ENGL 358 Major Authors: Jane Austen Fall 2006
Mondays, 4-6:30 p.m. Welles 134
Professor Celia A. Easton email: easton@geneseo.edu
For another syllabus, Austen info, etc.--http:www.geneseo.edu/~easton
Office: Welles 228b 245-5270
English Dept.: (585) 245-5273
Home (never after 9:00 p.m.) (585) 442-5716
Center for Community (Fridays) (585) 245-5852
OFFICE HOURS (Welles 228b)—no appointment necessary, first come, first served. Mondays, 2:00-3:45
pm; Tuesdays, Thursdays, 10:00-11:30 a.m. and by appt (just ask).
"SOCIAL" HOUR (Welles 228b)—everyone is welcome; don't wait on line; you may be here by yourself or
with a group. You can spend this time talking about class or anything you like. Bring a cup—there's always
hot water and tea bags. Thursdays 2:00-3:00 pm.
Texts (ordered through Sun Dance Books)
Vol. 1 of Samuel Richardson’s History of Sir Charles Grandison. Because Grandison is currently out of print,
you have a course pack reproduction of a 1902 edition. This course pack also includes Jane Austen's Sir
Charles Grandison (short play).
Austen, The Complete Novels (Penguin)
Austen, Sanditon. Available at http://classiq.net/jane-austen/sanditon/index.html
or check the website—I've created a 25 page WORD doc from the text file at http://www.kellynch.com/etexts/Sanditon.php
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students in ENGL 358 Major Authors: Jane Austen will
Have a working knowledge of Jane Austen's complete works.
Be able to situate Jane Austen's work in the context of 18th-century sentimental fiction.
Be able to write critically about Jane Austen's work.
Be able to respond critically to published essays about Jane Austen's work.
These outcomes are addressed in the following ways:
1. Students participate in class discussions on each novel and on Samuel Richardson's Grandison.
2. Each student serves as part of a group of discussion leaders once during the course of the semester.
3. Students write one critical essay connecting Austen with Richardson.
4. Students write one critical essay that includes research in literary criticism.
5. Students write a cumulative final exam that addresses all the reading in the course.
Accommodations
SUNY Geneseo will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented physical,
emotional, or learning disabilities. Students should notify the Director in the Office of Disability
Services (Tabitha Buggie-Hunt, 105D Erwin, tbuggieh@geneseo.edu) and their individual
faculty of any needed accommodations as early as possible in the semester.”
CLASS photographs
I photograph students on the first day of class to help me learn names. When you fill out your photo-info
card, please indicate whether or not it is okay to post your photo and name on my website for the rest of
the class to view. You are not required to have your photo posted, but if you don't mind, it is helpful to
others in the course.
Syllabus
8/28
Introduction; juvenilia.
9/4
Labor Day, no classes. Read Grandison. Really. It's longer than it looks. Don't put it off.
9/11
Richardson's Sir Charles Grandison, vol. 1 AND Jane Austen's play, Sir Charles Grandison. This is
a LONG reading assignment, but you have two weeks to do it. Use the study guide on my
website for points of focus, and note the first essay topics before you begin your reading.
9/18
Northanger Abbey
9/25
Lady Susan; begin Sense and Sensibility (read at least half)
2
10/2
10/9
10/16
10/23
10/30
11/6
11/13
11/20
11/27
12/4
12/11
12/13
Sense and Sensibility 1st PAPER DUE (I'll accept papers until 3 pm on Thursday 10/5 without
penalty).
Fall Break, no classes
ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCE—in the College Union Ballroom
Dr. Cheryl Wilson, Assistant Professor of English at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (&
Geneseo alumna), will present an interactive talk on the complexities of "Jane Austen and
Dance" and 19th-century dance practice. Room change: MEET IN NEWTON 201 Begin reading
Pride & Prejudice
Pride & Prejudice TOPIC THESIS DUE
Mansfield Park (half) PRELIMINARY BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
Mansfield Park
Emma ARTICLE SUMMARIES DUE
Emma INTRO PARAGRAPH DUE
Persuasion
Sanditon (Get the first 11 chapters off the web or order a copy of Sanditon completed "by
another Lady.") Austen only completed eleven chapters. The web versions are not great
(spacing is a problem), but they're free. If you download to a laptop you'll save printing.
WEDNESDAY 3:30-6:30 p.m. SECOND PAPER DUE.
FINAL EXAM (essays and IDs) Please make sure to check your exam schedule at the
beginning of the semester to ensure you have no exam conflicts.
Course requirements and evaluation:
Participation
10%
First Essay
25%
Second Essay
40%
Final Exam
25%
Often classes will include spontaneous "writing prompts" to stimulate discussion. Completion of
the writing prompts with informed responses will enhance your class participation grade. If
you're not in class to do the prompts, your participation grade will suffer. Participation is also
graded on the basis of your contributions to the class.
NOTE: Please keep backup copies of the essays you hand in. Papers are due in class during the
class period. I will make allowances for a few hours IF YOU SHOW UP IN CLASS. Papers can be
handed in outside of class only if you contact me and explain your excuse.
PAPER FORMAT: a "five-page paper" is at least four and one half, double-spaced pages with
margins no larger than 1 1/4 inches and type font no greater than 12. Do not use "script" fonts.
Make sure every page is numbered. Put your name, my name, and the date in the upper right
hand corner of the first page of your essay. Do not use a cover sheet. Staple the pages
together once in the upper left hand corner.
FIRST ESSAY: This is a 5- page non-researched (i.e., all the ideas are your own) essay that
connects Richardson's Grandison with a topic in Austen's novels. You may discuss one or more
Austen novels. Choose from the following or consult me about your own ideas at least two
weeks before the due date:
1. Picking whichever Austen novel you like, compare Austen's and Richardson's comic
characters.
