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British Lit 1 Syllabus

BRITISH LIT I SYLLABUS SPRING 1998

Instructor: Teri Maddox
22 Broadfield
Trenton, TN 38382
(901) 855-0564		 Office C249--Hours posted on door
(901) 424-3520 or 1-800-355-JSCC
ext. 217
e-mail address: tmaddox@jscc.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

ENG 231 Survey of British Literature from the early Medieval period to the Renaissance and the 18th Century Neo-Classical period, emphasizing the changing literary trends and themes these works represent as well as their historical and political context and relating them to relevant contemporary issues. (Prerequisites: ENG 111 and ENG 112)

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

After this course the student should:

  1. Acquire a broad background of the literary, philosophic and religious heritage of Britain from the Middle Ages to the 18th Century.
  2. Become acquainted with specific literary works, terminology, techniques and periods.
  3. Recognize the common core or human values and concerns, which cut across boundaries of time and space.
  4. Understand literary works and periods in relation to the student’s own time and situation.

SUPPLIES:

l. The Norton Anthology English Literature Vol 1 Sixth ed.
2. Loose leaf paper and notebook for reading responses
3. Large manila envelop for research project

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

  1. Reading responses due with every reading assignment 30%
  2. Four objective/essay exams 40%
  3. A research paper/project which includes all sources and all drafts 20%
  4. An oral/written report on an outside reading or videotape 10%

GRADING POLICY:

A+ 100 A 95 A- 92 B+ 91 B 87 B- 84
C+ 83 C 79 C- 76 D+ 75 D 71 D- 68

1. A grade of C will be given to work meeting minimum standards. In order to make above a C, work must meet higher standards.
2. Reading responses and papers are due at the beginning of class. Late work will lose a letter grade.
3. Except in an emergency situation, tests may not be made up.
4. Responses will receive the following grades: + (excellent) Ö (average) U (unacceptable

LATE WORK

If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed by calling the instructor or another student in class. It would be a good idea to exchange phone numbers with one or two students in the class so you can contact each other if necessary.

All responses are due at the beginning of class. If you are working on an assignment in class, it is late and will lose a letter grade. Late work turned in within a week of its due date will lose one letter grade; work turned in within two weeks of its due date will lose two letter grades, and work turned in within three weeks of its due date will lose three letter grades. Any late work tuned in the last two weeks of the semester will automatically receive a D.

ATTENDANCE

Attendance is a must because class discussions and lectures cannot be made up. Because emergencies do occur, three absences are allowed. However the student’s final grade will be lowered by 1/3 after each successive absence. Therefore on the third absence a final grade of B- will be lowered to a C+. Extenuating circumstances should be discussed with the instructor.

INCLEMENT WEATHER

In case of inclement weather, one of the following three decisions will be made:

  1. Open on regular schedule.
  2. No announcement on the radio or television means the college is open. Students should use their own discretion
  3. Open on "Snow Day" schedule
  4. Students should use their own discretion. Radio and television will be notified. Students should listen to a Jackson station for information. This class will meet from 10:15-10:55 on snow schedule.
  5. Classes canceled (for severe weather)

Radio and television are normally notified in the pre-dawn hours of the day involved because it is usually necessary to wait until then to determine the appropriate decision.

CONFERENCES

Students are encouraged to arrange an appointment if the need arises. If regular office hours posted on my office door are not convenient, other times may be arranged.

RESEARCH PAPER/PROJECT

Papers should include a minimum of four double-spaced pages (at least 1,000) words and a works cited page with at least three sources, not including the textbook, dictionaries, or encyclopedias. Papers that meet the minimum requirements will receive a C. Higher grades will be given to papers that exceed the minimum requirements.

You should use the MLA format four your documentation as outlined in the Harbrace College Handbook or other sources.

