Department of Literature and Languages
English 2323
Survey of British Literature Since 1800
John Constable, Landscape with Double Rainbow
Victoria and Albert Museum
 Communication
Please post any questions you have regarding the course by creating a new thread in the
Questions and Answers forum on the Discussion Board. The instructor will reply within 72 hours
of your post, Monday through Friday. Please look for the answer to your question on the syllabus
before you post your question. It may have already been answered.
 Teaching Philosophy
The teaching of this class is founded on the belief that literature is directly related to life, that it
captures and represents life in all its complexity--its artistic, historical, psychological and social
dimensions. Through works of literature and art, students are taught the means by which they
may reach a better understanding of themselves and of others and in the process become social
agents of meaningful change. The study of the past does not merely involve the resurrection of
occluded historical or literary figures but the reconstitution of the reader's identity and
subjectivity. Visual culture is an integral part of this course.
 Course Description and Prerequisites
Course Description:
This course is devoted to the study and understanding of major Romantic, Victorian, modern
literary works and their social and cultural contexts. During the semester, our focus will often be
on the extraordinary variety of major genres, literary modes, and forms of British literature. We
will begin by examining the age of British Romanticism as an era of political, cultural, and
literary revolutions. Our work on the Victorian era will include Victorian writers who shared
philosophical affinities and sensibilities with the Romantics, as well as Victorian novelists and
poets who addressed crucial contemporary issues, such as the revolution of the class structure,
the crisis in religion, and the effects of industrialism. In modern works we will study the
pervasive presence of the past and the writers’ resistance and acquiescence to its influence.
The approach to this course will be at times interdisciplinary, demonstrating the ways in which
artists dramatized some of the issues poets and novelists examined. We will often examine the
relationship of literature to the visual arts. Throughout the semester one of our primary goals
will be to understand the influence of British writers on our ways of thinking, particularly on
their relevance to our lives and our own culture.
Course Prerequisites: English 1301 and 1302
 Course Credit and Objectives
Course Credit: This is a 3 credits course that fulfills the 2000 requirement of a course in British
literature for the English major or minor, the literature requirement or elective option for any
major.
General Education Core Curriculum Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes
Core objectives
Student Learning Outcomes
Critical Thinking Skills
Students will draw well-reasoned, logically
supported conclusions from information.
Communication Skills
Students will demonstrate effective written, oral,
and visual communication skills.
Social Responsibility
Students will demonstrate intercultural competence,
civic responsibility, and the ability to engage
effectively in regional, national and global
communities
Personal Responsibility
Students will be able to connect choices, actions
and consequences to ethical-decision making.
Course Policies
Computer Requirements: Computer with Microsoft Word and Internet access. Please note that
you must have Word 2007 to take the course. The UTPB bookstore sells Microsoft Office 2007
to students and faculty. The UTPB Information Resource Department has all the information on
their Microsoft Select web page.
All work must be saved in at least three separate places such as a hard drive on your computer,
and two disks or USB drives. You should also email it to yourself. There will be NO EXCUSES
for lost work due to computer or human error, failure, or malfunction. Always make a hard copy
(print out) of your work just in case. You also must have a back-up computer plan in case of
emergency. This could be the library, your work, or a friend’s house. Computer problems will
not be accepted as excuses for not doing work on time.
This course is designed as a web-based class which necessitates specific computer expertise,
specific computer equipment and programs and commitment on the student’s part beyond that of
most other courses. Ensuring you have the proper hardware and software is vital to your success
in an online learning environment.
Netiquette
Anything you type in the discussion area, blogs, podcasts comments (with the exception of
journals) is public – which means that every student in this class (including your instructor) will
see what you write. Please pay attention to the language you use and adhere to the following
guidelines:
1. Do not post anything too personal;
2. Do not use language that is inappropriate for a classroom setting or prejudicial in regard
to gender, race, or ethnicity;
3. Do not use all caps in the message box unless you are emphasizing (it is considered
shouting)
4. Be courteous and respectful to other people on the list
5. Do not overuse acronyms like you would use in text messaging. Some of the participants
may not be familiar with acronyms.
6. If the posting is going to be long, use line breaks and paragraphs
7. Fill in a meaningful Subject Line
8. Write your full name at the end of the posting
9. Be careful with sarcasm and subtle humor; one person's joke is another person’s insult.
NOTE: If you do not adhere to the guidelines for any posting, you will lose the points that
would have been granted, and the instructor reserves the right to remove your posting and to
deny you any further posting privileges.
Refer to the following links for additional help on netiquette:
NET Etiquette™
RFC 1855 - Netiquette Guidelines
ADA Statement: Students With Disabilities are responsible for registering with the Office of
Student Disabilities Services in order to receive special accommodations and services. Please
notify me during the first week of classes if a reasonable accommodation for a disability is
needed for this course. A letter from the UTPB/ADA office must accompany this request. The
ADA office is located in the Pass Office. Telephone: (432) 552-2630.
