ENG 416: Eighteenth-Century Literature
Fall 2002
Dr. Lisa Berglund
Office: Ketcham 322; mailbox in KH 326; 878-4049
Electronic
addresses: berglul@buffalostate.edu; www.lisaberglund.com
Office Hours: MWF 12-1:50 p.m.; Tuesdays by appointment.
The best way to reach me is via email.
I will respond immediately to email received during my office hours and
within 48 hours to other messages.
Course Objective: To study British verse,
drama and prose in the context of 18th-century culture, particularly
that of London. We also will study
representations of Bath, Edinburgh, and the English landscape.
Texts:
Jane
Austen, Persuasion
James
Boswell, London Journal 1762-1763
The Commerce of Everyday Life: Selections
from "The Tatler" and "The Spectator"
Daniel
Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year
John
Gay, The Beggar's Opera
William
Hogarth, Engravings
Tobias
Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry
Clinker
Course Requirements: Two papers, one 3-4 pages (15%) and one 8-10 pages (25%); a group presentation on
eighteenth-century culture (20%); a final exam (20%); and active
participation in discussion, including assigned study questions (20%). You must complete all work assigned in order
to pass.
The
material we will study falls roughly into two periods, 1700-1760 and
1760-1820. You will give a presentation
on the literature and culture covered in one half of the semester and will
write an essay about literature from the other half. In other words, if your presentation falls in the first half of
the semester, then your long paper is due on 4 December; if your presentation
is in the second half of the semester, your long paper is due 16 October.
The
final examination will be an essay that you will work on advance but write
during the CEP period. The exam will
require you to synthesize material covered throughout the semester, in
lectures, discussions and your peers' presentations.
Papers
must follow format guidelines posted to my
website. Grades will be based on the
clarity of your thesis, the focus and persuasiveness of your evidence, the
accuracy of your interpretation of quotations, and your adherence to rules of
grammar, mechanics and documentation.
You may hand in a partial or complete draft of any paper in advance for
my comments. I prefer to receive such
papers via email as a Word attachment; I will email my comments to you within
48 hours. My comments generally will
address the thesis, evidence and organization; I do not usually correct
grammatical, typographical or mechanical errors on drafts. However, you are responsible for correcting
any such errors before handing in a final version of the essay. Late papers
will be marked down 1/3 of a grade.
Papers
must adhere to MLA standards for documentation. Submitting someone else's words or ideas as your own is
plagiarism and violates college academic regulations. If you hand in
plagiarized work you will fail the course.
When
you are assigned a study question to answer during class, prepare 3-5 minutes
of organized comments. Use the
questions to guide your reading; all members of the class should participate in
discussion of all questions. Depending
on the size of the class, each student will be assigned 3 or 4 study questions
over the course of the semester, and will be required to ask at least one
question after a group presentation. You will receive a grade for each assigned
study question, which will be averaged together with your grade for ad hoc
contributions to discussion.
If you
miss class or are unprepared to answer when you're assigned a study question,
you will earn a "0" for that assignment. If you miss more than one
assigned question, your participation grade for the semester will be a
"0." If you are unable to be
in class for your study question, and inform me in advance, we can work
out an arrangement so that you will not be penalized.
On
days you are not assigned a study question, attendance is not required, but frequent
absences will negatively affect your class participation grade. The syllabus, paper format instructions,
paper topics and presentation requirements are posted at my website. Study questions will be sent via email. It
is your responsibility to find out whether you've been assigned a study
question for the next class.
Classroom
protocols: 1) Turn off all cell phones before entering the classroom. 2) Do not
leave the room during class except in an emergency. 3) Always bring the relevant book(s) to class.
If you
have or may have a disability that requires accommodation to fulfill the
requirements of the class, contact the Office of Special Services for Students
with Disabilities, at 878-4450.
Class
presentations will be assigned next week and I will supply a more detailed
explanation of that assignment. The
topics appear below in boldface.
Monday,
26 August Introduction
Wednesday,
28 August Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year
Friday,
30 August Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year
Monday,
2 September Labor Day; no
class
Wednesday,
4 September Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year
Friday,
6 September illustrated
lecture on eighteenth-century London
Monday, 9 September Denham,
"Cooper's Hill" and Pope, "Windsor Forest"
Wednesday, 11 September Swift, "A Description of a City Shower"
Friday, 13 September multimedia lecture on London
street cries; Spectator 251
(handout); first paper due
Monday,
16 September selections from The Commerce of Everyday Life
Wednesday, 18 September selections from The
Commerce of Everyday Life
Friday,
20 September Gay, Trivia, or the Art of Walking the Streets
of London
Monday,
23 September Gay, Trivia, or the Art of Walking the Streets
of London
Wednesday, 25 September 1. Clothing and fashion: Tatler 116, 151; Spectator
16, 41, 81, 435
Friday,
27 September Hogarth, The Four Times of Day
Monday,
30 September Hogarth, The Four Times of Day
Wednesday,
2 October Gay, The Beggar's Opera; Spectators 18, 31, 65
Friday,
4 October 2. Crime & punishment: Gay, The Beggar's Opera
Monday, 7 October Gay, The Beggar's Opera
Wednesday, 9 October 3. Prostitution:
Hogarth, A Harlot's Progress
Friday, 11 October Hogarth, A Harlot's
Progress
Monday,
14 October Columbus Day; no
class
Wednesday, 16 October 4. Coffeehouses: Steele, Spectator
49; Anon., "Character of a Coffee-House," Ward, "A Visit to
a Coffee-House"; Paper on Defoe,
The Spectator, Gay or Hogarth due for members of groups
6-8
Friday,
18 October No class
Monday, 21 October Hogarth, Beer Street, Gin Lane;
Anon., "Strip Me Naked, or Royal Gin for Ever," More, "The
Gin-Shop" (excerpt); Mandeville, The
Fable of the Bees (Remark G)
Wednesday,
23 October Boswell, London Journal, 1762-1763
Friday,
25 October 5. Venereal disease: Boswell, London Journal, 1762-1763
Monday,
28 October Boswell, London Journal, 1762-1763
Wednesday,
30 October Goldsmith, "The
Deserted Village"
Friday,
1 November Goldsmith,
"The Deserted Village"
Monday, 4 November 6. The City of Bath: Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
Wednesday,
6 November Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
Friday,
8 November 7. Servants: Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
Monday,
11 November Veterans' Day; no
class
Wednesday,
13 November Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
Friday,
15 November Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
Monday,
18 November Cowper, The Task
Wednesday,
20 November Cowper, The Task
Friday,
22 November 8. Topic TBA
Monday,
25 November Austen, Persuasion
Wednesday,
27 November THANKSGIVING BREAK
Friday,
29 November THANKSGIVING
BREAK
Monday,
2 December Austen, Persuasion
Wednesday, 4 December Austen, Persuasion; Long paper on Boswell, Goldsmith, Smollett,
Cowper, or Austen due for members of groups 1-5
Thursday,
12 December CEP—final
examination
9:40-11:30
a.m.