English 10B-1 - Winter, 2011

Literatures in English II: 1700-1900

Class Information

Instructor: Miller, Elizabeth
CRN: 22420
Time: TR 12:10-1:30
Location: 101 Olson

Description

English 10B is a continuation of English 10A, and the second part of the required three-part Literatures in English sequence. Our focus in this class will be on literature produced between 1700 and 1900 in and around England, Scotland, Ireland, the British Colonies, and the United States. This is a reading-and writing-intensive class, designed to prepare you for upper-division courses in the English major. Key goals for the class are:

1. To improve your skills in close reading and in reading a text within a historical context
2. To introduce you to some of the most important trends and events in literature and culture of the English-speaking world between 1700 and 1900
3. To explore a wide range of genres, modes, and forms of writing
4. To strengthen your writing skills and to give you practice in writing literary analysis and research papers for the English major

Some of the topics we will explore include: the growth of Anglo-American print culture; nationhood, colonial exploration, empire, and slavery; literary constructions of nature and wilderness as well as art and civility; the structuring of selfhood in autobiography and other literary forms; and literature’s relation to historical and economic contexts such as the French Revolution or the rise of consumer culture.

Grading

Grading will be based on the following categories:
Close-reading paper
Research paper
Final exam
Regular pop quizzes
Participation and attendance

Texts

Course Reader
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe
A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde