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Literature 315: Enlightenment and Its Discontents
Studies in Restoration and Eighteenth-Century British Literature, 1660-1815
fall 2004 Dr. acoykenda@emich.edu Office Phone:
(734) 487-0147 Office
Location: Pray-Harrold Hall 603G Office Hours: Wednesday
10-12; Friday 10-1 ~ or email for an appointment ~
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Enlightenment and Its Discontents: Studies in Restoration and Eighteenth-Century
British Literature
Literature 315,
otherwise known as “Literature of the Neoclassical Period,” is a
class in which we will investigate a wide variety of British literature from
the period that spans the late seventeenth, eighteenth, and early nineteenth
centuries. This period is generally
referred to as the “long” eighteenth century in order to account
for the revolutions that precede and conclude the eighteenth century, both of
which influence the direction of British literary culture profoundly; namely,
the Restoration (of the monarchy) following the Civil War and, of course, the
French Revolution, the period’s spectacular fin de siècle denouement. In addition to neoclassicism, which is only
one of many aesthetics prevalent at the time and not necessarily the most
interesting nor even the most important one, we will consider a number of other
genres also representative of the period, whether they be gothic, orientalist, libertine, or sentimental, or even those
prevailing in the visual arts such as the picturesque, chinoiserie,
or rococo.
Perhaps more
than any other period, the eighteenth century represents a moment that we must
evaluate and reevaluate to challenge the values of our own time. Although often considered the quaint, tea-and-crumpets
blueprint for civil societies across the globe, the British eighteenth century
witnesses both the positives and negatives of modernity in the extreme. Thus, in midst of a massive expansion of the
slave trade, the birth of the market economy and finance capitalism, as well as
an increasingly rigid sex-gender system (culminating in “Angle of the
House” Victorian domesticity), we find a celebration of art and culture
that students of literature still cannot help but admire. We will test both the apocalyptic and utopian
visions of the British enlightenment through a diverse array of texts that put
issues of modernity at the fore. And
ultimately whether discussing literature or world events, we will attempt to
expand rather than confine our engagement with the material, not only putting
literary works in dialogue with the historical and philosophical texts of the
time, but also examining how they shape the myriad claims to (and contestations
against) modernity that still continue to vex our own.
Required Texts
The following books are available at
Ned’s bookstore (http://www.nedsbooks.com/emu/; 483-6400;
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· Norton Anthology
of English Literature: The Restoration and Eighteenth Century, Vol. 1C, Ed.
Lawrence Lipking (Norton 1999; ISBN
#0393975673). This
book is also available on reserve in Halle Library, but if you use this
version, photocopy the required pages so that you can refer to them in
class.
· Henry Fielding, Jonathan
Wild, Ed. Claude Rawson (Oxford 2003; ISBN # 0192804081)
· Ann Radcliffe, The Italian, Ed. E. J. Clery (Oxford 1998; ISBN #0192832549)
Make sure
to get the same editions pictured and listed above; otherwise, the differing
page numbers will make it difficult, if not impossible, for you to follow along
with class discussions. Many other
required texts are located in the Electronic Reserve: http://reserves.emich.edu/. It is best to
print out the Electronic Reserve materials in one sitting every few weeks in
advance from the multimedia computers on the first floor of the
Assignments
Nothing is more vital for success in this class than
keeping up with, and actively engaging in, the daily reading assignments and
class discussions. Make sure to
bring a copy of each text that we will be discussing to class. You will have to have read the assigned
material, and have it on hand, when I call on you in class or when we do group
work, which will be often. There may be
periodic, unannounced quizzes to ensure that you are keeping up with the
reading. As with any university course,
the homework will take around two hours for every hour of class, so you can
expect to spend six hours each week completing the various assignments and
readings.
There will be a large number of writing assignments:
informal responses, two essay exams, and a polished research essay. The responses will be posted to the class
listserv (coylit101@list.emich.edu), but they may also be handwritten if you prefer privacy
or have difficulty accessing the internet.
Each response should be at least 400 words, or roughly two paragraphs
and one page, although longer (or more engaged) responses will not only enhance
your grade, but also increase the ability of other students and myself to offer
feedback. The primary difference between
a response and an essay is that with the response, the mechanical elements of
writing do not matter in the least, and the goal is to freely and openly
express ideas; whereas, with the essay, the mechanical elements of writing must
be attended to very thoroughly and the goal is to defend a focused argument
clearly, coherently, and persuasively.
Guidelines on the research essay will be available in the
ER and online: http://people.emich.edu/ acoykenda/315/research315.htm.
The exams will consist only of essay questions, which I will distribute
to you in advance. You will be able
refer to an outline during the exams, but not to the texts themselves.
Grading
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20% |
Responses,
Participation, Research Proposal & Presentation |
Due Date: |
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25% |
Essay
Exam (Section 1): The Global Eighteenth Century |
September 27
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25% |
Essay
Exam (Section 2): Inventions, Ideologies: Sexuality & Gender |
October 25
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30% |
6-pg.
Research Essay on Fielding or Radcliffe |
December 20 (11 AM) |
The participation
grade, largely based on responses, quizzes, and the research project, is a
considerable portion of your final grade — 20% — so keep up with
the reading and response assignments and make your voice heard in class. Late responses are marked down only
minimally, but must be turned in within a week of the initial due date. Your total response points will be averaged,
put on a fair grading curve, and then bumped up or down slightly depending on
how actively you engage in class discussions.
Any
essay that is shorter than the required length will be marked down in
proportion to the pages missing. For
instance, a 4 1/2-page essay that is supposed to be 6 pages can receive at most
a grade of 75%, or C, since it is missing ¼ of the required length. Likewise, any late essay will drop a
third of a grade for each class late; that is, an A paper will turn
into A- if turned in one class late, an A paper will turn into B+ if turned in
two classes late, and so on.
Academic Dishonesty
Plagiarism is a very serious offense against the Code of
Student Conduct. According to Funk and Wagnalls’ New Standard Dictionary, plagiarism
is the act of “appropriating the ideas, writings, or inventions of
another without due acknowledgment; specifically, the stealing of passages
either for word or in substance, from the writings of another and publishing
them as one’s own.” The
general rule is that if you use three or more words of another writer in a row
without enclosing those words in quotation marks and acknowledging your source,
you are guilty of plagiarism. Turning
a paper in that you wrote for another class for this class, i.e. recycling the
same words for double credit, also constitutes academic dishonesty at EMU.
With the internet, plagiarism is easy and tempting to do;
however, the internet also makes plagiarism that much more easy
to catch and document, so do not even think about doing it in this class or
elsewhere. Any plagiarized writing or
cheating on the exams will automatically result in a failing, zero-percent
grade for the assignment. Thus, if you
plagiarize the final research essay, you can expect, at most, to receive a C-
(or 70%) for your final grade, supposing that you did everything else perfectly,
and if you plagiarize or cheat on the exams, you can expect, at most, to
receive a C (or 75%) for your final grade, again supposing that you did
everything else perfectly.
Course Itinerary
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Section One: The
Global Eighteenth Century |
Main Assignment: Essay Exam One |
Selections from
Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Equiano’s Interesting
Narrative; Steele’s “Inkle and Yarico”
and Addison’s “Royal Exchange” Theorist:
Edward Said |
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Section Two: Inventions, Ideologies:
Sexuality and Gender |
Main Assignment: Essay Exam Two |
Restoration Poetry
(Rochester, Behn); Selections from novelists (Defoe Roxana, Goldsmith Vicar,
Burney Journal, & Haywood Fantomina); Pope’s Rape
of the Lock; Hogarth, Marriage A-la-Mode Theorist:
Ruth Perry |
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Section Three: Early Eighteenth-Century
Underworld: Rogues & Rogue Governments |
Main Assignment: Six-page Research Essay
on Fielding or Radcliffe |
John
Gay’s Beggar’s Opera Henry
Fielding’s Jonathan Wild Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean Theorist: Claude
Rawson |
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Section Four: Late Eighteenth-Century
Underworld: Counter-Culture, Counter-Revolution, & the Surfeit of
Conformity |
Ann
Radcliffe’s Italian Theorist:
E. J. Clery |
Attendance
Because this class primarily consists of reading and
discussion — rather than facts, figures, or memorization —
attendance is crucial. You may be
absent five times without penalty.
