English 202
Inventing Western Literature
Renaissance to Modern
Spring XXXX
Instructor: Michael Rosenberg
Office: 2115 Tawes
Office Hours: XXXX or by appointment
Email: XXXX@umd.edu
Section 0201
MWF 2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
Room 0220 Tawes
Course Description: In this course, we will read literature (primarily in translation) from a period spanning nearly
five centuries, beginning with the first part of Don Quixote in 1605 and concluding with Season of Migration to the
North in 1969. We will explore important themes and literary techniques in each book, and we will also attempt to
understand the overall evolution of Western literature from the Renaissance to the middle of the twentieth century.
This is the period of print publication, of industrialization, of the questioning of religious, political, intellectual, and
cultural authority—in short, the modern era.
My background is primarily in prose fiction, so that is primarily what we will be reading—though we will
make time for close readings of a few Renaissance poems, and possibly some later poems as well. Since there are
other introductory courses available in English and American Literature, I have chosen to strongly emphasize works
in translation. Though translation can never be perfectly accurate, poetry in translation is generally much further
away from the original than prose in translation—another reason we are emphasizing short stories, novellas, and
novels. My apologies to anyone who was hoping for more poetry or even a single play—there simply isn’t room for
everything in a course covering half of Western literature.
This course uses a broad definition of “Western” literature. Season of Migration to the North was written in
Arabic by a Sudanese man, Tayeb Salih, but he is connected to the West by his British education and to the study of
Western literature by the field known as Postcolonial Studies. Nevertheless, the emphasis here is on canonical
Russian and European texts.
This course has been divided into three units, each of which is anchored by a major novel, on which you
will be required to write a short (3-5pp.) paper: 1) The Renaissance and the Enlightenment: Don Quixote; 2)
Romanticism and the 19th Century: Madame Bovary; 3) The Twentieth Century: To the Lighthouse. These three are
vastly different novels, and all of them challenge the forms and techniques of traditional storytelling in their times.
They are all long, so you may want to get a head start. We will spend most of September on Don Quixote, an
extremely long novel which we will be reading in its entirety, at the rate of 100 or so long pages per class session.
After that, our pace will slow down a bit—more like 50 pages per session. You will be held accountable for your
reading by your participation grade (which may include short in or out of class writing), and by the comprehensive
final at the end of the semester. But the main reason to do all of the reading is to learn, to enjoy, and to help others
enjoy a lively class discussion.
Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course, the successful 202 student will be able to
1. Demonstrate familiarity and facility with fundamental terminology and concepts associated with literary analysis.
2. Demonstrate understanding of the methods used by scholars in the study of modern literature.
3. Describe how language use is related to ways of thinking, cultural heritage, and cultural values.
4. Demonstrate the ability to formulate a thesis and to support the thesis with evidence and argumentation.
Course Materials: Please, if at all possible within your budget, try to get the editions specified below, all of which
should be available through both bookstores. (I’ve tried to get as many inexpensive editions as possible.) If you have
a different edition of a text you’re writing a paper on, make sure to provide a proper MLA or Chicago-style citation
for that edition in your paper. Additional readings and handouts are available on the course Blackboard site at
elms.umd.edu.
Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote. Trans. Edith Grossman. Harper Perennial. ISBN: 0060934344
Voltaire, Candide. Dover Thrift. ISBN: 0486266893
Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther. Dover Thrift. ISBN: 0486424553
Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary. Trans. Lowell Bair. Bantam Classics. ISBN: 0553213415
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Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from the Underground. Dover Thrift. ISBN: 048627053X
Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. Dover Thrift. ISBN: 0486290301
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse. Harvest Books. ISBN: 0156907399
Tayeb Salih, Season of Migration to the North. Heinemann.ISBN: 0435900668
Assignments:
1.
Papers (60% of total grade – 20% each): You will write three papers over the course of the semester, 10001750 words in length—one each on Don Quixote, Madame Bovary, and To the Lighthouse. I will announce
assignments at least 10 days in advance of the due date. Papers are due by the beginning of class on the date
specified. If you are late for class, your paper will be considered late. I will subtract one-third of a letter grade
for each class session that your paper is late (A becomes A-, A- becomes B+, etc.). Submit your paper as a hard
copy in class. I do not accept emailed papers. Make sure your paper is correctly formatted, including (but not
limited to) an original title, the topic you’ve chosen to write on, correct spacing, and a correct word count. Papers
will be considered late and will continue to accrue penalties until submitted in the proper format. Papers will
be graded on the originality and depth of your analysis, your use of close reading of the text (attention to individual
words or passages), the clarity of your thesis, the unity of your argument, and the quality and clarity of your writing
(including organization and grammar). You should also make sure that you have fulfilled the assignment—that
you’ve answered the question posed, and that you’ve written the right amount of words or pages, neither more nor
less than is required. If you have questions about these requirements, either in general or for a specific assignment,
come see me during my office hours or email me for an appointment. I am also happy to help you with any ideas or
drafts you are working on before a paper’s due date.
