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Literature 315:
Enlightenment and Its Discontents
Studies in
Restoration and Eighteenth-Century British Literature, 1660-1815
winter 2006 Dr. Abby
Coykendall acoykenda@emich.edu Office Phone:
(734) 487-0147 Office
Location: Pray-Harrold Hall 603G Office Hours: Monday 5-6 & Thursday 11-3 PM ~ or email for an appointment ~
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Enlightenment and Its Discontents: Studies in Restoration
and 18th-Century British Literature
Literature 315, otherwise known as “Literature of the
Neoclassical Period,” is a class in which you will investigate a wide variety
of British literature from the period that spans the late seventeenth,
eighteenth, and early nineteenth century.
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 — the Restoration (of the British monarchy) following the Civil War
and, of course, the French Revolution, the period’s spectacular fin de sičcle denouement. In
addition to neoclassicism, which is only one of many literary movements
prevalent at the time (and not necessarily the most interesting nor even the
most important one), we will consider other genres also representative of the
period, whether they be gothic, orientalist, libertine, 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 continue
to vex our own.
Course
Objectives:
By the end of the
semester, students will be able to
1) Comprehend,
appreciate, and critically examine restoration and eighteenth-century
literature;
2) Recognize the
most significant changes from the beginning to the end of the period, while
also perceiving the ways in which the period itself differs from those before
and after it;
3)
Make connections between
the literature of the period and its historical context by tracing the ways in
which the literature influences the culture and the ways in which the culture
influences the literature;
4)
Partake in some of the
most current, innovative, and suggestive approaches to the field by becoming
acquainted with a select yet representative sample of critical theorists;
5) Reinforce
and enrich the study of restoration and eighteenth-century literature by
placing the period and its culture in a lasting dialogue with our own.
Course Itinerary:
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Section One: The Global Eighteenth Century |
Main Assignment: Essay Exam One Research Project |
Case Study (“The Lady’s Dressing Room”); Selections
from Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, Defoe, Robinson Crusoe,
Equiano, Interesting Narrative; Steele, “Inkle and Yarico”; Addison,
“The Royal Exchange” Theorist: Edward Said (Orientalism) |
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Section Two: Inventions,
Ideologies: Sexuality and Gender |
Main Assignment: Essay Exam Two Critical Essay |
Restoration Poetry (Rochester, Behn); Pope, Theorist: Ruth Perry (“Colonizing
the Breast”) |
Required Texts:
The following textbook is available at Ned’s (http://www.nedsbooks.com/emu/; 483-6400;
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Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Restoration and
Eighteenth Century
Volume C, Ed. Lawrence Lipking (Norton 2006; ISBN #0-393-92719-0)
Make sure to get the same edition pictured above
even if you purchase the book online; otherwise, the differing page numbers
will make it difficult, if not impossible, for you to follow along with class
discussions. The most reliable way to
get the correct edition is to search by ISBN number, a fingerprint of sorts for
the book.
Many
other required texts are located online in the
Assignments:
Nothing is more vital for success in this course than
keeping up with, and actively engaging in, the reading assignments and class
discussions. Make sure to bring a
copy of each text that we will be discussing to class, whether it be a print
out from the Electronic Reserves or a selection from the anthology. You will need to have read all of the
assigned material, and have it on hand, for the groupwork and class
discussion. As with any university
class, the homework will take around two hours for every unit of the course, so
you can expect to spend six hours each week completing the various homework
assignments and reading.
Writing Assignments
There will be a significant number of writing assignments:
intermittent but informal responses, two essay exams, as well as a short but
polished 5-page critical essay. The primary
difference between the responses and the critical essay is that with the
responses, the mechanical elements of writing do not matter in the least, and
the goal is to freely and openly express ideas; whereas, with the critical
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.
