Course Overview

With its recent origins at the dawn of the 18th century, the novel quickly came to prominence among readers who had previously tended to turn to poetic forms for entertainment. The novel displaced epic and lyric poetry by telling stories that were uniquely appropriate for audiences in a newly "modern" Western world and, eventually, by making the implicit cases that the experiences of everyone regardless of rank were worthy of recounting in literature. This course adopts a historical perspective on the novel as it developed in the past 300 or so years in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

English Major Student Learning Outcomes
and How This Course Meets Them

1. Discuss works from major movements and/or periods in literary history (aligned with UMD Outcome 1).
   --This course will consider the emergence of the novel as a popular literary form coinciding with the establishment of modernity in the United States and the United Kingdom.

2. Analyze the role of difference (which might include racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, religious, economic, and/or ideological differences) in producing, publishing and interpreting literature (aligned with UMD Outcome 7).
   --We will consider novels by culturally diverse writers and pay particular attention to their use of situations within novels to dramatize conflicts resulting from the abovementioned differences.

3. Identify major characteristics of the dominant literary genres (poetry, fiction, drama) and use those characteristics to analyze individual examples (aligned with UMD Outcome 1).
   --We will examine the characteristics of prose fiction and distinguish it as a genre from poetry and drama.

4. Interpret literary works with close attention to the nuances of language, content and form (aligned with UMD Outcome 3).
   --Written assignments will require students to engage in close readings of the novels under consideration.

5. Apply concepts from literary theory and criticism in the analysis and interpretation of texts (aligned with UMD Outcome 2).
   --Classroom discussions of the assigned readings will revolve around current critical questions, and students will apply these questions to papers and exams.

6. Describe the ways in which texts emerge from and respond to their historical and cultural contexts (aligned with UMD Outcome 2).
   --The historical account of the evolution of the novel forms of the backbone of course content depends strongly on such contexts. We will consider literature as an artifact that reveals subtle cultural shifts occurring at the times of production and consumption.

7. Write focused, convincing analytical essays that incorporate relevant secondary sources (aligned with UMD Outcome 6).
   --The research paper will require students to refer to major critics of a chosen novelist and use the Modern Language Association format to document such references.

8. Collaborate in the discussion and interpretation of literature by listening to others' perspectives, asking productive questions, and articulating original ideas (aligned with UMD Outcome 6).
   --Classroom discussions and presentations will facilitate an active exchange of ideas about the assigned novels. Peer editing exercises will likewise enable collaboration among students to produce better written work.

Objectives

Over the semester, I expect students to achieve the following goals:

• To read and understand representative novels from the United States and the United Kingdom.

• To discuss these works in an analytical and engaging manner in class discussion.

• To write convincing arguments interpreting works of literature.

• To recall key facts about the works in question.

• To produce papers analyzing novels in a manner that is interesting, well organized and consistent with the standard conventions of analytical writing.

• To revise drafts of such papers before turning them in as finished products.

• To proofread papers effectively.

• To complete papers according to the MLA format and the conventions of college academic writing.

• To discuss strengths and weaknesses of classmates' drafts as a means of helping them produce better final papers.

To reach these goals, students will need to do the following:

• Write an analysis of a scene from one of the first two novels on the syllabus. 3-5 typed pages. Due on Thursday, October 11th, 2018.

• Write a research paper interpreting a novel on the syllabus in accordance with a process involving a proposal, an annotated bibliography, and then a revised final draft. Due on Thursday, December 6th, 2018.

• Complete a mid-term examination on Tuesday, October 9th, 2018.

• Complete a final examination covering the material from the entire semester and including passage analysis and essay questions. For additional information about policies governing final exams, see "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/examination-policies/final-examinations". The exam takes place on Thursday, December 13th, 2018, from 2pm to 3:55pm.

• Bring a typed, completed draft to class on each peer-editing day, and provide classmates with carefully considered comments on their own drafts on those days.

• One presentation of five to ten minutes that focuses on an assigned reading for one day of class.

