English 3327 A Survey of English Literature
Spring Semester 2010
Instructor: David Judkins, Ph.D.
e-mail: DJUDKINS@UH.EDU
http://www.uh.edu/~djudkins
ph 713-664-1382
Introduction:
The first semester of a Survey of English Literature will cover from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to and including some18th Century English Literature. The focus of the course will be on complete texts or nearly complete texts to provide students with a sense of the development of literature for English speaking people around the world.
Text Book:
The text we will use: The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1, 8th Edition However, those who want to order online may try to do so. This is a huge, heavy, monster of a book. It is also available in a three volume paperback edition which is easier to handle and identical to the hardback copy including page numbers. Note that you will also receive code numbers for accessing materials online at the Norton website. You may find this a useful tool in the class; however, no test materials will be taken from the Norton website.
The Class:
How will I access and use the class? My online class uses the popular Blackboard class management program. Access the program by going to www.uh.edu/blackboard/ and clicking on Log in here for Blackboard Vista. If you have not registered for Blackboard before with another class,you may need to do so now. If you have done so before, you need only sign in and this class should appear as a link. Click on the link and you will enter the class.
Learning Outcomes:
By the conclusion of this class students will have learned more about the development of English literature from about 1400 to about 1780. Students will have developed an appreciation of the changes in the English language over this important period. Students will also gain a critical understanding of the major authors during this period such as Geoffrey Chaucer, John Skelton, Sir Thomas Wyatt, John Donne, George Herbert, Lady Mary Wroth, Aphra Behn, John Milton, Jonathan Swift, and Samuel Johnson, to mention only the highlights. Students will further develop their critical reading skills and develop their writing skills and their ability to discuss literature at a sophisticated and critical level.
How will I keep up with the class, and what will be required? I recommend that at least four times per week you access the class to make certain that you are keeping up. First, study the syllabus to see what we will be doing throughout the semester, but understand that the syllabus has been prepared months before the class begins so, early each week, on Monday, I will post a Weekly Message with updates and news about the class. In the event that there is a difference between the syllabus and the Weekly Message, the Weekly Message is always the most recent and should be regarded as the correct posting. Running an online class requires planning and fore thought on my part. Occasionally I slip up. I very much appreciate students bringing to my attention contradictions in the schedule of class activities.
As for the requirements: First, all students are expected to keep up with the reading, andlike most upper division literature classes, there is a substantial amount of reading. If you access this syllabus before the start of the semester, I recommend that you get started early. Second: you will periodically be asked to submit a commentary on the reading. The commentaries are relatively short and will be submitted through a link on the home page. You will submit five of these during the course of the semester. The dates they are due are noted on the syllabus. Please read my instructions on our website in the folder, Other Information, regarding the preparation of these commentaries. Third: we will have weekly discussion questions on the assigned texts, and I ask that you submit at least one response to a question each week, and that you also read all the discussion each week. These questions may be answered at your convenience but always within the week or time period that they are posted; you are discouraged from going back and answering discussion questions for previous weeks.Note that I have instructions on discussion in the folder: Other Information. Fourth: there will be four tests during the semester on dates noted on the syllabus. The tests are multiple choice, and there will be a short practice test during the week the test is given. The multiple choice tests are open book and timed; however, you will be able to access the test for approximately 32 hours. Note, once you begin the test you must complete it in the time period given, usually 45 minutes. More detailed instructions on the tests will be provided on the website in the folder, Other Information. Finally, I do not accept late papers or tests. I encourage students to submit papers early, and tests are available, as noted above, for a period of 32 hours 24 of which are on Sunday.
How will my grade be determined? This is a good and always popular question. Your grades will appear under "My Grades" and they should begin appearing at the time papers or tests are graded. This is important! If you are not seeing grades show up, you must contact me on Blackboard email and explain what grades are not showing up. I will NOT remind you that I have not received something. You must keep up with the class and make sure that papers and tests are being received, graded, and recorded in a reasonable time. (Grades are normally posted the week following the Saturday of submission. Thus if you submit a paper on February 12, you should look about February 16 -18 to see if the grade is posted. If you do not see it by the 21st, send me an inquiry by Blackboard email.) I want to be very fair to all students in the class.
Your grade will be based on the following grades:
Commentary #1=5%;
Commentary #2=5%;
Commentary #3=5%;
Commentary #4=7%;
Commentary #5=13%;
Test #1=5%;
Test #2=5%;
Test #3=7%;
Tets #4=10%;
Class Discussion and participation on the Weekly discussion questions: 33%.
Added up the total percentage should equal 100%. Note that the single most important grade is Discussion. Your commentaries total 35% of your final grade and tests total 27%.
The following is the grading scale that I use: A = 100-94; A- = 93-90; B+ = 89-87; B = 86-84; B- = 83-80; C+ = 79-77; C = 76-74; C- = 73-70; D+ = 69-67; D = 66-63; D- = 62-60; F= 59-0. Please note that this grading scale is subject to change should the University of Houston alter its grading policy.