Each absence after that will result in a reduction of your final grade
by one-third the letter grade: that is, the sixth class missed will turn a
final grade of an A into an A-; the seventh, into a B+; and so on. Aside from the grade reduction, missing
classes will hinder your ability to do the assignments properly and
promptly. If you are absent from class,
contact another student to fill you in on missed work before contacting
me. Above all, make sure to withdraw
from the course if you find that you cannot attend class regularly or fall too
far behind in the reading.
The five absences are for emergencies, so if you ditch the
class five times, do not expect a reprieve from the rule if you become ill or
have other extenuating circumstances towards the end of the semester. If there is a documented emergency (a death
in the family, lost limb, prison term, &c.) at the end of the semester, I
will go out of my way to help in any way I can, including giving an incomplete,
supposing that you have otherwise kept up with the assignments, attended class
regularly, and finished a majority of the course.
If you are not chronically late, there will be no penalty
for lateness. However, lateness can have
several undesirable consequences: you may miss crucial information (such as the
extension of a deadline) often covered in the first ten minutes of class, and
of course you will likely distract other students and myself
while entering the room. It is your
responsibility to ensure that you have not been marked absent because you were
late.
Schedule
Section One — The Global
Eighteenth Century
Wednesday,
September 1: Introduction to the Course;
Conjectural response on the 18th Century / Homework: Review the syllabus and write
down any questions that you have; Get books; Read background on Jonathan
Swift’s “Lady’s Dressing Room” (NA 2298-99, 2584-85);
Read (and re-read) Swift, “Lady’s Dressing Room” (NA 2585-88);
Read Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s
“Reasons” (NA 2588-90); View Miss Hoare’s and Lady Ossory’s “Modern Venus” in the Electronic
Reserves (ER) at http://reserves.emich.edu/ (315); Subscribe to the class
listserv at https://list.emich.edu/mailman/listinfo/coylit315 [9 pgs.]
Friday,
September 3: Discuss Swift’s
“Lady’s Dressing Room” / Homework: Begin reading “The Restoration
and Eighteenth Century” from the Longman Anthology, Part I,
905-915 (ER); Read “The Restoration and Eighteenth Century” in the Norton
Anthology (NA), pgs. 2045-53; Write a response on
Swift’s “Lady’s Dressing Room,” drawing on the
background information in the Longman or Norton anthologies in some fashion;
Send your response as an email in plain text to the listserv address at coylit315@list.emich.edu
(if you use my.emich, the email will automatically be in plain text);
For confirmation or to see other responses, visit the listserv archives at http://list.emich.edu/pipermail/coylit315/; Email your response to acoykenda@emich.edu if you have any difficulty. There will be extra credit for the student
who posts the first response. This
response and all other responses are due by the next class period, but if you
post by
Monday,
September 6: No Class — Labor Day Recess
Wednesday,
September 8: Introduction to the Period / Homework: Read Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s
Travels, Introductory Material, Chapter 1-2 of Part I (NA 2329-30; 2334-46)
[14 pgs.]
Friday,
September 10: Discuss Swift’s Gulliver’s
Travels / Homework: Read Edward Said,
“Imaginative Geography and Its Representations,” Orientalism
(ER, 5 pgs.); Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, Chapter 5-6 of Part I (NA
2354-64) [15 pgs.]
Monday,
September 13: Watch and Discuss Edward Said
on Orientalism / Homework: Consult Discussion Questions on Gulliver’s
Travels (ER); Read Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, Chapter 1-2 of
Part II (NA 2372-83); If you missed class, watch the versions on reserve at
Halle library [12 pgs.]
Wednesday,
September 15: Discuss Said’s Orientalism
and Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels / Homework: Read Swift, Gulliver’s
Travels, Chapter 3 & 5 of Part II (NA 2383-89, 2392-98) [12 pgs.]
Friday,
September 17: In-Class Response on
Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels; Begin Groupwork / Homework: Read Swift, Gulliver’s
Travels, Chapter 8 of Part II and Chapter 2 of Part III (NA 2407-19) [12
pgs.]
