Skip to main content
Department of English
Search
Log in
Navigation
About
Current Office Hours
Diversity Resources
English Library
Faculty Statement Archives
Internal Dept Resources
Medieval and Early Modern Studies
University Writing Program
Video Guides & Worksheets
Visit us on Facebook
Major/Minor in English
Advising
Creative Writing Application
Honors Program
Internships
Literary Magazines
Major Requirements Guide & FAQ
Minor Requirements
Study Abroad
Why Major in English?
MFA in Creative Writing
Admissions
Events, Prizes, and Resources
MFA Program Faculty
Newly Admitted Grad Students
Resources
Ph.D. in Literature
About
Admissions
Newly Admitted Grad Students
PhD Alumni Directory
Resources
Courses & Schedules
People
News & Events
Off the Syllabus Podcast
Recent News
Contests
Contest Winners
Previous Contest Winners
Newsletters
You are here
Home
»
Courses & Schedules
English 155A - Spring, 2018
18th Century British Novel
Class Information
Instructor:
Johns, Alessa
CRN:
81973
Time:
TR 1:40-3:00
Location:
158 Olson
Description
INVENTING A GENRE
In this course we will study innovative British writers who created the novel as we know it: Aphra Behn, Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, Charlotte Lennox, Henry Mackenzie, the Anonymous author of The Woman of Colour, and Jane Austen. We will consider the kinds of texts that influenced the emergence of the novel-for example, newspapers, conduct literature, model letters, polemics, and travel accounts-and we will address socio-cultural, economic, and political issues arising at a time of enormous change in the literary marketplace. Which historical factors enabled the development of this new literary form? Who were its readers and patrons? How, with time, did it come to gain prominence over other prestigious literary genres? What were the predominating themes? How did women and people of color contribute to the "rise of the novel"? How did bookselling practices affect the genre's formal characteristics? Indeed, how do we best discuss formal characteristics in a literature so new and experimental? What did Austen, the best-known and current favorite author on this syllabus, inherit from her predecessors, and how did she alter this popular genre?
Grading
Grades will be based on quizzes and in-class assignments (15%), papers (30%), a midterm (20%), a final (20%), and attendance/participation (15%). There will be an extra credit option.
Texts
Oroonoko
, Aphra Behn
Roxana
, Daniel Defoe
Clarissa (excerpts)
, Samuel Richardson
The Man of Feeling
, Henry Mackenzie
The Woman of Colour
, Anonymous
Emma
, Jane Austen