Literature 325/Section 10525
Studies in the Novel
Professor Diana H. Polley
Spring 2016
Classroom:
Class Hours:
Office Hours:
Office:
Office Phone:
Email:
Website:
RF 231
Tuesday/Friday 2:00-3:15pm
Tuesdays 1:30-2:00pm & Wednesdays/Fridays 10:30-11:00am &
12:15pm-2:00pm
Robert Frost 218
x2539
d.polley@snhu.edu
dhpolley.com
Course Description:
This course will focus on the novel as a literary genre, tracing its intricate conventions, its
historical origins, and its current manifestations. In reading novels from the 18th through
21st centuries, students will learn not only the complex dynamics of the genre’s form but
also the critical influence the novel has had on society, culture, and politics over the
centuries.
Course Objectives and Learner Outcomes (General Education Learning Goals are
indicated in parenthesis):
Students will be able to:
 Recognize the complex relationship between the novel, history, society and cultural
categories of race, class, and gender (Knowledge of Human Cultures and the
Physical and Natural World);
 Construct critical positions on novels based on close readings of primary sources,
secondary sources, and contextual analysis (Critical and Creative Thinking);
 Compose a well-developed essay that incorporates secondary sources into a close
reading of one or more literary texts (Communication).
 Develop their aesthetic appreciation for literature and understanding of the critical
role it plays in culture and society.
Required Texts (all available in the SNHU bookstore):
Note: there will be many other required readings in the form of BlackBoard/online texts
(most notably Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko and sections of Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy),
but these are the texts you must purchase for class:
Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White. New York: Penguin, 2003.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004.
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Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Vintage, 2004
Egan, Jennifer. A Visit from the Goon Squad. New York: Random House, 2011.
Course Requirements and Grading:
Papers #1 and #2 (~3-5 pages each)
Final Research Paper (~6-8 pages)
Oral Presentation
Final Exam
In-class Assignments and Quizzes
Class Participation and Attendance
20%
25%
10%
25%
10%
10%
Reading Assignments:
In this course, we will begin with Aphra Behn’s 17th-century Oroonoko, what many
consider to be the first example of the novel in the English language; we will continue
by “trudging” through the first Volume of Laurence Sterne’s 18th-century novel
Tristram Shandy (more on this later, but to begin to understand the novel form, you
must get a taste for/of this crazy masterpiece); the 1859 Wilkie Collins mystery, The
Woman in White, will provide us with an excellent example of the Victorian novel—if
you find time, try to begin this novel early as it is long, albeit eminently readable and
fun; moving into the 20th-century, we will also move to America, starting with F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby; we will begin to see great changes in the novel
form in Toni Morrison’s 1987 Beloved; and, lastly, we will end with Jennifer Egan’s
21st-century A Visit from the Goon Squad and, here, will reconsider the novel form itself.
Written Assignments:
There will be three formal writing assignments. The first two papers will each be 3-5page close reading assignments (an analysis of one of the novels we read in class), and
the second will be a ~6-8 page essay also on one of the novels written in class, but this
paper will require secondary sources. Any secondary sources used must be
appropriately cited using the MLA style.
Presentation:
Each student will be asked to give a 5-10 minute presentation (not read, although you
are welcome to use technology such as PowerPoint and/or handouts). For the
presentation, you will be asked to summarize, analyze, and evaluate for the class a
secondary source—a critical reading of one of the assigned novels (to be presented on a
day we are reading the novel). I will provide help finding secondary source options.
Part of this assignment, however, involves discovering and expanding your information
literacy skills—locating and evaluating sources—particularly in preparation for the
final research project, so you will be asked to explore and sift through these sources as
part of the assignment.
Examinations:
There will be a take-home final due at the end of the semester. The final exam will
consist of four or five short-answer (~1-2 pages) questions.
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General Education Assessment:
Your final 6-8 page research paper will be used to assess the General Education
Learning Goals for this course (see Student Learning Outcomes above). In addition to
using Turn-It-In, you will need to upload this final paper to Chalk & Wire, the University
e-portfolio software, to prepare for this assessment. Details will be forthcoming in class.
Additional Requirements:
This class will depend upon class participation and group work. You are expected to
come to class ready to speak and write about the assigned texts. To ensure active
participation by each member of the class, I will occasionally give unscheduled quizzes
and informal in-class writing assignments; these assignments will be designed to test
your preparation as well as comprehension of the material.
Attendance:
I consider effort to be an essential aspect of this course. This means that being late,
absent, and not participating in class discussion and paper workshops will illustrate a
lack of interest in the class, in your work and in your final grade. Ten percent of your
grade will be determined based upon your class participation and attendance. Anything
over four absences is considered unacceptable; if you miss more than four classes, you
may be dropped from the class at my discretion. Three late arrivals (i.e. after I take
attendance) will count as one absence. AND, if you come in after I have taken
attendance, it is your responsibility to remind me of your presence after class.
Other Classroom Policies:
When you enter this classroom, you join a group of students who sit down for over an
hour at a time to study together. For this reason, some general common courtesy
policies are essential. Among them… Please turn off or silence your cell phones
BEFORE you come into class. Sometimes you forget, and so the first time it goes off, you
will get a warning; the second time, however, you may be asked to leave. This goes for
texting as well (and please note that texting above or below the desk is equally rude).
