course guidelines
class discussion
path one calendar
path two calendar


British Literature in the Age of Modernism
Course Guidelines

“‘No; I haven’t the least sense of the ‘fist’. It’s funny.
With most men there’s the instinct to clench the fist and hit.
It’s not so with me. I should want a knife or a pistol or something to fight with’” (420).
D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers (1913)


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

THE BASICS

English 335: British Literature in the Age of Modernism: 1914-Present (4) GE C4
thematic touchstone: Violence as Subject and Catalyst
sections: section 01 (room 022.315, 8:10-10:00 a.m.); section 02 (room 022.315, 10:10 a.m. till noon)
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


COURSE OVERVIEW

The physical violence that so radically transformed thousands of lives in wartime Britain accompanied—and in many ways shaped—the more productive forms of violence early twentieth-century writers perpetrated against conventional literary forms. That greater awareness of war’s horrors produced by a more powerful and determined media machine prompted a similar commitment to both psychological and physical realism from the period’s artists. Novelists like James Joyce worked to capture the chaotic non-linearity of human thought and motivation, D. H. Lawrence reproduced the emotional and spiritual violence which sometimes characterizes relations between the sexes, and poets W. B. Yeats and T. S. Eliot struggled with expressing the alternating pulses of despair and hope coursing through their own lives. As the century progressed, the systematic cultural violence done to oppressed peoples throughout the world became another common target of English-speaking writers: in the same way that the British Virginia Woolf brings us inside the mind of a disordered psyche traumatized by battle, Buchi Emecheta takes us inside the experience of a mother in Muslim Nigeria, and Arundhati Roy recreates the tribulations of girls born into the Indian caste system.


PATH 1: In-Class Discussion and Exams

Materials (purchase these editions so that we all share the same pagination)

Assignments


PATH 2: Outside Research and Writing

Assignments

Materials


MISCELLANY

Grading: go here for an elaboration of terms used below

A = 94-100

A- = 90-93

A (18-20 on 20-pt scale, 5.4-6.0 on 6-pt scale): creative, topically focused, tightly structured, supported with the most convincing evidence, and virtually error-free

 C+ = 77-79

C = 73-76

C- = 70-72

C (14-15.9 on 20-pt scale, 4.2-4.79 on 6-pt scale): a relatively focused essay with clear sense of progression from one idea to the next; argument bolstered by some supporting evidence; distracting number of grammatical errors
B+ = 87-89

B = 83-86

B- = 80-82

B (16-17.9 on 20-pt scale, 4.8-5.39 on 6-pt scale): topically focused, tightly structured, supported with solid evidence, and containing just a few stylistic or grammatical bumps

 D = 65-69

D (13-13.9 on 20-pt scale, 3.9-4.19 on 6-pt scale): topic clear but ineffectively argued; evidence provided tangentially relates to argument; loose sense of structure; profound difficulties w/ grammar
    F = 0-64

F (0-12.9 on 20-pt scale, 0-3.89 on 6-pt scale): little evidence of effort, or contains plagiarism

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.


"Ashes"
Edvard Munch

 


Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu