ENGL4188F05

Jane Austen and Her Contemporaries

Syllabus, Fall 2005

English/Women’s and Gender Studies 4188/7188

MWF 9:00 - 9:50 a.m., EG E E3508

Prof. Devoney Looser

Office: 316H Tate Hall

Office hours: MWF 10:00-10:55 a.m. and by appointment

Required Texts

Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey (1798/1818) (Norton Critical edition)

Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility (1811) (Norton Critical edition)

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice (1813) (Norton Critical edition)

Edgeworth, Maria. Belinda (1801) (Oxford edition)

Radcliffe, Ann. A Sicilian Romance (1790) (Oxford edition)

West, Jane. A Gossip’s Story (1796) (.pdf file available through eRes or see me for other options)

Wollstonecraft, Mary. Mary and The Wrongs of Woman (1788/1798) (Oxford edition)

A number of books on Austen and others have been placed on print reserve at Ellis Library, in order to facilitate work on your research projects.

Course Goals

•To provide an introduction to Jane Austen and other British women writers active during the 1790s-1810s in their historical, literary, and national contexts.

•To offer opportunities to gauge aesthetic, thematic, and political similarities and differences among texts.

•To introduce and employ feminist literary critical approaches to texts.

•To offer opportunities to develop analytical thinking and critical writing skills.

Course Description

Most have read or at least heard of the novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817), though the writer named Jane whom readers of the day would have been most likely to know was the historical novelist Jane Porter. Who were the women publishing during the turbulent 1790s to 1810s? Learning about them will enrich your knowledge of the period and of Austen herself. In this course, we will study works by Austen, Maria Edgeworth (one of the few novelists Austen herself admired), Porter, conservative Jane West, and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, among others. We will look at issues of rights, race, romance, and revolution as they surface in the texts.

This course counts toward the English major and minor. It is also cross-listed with Women’s Studies and counts toward the major and minor.

Course Expectations

I will be grading you in the following areas: research proposal and project (draft and final), presentation, mid-term essay exam, take-home final exam, and online & in-class participation.

1) Weekly online responses (15 percent)

You will write once a week in response to each other and to our assigned readings, using Web CT. You will be responsible for formulating one substantial reading question for the next day’s reading and for responding to a classmates’ question (or to another classmates’ response) each week. Your responses should be at least 200 words in length and should demonstrate that you have read and carefully thought about the assigned reading.

You will be assigned one of three due dates—by Sunday at 9 p.m., by Tuesday at 9 p.m., or by Thursday at 9 p.m.. (In other words, the night before one of our class periods.) You should use this forum to ask substantive questions about the text assigned for the next class, to make connections among texts, and to identify what you see as important themes and issues. I am less interested in what you liked or disliked about the reading (although that may be relevant to your response) than in what issues you found central and why.

As we proceed, I will point out questions and responses that I think are particularly strong, so that you may consider them as models for your future work. I will also provide additional feedback about your individual progress in this area when you request it. At mid-term and the end of the term, I will grade your online contributions as excellent (A/90-100), good (B/80-90), satisfactory (C/70-79), poor (D/60-69), and not adequate (F/below 60).

You should have at least ten responses during the course of the term. This means you may skip several without penalty. Late work will be accepted up to one week afterward but will not be graded higher than a C. Missed work is automatically recorded as an F. Multiple weeks of missing questions and responses will jeopardize your ability to pass the course.

2) Research project (25 percent) and Presentation (5 percent)

You will be undertaking an individual or collective research project on some aspect of our study relating to Jane Austen and/or her contemporaries. The primary requirement is that the project must result from significant and appropriate research (library and Internet-based) that informs its findings.

Your project may be historical or contemporary in its scope and satirical or serious in its tone. It may be a traditional research paper of 10 pages or the equivalent in another format—a web site, a product, or an event. Your project may be made up of your own creative writing (prose, drama, or screenplay) or a detailed proposal for such a work. You might choose to rewrite a chapter or put on a public performance of a scene (providing me with a video) from a text we read, adding information or insight. You could propose and outline a sequel to one of the assigned texts. We will brainstorm about other possibilities in class.

I encourage you to take risks--to do something new to you. Your grade will be determined primarily by how you conceive of the project, put work into it, and make sense of the results. In others words, you need not define yourself as an artist to choose an artistic project or an actor to choose a dramatic one. I consider your ideas, efforts in collecting information, and assessment more important than its execution.

Along with each of these projects (whether written or not), I expect a three-page typed summary of your efforts, explaining what you did, the scope of research that went into it, the rationale behind the work, and what you hope your reader/audience will come away with after taking in your project. This summary should be accompanied by a detailed Works Cited or Works Consulted list in MLA Style (your research documentation). The project and the rationale document will be graded excellent (A/90-100), good (B/80-90), satisfactory (C/70-79), poor (D/60-69), unsatisfactory (F/below 60), or missed (0).

In the case of group projects, separate summary and research documentation is required from EACH group member, describing your individual and collective contributions. I will, of course, expect greater accomplishments from groups than from individuals. If you have any questions about my expectations, please see me.

You will present to the class a brief initial plan for your project. These presentations will be graded excellent (A/95), good (B/85), satisfactory (C/75), poor (D/65), unsatisfactory (F/55), or missed (0). You will be evaluated on whether your project is well conceived, your information is conveyed accessibly, you are connecting with your audience, and your presentation time is used effectively. Presentations should be no more than five minutes long and should give a general outline of the work you intend to undertake and why you chose it. You will sign up for a presentation slot in the coming weeks.

In addition, prior to 9 p.m. before the next class after your presentation, you will post a brief written summary of your presentation to Web CT. At this time, you will also provide online feedback for at least one other student’s posted project proposal—offering your own insights, advice, or questions about his or her project. (The posting and the feedback will be included in your presentation grade as satisfactory/completed or unsatisfactory/not completed.) Missed presentations may not be rescheduled.

NOTE FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS: Students taking the course as 7188 will produce a traditional seminar-style research paper that advances an original argument. The paper will be worth 50 percent of your course grade. It should be approximately 20 pages long, not including works cited page(s). I expect that your paper will situate itself among (i.e. present itself in conversation with) the scholarly work of those who have come before you. You, too, will complete a proposal and give a brief presentation (5 percent). Please see me early in the term if you are not familiar with this format and would like additional guidance.

3) Mid-term exam (20) and Take-Home Final Exam (20 percent)

The mid-term exam (required of 4188 students) will be based on our common readings and will have two parts--1) passage identification and description, in which I ask you to describe the significance of as well as the source of the writing, and 2) an essay question that allows you to employ extended analysis, including your own interpretations (long essay). The second type of question will be modified from our online and in-class discussion questions. Prior to the exam, I will bring in examples of both kinds of questions for us to tackle collectively in class.

The exam should allow you to demonstrate that you have carefully read all of the assignments and that you have been putting effort into making sense of them through our online and in-class discussions. My aim in giving this exam is not to present you with obscure textual references but to provide you the opportunity to show that you have accumulated significant knowledge throughout the course of the term.

The final take-home exam (required of 4188 students) will draw from our discussion questions on the assigned texts. I expect that your answers to these questions will be typed and double-spaced. Each answer should be at least one typed page in length and preferably longer. You are encouraged to quote directly from the texts (citing the page reference), but you should provide analysis in your own words, including your own informed interpretations. These exams will be graded excellent (A/90-100), good (B/80-90), satisfactory (C/70-79), poor (D/60-69), unsatisfactory (F/below 60), or missed (0).

NOTE FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS: Those taking the course as 7188 will produce an annotated bibliography of at least six sources related to the anticipated topic of your final seminar paper, due on the date of the mid-term exam, which you are not required to take. The sources should be listed in MLA style, followed by a one- or two-paragraph summary and analysis of the source’s argument and potential usefulness to you. This assignment will make up 15 percent of your grade.

4) Attendance and Participation (15 percent)

The majority of our class time will be spent discussing (in both small and large groups) the reading assignments. Exemplary participation in these activities demonstrates that you are preparing and thinking about the material and will help your final grade in this category (A-B). Active listening will likely neither help nor hurt your grade (B-C). Inattentiveness, tardiness, or frequent absence will lower your grade (D-F).

You are allowed a maximum of five absences during the semester--no questions asked. I encourage you to save these absences for emergencies. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. Additional absences over this number will jeopardize your participation grade, resulting in an F (0 to 50) for this area of evaluation. If you earn such a mark, you will find it very difficult to pass the course.

If you are hospitalized or become seriously ill, contact me (or have someone else contact me) to make alternate arrangements to complete coursework.

Grading scale

94-100 (A)

90-93 (A-)

88-89 (B+)_

84-87 (B)

80-83 (B-)

78-79 (C+)

74-77 (C)

70-73 (C-)

68-69 (D+)

64-67 (D)

60-63 (D-)

59 and below (F)

Please note that an F grade, too, must be earned. Significant missing work will result in a failing grade nearer to 0 than to 59.

Other Matters

Temporary Course Instruction

At this point, from what I can anticipate, there will be approximately one month during which I will not be your primary classroom instructor for the course. Teaching Assistant and PhD student Crystal Lake will be providing that instruction in my stead. During that period, the students taking the course for 7188 credit—though expected to continue attending the class meetings--will also report to Professor George Justice, who will be in contact about setting up times to meet with you during that period.

In-class Etiquette

I expect that we will show respect for all individuals and their differences in the classroom. This involves listening well to each other, processing new information and opinions carefully, and treating all class members with respect. If you cannot abide by these rules, you will be asked to make an appointment with me to discuss your continuation in the course.

Class Netiquette (From ET@MO)

Your instructor and fellow students wish to foster a safe on-line learning environment. All opinions and experiences, no matter how different or controversial they may be perceived, must be respected in the tolerant spirit of academic discourse. You are encouraged to comment, question, or critique an idea but you are not to attack an individual.

Our differences, some of which are outlined in the University's nondiscrimination statement, will add richness to this learning experience. Please consider that sarcasm and humor can be misconstrued in online interactions and generate unintended disruptions. Working as a community of learners, we can build a polite and respectful course ambience.

Student Conduct Code (from Dept. of Student Life)

All students must make themselves familiar with and abide by the student code, described in the M-book, including adhering to guidelines regarding cheating and plagiarism. Academic honesty is fundamental to the activities and principles of a university. All members of the academic community must be confident that each person's work has been responsibly and honorably acquired, developed, and presented. Any effort to gain an advantage not given to all students is dishonest whether or not the effort is successful. The academic community regards academic dishonesty as an extremely serious matter, with serious consequences that range from probation to expulsion. When in doubt about plagiarism, paraphrasing, quoting, or collaboration, please consult your professor.

From Disability Services

If you have a disability and are requesting accommodation, notify the Office of Disability Services, A048 Brady Commons, 882-4696, immediately. During the first weeks of the course, after establishing contact with that office, you should inform the professor of the special needs you may have so that we can begin to work together on these issues.

Reading and Assignment Schedule

Monday, August 22nd

Introduction to the course (Defining and Re-Discovering “Jane Austen”)

Wednesday, August 24th

From “Backgrounds and Sources” in Pride and Prejudice (“Biography” and “Letters”) (pp. 259-280)

From “Backgrounds” in Northanger Abbey (“Biography”) (pp. 177-196)

Friday, August 26th

From “Backgrounds and Sources” in Pride and Prejudice (“Early Writing”) (pp. 281-286)

From “Backgrounds” in Northanger Abbey (“Early Writing”) (pp. 197-212)

“Female Character and Conduct” and “Male Character and Conduct” (eRes; 13 pages)

Monday, August 29th

Frances Burney’s Evelina (1778) (eRes; preface and selected letters)

Wednesday, August 31st

Jane Porter’s Thaddeus of Warsaw (1803) (eRes; preface and excerpted chapter)

Friday, September 2nd

Austen’s Lady Susan (eRes; 34 pages)

LABOR DAY

NO CLASSES

Wednesday, September 7th

Radcliffe’s A Sicilian Romance (1790) (pp. 1-70)

Friday, September 9th

LIBRARY INSTRUCTION SESSION

Radcliffe’s A Sicilian Romance (1790) (pp. 71-124)

Monday, September 12th

Radcliffe’s A Sicilian Romance (1790) (pp. 125-199)

Wednesday, September 14th

Austen’s Northanger Abbey (pp. 1-61)

Friday, September 16th

Austen’s Northanger Abbey (pp. 61-104)

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS VISIT

Monday, September 19th

Austen’s Northanger Abbey (pp. 104-174)

Wednesday, September 21st

Austen’s Northanger Abbey, from “Criticism” (Read British Critic, Whately, West, Gilbert and Gubar, Johnson, Erickson, and Litvak)

Friday, September 23rd

Wollstonecraft’s Mary (pp. 1-68)

Monday, September 26th

Wollstonecraft’s Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman (pp. 70-TBA)

Wednesday, September 28th

Wollstonecraft’s Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman (pp. TBA-204)

Friday, September 30th

Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (pp. 1-35) and “Contexts” (pp. 273-305)

Monday, October 3rd

Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (pp. 36-98)

ROUGH DRAFT OF PROPOSALS DUE

(PEER REVIEW OF PROPOSALS)

Wednesday, October 5th

Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (pp. 99-155)

Friday, October 7th

NO CLASS: PROFESSOR AT CONFERENCE

Monday, October 10th

4188: MID-TERM EXAM (7188: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE)

Wednesday, October 12th

Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (pp. 156-224)

Friday, October 14th

Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (pp. 224-269)

REVISED PROPOSALS DUE

Monday, October 17th

Austen’s Sense and Sensibility “Criticism” (Read Critical Review, British Critic, Williams, Butler, Poovey, Johnson, Favret, Lynch, Sedgwick, and Kaplan)

Wednesday, October 19th

West’s A Gossip’s Story (eRes; Vol I, #1 & #2)