Subjects for the paper or project may be varied. The only requirements are that the topic must fall within the time period of the course (Middle Ages through the 18th Century) and it must be of interest to the class and to the reader. You might want to look at art or sports in a particular time period, marriage or education in the Middle Ages, how a cathedral was built, the genealogy of a family name, famous inventions, how religion impacted music, or any other subject that would combine your own interests with the time period.

Avoid the following:

  1. Topics that are too broad—almost anything about Shakespeare, any mere biography or history paper. These papers are too boring.
  2. Topics that are too technical—if you are interested in mechanical engineering, you may write a paper about the topic only if you can make the topic interesting to the rest of the class and teacher. Avoid using jargon or vocabulary that normal adults would not be familiar with.

You may opt to do a project of some kind in lieu of the paper, but you must meet all the paper requirements possible. Students may submit original artwork or creative writing, perform a musical or dramatic work, construct models, or develop any other project that reflects the time period as long as it is discussed with the instructor.

Due Dates:

Fri Jan 23 Topic due

Fri Feb 6 Working Bibliography due

Fri Feb 27 Highlighted sources due

Fri Mar 13 Peer draft due

Fri Mar 27 Rough draft due

Fri Ap 3 Final draft or presentation due

PLAGIARISM

According to Lester in Writing Research Papers, "Fundamentally, plagiarism is the offering of the words or ideas of another person as one’s own. The worst violation is the use of another student’s work. Also flagrantly dishonest are writers who knowingly use sources without documentation" (129).

If a student is guilty of plagiarism, the instructor has the authority to assign an F or a zero for the exercise or examination, or to assign an F in the course.

RULES OF CONDUCT

  1. Acknowledge borrowed material by introducing the quotation or paraphrase with the name of the authority.
  2. Enclose within quotation marks all quoted material.
  3. Make certain that paraphrased material is rewritten into your own style and language.
  4. Provide specific in-text documentation for each borrowed item. MLA style requires name and page for all in-text references.
  5. Provide a bibliography entry in the "Works Cited" for every source cited in the paper.
  6. Omit sources consulted but not used.

 

OTHER CLASSROOM POLICIES

l. For reasons of courtesy and sanitation, neither food nor beverages should be consumed during class.
2. Your final grade will be mailed to you be the college. In order to maintain confidentiality and accuracy, it will not be posted or available by telephone. Discussion of your grade is encouraged at any point during the semester.


The instructor reserves the right to clarify of amend this syllabus as necessary.

 

Students with documented disabilities should meet with the instructor as soon as possible to discuss alternatives to normal policies.

 

Some important dates:

Last day to register late or add classes Jan 15

Dr. King Holiday Jan 19

Progress Reports Feb 23-28

Last Day to File Graduation Proposals for Summer Mar 4

Last day to drop a course or withdraw Mar 13

Spring Break Mar 16-21

Early Advising/Registration for Spring Mar 27-Ap 9

Good Friday Holiday Ap 10-12

Final Exam Mon Ap 27 8-10

 

Web Sites of Interest

Old English Aloud

Beowulf Links

John Milton Home Page

Shakespeare/Oxford debate--who was the "real" Shakespeare?

MLA on the Web

What was it like to live in the Middle Ages?--follow several paths to discover these times

 

Tentative Schedule for British Lit Fall 1997


The Middle Ages Background 1-16
Beowulf 1-49
Chaucer on reserve at library
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 200-254
Everyman 363-383
Test on the Middle Ages

More’s "Utopia" 415-433
Shakespeare selected sonnets
The Tragedy of King Lear
Test on the 16th Century

Donne selected poems
Bacon selected essays
Herrick, Herbert, Vaughan, Marvell selected poems
Milton selections from Paradise Lost
Test on the Early 17th Century

Bunyan The Pilgrim’s Progress 1856-1861
Aphra Behn "Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave"
Defoe "Roxana"
Swift's Gulliver's Travels:"The Houyhnhymns"
"A Modest Proposal"
Test on the Restoration