers.
You can obtain the essays in a variety of formats; for example, you may use the SLAC copies on disk. You may be able to obtain copies from your disk by using the open computer lab. The readings will be available "on-line"
1. "The Epic as Cosmopoesis" Louise Cowan*
2. "The Comic Terrain" Louise Cowan*
4. Mannerism*
5. The Baroque*
6. The Rococo*
7. "The Vision of Tragedy" Richard B. Sewall*
8. "King Lear [as tragedy]" Richard B. Sewall
9. "Carnival and Pilgrimage" Donald C. Howard*
[You are responsible for the readings. You will either have quizzes on them, write a precis, or include portions of them within your papers.]