English 46C--British Literature 1832-Present

Instructor: Dr. John Stenzel

TA's: Greg Miller,, Melissa Conner

Spring 2000	Office: Voorhies 379
Meeting Time: TR 12:10-1:30	Office Hours: M 11-12:30, R 10-11:30, and by app't.
Classroom: 194 Young	Telephone: 2-1954 office, (510) 548-8936 home

Text and materials:

I have ordered the hardbound Norton Anthology of English Literature, 7th edition; I will make every effort to stick to what is in the 6th edition as well. I have also ordered the Penguin Classics edition of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd.You should also own or have access to a reasonably recent college-level writing handbook (e.g., Random House Handbook, to help guide you in matters of grammar, usage, and mechanics. For strengthening your prose style I also highly recommend Strunk and White's Elements of Style, Joseph Williams' Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity & Grace, and C.Edward Good's Mightier Than the Sword.
I expect you to own (and use!) a college-level hardbound dictionary (preferably one that gives etymologies), and you will become familiar with the Oxford English Dictionary and Johnson's Dictionary. There will be some minor (i.e., < $5 total) photocopying charges that you may expect to incur at various times in the quarter.

Grading Breakdown:

15% -- 3 Quizzes
25% -- 2 Short essays, first due Thursday, 27 April (Description)
15% -- Midterm exam, Tuesday, 9 May
25% -- Final exam, Saturday, 10 June, 4-6 PM
20% -- Participation (in class / in section / reading journal / over the net / other)

Discussion:

Besides in-class participation I am expecting you to take an active part in section work; e-mail exchanges will also be expected as part of the paper-writing and interpretive process. I will also be testing an on-line office hour / Web-based chat utility, and will award tiebreaker extra credit (exact value TBA) for worthwhile participation in that mode.

Grading Policy:

You are responsible for any assignments or reading changes made in your absence. Please do not miss quizzes or try to shuffle the schedule on your own; I am not expected to schedule make-ups. NB: All graded assignments count toward the final grade in the course, and I will make every effort to apply the same grading standards throughout the term. I will, however, take into account any significant improvement when figuring the final grade. You must perform the various required work in the order it is assigned, NOT in a flurry at the end. I do not grade on a formal curve: that is, I do not have a specific ration or quota of A's that I must give, nor do I have to give a particular percentage of any grade. I apply a very thorough and explicit set of grading criteria, and I expect you to take responsibility for understanding your grades.

Attendance:

Regular, punctual attendance is a requirement for this course and for section, as well as a courtesy to your colleagues and to me. Expect exams and quizzes to cover material addressed in lecture, as well as from the readings. Quizzes will be held at the beginning of the class period, and very short writing tasks may be required at any time, factored into the participation grade.

Tentative Schedule of Readings and dates for the first part of the quarter:

4 April,	Roll, Info sheet, Intro to books and format of class, Diagnostic info sheet
6 April	Tennyson: Mariana, Ulysses, The Lotos-Eaters, Morte d'Arthur FitzGerald, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Mill, What is Poetry? Start reading Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd*
11 April	Tennyson, Idylls (Pelleas), Crossing the Bar E. Browning, Sonnets fm Portuguese 21-2, 32, 43, Aurora Leigh (selections) Macauley, from A Review of Southey's Colloquies
13 April	R. Browning, Porphyria's Lover, Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister, My Last Duchess, Home-Thoughts (both), Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, Fra Lippo Lippi Carlyle, selections from Sartor Resartus, French Revolution
18 April	Browning, Caliban upon Setebos, Rabbi Ben Ezra Arnold, Growing Old, Scholar Gypsy, Dover Beach, Def'n of Poetry Darwin, Descent of Man [selections] Ruskin, Stones of Venice, Storm-Cloud of the 19th Century
20 April	C. Rossetti, sampling + Uphill, Goblin-Market D.G. Rossetti, sampling + Blessed Damozel, My Sister's Sleep, House of Life Meredith, Modern Love [selections]

*Note: By the time the first essay is due (4/27), you should have read the first 16 chapters of Hardy!

Last updated: 11 April 2000