2. Picking whichever Austen novel you like, compare Jane Austen's plot suspense with
Richardson's.
3. Picking whichever Austen novel you like, compare attitudes toward marriage in
Austen and Richardson.
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4. Picking whichever Austen novel you like, compare attitudes toward religion in Austen
and Richardson.
5. Picking whichever Austen novel you like, compare attitudes toward women's
education in Richardson and Austen.
WARNING: When you write a "comparison essay" (yes, that implies "contrast," too), the most
important question to ask yourself is, "So what?" You should be proving something much more
interesting than "They are/are not similar." What does Richardson help you understand about
Austen? What broader claim can you make by looking at these two authors together?
SECOND ESSAY: This is an 8-10 page essay that includes some literary research. For this
essay, I want you to find, read, and digest (at least) two articles of literary criticism related to
your topic. Use the MLA bibliography (through the library research page). Follow the due dates
to hand in 1) Topic Thesis; 2) Preliminary Bibliography; 3) Article summaries; 4) Intro paragraph
draft; and 5) complete essay.
When you incorporate ideas from literary research into your literary essay, you must remember
that your ideas must dominate your writing. You are not simply writing a report on another
critic's article. Instead, you should cite a critic for one of two reasons:
point as authoritative evidence to support your thesis.
n order to
provide your own evidence for a different interpretation.
Your own ideas should dominate your essay, and your thesis should be original. Do not quote a
critic excessively. Usually you can paraphrase a critic's ideas. Whether you quote or paraphrase,
of course, you must include complete source citations.
Please see me if you have another topic idea. Remember, a "topic" is not a thesis; it is an area
of study about which you form a thesis. You must provide evidence in the course of your essay
to support that thesis. This evidence comes from your interpretation of the texts as well as your
citation of published critics.
Discuss at least two of Jane Austen's novels in your essay.
Recommended topics.
1. How does Austen's narrative style affect her presentation of characters' moral decision
making?
2. Some readers of Jane Austen claim she writes escapist fiction about the lives of wealthy
people in small villages. What evidence is there in her novels that she is aware of and
writes about the decline of such social privilege and a movement toward capitalism,
democratic institutions, and the breakdown of social classes?
3. Although Jane Austen is a contemporary of a number of "feminist" writers, she does not
write explicitly about rights for women, etc. What evidence is there in her novels that
she is aware of and concerned about gender differences between men and women?
4. Jane Austen was close to several clergymen—her father and two of her brothers were
churchmen. Yet many of her novels reveal the foibles and hypocrisy of members of the
clergy. What attitudes toward religion and religious participation do her novels convey?
5. Focusing on Northanger Abbey and Emma, write an essay discussing the way Catherine
and Emma both act on delusions motivated by "romantic" imaginations. What is Austen's
point?
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6. Some readers of Lady Susan consider this early work out of line with the rest of Austen's
novels. What evidence is there in Austen's later works (discuss at least two) that she
continued to practice the cutting wit and sexual awareness that we find in the early
epistolary work?
Late paper policy: I will accept late papers without penalty if you have a legitimate excuse.
"Legitimate excuses" are documented, e.g., evidence of death of a friend or family member;
evidence of medical or counseling treatment. Vacations, computer problems, or the fact that you
have work due for another course are not legitimate excuses. Okay, you just didn't manage your
time—don't hide! Let me know and we'll negotiate the deadline with some penalty.
PLAGIARISM: By now you should all know the College's plagiarism policy:
Plagiarism is the representation of someone else’s words or ideas
as one’s own, or the arrangement of someone else’s material(s) as
one’s own. Such misrepresentation may be sufficient grounds for a
student receiving a grade of E for the paper or presentation
involved or may result in an E being assigned as the final grade
for the course.
Any one of the following constitutes evidence of plagiarism:
1
direct quotation without identifying punctuation and
citation of source;
2
paraphrase of expression or thought without proper
attribution;
3
unacknowledged dependence upon a source in plan, organization,
or argument.
If you follow my directions for essay writing—making sure that your ideas dominate your essay and
keeping reporting, quoting, and even paraphrasing to a minimum, you won't be plagiarizing. Use
MLA citation style (parenthetical citations right after a quote or paraphrase) and a Works Cited page.
If I do believe a student has plagiarized on a paper, I try to resolve the situation with the student.
If plagiarism is not disproved, I send all evidence to the Dean of Students, whether or not I am
asking for a judicial hearing.
HOW I GRADE ESSAYS: The way you express yourself affects the grade you receive. Some
“B” range papers get bumped down to “C” because they are poorly written. Even if you consider
yourself a good writer, you might like to get some feedback on a draft of your essay by visiting
the WRITING LEARNING CENTER, on the second floor of Welles Hall.
• An “E” range paper means that you did not understand the assignment or the texts you are discussing.
Don’t earn an “E” range paper.
• A “D” range paper means that you have made some attempt to address the thought question, but you
have not satisfied all the requirements of the paper.
• A “C” range grade means that you have satisfied all the requirements of the paper, you have
demonstrated an understanding of the texts, but you offer no original thinking and have simply reorganized
information discussed in class.
• A “B” range paper means that you have satisfied all the requirements of the paper, you have
demonstrated an understanding of the texts, and you have shown some original thinking in arguing your
point.
• An “A” range paper means that you have satisfied all the requirements of the paper, you have
demonstrated an understanding of the texts, you have shown outstanding original thinking in arguing your
point, and you have expressed yourself with care and craft.
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Numerical Grade Translation
A:94-100; A-:91-93
B+:88-90; B:84-87; B-:81-83
D+:68-70; D:64-67; D-61-63
E: 60 and below
C+:78-80; C:74-77; C-:71-73