ENGLISH 449 - Melville and Hawthorne

Spring 2000

Professor:  Dr. Battenburg  jbattenb@calpoly.edu
Office:  47-25D
Phone:  756-2945
Office Hours:  M, T, W 9:00-10:00, W 1:00-2:00; or by appointment

Course Description:

This course focuses on Melville and Hawthorne.  Characteristics of American Romanticism will be discussed in class, and students will examine how these themes are revealed in the novels and short stories of Melville and Hawthorne.  Along with studying published literary works, students will also be exposed to various personal letters exchanged between the writers and notebook entries.  Both primary works and important criticism will be analyzed in detail.  Because the class is a seminar, students will be expected to lead out in and participate in discussions.  An essay examination will be given, and a ten to twelve page critical paper will be assigned.  Students will be expected to present their papers.

In-class activities and reading assignments will be supplemented by accessing and creating websites in American literature. Student will be required to use the computer to participate in these online activities. The URL (or address) for my American Literature to 1860 website is as follows:
http://cla.calpoly.edu/~jbattenb/amlit/

Texts:

Hawthorne, Nathaniel.  The Marble Faun.  Ed. with Intro. by Richard Brodhead.   New  York:  Viking Penguin, 1990.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel.  Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales.  Ed. by James McIntosh.   New  York, Norton, 1987.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel.  The Scarlet Letter.  Ed. by Seymour Gross et al.  3rd ed.   New York, Norton, 1988.

Melville, Herman.  Great Short Works of Herman Melville.  Ed. with Intro. by  Warner Berthoff.  New York:  Harper and Row, 1969.

Melville, Herman.  Moby-Dick.  Ed. by Harrison Hayford and Hershel Parker.  New  York:  Norton, 1967.
 
 

Class Requirements and Grading Procedure:

1)  Attendance is required.  More than three absences will significantly lower your final grade.
2)  No late assignments or exams will be accepted.  In case of an emergency, contact me before the work is due.
3)  Class participation and presentation:  25%
4)  Critical paper:  35%
5)  Examination:  40%

Tentative Schedule:

M 27 March
Introduction to Hawthorne

W 29
Hawthorne in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales
"Preface to the 1851 Edition of Twice-Told Tales" (289-292)
"Selected Letters" (294-309)
From "The American Notebook" (309-321)
"Ethan Brand"
"Artist of the Beautiful"

M  3  April
Hawthorne in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales
"My Kinsman, Major Molineux"
"Young Goodman Brown"
"Wakefield"
"The Minister's Black Veil"

W 5
Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter (4-89)

M 10
Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter (89-178)

Online Web Assignment Due

W 12
Introduction to Melville

M 17
Melville in Great Short Works of Herman Melville
"Benito Cereno" (238-275)

W 19
Melville
Moby-Dick (1-101)

M 24
Melville
Moby-Dick (102-304)

W 26
Melville
Moby-Dick (304-470)

M  1  May
Melville
"Hawthorne and His Mosses" (535-551) in Moby-Dick
In Great Short Works of Herman Melville
"Selected Letters" (551-568)
"Bartleby, the Scrivener:  A Story of Wall Street"
"The Two Temples"
"The Paradise of Bachelors and The Tartarus of Maids"

W  3
Melville in Great Short Works of Herman Melville
"Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!"
"The Lightning-Rod Man"
"I and My Chimney"
"The Encantadas:  Sketch Second: Two Sides to a Tortoise"

M  8
Hawthorne in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales
"The Celestial Rail-road"
"The Birthmark"
"Rappaccini's Daughter"

W  10
Hawthorne
The Marble Faun (1-152)

M  15
Hawthorne
The Marble Faun (153-308)

W 17
Hawthorne
The Marble Faun (309-467)

M 22
Exam

W 24
Presentations

M 29
Vacation

W 31
Presentations

   CRITICAL PAPER DUE:  Wednesday, May 31

   FINAL EXAM PERIOD:  As stated in the Spring Schedule
   Presentations Continued

Class Discussion and Annotated Bibliography

For a seminar class to be effective, all participants are expected to take an active part in class discussions.  In addition to your regular contributions, each of you will be responsible for assisting in one class period.  There are a number of ways you may choose to introduce and discuss the authors and their works.

Basically, however, I expect you to have a thorough grasp of both the assigned readings and a variety of critical works.  When you are scheduled to facilitate class discussion, come prepared with comments and questions (written down)  which will be beneficial as we examine Melville and Hawthorne.

I am also asking that you bring a short annotated bibliography (three to five items) of important critical works and that you briefly share your findings with the class.  Please bring copies of this bibliography for your colleagues.

This activity is not to be a presentation.  Instead, you are being asked to prepare in-depth for one class period in order to guide and facilitate exploration of the texts.