• Attend class regularly and contribute to class discussion and group activities.

Grade Breakdown:

NOTES ABOUT THE CLASS:

• Written Work. Your grade will depend primarily on your written work and the understanding of the material that you convey through that work. A command of standard written English and the ability to present an argument will also contribute to the determination of your grade.

  Writers' Workshop UMD offers free one-on-one writing support from graduate or faculty writing consultants at the WritersÕ Workshop. The consultants will work with you on any writing project at any stage in the writing process. For more information or to make an appointment, visit "http://d.umn.edu/writwork/" or stop by the Learning Commons on the second floor of the Kathryn A. Martin Library. Walk-ins are welcome as long as a consultant is available.

• Late Assignments will receive a deduction of 1/3 of a letter grade for each business day that they are late. Students who miss exams may not make them up without a valid excuse for the absence.

• Academic Dishonesty tarnishes the reputation of the University of Minnesota Duluth and discredits the accomplishments of its students. Because the university is committed to providing students every possible opportunity to grow in mind and spirit, it must insist on an environment of trust, honesty, and fairness. Consequently, all members of the academic community must regard any act of academic dishonesty as a serious offense. In keeping with this ideal, this course will adhere to UMD's Student Academic Integrity Policy, which is available online at "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/student-academic-integrity". This policy sanctions students engaging in academic dishonesty with penalties up to and including expulsion from the university for repeat offenders.

• Disability Accommodations. Individuals who have any disability, either permanent or temporary, which might influence their capacity to perform in this class, should inform me at the start of the semester. The Office of Disability Resources writes that "[i]t is the policy and practice of the University of Minnesota Duluth to create inclusive learning environments for all students, including students with disabilities.ÊIf there are aspects of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion or your ability to meet course requirementsÑsuch as time limited exams, inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videosÑplease notify the instructor as soon as possible."ÊYou can contact the Office of Disability Resources to discuss and arrange reasonable accommodations by calling 218-726-6130 or by visiting the Disability Resources website at "http://www.d.umn.edu/access/".Ê

• Notetaking. Remember that there are rules against disseminating these notes beyond the classroom community, which you can find at "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/course-notes-and-materials".

• Attendance. I expect students to show up on time and prepared to discuss the readings assigned for that day. Students have a responsibility to plan their schedules to avoid conflicts with course requirements. Excessive absences will have a negative impact on the grade that you receive in this course. Excusable absences include "subpoenas, jury duty, military duty, religious observances, illness, bereavement for immediate family and NCAA varsity college athletics." Please contact the instructor about anticipated absences in order to minimize their influence on your coursework. For more information on excused absences, see "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/excused-absences".

• Student Conduct. Respect fellow students and refrain from behavior that might impair their learning opportunities. Any behavior that substantially and repeatedly interrupts the instructor's ability to teach or the students' ability to learn will result in appropriate penalties. Disruptive behavior includes inappropriate use of communications technology in the classroom, such as ringing cell phones, text-messaging, watching videos, playing computer games, reading email, or browsing the Internet instead of note-taking or other instructor-sanctioned activities. For further clarification of UMD policies in this regard, consult the Board of Regents Policy at "https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/policies/Student_Conduct_Code.pdf".

• Civility. UMD instructors and students have a responsibility to maintain a learning environment that is, as stated in the Teaching and Learning Policy, "respectful of the rights and freedoms of all members, and promotes a civil and open exchange of ideas." The full policy is available at "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/instructor-and-student-responsibilities".

Required Texts

Assigned readings will come from the following books:

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Oxford, 2002.

Chesnutt, Charles. The House behind the Cedars. Penguin, 1993.

Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. Oxford, 2009.

Egan, Jennifer. A Visit from the Goon Squad. Knopf, 2011.

McEwan, Ian. Atonement. Knopf, 2003.

Woolf, Virginia. To the Lighthouse. Houghton Mifflin, 1989.