Collaborative Groupwork
Guidelines on the semester-long collaborative groupwork
project, which will culminate in the 5-page critical essay that you will author
on your own, will be available in the Electronic Reserves and online: http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/315/project.htm. All in all, the
project entails 1) reading and researching one of the course materials in
advance; 2) composing a series of discussion questions in cooperation with the
peers in your group; 3) presenting the materials to the rest of the class; and
4) writing a critical analysis of the materials, perhaps based on one or two of
the discussion questions that your group designed.
Critical Thinking / Essay Examinations
In
order to encourage critical thinking about the material, the exams will be
question driven as well. There will be
one exam at the beginning and one exam at the end of the semester, each with
two sections: the first section (worth 35%) will have at least two critical
responses, in which you will apply the literary criticism or the historical
context to the primary literature, and the second section (worth 65%) will have
an essay question relating to the bulk of the primary materials, an essay
question which you will have identified and designed on your own in
advance. In effect, in the second
section, you can write on any topic that you like, so long as you are able to
address the majority of the materials covered during that section. You will be able refer to an outline during
the exams, but not to the texts themselves.
Assessment:
The more actively that you participate
in the class discussions and other collaborative assignments, the more that I
can tailor the direction of course to your particular interests and concerns. As indicated in the
table that follows, the participation grade is a considerable portion of your
final grade — 20% — so keep up with the reading, response, and groupwork
assignments and make your voice heard in class.
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20% |
Responses,
Homework, Groupwork, Participation, & Presentation |
due dates: |
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25% |
Essay Exam
(Section 1): The Global Eighteenth Century |
March 8
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30% |
Essay
Exam (Section 2): Inventions, Ideologies: Sexuality & Gender |
April 26
(11:30-1:00)
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25% |
5-Page
Research Essay Stemming from Groupwork |
April 28 at the
latest (see the schedule) |
Response/Participation
points accumulate throughout the semester, serving as a barometer of your
ongoing participation in the course. Missing
classes and/or not doing the required reading will especially hinder your
ability to finish these assignments promptly and properly. A Synopsis of Assignments
will be available online, which will detail how to complete (and how to makeup)
the various kinds of coursework: http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/315/makeup.htm. It also identifies
various extra-credit assignments that you can undertake to enhance your grade.
Academic Integrity:
Plagiarism is a very serious offense against the Code
of Student Conduct. Any
cheating on the exams or plagiarized writing will automatically result in a
failing, zero-percent grade for the assignment, as well as in further
disciplinary action from the Student Judicial Services if egregious. 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 in a paper that
you wrote for another course for this course, i.e. recycling the same words for
double credit, also constitutes academic dishonesty at EMU.
See http://www.emich.edu/halle/plagiarism.html for more specific guidelines on plagiarism. 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.
Attendance:
Because this course primarily consists of reading and
discussion — rather than facts, figures, or memorization — attendance is
crucial. You may be absent five
times without any penalty, but each absence after that will result in a
reduction of your final grade by one third of 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. This policy is
less strict than that of the English department as a whole, which automatically
fails students who miss more than two weeks of class; instead, after missing
two and a half weeks of class, your grade will start being reduced
dramatically, but not necessarily to a failing percentage if you have otherwise
done well.
The five allowable absences are for emergencies, so if you
miss class five times early in the semester, do not expect a reprieve from the
rule if you become ill or have other extenuating circumstances later in the
term. 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.
There
is no official penalty for lateness.
However, it 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 distract other students
while entering the room. It is your
responsibility to ensure that you have not been marked absent because you were
absent at the beginning of the class when I take attendance.
Schedule
Section One — The Global Eighteenth Century
Monday, January 9: Overview of Course; Student Introductions; Conjectural
Response on the Period/ HOMEWORK: 1) Get
the Norton Anthology; 2) Read the syllabus closely
(preferably online) and jot down any questions that you have; 3) Begin reading “Restoration and Eighteenth Century” from the Longman
Anthology, Part I, 905-910, available in the Electronic Reserves [ER]; 4) Read (and Re-Read) Jonathan Swift, “Lady’s Dressing Room,”
available in the ER or the Norton
Anthology [NA], pgs. 2590-93; 5) Survey the Descriptions of Texts
for Groupwork [ER]; 6) Make a list of your three preferred texts in order; 7) Email the list to me as
soon as possible (and at the latest by Jan. 16) if you miss class. [13 pgs.]
Wednesday, January 11: Review Syllabus, Conjectural
Responses, & Discuss Swift; View “Modern Venus”/ HOMEWORK: 1) Continue reading “Restoration and Eighteenth Century” from
the Longman Anthology, Part II, 919-927 [ER]; 2) Begin reading “Restoration and Eighteenth Century” from the Norton
Anthology [NA 2057-70]; 3) Re-read Swift in light of
historical background; 4) Read the handout on the Collaborative
Groupwork Project and review the Synopsis of Assignments; 5) Make sure to email the list of texts
to me as soon as possible (and at the latest by Jan. 16) if you miss class. [23 pgs.]
Monday, January
16: No Class: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Wednesday, January 18: Research Demonstration; Discuss
Introductions, Swift, & Groupwork Project/ HOMEWORK: 1) If you haven’t already, review the handout on the Collaborative
Groupwork Project; 2) See the List of Group
Assignments (available by the 17th); 3) Read the material assigned to
your group (the Descriptions
of Texts for Groupwork [ER]
specifies where to locate the texts, as well as which texts to read in
conjunction with them). [2+ pgs.]
Monday, January 23: Groupwork Step One (Notes will be available in the ER)/ HOMEWORK: 1) Consult Discussion Questions on Edward Said [ER]; 2) Read Said, “Imaginative Geography and Its Representations,” Orientalism
[ER]; 3) Optional Reading, “Travel,
Trade, and the Expansion of Empire” [Norton Topics
Online]; 4) Ongoing Project: a) Do groupwork task; b) Read
outside article; c) Write research report due 2/6. [6+ pgs.]
Wednesday, January 25: Watch and Discuss Edward Said
on Orientalism/ HOMEWORK: 1) Consult Discussion Questions on Gulliver’s Travels [ER]; 2) Read Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, Introductory
Material, Chapter 1-2 of Part I [NA 2301-3; 2323-39]; 3) Re-read Said, “Imaginative
Geography” [ER]; 4) If you miss class, watch the video on reserve at the Halle
library; 5) Ongoing Project: a) Do groupwork task; b) Read outside article; c) Write
research report due 2/6. [25+ pgs.]
Monday, January 30: Discuss Orientalism and Gulliver’s Travels/ HOMEWORK:
1) Read Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, Chapter 5-6 of Part
I [NA 2347-56]; 2) Background on Joseph Addison and Richard Steele [NA 2468-70; 2473-75]; 3) Addison, “The Royal Exchange,” Spectator #69 [NA 2478-81 (or ER)]; 4) Ongoing Project: a) Do groupwork task; b) Read outside article; c) Write
research report due 2/6. [18+ pgs.]
Wednesday, February 1: Discuss Coffee-House Capitalism
& Gulliver’s Travels/ HOMEWORK: 1) Read Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, Chapter 1-2 of Part
II [NA 2365-75]; 2) Finish Project Step Two: a) Do groupwork task; b) Read outside article; c) Write
research report due 2/6. [11+ pgs.]
Monday, February 6: Two-Page Research
Report Due; Groupwork Step Three (Notes
will be available in the ER)/ HOMEWORK: 1) Read Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, Chapter 3 & 5 of
Part II [NA 2375-81, 2384-89]; 2) Polish Discussion Questions for
your Group; 3) Group One must email the
questions to me by 3 PM on the 12th; Group Two by 3 PM on the 14th,
Group Three by 3 PM on the 19th; 4) All remaining groups should
consult the schedule on the List of
Group Assignments and take note of when their discussion questions are due. [12 pgs.]