Is there any thing else I should know about the class? Yes, individual initiative is the most important quality for success in my online class. Visit the website frequently and regularly throughout the semester. Communicate with me through the website email after the class is underway, not through UH email. Follow directions, read, read, read, and enjoy the class. I provide lecture notes on the website, so be sure and read those. I also provide short audio mini-lectures which supplement the lecture notes.If you have any difficulties with any of these, please email me. You will find that I am very active in this online class. I participate in the online discussion, I try to return all papers due on Saturday night by the following Thursday, and I try to answer all class emails within 12 hours of your sending them. See Errors and Expectations in the folder Other Information for additional remarks on your participation and work in the class.
Please remember that this course is an upper division class at a major state research university. As the professor, I have certain expectations of the level students have achieved thus far and what I hope to accomplish during the course of this class. Occasionally students will have unexpected issues arise during the semester sometimes relating to their own health or someone close to them. If you are unable to keep up with the class owing to such unexpected events or issues, please let me know so that we may work together for you to drop the class in a timely manner. I do not give incompletes for this online class, nor do I allow students to make up work at the end of the class or even after it is due. Please do not send me doctor's excuses, obituaries, or other records documenting tragedies that have befallen you. I am sympathetic to your problems and will assist you in dropping the class. If papers are not submitted at the time specified or tests are not taken during the scheduled time, the student receives a zero for the assignment.If students drop out of discussion for extended periods of time, these questions may not be addressed once they have been deleted from the discussion page. Please do not ask to make up work that you missed. I do realize that life altering events occur, and I am willing to fully cooperate in your leaving the class; however, I do not accept excuses from physicians, morticians, lawyers, etc. If this becomes an inconvenient semester for you to take this class, and I hope very much that it does not, please drop the class in a timely manner according to the procedures of the University. I do not mean to be unnecessarily blunt or harsh in stating this policy; however, several years of teaching online have led me to state frankly this policy.
Assignments for the Semester
Note: the week runs from Monday through Saturday.
Always check the Weekly Message for the exact times tests will be available
and the deadline for paper submissions.
Email me through the class website if you are uncertain of these times or any other matters.
Week 1: January 18 - 22
Access the website, read the syllabus, read the Weekly Message, submit a letter of introduction (see Other Information), take test over the syllabus (available 4:00 PM Saturday, January 23 until 11:55 PM Sunday, January 24), begin reading my lecture notes and the Canterbury Tales: "The General Prologue"
Week 2: January 23 - 29
Begin "The Miller's Prologue and Tale." Read lecture online as well as the introductory materials in the text itself, listen to my mini-lecture,and participate in discussion. See my instructions on writing a commentary in the folder Other Information. Check for other details in the Weekly Message. Commentary # 1 is due on January 31.
Week 3: January 31 – February 5
Finish "The Miller’s Prologue and Tale" and begin "The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale." Read notes on her "Prologue and Tale" and participate in discussion.
Week 4: February 7 - 12
Finish "The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale". Test 1 on February 11 & 12. See the Weekly Message for further details and be certain to read my notes on Tests in the folder Other Information.
Week 5: February 14 - 19
The Second Shepherds’ Play and Everyman Read notes and participate in discussion. See my instructions on writing a commentary in the folder Other Information. Check for other details in the Weekly Message. Commentary #2 is due on February 19.
Week 6: February 20 - 26
Read introductory material "The Sixteenth Century: 1485-1603" and the introduction to John Skelton and all of his poetry in our text. Read my notes and listen to audios.
Week 7: February 28 - March 5
16th Century lyric verse. The Weekly Message will detail which poems you are asked to read. Read notes and participate in class discussion. Test 2 on March 4th and 5th. Check the Weekly Message for details
Week 8: March 7 - 12
17th Century lyric verse. The Weekly Message will detail which poems you are asked to read. Read notes and participate in class discussion. Commentary #3 is due on March 12. See the Weekly Message for further details.
Week 9: March 14 - 19
Spring Break. Enjoy!
Week 10: March 21 - 26
Paradise Lost. The Weekly Message will detail which books we will cover. Read notes and participate in class discussion.
Week 10: March28- April 2
Paradise Lost. Read notes and participate in class discussion. Test 3 will be on April 1 & 2.
Week 11: April 4 - 9
Introduction: "The Resortation and the Eighteenth Century: 1660-1785." Read the Weekly Message for details of Restoration poetry assigned. Commentary #4 is due on April 9.
Week 12: April 11 - 16
Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave by Aphra Behn. Read notes and participate in class discussion.
Week 13: April 18 - 23
The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. Read notes and participate in class discussion. Commentary 5 is due on April 23.
Week 14: April 25- May 2
Fantomia; or Love in a Maze, and Olauda H. Equiano, "Life Narrative," pp. 2850-59.
May 2nd is the last day of class.
Friday and Saturday May 6 & 7
Test 4: See Weekly Message for details.