British & American Literature 1865-1914
Course Guidelines

“Yet half a beast is the great god Pan,
to laugh as he sits by the river,
Making a poet out of a man . . ." (ll.37-39)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "A Musical Instrument" (1860)


the basics / course goals / path 1 / path 2 / miscellany

THE BASICS

English 304: British & American Literature 1865-1914: Core V
thematic touchstone: Translantic Literature and Identity Politics
location: sec 01 (building 10, room 126), sec 02 (building 10, room 124)
instructor: Dr. Paul Marchbanks
email: pmarchba@calpoly.edu
office: 805-756-2159 / building 47 (the "maze"), hallway 35, office A / available hours
home: 805-593-0192 (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.)


COURSE GOALS

• to promote close reading and analysis
• to hone critical thinking, writing, and argumentation skills
• to provide clues to the sociopolitical, biographical, and theoretical contexts surrounding the Path 1 works under consideration
• to draw thematic and stylistic connections among transatlantic literatures emerging in the period 1865-1915, with particular attention given to artistic engagements with formations of identity inflected by gender, class, race, religion, romance, nation, artistry, and "sanity"

PATH 1: In-Class Discussion and Exams

Materials (purchase these editions; correct pagination will facilitate class discussion)

• The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. E: The Victorian Age, 8th ed. Norton, 2005. ISBN-10: 0393927210
• The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. C: 1865-1914. 7th ed. Norton, 2007. ISBN-10: 0393927415
• George Eliot’s Scenes of Clerical Life (1857, 1858). Oxford, 2002. ISBN: 9780199552603
• Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899). Norton Critical Edition, 2005. ISBN: 0393926362
  

Assignments

• participation & class discussion (9%--3 grades of 3% each, awarded at 3 and 6 and 10 weeks). Grades will be determined by: 1) frequency and quality of participation during class discussion and group activities, 2) manifest familiarity with Path 1 assigned readings, 3) timely arrival to class, complemented by infrequent departures during class, 4) turning off and avoiding use of cell phones, 5) staying abreast of course updates (check the website & your email regularly)
  
• pop quizzes (11%): eleven randomly scheduled quizzes will be given, often (not always) composed of five questions each. Questions will occasionally draw from daily "points of reflection" posted before each day's meeting. Receiving 1 pt on a quiz requires correctly answering three of five questions, or, on an essay quiz, providing at least three detailed (and relevant) points to support your response. Quizzes can cover both the current day's materials and those from the previous class period. Missed quizzes cannot be made up at a later date.
• three exams (30% total, 10% each): 50-60 minute comprehensive exams with varying formats; each will be followed by half of a normal class session.
• attendance mandatory: attendance in this class is non-negotiable; missing class will begin to hurt your grade almost immediately. You get one absence free. Your second absence (regardless of the reason) will cut 1 pt from your final grade, your third absence will cut 3 more pts from your final grade, your fourth absence will cut 5 more pts from your final grade, etc. In other words, 3 absences will remove 4 pts from your final grade, 4 absences will remove 9 pts from your final grade, 5 absences will remove 16 pts from your final grade, etc. Excused absences are difficult to come by. (Doctor visits, for instance, will not earn you an excused absence.)

PATH 2: Outside Research and Writing

Materials (purchase only these editions, not a version by some other publisher)

• Group 1: Art & Truth
  • Thomas Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus (1833-34), Oxford, 2008. ISBN: 0199540372
  • Robert Browning’s The Ring and the Book (1868-69). Broadview, 2001. ISBN: 1551113722
• Group 2: The Woman Question & Narrative Poetry
  • Alfred Tennyson’s “The Princess" (1847) online
  • E. B. Browning’s Aurora Leigh (1856). Norton, 1995. ISBN: 0393962987
  • A. Tennyson’s Idylls of the King (1859-74). Penguin, 1989. ISBN: 0140422535
• Group 3: the Brontë Sisters
  • The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848). Oxford, 2005. ISBN: 9780199207558
  • Wuthering Heights (1847). Oxford, 2009. ISBN: 9780199541898
• Group 4: George Eliot
  • Scenes of Clerical Life (1857, 1858). Oxford, 2002. ISBN: 9780199552603
  • Adam Bede (1859). Broadview, 2005. ISBN: 1551113643
• Group 5: George Eliot
  • The Mill on the Floss (1860). Oxford, 2008. ISBN: 0199536767
  • Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe (1861). Oxford, 2009. ISBN: 0199536775
• Group 6: Henry James
  • The American (1877). Oxford, 2009. ISBN: 0199555206
  • The Bostonians (1886). Oxford, 2009. ISBN: 0199539146
    