Wednesday, February 8: Discuss Gulliver’s Travels/ HOMEWORK: 1) Read Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, Chapter 8 of Part
II; Chapter 2 of Part III; Chapter 1, 2, 5, 11 (last 2 paragraphs), & 12 of
Part IV [NA 2398-2410; 2418-25; 2431-35;
2458-62]; 2)
Write a 300-word response (typed or otherwise) on Gulliver’s Travels, incorporating Said in some fashion. [27 pgs.]
Monday, February 13: Conclude Gulliver’s Travels/ HOMEWORK: 1) View America Awakens etching and Exotic Tourism ad [ER]; 3) Consult Discussion Questions for
Steele [ER]; 3) Read (and Re-Read) Richard Steele, “Inkle and Yarico” [NA 2476-78 (or ER)]. [16 pgs.]
Wednesday, February 15: Discuss the
Romancing of Empire; Group One
Presents Steele/ HOMEWORK:
1) Read Robinson Crusoe
Summary [ER]; 2) Background
on Daniel Defoe [NA 2288-89]; 3) Consult Discussion Questions for Defoe [ER]; 4) Read Defoe, Robinson Crusoe [ER]. [30 pgs.]
Monday, February 20: Conclude Romancing of Empire Discussion; Group Two Presents Defoe; HOMEWORK: 1) Read “Slavery and the Slave Trade
in Britain” [Norton Topics
Online]; 2) Consult Discussion Questions for Equiano [ER]; 3) Read Olaudah Equiano, Interesting Narrative [NA 2850-59]; 3) Write an informal, 300-word response comparing and contrasting
Defoe with either Addison, Steele, or Equiano. [11 pgs.]
Wednesday, February 22: Discuss Transatlantic Slave
Trade; Group Three Presents Equiano; Begin Review for Exam One/ HOMEWORK: 1) Review Handout on Exam One
[ER]; 2) Optional Reading, “Taking Essay Exams” [ER]; 3) Review Section One Materials; 4) Draft Essay Question and Outline
for Exam One. [0 pgs.]
Monday,
February 27: NO CLASS (Winter Recess)
Wednesday, March 1: NO CLASS (Winter Recess)
Monday, March 6: Survey Section to Review for Exam; Peer-Review Outlines/ HOMEWORK: 1) Prepare for Exam One; 2) Optional: Meet with me during my
Office Hours to confer about your essay question and outline (Mon 5-6; Thurs
11-3). [0
pgs.]
Wednesday, March 8: Exam One (The Global Eighteenth
Century)/
HOMEWORK: 1) Finish
“Restoration and Eighteenth Century” from the Longman Anthology, Part
III [ER 911-918]; 2) Finish “Restoration and
Eighteenth Century” in the Norton Anthology [NA 2070-80]. [17 pgs.]
Section Two — Inventions, Ideologies: Sexuality and
Gender
Monday, March 13: Introduction to the Section/ HOMEWORK: 1) Consult Discussion Questions for
Restoration Poetry [ER]; 2) Background on
Wednesday, March 15: Group Four Presents Restoration Poetry/ HOMEWORK: 1) Consult Discussion Questions for Haywood [ER]; 2) Background on Haywood [NA 2565-66]; 3) Read
Eliza Haywood, Fantomina [NA
2566-85 (or ER)]. [20 pgs.]
Monday, March 20: Group Five Presents Haywood; Set up Jigsaw Coverage of
Perry/ HOMEWORK: 1) Consult Discussion
Questions for Montagu [ER]; 2) Read Background on Lady Mary Wortley
Montagu and “Reasons that Induced” [NA
2584-85; 2593-95]; 3) Read
Montagu, Turkish Embassy Letters [ER]. [13 pgs.]
