Syllabus for EGL/WST 372.1
Instructor: Ula Klein
Office: HUM 1028
Email: [email protected]
Course Info: TuTh 6-9:25pm, LIB 4525W
DO NOT THROW THIS SYLLABUS AWAY. It contains all your assignments & homework.
Please refer to it often and bring it to class. An electronic copy of it can be found on Blackboard.
Required Texts:
Eighteenth-Century Women Poets, Ed. Roger Lonsdale (Can be found in Bookstore)
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th Ed. (Can be found in Bookstore)
Handouts from Blackboard (indicated BB or pdf on syllabus)
Course Description from English Website: The term Enlightenment poetry often conjures up the
names of giants in English literature: Dryden, Pope, Swift, Gray and Blake, for example. The eighteenthcentury saw the blossoming, however, of poetry by women writers like Charlotte Smith, who forged a
path into the male-dominated world of writing. They conveyed their passions and frustrations through
lines of poetry, focusing on poetic tropes such as mortality, love, desire, and death, in addition to
meditating on the position of women in eighteenth-century society. In this course we will trace a path
through the eighteenth century of the development of women poets in Great Britain. We will span the
Long Eighteenth-Century (1660-1800), beginning with Aphra Behn and ending with Joanna Baillie.
Some other possible poets might be: Anne Finch, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Mary Davys, Mary
Leapor, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, and Charlotte Smith. Course assignments will include: an annotated
bibliography, a contribution to the class Wiki, and an in-class presentation.
Structure of the Course:
We will spend the first 3 weeks reading poems by six female poets that I have pre-chosen: Aphra Behn,
Anne Finch, Mary Wortley Montagu, Phyllis Wheatley, Charlotte Smith & Joanna Baillie. By the end of
this first 3 weeks, you will have chosen your own poet to research & you will turn in an annotated
bibliography of secondary sources about the poet as well as a 3 page biography of her.
The last 3 weeks will be, in part, directed by you. You will choose which poems the rest of the
class will read by your chosen poet and how they relate to the themes of the course. You will prepare
reading questions to go with the poems. These must be emailed 24 hours in advance to myself and the
class. At the end of the semester you will write up a Wiki entry for your author based on your research,
your readings of the poems as well as any interesting points that may have come up in the class discussion.
Course Schedule:
Tu 7/10 – Intro. to Course; Women Poets in Context; Aphra Behn (in-class reading & discussion)
Th 7/12 – Overview of 18th C. (BB) & Anne Finch
Tu 7/17 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Th 7/19 – Charlotte Smith; Due: Poet Project Choice
Tu 7/24 – Phyllis Wheatley (BB); Partial Library Day
Th 7/ 26 – Joanna Baillie (BB); Partial prep/computer day
Tu 7/31 – Interlude: Women in the 18th C.; Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (BB); film viewing of
The Duchess; Due: Poet Biography & Annotated Bibliography
Th 8/2 – Poets chosen by students [Egerton, Tollet]
Tu 8/7 – Poets chosen by students [Leapor, Seward]
Th 8/9 – Poets chosen by students [Barbauld, More]
Tu 8/14 - Poets chosen by students [Yearsley, Robinson]
Th 8/16 – LAST DAY; Partial Computer Lab Day; Reflecting on Course & Course Wiki; Course Wiki
Entry Due & Reflection on Wikipedia Due
List of Poets to Choose From:
Sarah Egerton (née Fyge, later Field; 1670-1723)
Elizabeth Thomas (1675-1731)
Elizabeth Tollet (1694-1754)
Mehetabel Wesley Wright (1697-1750)
Mary Leapor (1722-1746)
Anna Seward (1742-1809)
Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743-1825)
Hannah More (1745 – 1833)
Elizabeth Hands (1746-1815)
Susanna Blamire (1747-94)
Ann Yearsley (1752-1806)
Mary Robinson (1758-1800)
Course Requirements:
ü Do all readings before class & bring a copy with you to class.
ü Answer all reading questions & bring them to class.
ü Participate actively in class discussions & take all classwork seriously.
ü Turn in all assignments, and turn them in on time. Any lateness will result in half credit.
ü Extensions will only be granted if requested before the assignment is due.
ü Be on time to class; do not pack up until dismissed.
ü Reading questions will only be accepted on the day they are discussed.
Grade Breakdown:
Ø Annotated Bibliography & Biography of Author: 25%
Ø Author Presentation/Class Discussion Questions on Author: 25%
Ø Wiki entry: 25%
Ø Classwork & Participation (includes reading question answers & attendance): 25%
Nitty-Gritty:
• No phones in class. Ever.
