Studies in British Literature: Restoration Era through World War I

Curriculum guideline

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Course
ENGL 2317
Discontinued
Yes
Course code
ENGL 2317
Descriptive
Studies in British Literature: Restoration Era through World War I
Department
English
Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Credits
3.00
Start date
End term
201430
PLAR
No
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
35
Contact hours
4 hours per week
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning activities

Some or all of the following methods will be used:

  • Lecture/discussion;
  • Group work;
  • Peer editing;
  • Group or individual presentations;
  • Independent research;
  • Instructor feedback on students’ work; and
  • Individual consultation.
Course description
This course is a survey of major representative works of the late 17th through the early 20th centuries, studied in the context of the dramatic shifts in British culture following the Renaissance. A significant portion of the readings will be poetry, from the Restoration, Neo-Classical, Romantic and Victorian Periods, and from the beginnings of the 20th Century Modernist era.
Course content

All second-year English literature courses share the following features:

  1. Students are presumed to be proficient in the writing of critical essays on literary subjects.
  2. Students are required to read in the course subject area beyond the texts assigned by the instructor or discussed in class.
  3. Students are required to incorporate into their oral and written coursework secondary source materials. These may include autobiographical or biographical material; literary criticism or theory; unassigned texts by the author under study; relevant cultural or intellectual history; or other arts, such as music, film, or fine arts.
  4. Readings and topics will vary with each instructor’s presentation of a course; however, all course materials are consistent with the objectives/outcomes for this course.

 In English 2317, students will examine:

  1. Changing theories about the nature and purpose of poetry (poetics), and about the social role and personal qualities of the poet.
  2. The reflection in literature of social issues such as industrialization and urbanization; the rise of the middle class; scientific discoveries and their impact on religious belief and depictions of nature; and changing views of liberty and individual rights, the roles and depictions of women, and social class.

 A typical reading list will include works such as:

  • Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (selections)
  • Pope, Essay on Criticism (selections)
  • Periodical essays by writers such as Johnson, Addison, and Steele
  • Equiano, Interesting Narrative (selections)
  • A selection of Romantic lyric poetry (Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats)
  • A selection of Victorian lyric poetry (Tennyson, Barrett Browning, Browning, Christina Rossetti)
  • Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
  • Conrad, Heart of Darkness
  • A selection of late 19th/early 20th century poetry (Hopkins, Hardy, Yeats)
  • A selection of World War I poetry
Learning outcomes

Upon completion of any second-year English literature course, the student should

  1. be able to use with increased proficiency the skills of literary analysis taught in first-year English courses;
  2. be able to recognize the significance of the literary and non-literary or cultural context of a work being studied, such as the biographical, historical, mythological or philosophical context;
  3. be able to read critically and use in essays secondary sources, such as criticism and other texts by the same author, as an aid to comprehending the primary text(s) being studied;
  4. be able to read critically and independently works or aspects of works not discussed in class; and
  5. be able to formulate a thesis on a given subject in one or more specific works, and to develop this thesis using suitable textual evidence.

Upon completion of English 2317, the student should also have a deeper understanding of

  1. the literary principles underlying British poetry;
  2. the characteristic aesthetic qualities and world views associated with the literature from each of the eras studied;
  3. the cultural shifts within which British literature developed from the late 17th century through the early 20th century, including intellectual, social, political, economic, and technological changes;
  4.  the evolution of secular humanism as represented in literature, for example the struggles for women’s rights and for the abolition of slavery; and
  5. the evolution of Western conceptualizations of the individual, as represented through literature.
Means of assessment
  1. A minimum of two formal academic essays, with a combined value of at least 40% of the course grade.
  2. A minimum of two other evaluations.
  3. A minimum of 80% of the course grade will be based on writing assignments (essays, essay-based exams, journals, paragraphs).  A maximum of 20% of the course grade may be based on informal writing (quizzes, short answer tests); oral reports/presentations; participation/preparation grades; and/or other non writing-intensive assignments.
  4. A minimum of 15% of the course grade will be based on in-class writing (essay or exam).
Textbook materials

An anthology of British Literature, such as Abrams et al, Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vols. C, D, E, and F (current edition) 

Prerequisites

Any TWO university-transfer first-year English literature courses, or ONE university-transfer first-year English literature course and ONE university-transfer first-year Creative Writing or English writing course.