2.
Participation (10% of total grade): I will assign daily reaction papers which are due, typed each class—
these will often be used as a springboard for class discussion. You will receive credit (check mark) for each reaction
paper you hand in that shows a reasonable effort to answer the question I’ve posed and demonstrates that you’ve
done the reading for the day. You should consider these reaction papers a safe place to try out ideas. You can feel
free to re-use ideas from reaction papers in class discussion or, if appropriate, on one of the major papers in the
class. In addition to the reaction papers, I may give brief in-class writing assignments or quizzes. I may also offer
occasional extra credit assignments. I will add up the number of assignments you’ve received credit for over the
course of the semester, multiply by four, and divide by the total number of assignments (minus extra credit) to
determine your participation grade on a 4-point scale. I may also adjust this number based on your in-class
participation: you’ll receive a bonus for exceptional participation, and a penalty if you’re disruptive, leave class
without my permission, or don’t participate in group activities. You may not make up a missed reaction paper
without a properly documented (and notified) excused absence. You may have to read a passage—or an entire
text—more than once in order to be able to talk or write about it for class.
3.
Final Exam (30% of total grade): Your final exam will consist of passage recognition and short essays. I
will only include passages that we’ve discussed in class, or passages that clearly reflect issues we’ve discussed in
class. The essay questions will ask you to compare multiple works from the semester in reference to a major theme
or technique we’ve discussed.
Grading Policy: An “A” represents truly exceptional work. For papers, that means that you have met and exceeded
the requirements of the assignment with clever ideas, sound reasoning, and acute close reading, clearly expressed.
For attendance, that means that you have regularly contributed positively to discussion, as well as having turned in
an acceptable reaction paper for the vast majority of those assigned. For the final, an “A” means that you have
understood, remembered, and successfully communicated key concepts and passages we’ve discussed while also
providing new insights into the texts.
“B” papers are thoughtful and readable, and they contain close reading, but they may not be very striking or
original. “B” attendance means you often participate in class and turn in most of your reaction papers. “B” finals
may miss a few things here and there, but still display command of most of the key concepts and passages.
“C” papers may not delve closely into the text, but they still adequately meet the requirements of the
assignment, backing up claims with evidence from the text. They may also lack clarity or have grammar problems.
“C” attendance means you are missing a lot of class, you’re not participating much, or you’re not handing in many
reaction papers that show you’ve comprehended the text.
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“D” or “F” papers have severe problems with clarity, are largely or completely lacking in evidence to back
up arguments, or they fall short of the basic assignment requirements (length, answering the question), “F” more
severely than “D.” Plagiarism will result in an automatic “F”--so make sure you understand what plagiarism
is—including, but not limited to, unattributed use of another’s words, ideas, or sentence structure. (See course
policy #3 below, as well as the University’s Code of Academic Integrity, for more details.) “D” or “F” participation
means you’ve hardly turned in any adequate reaction papers, you’ve missed most of class, or you’ve been disruptive
in class.
For each class session that a paper is late, I will deduct one-third of a letter grade from your paper’s
final grade. (A paper is late once class has begun.) I will not accept late reaction papers.
1.
Course Policies:
Attendance is not strictly required, but absences will necessarily affect your participation grade. If you
provide proper and prompt documentation of an excused absence (before the absence if it was foreseeable;
immediately upon your return to class if it was not), I can provide you with an assignment to recoup your
participation grade. In some cases (when you don’t have any other paper options and could not have submitted the
paper in advance), I may extend the deadline for a particular paper—but you must contact me as soon as possible
and receive special approval for any such extension. If you will be missing class for religious observance, you must
notify me in writing within the first 2 weeks of class and complete any papers you would like to write as well as any
makeup work for participation in advance of your absence. The same goes for absences related to Universityaffiliated activities (such as sports). In any case, if you are going to miss more than one class period in a row, it’s a
good idea to contact me by email. If you are unable to attend the final exam for a legitimate reason, contact me
immediately.
2.
Students with disabilities must be registered with Disability Support Services and contact me at the
beginning of the semester (first two weeks) in order to receive special accommodation.
3.
The University has approved a Code of Academic Integrity which prohibits students from cheating on
exams, plagiarizing papers, submitting the same paper for credit in two courses without authorization, buying
papers, submitting fraudulent documents, and forging signatures. Plagiarism policy: all quotations taken from other
authors, including from the Internet, must be indicated by quotation marks and must be properly referenced.
Paraphrasing must be referenced as well, as must ideas taken from other authors. The same applies to your
classmates—if you’re taking or building on an idea from one of them, credit them by name. The following
University of Maryland Honor Pledge has been proposed by the Council and approved by the University Senate: “I
pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment/examination.”
Please write the Honor Pledge by hand and sign on any paper you submit by hand and on your final exam. Please
type the honor pledge in an ELMS text box when you submit a paper online.
4.
Classroom Disruption will not be tolerated. Habitual tardiness (unless you’ve specifically discussed the
matter with me), inappropriate or disruptive comments, and use of any electronic devices without special
permission is unacceptable, and may severely affect your participation grade. I may also ask you to leave the
classroom. The same goes for online discussion boards. You may be critical of texts and each others’ arguments, but
by all means stay on topic and be polite.
5.
Course Schedule
Notes: This schedule is subject to change.
Date
Text
Due Today
UNIT 1: THE RENAISSANCE & THE ENLIGHTENMENT
Mon, Jan 26
Renaissance Poetry I (handout)
Wed, Jan 28
Cervantes, Don Quixote, Part 1
(1605)
Prologue, Dedicatory Poems, and Ch.
1-8 (pp. 3-65)
Fri, Jan 30
Don Quixote, Part 1 (1605)
Ch. 9-22 (pp. 65-172)
Mon, Feb 2
Don Quixote, Part 1 (1605)
Ch. 23-32 (pp. 173-272)
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Date
Text
Due Today
Wed, Feb 4
Don Quixote, Part 1 (1605)
Ch. 33-41 (pp. 272-368)
Fri, Feb 6
Don Quixote, Part 1 (1605)
Ch. 42-52 (pp. 368-449)
Mon, Feb 9
Don Quixote, Part 2 (1615)
Prologue, Dedication, and Ch. 1-15
(pp. 453-550)
Wed, Feb 11
Don Quixote, Part 2 (1615)
Ch. 16-29 (pp. 550-652)
Fri, Feb 13
Don Quixote, Part 2 (1615)
Ch. 30-41 (pp. 653-727)
Mon, Feb 16
Don Quixote, Part 2 (1615)
Ch. 42-53 (pp. 727-809)
Wed, Feb 18
Don Quixote, Part 2 (1615)
Ch. 54-63 (pp. 809-883)
Fri, Feb 20
Don Quixote, Part 2 (1615)
Ch. 64-74 (pp. 884-940)
Mon, Feb 23
Renaissance Poetry II (ELMS)
Wed, Feb 25
Voltaire, Candide (1759)
I-XVIII (pp. 1-48)
Fri, Feb 27
Voltaire, Candide (1759)
XIV-XXX (pp. 48-88)
Mon, Mar 2
Voltaire, Candide (1759)
***Paper on Don Quixote due by
beginning of class
UNIT 2: ROMANTICISM, REALISM, AND THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Wed, Mar 4
Goethe, Sorrows of Young Werther
(1774)
Book One
Fri, Mar 6
Goethe, Sorrows of Young Werther
Book Two
Mon, Mar 9
Goethe, Sorrows of Young Werther
Wed, Mar 11
Flaubert, Madame Bovary (1857)
Part One (pp. 1-59)
Fri, Mar 13
Flaubert, Madame Bovary (1857)
Part Two I-VIII (pp. 60-133)
Mon, Mar 23
Flaubert, Madame Bovary (1857)
Part Two IX-XV (pp. 134-198)
Wed, Mar 25
Flaubert, Madame Bovary (1857)
Part Three I-VI (pp. 199-255)
Fri, Mar 27
Flaubert, Madame Bovary (1857)
Part Three VII-XI (pp. 255-303)
Mon, Mar 30
Flaubert, Madame Bovary (1857)
Excerpts from Correspondence (pp.
311-329)
Wed, Apr 1
Dostoevsky, Notes from
Underground (1864)
Part I
Fri, Apr 3
Notes from Underground (1864)
Part II
Mon, Apr 6
Notes from Underground (1864)
***Paper on Madame Bovary due by
beginning of class
UNIT 3: MODERNISM AND THE 20TH CENTURY
Chapter 1, “Overture”
Wed, Apr 8
First night of Passover
Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost
Time (1913)
Fri, Apr 10
Good Friday
Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost
Time (1913)
Mon, Apr 13
Kafka,“The Metamorphosis” (1915)
complete story
Wed, Apr 15
Kafka,“The Metamorphosis”
complete story
Fri, Apr 17
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse
Part 1: The Window I-XII (pp. 3-71)
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Date
Text
Due Today
Mon, Apr 20
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse
Part 1: The Window XIII-XIX (pp.
71-124)
Wed, Apr 22
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse
Part 2: Time Passes (pp. 125-143)
Fri, Apr 24
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse
Part 3: The Lighthouse I-IV (pp. 145170)
Mon, Apr 27
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse
Part 3: The Lighthouse V-XIII (pp.
170-209)
Wed, Apr 29
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse
Fri, May 1
Jorge Luis Borges, “Tlön, Uqbar,
Orbis Tertius” (1940) (handout)
Mon, May 4
Tayeb Salih, Season of Migration to
the North (1969)
First 4 sections (pp. 1-69)
Wed, May 6
Season of Migration to the North
Sections 5-7 (pp. 70-115)
*** Paper on To the Lighthouse due
by the beginning of class
Fri, May 8
Season of Migration to the North
Sections 8-10 (pp. 116-169)
Mon, May 11
REVIEW/CATCH-UP
COMPREHENSIVE FINAL
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