• Computer & e-readers are permitted only if used for appropriate class activities.
• Instructor retains the right to take away this privilege at any time.
• No food in class; drinks with caps or lids are admissible.
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There will usually be one break each class of approx. 20 minutes around 7:30. Instead of
a second break, we will usually end a little earlier than the time listed officially on
SOLAR.
Absences will only be excused in dire circumstances. If you find you absolutely must
miss a class, be sure to be in contact with me.
Lateness of any kind counts as half an absence. Do not be late to class.
Check your email frequently for important messages from your instructor.
Be respectful of your instructor & others in the course at all times.
Skills This Course Focuses On:
v Historical & literary research
v Expository & persuasive writing with research
v Critical thinking & analysis of texts
v Historical & literary analysis
Goals of the Course:
v To introduce students to a variety of female authors from 18th C. England
v To familiarize students with the history of the time period & the women in it
v To make students aware of women’s issues & women’s writing at this time
v To teach students how to do in-depth literary & historical research using libraries and
online databases
v To familiarize students with the problems of online encyclopedias and electronic
dissemination of knowledge
v To make students aware of how editors and universities decide who and what is worth
knowing and/or reading and to encourage students to question these decisions
DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES (DSS) STATEMENT: If you have a physical, psychological, medical, or learning disability that may impact your course work, please contact Disability Support Services (631) 632-­‐6748 or http://studentaffairs.stonybrook.edu/dss/. They will determine with you what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation is confidential. Students who require assistance during emergency evacuation are encouraged to discuss their needs with their professors and Disability Support Services. For procedures and information go to the following website: http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/fire/disabilities ACADEMIC INTEGRITY STATEMENT: Each student must pursue his or her academic goals honestly and be personally accountable for all submitted work. Representing another person's work as your own is always wrong. Faculty are required to report any suspected instance of academic dishonesty to the Academic Judiciary. For more comprehensive information on academic integrity, including categories of academic dishonesty, please refer to the academic judiciary website at http://www.stonybrook.edu/uaa/academicjudiciary/ CRITICAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT: Stony Brook University expects students to respect the rights, privileges, and property of other people. Faculty are required to report to the Office of Judicial Affairs any disruptive behavior that interrupts their ability to teach, compromises the safety of the learning environment, and/or inhibits students' ability to learn. Appendix of Required Readings: **Comparison texts are all on BB as PDFs
Please note that it is taken for granted that students are reading any and all biographical info
available on the author in the anthology and/or the pdfs.
Aphra Behn: “The Disappointment” (pdf)
Comparison Poem: Earl of Rochester, John Wilmot “The Imperfect Enjoyment”
Intro. to 18th C (pdf)
Anne Finch: “Reformation”; “Friendship Between Ephelia and Ardelia”; “A Nocturnal Reverie”
“The Introduction” (pdf)
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu: “The Resolve”; “Saturday: The Small Pox”
Comparison: Swift, “The Lady’s Dressing Room” & Montagu, “The Reasons that Induced Dr.
Swift…”
Charlotte Smith: All 4 sonnets in Lonsdale; fragment from “Beachy Head” (pdf)
Comparison: Keats, “Ode to a Nightingale”
Phillis Wheatley (all on pdf): “On Being Brought from Africa to America”; “A Funeral Poem
on the Death of C.E., an Infant of Twelve Months”; “To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty”;
Comparison: “In Context” section of PDF
Joanna Baillie: “A Mother to her Waking Infant”; “A Reverie”
Comparison: Baillie, Song “Woo’d and Married and A’”; Robert Burns, “Ae Fond Kiss”
Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire: “The Passage of the Mountain of St. Gothard”
Disclaimer #1: This course will be using a strong feminist approach in order to understand the
conditions under which women’s literature was written, the challenges women faced in the
eighteenth century especially to those women who wished to be poets and writers, to understand
how women responded to male poets, both politically and poetically, and how men and women
poets influenced each other. If you are not interested in issues of gender equality, historical
sexism, the political and social intersections of race and sex, and discussions of desire and
sexuality in poetry, then this might not be the class for you.
Disclaimer #2: While this course may not require as much reading or writing as some other
summer courses, please be aware that this course does require your full commitment and
involvement. You are expected to speak in every single class multiple times. You are expected to
engage fully with the material. Because the readings are relatively short, you are expected to be
well-versed in the poetry. It is recommended you read each poem multiple times. Please be
aware that taking multiple summer classes at once does not exclude you from participating fully
in this class.