Participation: It is important that you participate by responding to the weekly assignments. Late
responses, presentations and papers will not be accepted. Computers are not always reliable, so
be sure to have a back-up plan and don’t leave your work till the last minute. Always make extra
file copies of your work and double check to see that attachments have attached. All due dates
are firm. Being sick or having computer problems doesn’t excuse you from class work or
assignments. Late assignments will not receive points. It’s important to contact me in advance if
you are having problems. The office of Student Services and the University Counseling Center
can also help if you are having personal issues that interfere with your school work.
Plagiarism: “Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion,
the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to
another person, and any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to
commit such acts.” Any student work which is the product of academic dishonesty will earn the
grade F. For further information, see the Student Guide.
 Student Support Services
UTPB Academic Advising Center
UTPB Admissions
ADA Accommodation/Support - UTPB Programs Assisting Student Study (PASS)
UTPB Bookstore - 432-552-0220
UTPB Financial Aid and Scholarship
UTPB Library
UTPB Registrar & Transcripts
UTPB Student Services
UTPB Smarthinking Online Tutoring: is a service that The University of Texas of the Permian
Basin is making available to all its students. Smarthinking provides tutoring in mathematics
(basic math through Calculus, including Bilingual Math), Biology, Intro Human A & P, General
and Organic Chemistry, Physics, Macro and Micro Economics, Accounting, Intro to Finance,
Statistics, Spanish, and Writing. Tutoring is available 24/7.
 Technical Requirements and Support
Requirements: This course is designed as a web-based class, which necessitates specific
computer expertise on the part of the student, specific computer equipment or programs, and a
commitment on the part of the student beyond that of most other courses. Ensuring you have the
proper hardware and software is vital to your success in an online learning environment.
Link to the Computer Set Up Steps - Every student who is taking an online course through
Blackboard has to perform the three steps to ensure your computer is set up right, your computer
has a compatible browser and installed plug-ins and helper applications.
Support: 24/7 Help Desk -Contact information for our 24/7 Help Desk at 1-877-633-9152 (Toll
Free). You can access this information by going to the Technical Support button on the course
menu while in the course.
Headphones. You must purchase a set of headphones in order to record the audio part of your
presentations.
 Texts
David Damrosch, ed., The Longman Anthology of English Literature vols. 2A, 2B, 2C. Tracy
Chevialier,
Falling Angels (Plume, 2001)
DVDs
Young Victoria
Bright Star
DVD note Please order these DVDs as soon as possible. You will need them for modules 4
and 7. If you prefer, you may rent them online. Those of you who have access to the UTPB
library may watch them in the library. I have placed them on 2 hour library reserve.
 Class Work Requirements
Introductions: Please use the Introductions forum on the Class Discussion Board to introduce
yourself to the class. This should be one of the first things you do in the class so we can get to
know each other. You are not required to post a photo or share any personal information unless
you want to. Just post whatever you feel comfortable about.
Discussion Board Responses (15%): Blogs (5%), Journals (5%), Wikis (5%): Each
module contains blogs, journals or wikis; quite often you are asked to comment on other people’s
work. Brief or cursory responses will not earn full credit.
Tests (3) (20%) You will take 3 tests based will be primarily based on the assigned work,
lectures and class discussions (blogs and wikis) and films. The tests include 10 questions, each
answer being worth 10 points. The maximum score then is 100 (90-100=A, 89-80=B, etc.). You
will have 1 hour and 15 minutes to take this test.
Final (20%) You will also take a final at the end of the course. The final is a multiple choice
test based on the work covered during the course. You will have 2 hours to take this test.
Papers (2) (45%): You will have to write 2 papers (5-6 pages long) on specific assignments related to
the writers we study. See the button on Papers for full descriptions of these assignments. Papers will
be graded according to this Grading Rubric.
 Grading
Blogs (4)
400 points
5%
Journals (2)
200 points
5%
Wikis (6)
600
5%
Tests (3)
300
20%
Final (1)
1000
20%
Paper 1
500
20%
Paper 2
1000
25%
Total
Grade Scale:
A
90 - 100%
4000
100%
B
80 - 89%
C
70 - 79%
D
60 - 69%
 Instructor's Note
Please note that you will be reading two novels in this class: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and
Tracy Chevalier’s Falling Angels. We spend only one week on each one of the novels; it is
important then that you start reading them before they are due. You may read a few pages every
day and take notes on important passages.
I will frequently make announcements related to the assignments. Begin each module by
reading the posted announcement. You may now begin the course by reading the announcement,
introducing yourself and by completing the work in Module 1.
Schedule of Assignments
Week 1, Module 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Watch the film From Revolution to Nature
Listen to my lecture on "Key Romantic Concepts"
Watch the film on William Wordsworth: A Concise Biography.
Read Wordsworth's poems
Write a blog on the film (100 pts). Write a blog in which you relate one Romantic and
one Wordsworthian concept to one of these poems (100 POINTS).
Do not reiterate what someone else has mentioned.
6. Listen to my lecture on William Wordsworth's key concepts in the "Preface to the Lyrical
Ballads"
7. Read the "Preface to the Lyrical Ballads"
8. Write a Wiki on a poem and "Preface to the Lyrical Ballads" (100 pts). Write a
Wiki (100 POINTS) in which you discuss one of the concepts in the Preface to the
Lyrical Ballads in relation to one of Wordsworth's poems to which you have been
assigned. Start by quoting the concept and including the page number in your text. Then
explain the concept in your own words and relate it to the Wordsworth poem you have
been assigned. Once again you must quote the lines from the poem.
Week 2, Module 2
1. Sample Test on Percy Shelley (0pts)(This test does not count towards your overall
grade)
2. Test on Romanticism and William Wordsworth (100 pts). See sample test on Percy
Shelley before taking this test.
3. Samuel Taylor Coleridge biography and concepts
4. Romantic Characteristics of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
5. Read Biographia Literaria, Chapters 4, 13, 14
6. Read poems and watch you tube videos
7. Wiki on Coleridge's poems (100 pts). Wiki (100 POINTS) on one of Coleridge's
characteristics. Find a characteristic in Biographia Literaria, quote it including page
number in parenthesis, and apply it to one of his poems. Also use quotations from the
poem. Do not reiterate what one of your classmates has mentioned.
Week 3, Module 3
1.
2.
3.
4.
Test on Samuel Taylor Coleridge (100 pts)
Paper 1 due (500 pts)
Read biographical section on John Keats
Watch the movie Bright Star
5. Journal Response to Bright Star (100 pts). Write a journal response to the movie (100
points) perhaps comparing your knowledge of John Keats based on the biographical
section to that provided by the movie. Your journal entry could be on something you
enjoyed; it doesn't necessarily have to be limited to the above suggestion.
Week 4, Module 4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Watch the lecture on Elgin Marbles and read "Ode on a Grecian Urn"
Watch the lecture on Romantic Characteristics of John Keats after reading poems
Read the John Keats' letters
Read poems and watch you tube videos on the poems
Write a blog on one of the poems and its you tube video (100 pts). Write a blog (100
points) on one of the poems and the you tube video on it, discussing how
the video helped you understand the poem or which images captured the meaning
of the poem and which ones were unsuccessful in conveying the spirit of the poem.
6. Wiki on one of the poems (100 pts. ). Wiki (100 points) on two of John Keats
characteristics and apply them to one of the poems. Quote Keats' letters (including page
numbers) and lines from the poem you have chosen. Do not reiterate something someone
else has written about.
Week 5, Module 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
Take test on John Keats (100 pts)
Watch documentary on Mary Shelley
Read Frankenstein
Write a wiki on one of the study questions on Frankenstein (100 pts). Write a wiki on
one of the study questions on Frankenstein.
Week 6, Module 6
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Take test on Frankenstein (100 pts)
Read introduction to the Victorian Age in the Norton Anthology, vol. 2B
Watch lecture on the Pre-Raphaelites
Read Rossetti's "The Blessed Damozel"
Blog on "The Blessed Damozel" (100 pts). Write a blog (100 points) in which you
discuss a Victorian or a Pre-Raphaelite concept relating it to "The Blessed Damozel" or
comparing the poem to the painting.
6. Read introductory lecture on Alfred Lord Tennyson
7. Read Tennyson's poems ("Mariana" and "Lady of Shalott") and watch you tube videos on
them. When reading "Lady of Shalott," read the two different versions that are available.
8. Wiki on the two versions of the "Lady of Shalott" (100 pts). Write a wiki (100 points)
in which you note two differences between the two editions of the “Lady of Shalott” and
their significance. You must not reiterate what someone else has already said.
Week 7, Module 7
1. Watch The Young Victoria movie
2. Journal on the movie (100 pts). Write a journal entry (100 points) in which you discuss
how the movie confirmed or changed your idea of Queen Victoria or the Victorians; or
you may relate one of the ideas discussed in the introduction to The Victorian Age to the
movie.
3. Watch lecture on Tracy Chevalier
4. Write a blog on an interview with Chevalier on Falling Angels (100 pts). Write a
blog (100 points) on an interview with Tracy Chevalier on Falling Angels. Discuss one or
two of the points in the interview which helped you better understand the novel. Do not
reiterate what one of your classmates has covered.
5. Read Falling Angels
6. Write a wiki on one of the study questions on the novel (100 pts). Write a wiki in
which you respond to one of the questions on Falling Angels.
