ENGL 442

Victorian Paradox

NOTE: This is representative of the syllabi for this course. It is not necessarily the syllabus being used in any one semester.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Many paradoxes characterized the Victorian Age. Nineteenth-century English society struggled with a desire for synthesis in the midst of an increasing sense of alienation from nature brought about through advances in technology. The Victorian consciousness was literally torn apart by the emerging turmoil of a modern society born of the Industrial Revolution. All of the cultural artifacts of the period reflect an age in transition. This course is designed to introduce students to the major social, political, and moral issues confronting Victorian society through discussion of the literature of the period.

Victorian writers found themselves confronted by major philosophical questions brought about by social and economic revolution, and the greatest thinkers of the age produced a remarkable body of literary nonfiction. Students will read and discuss some of the major prose writers of the period such as Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, John Henry (Cardinal) Newman, John Stuart Mill, Walter Pater, and Matthew Arnold and will examine the "drama of ideas" introduced to the theatre by revolutionary Victorian playwright George Bernard Shaw.

During the Victorian period, the novel became the preeminent form of literary expression. Lives were organized around the next installment of Charles Dickens' serialized novels. Students will read novels by Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy.

Poetry remained an important genre during the Victorian period, continuing a tradition begun under Romanticism. Victorian poetry reflects political, social, and personal issues. Students will explore the work of major poets such as Tennyson, Browning, and Matthew Arnold and minor poets such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti, and A.C. Swinburne. Poets of the late Victorian era such as Thomas Hardy and Gerard Manley Hopkins will also be examined.

The growth of the printing industry in the nineteenth century brought about a rich Victorian popular literature, including the development of detective fiction, the mystery story, fantasy and science fiction, musical theatre, political satire, and literature written expressly for children. Students will read the work of such popular Victorian writers as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lewis Carroll, W.S. Gilbert, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Rudyard Kipling.

TEXTS: Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol , Great Expectations

George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), The Mill on the Floss

Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles

George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra

Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

Assorted handouts

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

After completing this course, students should be able to:

1. Recognize an artifact of words and images or both as dating from the Victorian period

2. Identify both the vestiges of romanticism and the seeds of modernism in Victorian literature

3. Describe and illustrate the aesthetics of Victorian England

4. Connect the content of Victorian literature with issues of sociopolitical importance in the history of England during the nineteenth century

5. Explain why some works of Victorian literature continue to be widely read and why others have not sustained popular interest

6. To comment critically on the theories of literature and culture espoused by Victorian writers

7. To discuss with authority, both orally and in writing, a range of familiar and unfamiliar texts from the Victorian period

COURSE REQUIREMENTS :

1. Consistent, thoughtful, knowledgeable participation in classroom and online discussion (50%)

2. One (1) paper of approximately 5-6 pages on Victorian literature and society, to include at least two works from the Victorian period (20%)

3. Online discussion of the Victorian novel read outside of class (20%).

4. Final examination (10%)

COURSE SCHEDULE:

August 30: An introduction to the Victorian period: Jane Eyre

September 6: An introduction to the Victorian period: A Christmas Carol, Dover Beach

A glimpse into Victorian thought on philosophical and religious matters

September 13: Victorian poetry: Tennyson

September 20: The aesthetics of Victorian England

September 27: Pater and the Pre-Raphaelites; Elizabeth Barrett Browning

October 4: Victorian poetry: Browning

October 11: Victorian poetry: Browning

October 18: Literature and science: Stevenson and Doyle

October 25: Victorian fantasy literature: Stevenson, Carroll, Shaw

November 1: G. B. Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra

November 8: Victorian satire: Carroll, Shaw, W. S. Gilbert

November 15: The Importance of Being Earnest

November 22: No class--Thanksgiving holiday

November 29: Kipling and the rise and fall of the British Empire

December 6: Late poetry: Hopkins, Hardy, the aesthetes and decadents

Victorian literature for children

Novels for outside reading: Dickens, Great Expectations ( September 1-October 4)

Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (October 5-November 9)

Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles (November 10-December 13)

This should go without saying department: It is illegal and unethical to use someone else's work without properly crediting the source, whether online, print, or other. If you are not sure whether to credit a source, or to quote or paraphrase, or to use original language, please ask me in advance -- or err on the side of citing the source you are using. If I discover that you've plagiarized material for this class, I will follow the university's policy for violations of academic integrity. (See the UB Student Handbook for this policy).




			ENGL 442 Victorian Paradox NOTE: This is representative of the syllabi for this course. It is not necessarily the syllabus being used in any one semester. COURSE DESCRIPTION: Many paradoxes characterized the Victorian Age. Nineteenth-century English society struggled with a desire for synthesis in the midst of an increasing sense of alienation from nature brought about through advances in technology. The Victorian consciousness was literally torn apart by the emerging turmoil of a modern society born of the Industrial Revolution. All of the cultural artifacts of the period reflect an age in transition. This course is designed to introduce students to the major social, political, and moral issues confronting Victorian society through discussion of the literature of the period. Victorian writers found themselves confronted by major philosophical questions brought about by social and economic revolution, and the greatest thinkers of the age produced a remarkable body of literary nonfiction. Students will read and discuss some of the major prose writers of the period such as Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, John Henry (Cardinal) Newman, John Stuart Mill, Walter Pater, and Matthew Arnold and will examine the "drama of ideas" introduced to the theatre by revolutionary Victorian playwright George Bernard Shaw. During the Victorian period, the novel became the preeminent form of literary expression. Lives were organized around the next installment of Charles Dickens' serialized novels. Students will read novels by Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy. Poetry remained an important genre during the Victorian period, continuing a tradition begun under Romanticism. Victorian poetry reflects political, social, and personal issues. Students will explore the work of major poets such as Tennyson, Browning, and Matthew Arnold and minor poets such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti, and A.C. Swinburne. Poets of the late Victorian era such as Thomas Hardy and Gerard Manley Hopkins will also be examined. The growth of the printing industry in the nineteenth century brought about a rich Victorian popular literature, including the development of detective fiction, the mystery story, fantasy and science fiction, musical theatre, political satire, and literature written expressly for children. Students will read the work of such popular Victorian writers as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lewis Carroll, W.S. Gilbert, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Rudyard Kipling. TEXTS: Charles Dickens, *A Christmas Carol* , *Great Expectations* George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), *The Mill on the Floss* Thomas Hardy, *Tess of the d'Urbervilles* George Bernard Shaw, *Caesar and Cleopatra* Oscar Wilde, *The Importance of Being Earnest* Assorted handouts COURSE OBJECTIVES: After completing this course, students should be able to: 1. Recognize an artifact of words and images or both as dating from the Victorian period 2. Identify both the vestiges of romanticism and the seeds of modernism in Victorian literature 3. Describe and illustrate the aesthetics of Victorian England 4. Connect the content of Victorian literature with issues of sociopolitical importance in the history of England during the nineteenth century 5. Explain why some works of Victorian literature continue to be widely read and why others have not sustained popular interest 6. To comment critically on the theories of literature and culture espoused by Victorian writers 7. To discuss with authority, both orally and in writing, a range of familiar and unfamiliar texts from the Victorian period COURSE REQUIREMENTS : 1. Consistent, thoughtful, knowledgeable participation in classroom and online discussion (50%) 2. One (1) paper of approximately 5-6 pages on Victorian literature and society, to include at least two works from the Victorian period (20%) 3. Online discussion of the Victorian novel read outside of class (20%). 4. Final examination (10%) COURSE SCHEDULE: August 30: An introduction to the Victorian period: *Jane Eyre* September 6: An introduction to the Victorian period: **A Christmas Carol, Dover Beach A glimpse into Victorian thought on philosophical and religious matters September 13: Victorian poetry: Tennyson September 20: The aesthetics of Victorian England September 27: Pater and the Pre-Raphaelites; Elizabeth Barrett Browning October 4: Victorian poetry: Browning October 11: Victorian poetry: Browning October 18: Literature and science: Stevenson and Doyle October 25: Victorian fantasy literature: Stevenson, Carroll, Shaw November 1: G. B. Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra November 8: Victorian satire: Carroll, Shaw, W. S. Gilbert November 15: The Importance of Being Earnest November 22: No class--Thanksgiving holiday November 29: Kipling and the rise and fall of the British Empire December 6: Late poetry: Hopkins, Hardy, the aesthetes and decadents Victorian literature for children Novels for outside reading: Dickens, Great Expectations ( September 1-October 4) Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (October 5-November 9) Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles (November 10-December 13) This should go without saying department: It is illegal and unethical to use someone else's work without properly crediting the source, whether online, print, or other. If you are not sure whether to credit a source, or to quote or paraphrase, or to use original language, please ask me in advance -- or err on the side of citing the source you are using. If I discover that you've plagiarized material for this class, I will follow the university's policy for violations of academic integrity. (See the UB Student Handbook** for this policy). home \| bs, corporate communication \| ba, english \| ma, publications design \| mfa, integrated design \| mfa, creative writing & publishing arts \| people \| portfolio \| facilities \| classes \| undergraduate applications \| graduate applications \| contact \| site index \| university of baltimore