Great Basin College
English 449A Online
British Literature I
The Middle Ages to the Late Eighteenth Century
Fall 2010
Professor Susanne Bentley
Office Hours: M/W: 12:30 – 2:30 p.m., T: Noon - 1 p.m. and 2:30 – 3:30 p.m., and by
appointment.
Office: Room: MH120
Phone: 775-753-2358
E-mail: Use WebCampus e-mail for all correspondence
Office e-mail: susanneb@gwmail.gbcnv.edu
Course Description: Reading and discussion of major British authors from the Middle
Ages to the late Eighteenth Century.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: A 200-level literature course or instructor’s approval
Required Texts: The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors.
8th ed. Volume A. Edited by Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: Norton, 2006.
ISBN: 978-0-393-92830-3
Additional Required Reading: Norton Anthology of English Literature Online
(subsequently referred to as NAEL) and illustrative material as assigned.
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/middleages/welcome.htm.
Audio Recordings: We will listen to audio recordings. You will need to download Adobe
Flash Player to hear these. For a free download, click here:
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/.
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COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. To present the chronological study of British literature from around the mid1300s through the Restoration period to the late Eighteenth Century
2. To introduce the student to the various genres, movements, and styles of
literature found within the chronological period
3. To acquaint the student with the historical, religious, social, intellectual, and
economic influences affecting British literature and the English language
4. To develop the rhetorical skills taught in an upper-division English course
5. To build on the student’s skills in argument development and critical analysis
6. To help students recognize form and pattern in literary works as a means of
understanding their meanings.
7. To help students understand the influence of race, class, and gender on
literature and interpretation.
Learner Outcome
Measurement
1. Know the chronology of each literary period covered by
the course and be familiar with the historical, political,
literary, religious, and economic forces occurring in those
periods.
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Evaluation of communication
with instructor and other
students in discussion postings
Evaluation of weekly writing
assignments
Quizzes and exams
2. Demonstrate comprehension of basic historical, religious,
social, intellectual, and economic influences on British
literature and on the English language.
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3. Recognize and evaluate form and pattern in literary works
and identify their contribution to the work and its
meaning.
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4. Demonstrate rhetorical skills appropriate for an upperdivision English course.
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5. Demonstrate skill in argument development and critical
analysis of literature
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6. Evaluate and demonstrate understanding of the influence
of race, class, and gender on literature and ideas in
eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth-century thought,
especially in terms of the society and culture.
7. Integrate knowledge of various literary periods and
synthesize
ideas from different literary works to form original
interpretations.
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Formal Essays evaluated by
rubric
Evaluation of communication
with instructor and other
students in discussion postings
Evaluation of weekly writing
assignments
Quizzes and exams
Formal Essays evaluated by
rubric
Evaluation of communication
with instructor and other
students in discussion postings
Evaluation of weekly writing
assignments
Quizzes and exams
Formal Essays evaluated by
rubric
Evaluation of communication
with instructor and other
students in discussion postings
Evaluation of weekly writing
assignments
Quizzes and exams
Formal Essays evaluated by
rubric
Exams
Formal Essays evaluated by
rubric
Quizzes and Exams
Methods Instruction: Internet lectures, student discussions, instructor feedback on
assignments, conferences, group activities.
Course Policies
Your commitment to class: This is a 3-credit, senior-level course. Your writing will
display a level of critical thinking; intellectual engagement with the texts; and correct
grammar, punctuation, and syntax appropriate to that level. As a student in this class,
you should be prepared to spend at least nine hours a week reading and preparing
assignments. It is essential that you commit yourself to this degree of involvement to
be successful in this course.
Please ask yourself if you can devote a significant amount of time to reading preparation. My
recommendation is to read from your literature book least a half hour each day.
This does not mean each class day, but EACH DAY. I think this is what it will take. Spacing out
your reading will also make it more enjoyable.
The specific assignments and requirements for the class are explained in detail in the
Web Campus Assignment Drop box.
Assignment due dates: The GBC English Department enforces a “no late papers”
policy. Please plan ahead for computer problems or server disruptions.
Each assignment has a due date. If you experience an emergency and miss the due
date, you may submit your assignment within 24 hours of the due date for a twenty
percent reduction in credit. The assignment will be marked as “late.” No more than two
late assignments will be accepted during the semester. After the 24 hour period, you
cannot submit your assignment. No assignments will be accepted through e-mail.
Missed peer reviews cannot be made up.
Weekends/Holidays: Usually, I will not be checking the website on weekends or
holidays, so please plan accordingly.
