Missouri Western State College




Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences




Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism




353:  Neoclassical Literature







Instructor:




Class time and place:




Office:




Phone:




e-mail:




URL:




Catalog Course Description:


ENG 353 focuses on emphasizing historical and cultural contexts.  The course will


study poetry, plays and prose of British and American Neoclassical culture.  This


epoch, marked by extraordinary upheavals and endeavors to understand human 


experience, presents thematic issues (God, Science, Public vs. Private) which


were perceived and redefined throughout the period on both sides of the Atlantic


and by writers of both sexes.




Prerequisite for ENG 353:  ENG 210 or 220




Required Texts:


        Austen, Jane.  Northanger Abbey.


        Behn, Aphra.  The Rover.


        "Federalist Papers Online" (See Below Under "Web Sites")


        Lonsdale, Roger.  Eighteenth-Century Women Poets.


        Norton Anthology of English Literature, 6th edition, Vol. 1


        Sterne, Laurence.  Tristram Shandy.




Other Required Supplies:


One three-ring binder (no larger than 1" spine) for 


submission of end-of-term portfolio


60-minute clean encased audio-cassette tape


Access to word processor with spell-checker


It is helpful for the student to have a 3-ring binder and a 


supply of notebook paper for class use.  Materials 


will be distributed to you already punched for 


such a binder.





Supplemental Texts:


        Harmon and Holman.  A Handbook to Literature, 7th Edition.


        Gibaldi, Joseph.  MLA Handbook, 4th Edition.


        Stull, Andrew T. and Emily Thiroux.  English on the Internet.




Web Sites:


        Jane Austen Information Page (University of Texas)

                http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/janeinfo.html

        Aphra Behn Society:  Sites (Emory University)

                http://prometheus.cc.emory.edu/behn/sites.html

        The Shandean (University of Utrecht)

                http://www.let.uu.nl/~Peter.deVoogd/shandean/

        Federalist Papers Online

                http://www.mcs.net/~knautzr/fed/fedpaper.html

        Eighteenth-Century Resources (University of Pennsylvania)


                http://www.english.upenn.edu/~jlynch/18th/


        VoS English Literature:  18th Century (U. California-Santa Barbara)


                http://humanitas.ucsb.edu/shuttle/eng-18th.html


        Eighteenth-Century Studies (Carnegie Mellon University)


                http://eserver.org/18th/


        Eighteenth-Century Threads and Tapestries (SUNY-Stony Brook)


                http://www.sunysb.edu/english/18thcentury/texts.htm




Evaluation:


        Final grade is determined on the basis of a portfolio submitted at the 


        date assigned.  Guidelines for the portfolio and a tentative scoring 


        rubric will be distributed early in the semester.  Prior to portfolio


        submission, there will be opportunities to make minimal adjustments to


        the scoring rubric.  




        At the end of the semester, two class days will be taken for individual 


        portfolio conferences to determine the grade.  




        The portfolio may be revised and resubmitted on the date stated.  You 


        may resubmit the portfolio only once.  




        Early in the class, I will arrange an individual 10-15 minute meeting 


        with each of you to discuss your portfolio. 




        Minimum class standards to receive a passing grade (D)


                1.  Portfolio submitted on the date required;


                2.  Attendance at the instructor-student portfolio


                        conference;


                3.  Credit and response for all paper assignments;


                4.  Four or fewer absences (which will constitute 2 


                        weeks worth of work);


                5.  Attendance at the final session of the class. 




Attendance:


Attendance is required in this class; attendance is taken on a regular 


(though not daily) basis. The portfolio/course grade will be lowered by


excessive absences (4 or more), failure to prepare for class, or lack of


class participation.  More than six recorded daily absences will result


in an F for the class.  A student who does not attend and participate in


the final session will receive an F for the class.




Late and Missing Work:


Papers are scheduled so I can do three readings of your work and return


it at our next session.  If you do not meet the due date, I do not 


guarantee return of the paper to you in a timely fashion.  




Policy on Students with Disabilities:


It is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor of any


disability which might prevent maximum performance in the course (a 


hearing loss, for example) so accommodating procedures will exist.




Policy on Academic Dishonesty:


It is expected that all students will produce their own work.  Student


work which does not meet this criterion will be assessed under the 


penalties in the Student Handbook.  




Course Objectives and Topics to be Addressed in ENG 353:


        1.      Students will be able to read and understand selected 


                        texts of 1660-1798, the Neoclassical Period.  


        2.      Students will be able to integrate these works into 


                        the socio-political-historical era.


        3.      Students will obtain a knowledge of non-canonical 


                        writers (largely women) as well as canonical


                        texts.


        4.      Students will hone their critical thinking abilities by 


                        writing about the texts and countertexts of the 


                        period.


        5.      Students' skills in analysis of literary genres and works 


                        will be increased through close reading 


                        techniques and application of theoretical 


                        constructs to the works.


        6.      Students' ability to read and interpret texts will be 


                        increased through close and careful scrutiny of 


                        texts, integrated with the theoretical and 


                        historical backgrounds.


        7.      Students will become self-directed interpreters of, 


                        writers about and interactive participants in the 


                        literature by means of portfolio construction.