7. Watch lecture on Falling Angels and the Suffragette Movement
8. Write a blog on Falling Angels. (100 pts). After watching the lecture on Falling Angels
and the Suffragette Movement, write a blog (100 points) in which you relate one of the
events narrated in the lecture to an incident in the novel (quoting directly from the novel
and including page number).
Week 8, Module 8
1. Turn in Paper 2 (1000 pts)
2. Take Final (1000 pts)
Papers
Paper 1
Compose a paper on one of the following topics.
1. After reading carefully William Wordsworth’s “Preface to the Lyrical Ballads,” choose
two or three concepts which William Wordsworth believes constitute his contribution to
Romantic poetry (other than common people and common language). Then choose one
of Coleridge’s poems we have studied and show how this poem illustrates these
concepts. Do not choose a very long poem. You must quote specific statements from
the Preface and lines from the poem; include page numbers for the preface and line
numbers for the quotes from the poem. In addition you should also discuss what exactly
the poet discovers by the end of the poem and how he conveys that discovery to the
reader. Finally, you should also reflect on your own discovery which the poem has
enabled you to make.
2. After reading carefully Coleridge’s tribute to Wordsworth’s genius in his Biographia
Literaria, choose three concepts and apply them to your interpretation of one of
Coleridge's poems we have studied. You must use specific quotes from Biographia and
the poem you have chosen. Include in parenthesis page numbers for Biographia and line
numbers for the quotes from the poem. Note that although Coleridge refers to
Wordsworth’s poetry, his statements could also very well apply to his own poetry. You
should also discuss the impact of these concepts on the readers. Avoid working with a
very long poem for this assignment.
3. Find three Pre-Raphaelite paintings that were inspired by “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”
and compare and contrast the artists’ interpretations of the poem. You will have to read
ahead, the work in module 4 to be able to complete this more challenging assignment. In
that module in my lecture on John Keats I discuss characteristics of John Keats' poetry
and I have a link to a video on "La Belle Dame Sans Merci." You might want to choose
paintings done in different years to see how representations of gender reflect a society in
a given time period. Some of the questions you should address in your paper are the
following:
What part of the poem does the painter choose to represent?
What part does he or she omit?
What cultural beliefs do the representations of male or female characters reveal about that
period’s gender ideology or gender constructs?
You should include the interpretation of at least one art historian for each of the paintings
you discuss. Do not use online sources unless they are websites on a particular artist.
You may use either books or articles devoted to that artist and the painting you have
chosen.
Include small copies of the paintings at the end of your paper and refer to them, as well as
throughout the paper, as (fig.1) etc.
Your paper should not be a reiteration of the ideas we have discussed during the course; it
should develop instead new connections. Read carefully the details and images in the poems and
relate them to the concepts you have chosen. The length of your paper should be 3-5 typed,
double-spaced pages long (Times New Roman, 12). Underline your thesis statement. Include a
Works Cited page. Follow the MLA style; you may find it online.
Paper 2
Assessment Paper
Length: 8 pages (8 full pages, not 7 ½)
Purpose: To produce a well-written and well-argued essay that examines the cultural contexts
and ethical implications of a literary work
Assignment:
For the Cultural Analysis Essay, you will analyze a literary text with regards to its cultural
context and ethical implications. This means that you will select a short story, novel, or poem
that is representative of a specific culture, with culture designated in terms of race, ethnicity,
gender, sexual orientation, religion, or region. Part of your analysis will address how the literary
work represents this cultural community and also how the cultural community or group
characterizes itself (or has been characterized by the larger society). Your essay should also
engage questions about how the cultural group fits within larger society, whether at the national
or global level. Finally, your essay will also analyze the ethical concerns, dilemmas and
decisions represented within or raised by the text (whether in terms of the actions of a character,
for example, or the ideas presented by the author or poet). In this way, you will analyze the
literary text for the ethical issues it presents and evaluate how the text defines matters of ethical
responsibility and action.
You should include in your analysis a detailed interpretation of at least three long quotations (3-5
sentences) for short stories. For poetry, 3-5 quotes of longer sections (3-4 lines of a poem) ought
to be included. A 2-3 sentence explanation should follow all quotes.
Also: you must provide page numbers for all quotations, and you must have a work cited at the
end of your essay. Be sure to cite properly all material, whether it is a paraphrase or a direct
quote, from outside sources.
Grading Criteria:
The following criteria will be used in assessing your paper. Your essay will be judged on:

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the overall effectiveness of your analysis & the skill of your close reading
the analysis of cultural contexts and ethical implications associated with the literary work
the intellectual complexity of your essay
the depth, thoroughness, and efficiency of your interpretation
the level of skill of your writing (including clarity, cohesiveness, organization and eloquence)
the avoidance of summary and grammatical errors (especially run-ons and sentence
fragments)