English 4495, Senior Seminar in English: The Transnational Gothic Tale
Spring 2013 Section: TGAA, MWF 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m., Smith Hall, Room 148
Instructor and Office Hours
Ben P. Robertson, Ph.D., Associate Professor, English
Monday/Wednesday/Friday: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Course Description and Objectives
In this course, we will read selected gothic tales from
the eighteenth century onward and from a variety of
cultural contexts. We will pay special attention to the
social and political forces that surround each work, and
we will look at other forms of the gothic in
interdisciplinary terms—to include architecture, film,
music, and art.
Course Prerequisites
Students enrolling in this course should have
completed a minimum of six semester hours of 2000level English courses.
Texts and Materials
Please acquire the following texts and materials to use
for this course.
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Chris Baldick (ed.), The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. ISBN-13: 9780199561537
Nick Groom, The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. ISBN-13: 9780199586790
Wayne Booth, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph
Williams, The Craft of Research. 3rd ed. Chicago: U of
Chicago Press, 1995. ISBN-13: 978-0226065663.
Szpilman, Wladyslaw. The Pianist. New York:
Picador, 1999.
Johnson, Steven. The Ghost Map. New York:
River Head Books, 2006.
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A flash drive, a notebook with looseleaf paper,
and a pencil or pen.
Additional course readings are available online, and
others may be placed on reserve in the library, where
you may read them during library hours.
Assignments
Your grade for this course will be determined based on
the following assignments and their respective
percentage weights. The capital letters in brackets after
each item refer to the goals addressed by each entry for
the Alabama Department of Education’s Criteria for
Certification of Teachers in Secondary Schools (listed
in the “General Course Policies”):
Essay Sequence (25%) [C, E, F, H, I]
Weekly Discussion (10%) [A, B, C, D, E, G, H, J]
Presentation (10%) [A, B, C, D, E, F, H, I, J]
Daily Work (10%) [A, B, C, D, G, H, I, J]
Exam 1 (15%) [C, E, G, H]
Exam 2 (15%) [C, E, G, H]
Exam 3 (15%) [C, E, G, H]
Total possible score: 100 %
The “Daily Work” category includes items completed
in class such as peer review, collaboration exercises,
quizzes, general class participation, and any other
exercises or writing not otherwise listed. This category
also includes rough drafts of assignments and minor
assignments done outside class.
Tentative Schedule
All reading assignments should be completed by the day they are listed (some additional readings or assignments may not be assigned until one class period in
advance). Note that you’re responsible for completing all of the readings and answering questions about them on exams and quizzes even if we do not discuss them
all in class. Note, also, that this schedule is subject to change.
Weeks
Week 1
Week 2
Dates
Wed., Jan. 9
Fri., Jan. 11
Mon., Jan. 14
Wed., Jan. 16
Fri., Jan. 18
Reading Assignments/Activities
Syllabus/Schedule, Assignments, Handouts, Plagiarism, Studying
The Gothic (Read entire book by Nick Groom.)
“Sir Bertrand: A Fragment” (1773) by Anna Laetitia Aikin
“The Poisoner of Montremos” (“Remarkable Narrative”, 1791) by
Richard Cumberland
“The Friar’s Tale” (1792) Anonymous
“Raymond: A Fragment” (1799) by Juvenis
“The Parricide Punished” (1799, first published in French in 1782)