Monday,
September 20: Continue Groupwork on
Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels / Homework: Read Background on Joseph Addison
and Richard Steele (NA 2479-81); Read Addison, “The Royal
Exchange,” Spectator #69 (ER, 4 pgs.); Steele, “Inkle and Yarico,” Spectator #11 (ER 47-51); Write a
response on Addison or Steele, drawing on Said’s Orientalism in
some fashion and sending it as an email in plain text to the listserv address
at coylit315@list.emich.edu [11 pgs.]
Wednesday,
September 22: Discuss Coffee-House Capitalism / Homework: Olaudah
Equiano, Interesting Narrative (NA 2812-21) [9 pgs.]
Friday,
September 24: Discuss Sympathy Tragic &
Transcontinental / Homework: Review and prepare outline for
Exam One. If you are absent, a review
sheet for the exam will be available in the ER.
** Optional: Read “Taking Essay Examinations” (ER)
Monday,
September 27: Exam One (The Global Eighteenth
Century) / Homework: Review William Hogarth’s Marriage A-la-Mode (NA 2652-59);
Better images are available online at http://www.haleysteele.com/hogarth/plates/marriage.html (or the ER), but read the
contextual material in the anthology as well [7 pgs.]
Section Two — Inventions,
Ideologies: Sexuality and Gender
Wednesday,
September 29: Watch Hogarth’s
Marriage à la Mode / Homework: Finish “The Restoration and
Eighteenth Century,” Part II, from the Longman Anthology (ER
915-28) [13 pgs.]
Friday,
October 1: Discuss Hogarth,
Cultural Context / Homework: Read “The Restoration and
Eighteenth Century” in the Norton Anthology (NA 2053-60); Read
Earl of
Monday,
October 4: Discuss Restoration Literature,
Rochester, and Behn / Homework: Read “The Restoration and
Eighteenth Century” in the Norton Anthology (NA 2060-68); Read selections from Daniel Defoe, Roxana (NA 2284-91); Read selections from Oliver Goldsmith, The
Vicar of Wakefield (ER 9-12)
[16 pgs.]
Wednesday,
October 6: Discuss Defoe and Goldsmith
/ Homework: Read Eliza Haywood, Fantomina (ER,
16 pgs.)
Friday,
October 8: Discuss
Haywood / Homework: Read Ruth Perry,
“Colonizing the Breast,” Part I (ER 185-199); Frances Burney, Journal
and Letters (NA 2783-88; 2791-93) [21 pgs.]
Monday,
October 11: Discuss
Perry, Burney / Homework: Read Ruth Perry, “Colonizing the Breast,” Part
II (ER 200-208); Frances Burney, Journal and Letters (NA 2798-2805) [15
pgs.]
Wednesday,
October 13: Discuss Perry, Burney / Homework: Read Background on Alexander Pope, Rape of the Lock (NA
2505-8; 2525-26); Read (and
Re-Read) Pope, Rape, “Letter to Mrs. Arabella Fermor” & Canto 1-2 (NA 2527-33) [17 pgs.]
Friday,
October 15: Discuss
Pope, Sexualities Restoration & Neoclassical / Homework: Consult the handout on the Battle of
the Sexes debate (ER), especially the propositions; Read (and Re-Read) Alexander Pope, Rape of the Lock, Canto
3-5 (NA 2533-44) [22
pgs.]
Monday,
October 18: Discuss
Pope, Sexualities Amazon & African / Homework: Re-Read
Pope, Rape of the Lock in its entirety; Write an extended response (500
words) on Pope’s Rape and one of the other works that we have read
so far for Section Two, drawing on Perry’s “Colonizing the
Breast” in some fashion and sending it as an email in plain text to the
listserv address at coylit315@list.emich.edu
Wednesday,
October 20: Discuss Responses, Begin
Groupwork on Rape of the Lock / Homework: Prepare for Debate
Friday,
October 22: Debate
on Rape of the Lock / Homework: Review and Prepare Outline for
Essay Exam Two (Monday, October 25); If you are absent, a review sheet for the
exam will be available in the ER. **
Optional: Read “Taking Essay Examinations” (ER)
Monday,
October 25: Essay Exam Two (Sexuality and
Gender) / Homework: Read Selections from John Gay, The Beggar’s Opera,
including Background; Introduction; Act 1, Scene 1, 3-4, 7-11; Act 2, Scene
1-4; and Act 3, Scene 14-17 (NA 2605-18, 2621-26; 2650-52); Review the
“Guidelines on the Research Essay” (ER) and “Researching
Literature” (ER) [20 pgs.]