Assignment Submission Guidelines: All work must be typed and be formatted
according to MLA guidelines. Your work must be saved as a Microsoft Word document.
This means the file extension will say either “.doc” or .docx.” If you do not have
Microsoft Word, you need to save your document as a Rich Text Format document (rtf)
in order for me to read it. It is your responsibility to understand this. Microsoft Works
is not the same as Microsoft Word. If I can’t open your document, you will
not receive a grade for the assignment. Ask the Help Desk for assistance if
you do not understand how to save your work in the correct format.
Submitting Assignments: All assignments you turn in must be turned in to the
Assignment Drop Box on WebCampus. You have until 11:55 p.m. on the due date to
submit the assignment. Plan on turning in your assignments at least a day before they
are due to avoid unforeseen circumstances, such as your browser not working or a
power outage.
After 11:55 p.m., the Assignment Drop Box will allow you to submit a late submission
within 24 hours of the due date. This assignment will be marked “LATE.” Twenty
percent of the grade is reduced for a late assignment. No more than two late
assignments will be accepted during the semester. Only assignments submitted through
the correct assignment drop box will be accepted. Do not send any assignments to
me through e-mail.
Computer Crashes/Lost Documents/The dog ate my disk, etc.: Always save
your work to an external storage device. Computers may crash, and you could lose
weeks’ of hard work. If this happens, your assignments will still be counted as late, so
be sure to save everything to an external device.
Format for Papers: All essays must be submitted in proper 2009 MLA format. Read the
chapters in your texts on MLA Documentation carefully to see how to do this, and see The
Everyday Writer for an example of a correctly formatted paper. Use 12 pt. standard font, such
as Times Roman or Ariel, font on all assignments. Read the link on the homepage under
“Lecture Notes” on “Format for English Papers” for more information.
It is expected that you will check your assignments for proper grammar, sentence
structure, syntax, and punctuation. Use The Everyday Writer to check these before you
submit an assignment. Please present work that is neat, carefully proofread, and
correctly formatted using 2009 MLA formatting. Practice proper paragraph structure -indention, a topic sentence that presents the paragraph’s main idea, sentences in the
paragraph body that develop the topic sentence with concrete details, data, facts, and
examples, and a concluding sentence.
NOTE: Failure to follow these format guidelines may result in your paper being
returned without an evaluation.
Your assignments are outlined in detail on Web Campus.
Go to the homepage and click on the appropriate learning module for assignments.
Professionalism in Writing: This course is a professional setting, and every message
you send in such a setting needs to be clear, concise, and checked for spelling and
grammar. An infrequent mistake is understandable, but if your email messages and
postings are continually difficult to read, this will affect your final grade. Your writing
reflects the quality of your thinking. Every message you send has the potential to elicit
a reaction from your reader. Give careful consideration to how you want your readers to
perceive you. When readers in a professional setting see documents with improper
syntax, poor grammar, and misspellings, this affects how seriously readers will take the
writer.
Do not assume that because email and discussion postings can be written quickly that
they can be sloppy. Use correct grammar, capitalization, and punctuation for all of your
e-mail correspondence. Use the HTML editor on all of your email messages and check
them for spelling using the “ABC” icon before you send your message.
Point of View: In academic writing, use the third-person point of view (he, she, it, or
they). If you are writing about a personal experience, it is permissible to use firstperson point of view (I), but use this sparingly and only when it adds to your paper. Do
not use second-person point of view (you) in academic writing. Also, avoid
using contractions in academic papers.
Online Discussions and Group Activities: You will be responsible for participation in
online discussions each week. Assignments may include individual responses and group
activities. You will be assigned a discussion group.
Attendance: Although this course is delivered through WebCampus, you are expected
to make the same commitment to participation as an on-campus course. You will log on
to the site at least two times per week. Class discussion will take place through the
WebCampus discussion board; postings to this discussion board and responses to other
students’ postings will be part of your grade. You may also be expected to respond to
the drafts of your classmates.
Participation and Late Work: Class participation is an essential part of English
449A, so regular participation and keeping current with the assignments will be figured
into the final grade. Plan on checking the course Website at least three days each week
Late assignments will not be accepted. There is a cut-off date for each
assignment. Once this date is past, you cannot turn an assignment in to the Drop box.
You will be dropped from the class for excessive non-participation or incomplete/late
assignments.
How to Succeed in this Class:
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Purchase and read the required texts. Do not expect to pass this class without
buying the textbooks.
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Participate in, and make a contribution to, online discussions of the literature.
Complete all assigned writing and reading on time.