Anonymous
“The Ruins of the Abbey of Fitz-Martin” Anonymous
“The Vindictive Monk; or, The Fatal Ring” (1802) by Isaac Crookenden
Items Due
LAST DAY TO ADD A COURSE OR
WITHDRAW WITHOUT OWING
FULL TUITION
English 4495, Senior Seminar in English, page 2
Week 3
Mon., Jan. 21
Wed., Jan. 23
Fri., Jan. 25
Week 4
Mon., Jan. 28
Wed., Jan. 30
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Fri., Feb. 1
Mon., Feb. 4
Wed., Feb. 6
Fri., Feb. 8
Mon., Feb. 11
Wed., Feb. 13
Fri., Feb. 15
Mon., Feb. 18
Wed., Feb. 20
Fri., Feb. 22
Week 8*
Week 9*
Week 10
Week 11
Mon., Feb. 25
Wed., Feb. 27
Fri., Mar. 1
Mon., Mar. 4
Wed., Mar. 6
Fri., Mar. 8
Mon., Mar. 11
Wed., Mar. 13
Fri., Mar. 15
Mon., Mar. 18
Wed., Mar. 20
Fri., Mar. 22
Week 12
Mon., Mar. 25
Wed., Mar. 27
Week 13
Fri., Mar. 29
Mon., Apr. 1
Week 14
Wed., Apr. 3
Fri., Apr. 5
Mon., Apr. 8
Wed., Apr. 10
Fri., Apr. 12
Week 15
Mon., Apr. 15
Wed., Apr. 17
M. L. King holiday! No class today!
“The Astrologer’s Prediction, or The Maniac’s Fate” (1826) Anonymous
“Andreas Vesalius the Anatomist” (1833 - French title: Don Andréa
Vésalius, L’Anatomiste) by Petrus Borel; trans. by Chris Baldick
“Lady Eltringham or The Castle of Ratcliffe Cross” (1836) by J.
Wadham
“The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839) by Edgar Allan Poe
“A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family” (1839) by J. Sheridan Le
Fanu
“Rappaccini’s Daughter” (1844) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
“Selina Sedilia” (1865) by Bret Harte
“Jean-ah Poquelin” (1875) by George Washington Cable
Professor’s gone to a conference! No class today!
Gothic film.
Gothic film.
The Craft of Research, Chapters 1-5
Gothic film.
Gothic film.
Exam #1
“Olalla” (1885) by Robert Louis Stevenson
“Barbara of the House of Grebe” (1890) by Thomas Hardy
“Bloody Blanche” (1892. French title:“Blanche La Sanglante”) by
Marcel Schwob; trans. by Chris Baldick
“The Yellow Wall-Paper” by Charlotte Perkins Stetson
“The Adventure of the Speckled Band” (1892) by Arthur Conan Doyle
“Hurst of Hurstcote” (1893) by E. Nesbit
Research exercises.
Research exercises.
Research exercises.
Research exercises.
Research exercises.
Research exercises.
Spring break! No class today!
Spring break! No class today!
Spring break! No class today!
Discussion of research exercises.
The Craft of Research, Chapters 6-12
“A Vine on a House” (1905) by Ambrose Bierce
“Jordan’s End” (1923) by Ellen Glasgow
“The Outsider” (1926) by H.P. Lovecraft
“A Rose for Emily” (1930) by William Faulkner
“A Rendezvous in Averoigne” (1931) by Clark Ashton Smith
“The Monkey” (1934) by Isak Dinesen
Exam #2
“Miss de Mannering of Asham” (1935) by F.M. Mayor
“The Vampire of Kaldenstein” (1938) by Frederick Cowles
The Craft of Research, Chapters 13-17
Professor’s gone to a conference! No class today!
“Clytie” (1941) by Eudora Welty
“Sardonicus” (1961) by Ray Russell
“The Bloody Countess” (1968. Spanish title: “Acerca de la Condesa
Sangrienta”) by Alejandra Pizarnik; trans. by Alberto Manguel
“The Gospel According to Mark” (1970) by Jorge Luís Borges; trans. by
Norman Thomas di Giovanni
“The Lady of the House of Love” (1975) by Angela Carter
“Secret Observations on the Goat-Girl” (1988) by Joyce Carol Oates
“Blood Disease” (1988) by Patrick McGrath
“If You Touched My Heart” (1991) by Isabel Allende
Mini-conference
Turnitin Practice
Format Assignment
Weekly Discussion #1
Weekly Discussion #2
Weekly Discussion #3
Weekly Discussion #4
Weekly Discussion #5
Weekly Discussion #6
LAST DAY TO DROP ANY
COURSE.
Weekly Discussion #7
Essay Bibliography
Weekly Discussion #8
Weekly Discussion #9
Essay Proposal
Weekly Discussion #10
English 4495, Senior Seminar in English, page 3
Week 16
Week 17
Fri., Apr. 19
Mon., Apr. 22
Wed., Apr. 24
Fri., Apr. 26
Mon., Apr. 29
Wed., May 1
Fri., May 3
Mini-conference
Mini-conference
Mini-conference
Essay Discussion and Review
Final Exam Discussion and Review
Dead Day
Exam #3:
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Essay Draft
Essay