Wednesday, March 22: Group Six Presents Montagu/ HOMEWORK: 1) Consult Handout on Ruth Perry
[ER]; 2) Read Perry, “Colonizing the Breast,” Parts 1 & 2 [ER]; 3) Do your particular task in a 300-word response. [23 pgs.]
Monday, March 27: Background on Poetics & Pope;
Jigsaw Coverage of Perry/ HOMEWORK: 1) Read Background on Pope (NA 2493-96; 2513-21); Read (and
Re-Read) Alexander Pope, Rape of the Lock, “Letter” & Canto 1-2 [NA 2513-21]. [20
pgs.]
Wednesday, March 29: Conclude Jigsaw Coverage of Perry; Discuss Pope/ HOMEWORK: 1) Read
(and Re-Read) Pope, Rape, Canto 3-5 [NA 2521-32].
[22 pgs.]
Monday, April 3: Continue Discussion of Pope/ HOMEWORK: 1) Consult the Battle of the Sexes
Handout [ER]; 2) Re-Read Pope, Rape of the Lock in its entirety [NA
2514-32]; 3) Write a 300-word response arguing for
either Proposition A or Proposition B on the handout. [36
pgs.]
Wednesday, April 5: Battle of the Sexes Debate/ HOMEWORK: 1) Consult Discussion
Questions for Gray; 2) Background
on Thomas Gray [NA 2862-63]; 3) Read Gray, “Ode on the Death of a
Favorite Cat” [NA 2865-66 (or ER)]; 3) Review
William Blake’s Illustrations for Gray’s Ode [ER]; 5) Also see the illustration available in the insert of the
anthology [NA C32]. [9 pgs.]
Monday, April 10: Group Seven Presents Gray/ HOMEWORK: 1) Read Background on Hogarth [NA 2656-57]; 2); Review the close-up images and read the
accompanying text for William Hogarth’s Marriage A-la-Mode [NA 2658-63]; 3) Also review the version online, clicking for larger
images (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/315/hogarth.htm). [20 pgs.]
Wednesday, April 12: Watch and Discuss Hogarth’s Marriage ŕ la Mode (40
min.)/ HOMEWORK: 1) Consult Discussion
Questions for Gay; 2) Background on John Gay [NA 2611-12]; 3) Begin Reading Gay, Beggar’s Opera, Acts 1 & 2 [NA 2613-42]. [29
pgs.]
Monday, April 17: Group Eight Begins Presentation on Gay/ HOMEWORK: 1) Finish Gay, Beggar’s Opera,
Act 3 [NA 2642-56]; 3) Write a 300-word response comparing
and/or contrasting Gay with Behn,
Wednesday, April 19: Finish Discussion & Presentation on Gay/ HOMEWORK: 1) Review Handout on Exam Two
[ER]; 2) Draft Essay Question and Outline for Exam Two; 3) Optional: Meet with me during my office hours to confer about your
outline (Mon 5-6; Thurs 11-3); 4) Review
Conjectural Responses from the first day of class; 5) Write an Optional, 300-word
Extra-Credit Response on the Conjectural Response (see the Synopsis of Assignments); 6) Make up any missing assignments
by 4/26 at the latest. [0 pgs.]
Monday, April 24: Discuss Conjectural Responses; Survey Section Two to Review
for Exam/ HOMEWORK: 1) Prepare for Exam Two. [0 pgs.]
Wednesday, April 26 (11:30-1:00): Exam Two (Inventions, Ideologies:
Sexuality and Gender)/ HOMEWORK: 1) Work on 5-page Research
Essay if
not already completed.
Friday, April 28 (2:00 PM): 5-Page Research
Essay Due (Either drop it in my mailbox in the
English Department, 612 Pray Harrold, or slide it under my office door, 603G
Pray Harrold; if the office is closed, you can approach the mailboxes from the
back hallway; anything handed in after 2 PM sharp will not be given any credit,
nor will papers sent by email.
[Syllabus last modified January 8,
2006]