Section Three — Early Eighteenth-Century Underworld:
Rogues and Rogue Governments
Wednesday, October 27: Discuss Criminal Biography, the
Novel, & the Research Essay / Homework: Read Henry Fielding, Jonathan
Wild (ix-5) [35 pgs.]
Friday,
October 29: We will Watch and Discuss Gore Verbinski’s
Pirates of the Caribbean from 6:30-9:30 PM in Room 300 of the Halle
Library in lieu of the regularly scheduled class; Feel free to bring friends or
family; If you cannot make it to the screening, watch one of the versions (DVD
or VCR) on reserve in the library; Classes will resume Friday, November 5 / Homework: Read Jonathan Wild (6-40) [34
pgs.]
Monday,
November 1:
Film Screening Wednesday in lieu of the regularly scheduled class / Homework: Read Jonathan Wild (41-75)
[34 pgs.]
Wednesday,
November 3:
Film Screening Wednesday in lieu of the regularly scheduled class / Homework: Read Jonathan Wild (76-110)
[34 pgs.]
Friday, November 5: Discuss Pirates, the Outlaw, & Rogue Economics / Homework: Read Fielding, Jonathan Wild
(111-45) [35 pgs.]
Monday,
November 8: Discuss Fielding
/ Homework: Finish Fielding, Jonathan Wild
(146-81); Write a response comparing and contrasting Jonathan Wild and Pirates
of the Caribbean, drawing on Claude Rawson’s introduction to
Jonathan Wild and sending it as an email in plain text to the listserv
address at coylit315@list.emich.edu [35 pgs.]
Wednesday,
November 10: Groupwork on Gay, Fielding, &
Pirates / Homework: Read Radcliffe, The Italian (vii-23) [47 pgs.]
Section Four — Late Eighteenth-Century
Underworld: Counter-Culture, Counter-Revolution, and the Surfeit of Conformity
Friday, November 12: Discuss Radcliffe / Homework: Read Radcliffe, The Italian (24-71)
[47 pgs.]
Monday, November 15: Discuss Radcliffe / Homework: Read Radcliffe, The Italian (72-119)
[47 pgs.]
Wednesday, November 17: Revisit Conjectural Responses / Homework: Read Radcliffe, The Italian (120-167)
[47 pgs.]
Friday,
November 19: Discuss Radcliffe / Homework: Review discussion questions for
Radcliffe (ER); Read Radcliffe, The Italian (168-215) [47 pgs.]
Monday,
November 22: Discuss Radcliffe / Homework: Read Radcliffe, The Italian (216-310);
Write a response on one of the discussion questions, drawing on E. J. Clery’s introduction to The Italian and sending
it as an email in plain text to the listserv address at coylit315@list.emich.edu [94 pgs.]
Wednesday,
November 24 - Friday, November 26: No Class — Thanksgiving Recess
Monday,
November 29: Discuss
Radcliffe / Homework: Read Radcliffe, The Italian (311-358)
[47 pgs.]
Wednesday,
December 1: Extra-Credit
Research Presentations / Homework: Finish Radcliffe, The Italian (359-415)
[56 pgs.]
Friday,
December 3: No Class — Spring
Recess
Monday,
December 6: In-Class
Response on The Italian / Homework: Work on Research Project
Wednesday,
December 8: Research
Presentations / Homework: Work on Research Project
Friday,
December 10: Research
Presentations / Homework: Work on Research Project
Wednesday,
December 15, 1:00 - 2:30 PM: Research Presentations; Missing this class will count as two absences / Homework: Work on Research Essay
Monday,
December 20 at