Also, please refrain from using laptops except for note taking and other classroom
activities—recreational laptop use in the classroom generally results in distraction for
all, particularly the student using the laptop. If you need to bring food or a beverage to
class, it should be inoffensive (i.e. loud crunching on chips, messy dripping ketchup, and
smelly tuna sandwiches are generally distracting). Finally, please follow basic
protocols of politeness: this means coming to class late, walking in and out, talking to
your neighbor, and leaving early are all rude and affect the learning environment. In
general, use common sense.
Resources:
Writing Tutors: The Learning Center is located in Suite 207 of the Library. You can walk in
or set up regular appointments to work on your essays or grammar with tutors.
Computer Centers: Main Lab: RF 108—General PC use and printing 8am-Midnight Daily.
The Shapiro Library has carrels where laptops may be connected to the Internet and to
printers.
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Library: Links on documentation (MLA, APA, Chicago Style): Go to SNHU
Library>Guides>Documentation Guides>MLA. Research Help: ask a Reference librarian for
help finding printed or online information.
Southern New Hampshire University Policy Statements:
Academic Honesty Policy:
http://family.snhu.edu/Resources/policiesandprocedures/UC/Pages/AcademicHonesty-UC.aspx
ADA/504 Compliance Statement:
Southern New Hampshire University is committed to and concerned with meeting the
needs of students challenged by physical, sensory, psychiatric, attention, and/or
learning disabilities with regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. At the beginning of each term, or as soon as
you become aware of a disability, we encourage you to contact the Office of Disability
Services to discuss accommodations for which you may be qualified.
For questions concerning support services, documentation guidelines, or general
disability issues:
Office of Disability Services, Exeter Hall, Suite 56
603.644.3118
disabilityservices@snhu.edu
For questions concerning ADA/504 related compliance matters, grievance or
legal issues, the contact information is:
adacompliance@snhu.edu
(603)645-9664 phone/(603)645-9717 fax
For all syllabi statements, use the link below:
https://my.snhu.edu/Academics/Pages/SyllabiStatements.aspx
Schedule of Assignments:
The following is an outline of assignments for the semester. Readings may be shifted or
changed as necessary, and supplemental essays will often be assigned in the form of
handouts or online links; if you miss a class, be sure to contact a fellow classmate
and/or check Blackboard. Finally, texts in brackets indicate secondary sources we will
be using as applications for the literary theory readings; unless it is a film (which we
will watch in class), you are responsible for reading these texts in time for class.
Week One
Jan. 19
Jan. 22
Introduction to course
Introduction to each other
Oronooko (read all of novel on BlackBoard)
E.M. Forster: “People” (47-58 on BlackBoard)
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Week Two
Jan. 26
Jan. 29
Oronooko
E.M. Forster: “Story” (21-24; 30-32 on BlackBoard)
E.M. Forster: “Plot” (59-62 on BlackBoard)
Tristram Shandy (Volume I: chapters 1-25 on BlackBoard)
Rimmon-Kenan: Narrative Levels and Voices (86-105 on BlackBoard)
Week Three
Feb. 2
Tristram Shandy (Volume I: chapters 26-52 on BlackBoard)
Rimmon-Kenan: Text: time (43-58 handout)
Feb. 5
Bakhtin: “Discourse in the Novel” (338-351 on BlackBoard)
Week Four
Feb. 9
ONLINE CLASS
Woman in White (“Preface” and to 93, end of chapter XII)
(Note: we will read this novel according to how it was originally serialized.
See Appendix C 651-52 in the Penguin for serial information.)
Feb. 12
Week Five
Feb. 16
Feb. 19
Week Six
Feb. 23
Feb. 26
ONLINE CLASS
Woman in White (94-195, end of Part II)
Woman in White (196-275, after “Anne Catherick”)
Woman in White (276-361, after “Had he found her?”)
PAPER #1 DUE
Woman in White (362-451, end of Part IV)
Woman in White (452-534, after “give you the answer, immediately”)
Week Seven
Mar. 1
Woman in White (535-627, end of Part III… End of Novel)
Mar. 4
Make-Up
Week Eight
Mar. 8/11 Spring Break
Week Nine
Mar. 15
The Great Gatsby (chapters I-V: 5-102)
Lukács: “Theory of the Novel” (185-201 on BlackBoard)
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Mar. 18
Week Ten
Mar. 22
Mar. 25
The Great Gatsby (chapters VI-IX: 103-189)
Beloved (3-67)
Beloved (68-124)
PAPER #2 DUE
Week Eleven
Mar. 29 Beloved (125-195)
Apr. 1
Beloved (199-252)
Week Twelve
Apr. 5
Beloved (253-324)
Apr. 8
Make-Up
Week Thirteen
Apr. 12 A Visit from the Goon Squad (3-38)
Apr. 15
A Visit from the Goon Squad (39-108)
Week Fourteen
Apr. 19 A Visit from the Goon Squad (108-165)
Apr. 22
A Visit from the Goon Squad (166-233)
Week Fifteen
Apr. 26 A Visit from the Goon Squad (234-340)
Apr. 29
Make-Up
FINAL PAPER DUE
EXAM WEEK
May 6th FINAL EXAM DUE (in person), 10:30am-12:30pm, RF 218