Adhere to MLA standards for formatting papers.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY
I have no tolerance for cheating or plagiarizing another author’s work.
You are expected to be honest. Acts such as cheating and plagiarism are violations of
the University of Nevada System’s code of conduct as well as violations of the standards
of intellectual honesty. Students who violate these standards are subject to
consequences ranging from failure of this class from to dismissal from the academic
institution.
Academic dishonesty is defined as an act of deception in which a student claims credit
for the work or effort of another person or uses unauthorized materials or fabricated
information in any academic work. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this
class. Any evidence of academic dishonesty/plagiarism in this course will result in a
failing grade on the assignment and/or a failing grade for the course. Any act of
cheating will be forwarded to the Vice President for Student Services and will be noted
in your permanent record. You should be aware that acts of academic dishonesty may
mean potential suspension/expulsion from the institution and are considered serious
offenses. If you are ever uncertain about your use of another person’s work (ideas,
language, data, etc.), you must come to see me about it.
Acts of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, the following:
CHEATING--unauthorized copying or collaborating on a test or assignment, or the use
or attempted use of unauthorized materials;
TAMPERING--altering or interfering with evaluation instruments and documents;
FABRICATION--falsifying experimental data or results, inventing research or laboratory
data or results for work not done, or falsely claiming sources not used;
PLAGIARISM--representing someone else’s words, ideas, artistry, or data as one’s own,
including copying another person’s work (including published and unpublished material,
and material from the Internet) without appropriate referencing, presenting someone
else’s opinions and theories as one’s own, or working jointly on a project, then
submitting it as one’s own;
ASSISTING--assisting another student in an act of academic dishonesty, such as taking
a test or doing an assignment for someone else, changing someone’s grades or
academic records, or inappropriately distributing exams to other students.
The Internet creates temptations to steal others’ ideas and words from the vast
resources on the available on-line. Do not give in to this temptation unless you are
willing to cite your sources completely. Remember, if you found something on the
Internet, I can find it too. I have a computer program that will search for plagiarism,
and I use it often.
Academic honesty is paramount to your success in college. If you are unsure about the
definition of plagiarism, please come see me, and we will discuss your concerns.
Grading policy:
1. Mid-Term Exam........................15%
2. Three Critical Papers.................20% each
3. Final Examination..................... 10%
5. Discussion postings and group activity participation ……………15%
My personal goal is to see you succeed in this class while enjoying a challenging
and exciting learning experience. I am very excited about teaching British
Literature, and I want our class to enjoy making discoveries together about some
exceptional writing.
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ADA Statement: Any student with a disability requesting accommodations is
requested to contact the Student Services Office in Elko at 753-2271 as soon as
possible. If you have concerns or academic problems, or if you feel you need special
assistance, please discuss all matters with me as soon as you can.
Professor Susanne Bentley
British Literature II, ENG 449A
Fall 2010
Assignments
Text: The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors, 8th edition,
Volume A.
Always read the biographical head-notes that appear at the
beginning of each author’s work.
All readings below are required.
Literary terminology appears in the back of the anthology.
Our companion Website is Norton Anthology of English Literature (marked NAEL in the
syllabus). You will be assigned readings from this site:
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/middleages/welcome.htm
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Links for required reading appear for each reading assignment. You are required
to read the page that appears in the link.
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Additional links may appear, and they will provide good background information,
but these will not be required reading. Quite often the “Texts and Contexts” link
will take you to background information related to texts that we are reading, and
I highly recommend these.
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You will also need scroll down to “Audio Reading” and hear some of the poems
that we are studying.
Our textbook contains a section of artwork from each period. Be sure to review these as
you read to enrich your understanding of cultural and intellectual trends that dominated
each period.
Week 1: 8/30
Read:
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“The Middle Ages to 1485” pp. 1-25.
Literary Terms:
o (B) Genre and Mode pp. A55-A59 particularly:
o (ii) Rhetoric Figures of Speech A46, particularly alliteration, assonance,
rhyme
Colorplates C1-C3
Read:
NAEL:
1. “The Middle Ages”:
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/middleages/welcome.htm
2. “Medieval Estates and Orders”:
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/middleages/topic_1/welcome.ht
m
Read:
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“Beowulf” introduction pp. 26-28 and lines 1-98 pp. 31-33. Log on to NAEL and
listen to the audio recordings of Seamus Heaney reading from “Beowulf.”
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/audio.htm
“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” introduction and lines 1-35, pp. 112-115.
Scroll down to #4 in the NAEL audio recordings to hear the first few lines read in
Middle English.