• Group 7: Edith Wharton
  • The House of Mirth (1905). Oxford, 2009. ISBN: 0199538107
  • The Custom of the Country (1913). Oxford, 2009. ISBN: 0199555123
  • The Age of Innocence (1920). Oxford, 2008. ISBN: 0199540013
• Group 8: Joseph Conrad
  • Nostromo (1904). Penguin, 2007. ISBN: 0141441631
  • The Secret Agent (1907). Oxford, 2008. ISBN: 0199536351
• Group 9: Joseph Conrad
  • Almayer's Folly (1895). Dover Thrift, 2003. ISBN: 048642677
  • Lord Jim (1899-1900). W. W. Norton & Company, 1996. ISBN: 0393963357

Assignments

• short essay responses (10% total, 5% each): each student will belong to a group of three individuals assigned to a list of weekly Path 2 readings. Students in a given group will engage their touchstone texts through short essays of 400-500 words. Multiple writing prompts will be provided each of the first six weeks, and students will respond by creating a total of two essays. These compact essays should be creative, focused, highly structured, and supported by appropriately detailed evidence. Essay responses are due on Blackboard by 11:59 p.m. the Saturday after an essay prompt has been assigned. Go here for strong sample essays. Students must complete their first essay during week 1, week 2, or week 3. A second essay will be completed during week 4, week 5, or week 6.
• small group office visits (10% total, 5% each): each student must participate in two half-hour, small group sessions during my office hours, one during Wks 1-3, a second during Wks 4-6. Each such session must include every member of your Path 2 group. Please go here to choose a block of time which works, then email me with your selection. Office visit scores reflect a few things: 1) timeliness of arrival, 2) whether one brings the book with her/him, 3) apparent familiarity with *all* of the pages assigned for that week, 4) the frequency with which one backs up claims with passages in the text which s/he asked everyone to turn to, 5) creativity and insight. You cannot meet with me the same week you complete a short essay, so plan accordingly.
• prescriptions & proscriptions: either an essay or a group visit must take place during week 1; no essay or group visit may take place during week 7.
• student's choice (5%): writing prompts will also appear during week 7, week 8, and week 9. During this three-week period, each student can choose to complete either one essay related to the new path 2 reading, or one office visit (w/ amenable members of their group).
• term paper prep (5%): students will construct a detailed, 2-4 page outline and a single page of their term paper, submit both items (as a single Word file) to a Wk 9 forum on Blackboard, and attend a joint paper conference with me and the other members of their group (1 hr session) to discuss these two creations. These paper conferences can be scheduled at each Path 2 group's convenience, sometime during Week 8 or Week 9, either in my office or at my home. Please go here to choose a block of time which works for your group.
• all assignments mandatory: students who do not complete the five shorter Path 2 assignments and the term paper conference CANNOT TURN IN THEIR TERM PAPER.
• term paper (20%): students will construct a 7-8 page argument that engages all of their Path 2 text(s). Due either Sunday, 14 March or Thursday, 18 March (each student's choice). Send final Word files as attachments to Dr. Marchbanks.
• extra credit: during week eight, I will screen at my condo cinematic adaptations of one of the two novels completed by each group. If you choose to attend this optional opportunity, you can earn one point (to be added to your final course average) for engaging in intelligent discussion about the stylistic and narratological choices made by the screenwriter and director. (Up to two points can be awarded, theoretically, but this requires rare brilliance during our discussion.) My schedule during this week will be quite flexible, allowing student groups considerable leeway in choosing a screening time that works for them.

MISCELLANY

Grading: go here for an elaboration of terms used below

Contact
Take advantage of my frequent availability throughout the week. Go here to find an open slot, then email me to reserve that time for an office visit. The fastest way to contact me if you have a quick question is via email. You can also reach me in my office at 805-756-2159, or in the evening (before 9 p.m.) at 593-0192.

Writing Lab Center
Experienced writers at the University Writing & Rhetoric Center offer free assistance with writing assignments for any course. Using this service will improve even the best writer’s output. Visit their website to schedule an appointment in advance of your desired date.

Plagiarism and the Honor Code
I encourage you to improve your writing with the help of peers, instructors, and myself. Remember, however, that all work you submit must be your own. Any paper containing borrowed but undocumented thoughts or words will receive a failing grade, and I am obligated to report all instances of plagiarism to the Vice President of Student Affairs. Let me know if you have further questions concerning this important issue.

"The Pet" (1853)
Walter H. Deverell

Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu