Advanced Literature and Culture Courses LC001. British Literature I ...

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( Advanced Literature and Culture Courses LC001. British Literature I [?????(?)]
3 credits
Ms. Jennifer Chiu
For Sophomores and above
Class size: 10-40; Non-English Dept.: 5 (must all have taken at least
one course related to literature such as "Introduction to Western
Literature")
Prerequisite: Introduction to Western Literature This course is to survey the English Literature from the Middle Ages to
the Eighteenth Century by sampling the major writers and works in all
periods. The object is not just to study a succession of writers and works
but also to learn a tradition in which each individual author and text
plays a part. We cannot, even in a lifetime, read all the works that make
up the tradition, but we can learn enough about it from a selection of
works to relate these works and their authors to one another and to their
common heritage. Textbook: The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors.
7th ed. Vol. I. London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. Tentative Schedule (subject to change)
|Week |Assigned reading |Keywords |
|1 |Introduction to the course |allegory, elegy, epic, |
| |Introduction: The Middle Ages to ca. 1485 |kennings |
| |Anonymous: "The Dream of the Rood" |Celtic, runes; warrior, |
| | |scop, comitatus, |
| | |wergild, wyrd, mead hall|
|2, 3 |Anonymous: Beowulf | |
|5, 6 |Chaucer: "The General Prologue," "The Wife |Examplum |
| |of Bath's Prologuee and Tale," and "The | |
| |Pardoner's Prologue and Tale" from The | |
| |Canterbury Tales | |
|7, 8 |Anonymous: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight |romantic-allegorical |
| |Malory: from Morte D'Arthur |epic, knight(hood), |
| | |chivalry |
|9 |Midterm Exam | |
|10 |Introduction: The Sixteenth Century: |tragedy, blank verse, |
| |1485-1603 |pride, knowledge; |
| |Marlowe: Doctor Faustus |Petrarchan/Italian |
| |Shakespeare: selections from Sonnet Sequence|sonnets, |
| | |Shakespearean/English |
| | |sonnets |
|11 |Introduction: The Early Seventeenth Century:|Metaphysical conceits, |
| |1603-1660 |dramatic |
| |Donne: "The Canonization" |monologue/dialogue; |
| |Marvell: "The Definition of Love" |passion/ |
| |Milton: Lycidas |intellect |
|12, |Milton: from Paradise Lost |pastoral elegy, |
|14 | |evocation/apostrophe; |
| | |epic, blank verse, |
| | |Satanic hero; sonnet |
|15 |Introduction: The Restoration and the |mock heroic, heroic |
| |Eighteenth Century: 1660-1785 |couplet, |
| |Dryden: "Mac Flecknoe" |satire |
| |Swift: "A Modest Proposal" | |
|16-17|Swift: from Gulliver's Travels | |
|18 |Final | |
Requirements
1. Lateness and absences are strongly discouraged. You will automatically
fail this course after five absences (or 15-hour absence); grades will be
lowered after the third absence. Three lates equal one absence. The
teacher must be informed of your absence in advance (unless it's an
emergency) and provided with substantial evidence to justify it as well.
2. You need to write two position papers, for each you will be provided a
list of topics from which you choose one to write out a 750-to-1000-word
analytical article. If you want to use any secondary sources, your papers
must include parenthetical citations for all paraphrasing and quoting, as
well as a list of works cited at the end. You will automatically fail this
course if you plagiarize.
3. Once in a while, you may be asked to write a 2-page journal on a
question related to a specific reading. And quizzes will be given whenever
necessary.
4. Late assignments will not be accepted. When absent on the day for an
assignment to be turned in, you must hand it in the first day you come
back to school (not a week after!) Tentative Grading Scale (subject to change) Midterm & final exams 50%
Papers, journals, quizzes, class participation 50% NOTE: Try to prepare your reading during the summer vacation by starting
with the longer works such as Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The
Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, and Gulliver's Travels, the complete
texts of which we will read for the class. LC002. American Literature I [?????(?)]
3 credits
Mr. Joseph Murphy
For Juniors and above
Class size: 10-40; Non-English Dept.: 0
Prerequisite: Introduction to Western Literature This course surveys the development of American literature from the
seventeenth century through the Civil War. It seeks a balance among
various genres-fiction, poetry, autobiography, oratory, essay-and among
various perspectives on American life. Lectures will introduce authors,
texts, and cultural movements (like Puritanism, the Enlightenment, and
Transcendentalism), and discussions will focus on close reading. Overall,
our goals will be to discover 1) the unique voice, technique, and
accomplishment of individual literary works; 2) their reflection of and
participation in broader cultural and social movements; 3) their relevance
to readers today. Serious students in this course can expect to gain
knowledge of an important national literature, an understanding of American
culture and identity, skills in literary analysis, and a framework for
future reading. Requirements include midterm and final exams, a group
presentation, and frequent class participation. LC003. Modern Drama [????] (For Juniors and above)
3 credits
Ms. Cecilia Liu and Mr. Raphael Schulte
For Juniors and above
Class size: 10-35; Non-English Dept.: 5
Prerequisite: Introduction to Western Literature Art exists to expand the imagination; to do that, sooner or later, it
has to provoke. Imagination, naturally, is what we want in our age.
Imagination is unpleasant and frightening; it puts you in touch with parts
of yourself you may be trying to conceal; it shows you how things might be,
in dramatic contrast to the way they actually are. The educated heart can
look on all this with unfrightened calm; people with something to fear,
either in themselves or in their actions, cover their fear with blustering
rage. We have created one kind of art called television. The technological
alternative to reality has shrunk, as movies and radio never did, the
number of people the theater reaches; to most people today, a live stage
performance is a marginal and exotic phenomenon. But television has failed,
significantly, to take over either the theater's scope or its intensity.
Even as its best, it is a cold, two-dimensional form. Falling asleep with the TV on is one of the central images of our
culture; falling asleep in the theater implies criticism of the
performance. The crucial difference underscores what makes the theater so
important: It's a waking place, where human senses, feelings, and brains
come alive. This course is thus designed to increase understanding and
appreciation of modern drama. In class, we will experience and enjoy the
variety and richness of the art of drama in our time. The plays we are
going to read have been selected primarily for their artistic greatness.
We will have extended discussions of representative works of well-known
contemporary playwrights, such as Heiner Muller, John Guare, A. R. Gurney,
Peter Shaffer, Willy Russell, Caryl Churchill, and Tony Kushner. Available
video taped productions by each playwright will be shown. Class format is
arranged to feature students' input from reading and conducted by group
reports and discussions. I hope, in this class, you will expand your
imagination and find a new dimension of interest in your life. Reading lists:
Heiner Muller Hamletmachine (1979)
Caryl Churchill Cloud Nine (1980)
Willy Russell Shirley Valentine (1988)
A. R. Gurney Love Letters (1990)
John Guare Six Degrees of Separation (1990)
Peter Shaffer The Gift of the Gorgon (1992)
Alan Ayckbourn Communicating Doors (1995)
Tony Kushner Angels in America Part I (1995) Requirements: Regular attendance with preparation and class participation;
Midterm and Final Exams Grading system: Class attendance, group presentation and discussion 40%
Reading journals, Midterm & Final Exam 60% LC004. Literary Criticism: Subjectivity in Bildungsroman
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3 credits
Ms. Wen-ling Su
For Juniors and above
Class size: 10-35; Non-English Dept.: 0
Prerequisite: Introduction to Western Literature The Bildungsroman