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Colorplates C4-C8
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Chaucer introduction pp. 165-170 and “General Prologue” pp. 170-190. (You may
find reading the translation of the “Prologue” easier. Find this on the course
homepage under “Early British Literature Websites”). Log on to NAEL and listen
to the audio recordings of Chaucer, #5 and #9.
Post to Discussion 1 by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Respond to one post by Saturday.
Week 2: 9/6
Read:
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Chaucer: “The Miller’s Prologue and Tale” 191-207 and “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue
and Tale” 207-234. Again, you may find reading the translation easier to understand.
Post to Discussion 2 by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Respond to one post by Saturday.
Week 3: 9/13
Read:
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“The Sixteenth Century” pp. 319- 347.
NAEL: The Sixteenth Century
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/16century/welcome.htm
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Literary Terms: “Meter, Rhythm” pp. A49 and “Verse Forms” pp. A51
Colorplates C9-C12
NAEL:
Howard, 353-354
Queen Elizabeth’s “The ‘Golden Speech’” 363-65
Browse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faerie_queen
Read: Spencer: The Faerie Queen, Book 1, Canto 1, 370-83
Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” 459-60
Listen to the audio recording of "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,"
Christopher Marlowe at NAEL
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/audio_16.htm
Discussion Group 1 posts their responses by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Thought Paper #1 comparing literary periods due.
Week 4: 9/20
Read:
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Literary Terms: “Rhetorical Figures of Thought” pp. A47- 49.
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Shakespeare’s “Sonnets”: 3, 15, 18, 29, 30, 60, 94, 130.
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Twelfth Night, Acts 1 and 2.
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Colorplates C13-C15
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Discussion Group 2 posts their responses by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Week 5: 9/27
Read: Twelfth Night, Acts 3-5.
Discussion Group 1 posts their responses by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Thought Paper #2 on Twelfth Night due
Week 6: 10/4
Read: The Early Seventeenth Century 575-599.
NAEL: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/17century/welcome.htm
Audio Recording: "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," John Donne, 1633.
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/audio_17.htm
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Colorplates C19-C22
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John Donne: “The Flea,” “The Good Morrow,” “Song,” “The Canonization,” “A
Valediction: Of Weeping,” “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” “The Ecstasy,” “The
Funeral,” “The Relic,” “Holy Sonnets,” 1 through 13, and From Devotions upon
Emergent Occasions: “Meditation 17.
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Aemilia Lanyer: “Eve’s Apology in Defense of Women,”
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Ben Johnson: "To My Book," "On My First Daughter," "To John Donne," "Inviting a
Friend to Supper," “Though I Am Young.”
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Herrick: “To the Virgins” and “Upon Julia’s Clothes.”
Discussion Group 2 posts their responses by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Week 7: 10/11
Read:
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Colorplates C16-C18
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Katherine Philips: “A Married State,” ”Upon the Double Murder of King Charles,” and
“On the Death of My First Child”
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Marvell: “To His Coy Mistress,” “The Mower to the Glowworms,” “The Mower’s Song,”
and “The Garden.”
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John Milton: Paradise Lost, Book 1: Lines 1-282.
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Study Guide: http://www.paradiselost.org/novel.html
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Discussion Group 1 posts their responses by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Week 8: 10/18
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John Milton: Paradise Lost, Book 4
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Discussion Group 2 posts their responses by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Midterm Preparation
Week 9: 10/25
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Milton, Book 9
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Colorplates C23-C24
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Discussion Group 1 posts their responses by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Midterm Exam Due
Week 10: 11/1
Read: NAEL http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/18century/welcome.htm
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Introduction to Restoration and 18th Century
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Colorplates C25-C-28
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Dryden: “Mac Flecknoe”
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Swift: Gulliver’s Travels (974- 998).
Discussion Group 2 posts their responses by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Week 11: 11/8
Read:
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Swift: 998- 1061
Discussion Group 1 posts their responses by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Week 12: 11/15
Read:
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Swift: 1062-1113 and “A Modest Proposal (1114-1119).
Thought Paper #3 due
Discussion Group 2 posts their responses by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Week 13: 11/22
Read:
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Pope (1120-1123, “The Rape of the Lock” 1137- 1155) Samuel Johnson (1210-1220);
Colorplates C30-C32
Discussion Group 1 posts their responses by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Week 14: 11/29
Read:
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Olaudah Equiano: “Narrative”
Discussion Group 2 posts their responses by Thursday at 11:55 p.m.
Week 15: 12/6
Final exam prep
Week 16: 12/13
Final exam