Supplementary Texts

The following texts are not part of the required reading list, but they may provide workable starting points for research into a particular author or topic this semester. Not all of these texts are available in the UMD Library, so plan ahead when seeking to consult them.

Robinson Crusoe

Bender, John. Ends of Enlightenment. Stanford UP, 2012.

Hunter, J. Paul. The Reluctant Pilgrim: Defoe's Emblematic Method and Quest for Form in Robinson Crusoe. Johns Hopkins UP, 1966.

Napier, Elizabeth. Falling into Matter: Problems of Embodiment in English Fiction from Defoe to Shelley. U of Toronto P, 2012.

Pride and Prejudice

Regis, Pamela. A Natural History of the Romance Novel. U of Pennsylvania P, 2007.

Woloch, Alex. The One vs. the Many: Minor Characters and the Space of the Protagonist in the Novel. Princeton UP, 2003.

The House behind the Cedars

Carpio, Glenda. Laughing Fit to Kill: Black Humor in the Fictions of Slavery. Oxford UP, 2008.

Smethurst, James. The African American Roots of Modernism: From Reconstruction to the Harlem Renaissance. U of North Carolina P, 2011.

Williams, Andrea. Dividing Lines: Class, Anxiety and Postbellum Black Fiction. U of Michigan P, 2012.

To the Lighthouse

Cole, Sara. At the Violet Hour: Modernism and Violence in England and Ireland. Oxford UP, 2012.

Figlerowicz, Marta. Spaces of Feeling: Affect and Awareness in Modernist Literature. Cornell UP, 2017.

Oser, Lee. The Ethics of Modernism: Moral Ideas in Yeats, Eliot, Joyce, Woolf, and Beckett. Cambridge UP, 2007.

Rose, Jacquelyn. On Not Being Able to Sleep: Psychoanalysis and the Modern World. Princeton UP, 2003.

Rosner, Victoria. Modernism and the Architecture of Private Life. Columbia UP, 2005.

Atonement

Henderson, Katherine T. "New Britain, Old England: Heritage Renewed in Atonement." Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 63, no. 4, Winter 2017, pp. 714-736.

Miller, J. Hillis. "Some Versions of Romance Trauma as Generated by Realist Detail in Ian McEwan's Atonement." Trauma and Romance in Contemporary British Literature, edited by Jean-Michel Ganteau and Susana Omega, Routledge, 2013, pp. 90-106.

Robinson, Richard. "The Modernism of Ian McEwan's Atonement." Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 56, no. 3, Fall 2010, pp. 473-495.

Quarrie, Cynthia. "'Before the Destruction Began': Interrupting Post-Imperial Melancholia in Ian McEwan's Atonement." Studies in the Novel, vol. 47, no. 2, Summer 2015, pp. 193-209.

A Visit from the Goon Squad

Johnston, Katherine D. "Metadata, Metafiction, and the Stakes of Surveillance in Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad." American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography, vol. 89, no. 1, March 2017, pp. 155-184. DOI: 10.1215/00029831-3788753

Moling, Martin. "'No Future': Time, Punk Rock and Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad." Arizona Quarterly: A Journal of American Literature, Culture, and Theory, vol. 72, no. 1, Spring 2016, pp. 52-77.

Zappen, James P. "Affective Identification in Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad." LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory, vol. 27, nos. 1-2, 2016, pp. 294-309.

The Novel in General

Eagleton, Terry. The English Novel: An Introduction. Blackwell, 2005.

Levy, Eric P. Detaining Time: Temporal Resistance in Literature from Shakespeare to McEwan. Bloomsbury Academic, 2016.

Midorikawa, Emily and Emma Claire Sweeney, editors. A Secret Sisterhood: The Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, and Virginia Woolf. Houghton, Mifflin, 2017.

Starr, G. Gabrielle. Lyric Generations: Poetry and the Novel in the Long Eighteenth Century. Johns Hopkins UP, 2015.

Watt, Ian. The Rise of the Novel. U of California P, 2001.