Students, this is a very important page. Here you will find links for each and every one of our classes this semester. All you need to do is find the correct date for your class.
Simply click on the day to be taken to the class page.
Week One:
Wednesday, January 14
Friday, January 16
Week Two:
Monday, Jan 19
Wednesday, Jan 21
Friday, Jan 23
Week Three:
Monday, Jan 26
Wednesday, Jan 28
Friday, Jan 30
Week Four:
Monday, Feb 2
Wednesday, Feb 4
Friday, Feb 6
Week Five:
Monday, Feb 9
Wednesday, Feb 11
Friday, Feb 13
Week Six:
Monday, Feb 16
Wednesday, Feb 18
Friday, Feb 20
Week Seven:
Monday, Feb 23
Wednesday, Feb 25
Friday, Feb 27
Spring Break
Week Eight:
Monday, March 16
Wednesday, March 18
Friday, March 20
Week Nine:
Monday, March 23
Wednesday, March 25
Friday, March 27
Week Ten:
Monday, March 30
Wednesday, April 1
Friday, April 3
Week Eleven:
Monday, April 6
Wednesday, April 8
Friday, April 10
Week Twelve:
Monday, April 13
Wednesday, April 15
Friday, April 17
Week Thirteen:
Monday, April 20
Wednesday, April 22
Friday, April 24
Week Fourteen:
Monday, April 27
Wednesday, April 29
Friday, May 1
Final Exam TBA
** Dear Class, different groupings of people read at different speeds. In order to accommodate our different reading habits, this syllabus currently has a reading schedule that is completed within the first 12 weeks of our 14 week semester. However, should we require more time for a given text or texts, we will simply – in a controlled fashion – expand our reading time to reasonably accommodate our needs.
**This does not mean that you can expect to ever read less than the full assignment for a given night, only that assignment lengths may be shortened or lengthened over the course of the semester to accommodate the class’ average reading speed.
*** Also note, all course material, notes, and lecture videos can be found on the syllabus page of our blog.
Proposed Syllabus
Week One: Orientation To History
Wednesday, January 15: Context Lecture: The Ancient Fantasies of Foreign Strangers
Read: Selections from the works of Christopher Columbus
Write: Blog posting
Friday, January 17: Context Lecture: Dante and his time
Read: The Divine Comedy: Volume I: The Inferno: Canto I
Write: Blog posting
Week Two: Chaucer and an Expanding World
Monday, January 19: Context Lecture: From Dante to Chaucer
Read: The Canterbury Tales, “The Prologue”
Write: Blog posting
Wednesday, January 21: Lecture: Chaucer and Courtly Love
Read: The Canterbury Tales, “The Knight’s Tale”
Focused Annotation: The Knight’s Tale
Friday, January 23: Lecture: Chaucer and the Human Condition
Read: The Canterbury Tales, “Wife of Bath’s Tale”
Focused Annotation: The Wife of Bath’s Tale
Week Three: The Death of LATIN! The birth of ENGLISH!
Monday, January 26: Context Lecture: From the Vulgar to the Vatican
Read: Selections from Imagined Communities
Individual Presentation Assignments
Write: Blog Posting
Wednesday, January 28: Lecture: From the Prophets to the Profitable
Read: Selections from Imagined Communities
Short Paper Assignment (due Feb 13)
Write: Blog Posting
Friday, January 30 Lecture: Context for John Milton
Read: Selections from John Milton
Write: Blog Posting
Week Four: John Milton, His World and the Rise of the Individual
Monday, February 2: Context Lecture: The Nerd Who Spoke to God
Read: Selection from Milton’s poems
Individual Presentations
Short Paper Workshop
Write: Blog Posting
Wednesday, February 4: Lecture: Middle Milton
Read: Paradise Lost: Book One
Individual Presentations
Write: Focused Annotation of Paradise Lost
Friday, February 6: Lecture: Late Milton
Read: Robinson Crusoe
Individual Presentations
Short Paper Workshop
Write: Focused Annotation
Week Five: Daniel Defoe: Writing For Money and Posterity
Monday, February 9: Context Lecture: The Business of Writing
Read: Robinson Crusoe
Individual Presentations
Write: Blog response
Wednesday, February 11 Lecture: Defoe and his time.
Read: Robinson Crusoe
Write: Focused Annotation
Friday, February 13 Short Paper DUE
Lecture: Defoe’s Implications
Read: Robinson Crusoe
Mid-term Review
Write: Blog Post
Week Six: Mary Shelly: A True Genius
Monday, February 23 Context Lecture: The Rise of the Novel
Read: Frankenstein
Individual Presentations
Mid-Term Review
Write: Blog Posting
Wednesday, February 25 Lecture: The Enlightenment and the Novel
Read: Frankenstein
Write: Blog Post
Friday, February 27 Midterm
Spring Break
Week Eight: Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre
Monday, March 16 Context Lecture: Context for Jane Eyre
Read: Jane Eyre
Write: Focused Annotation
Wednesday, March 18 Lecture: Humanism and Jane Eyre
Read: Jane Eyre
Write: Blog Post
Friday, March 20 Lecture: What Would Jane Do?
Read: Jane Eyre
Write: Focused Annotation
Week Nine: Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre
Monday, March 23 Context Lecture: The Social implication of Jane Eyre
Read: Jane Eyre
Group Presentations Assignment
Write: Blog Post
Wednesday, March 25 Lecture: The Promise of the Novel
Read: Jane Eyre
Long Paper Assignment
Write: Focused Annotation
Friday, March 27 Lecture: Final issues
Read: Jane Eyre
Write: Focused Annotation
Week Ten: Jane Austin Pride and Prejudice
Monday, March 30 Context Lecture: Novels of Convention
Read: Pride and Prejudice
Write: Blog Post
Wednesday, April 1 Lecture: Imagined Communities
Group Presentation
Read: Pride and Prejudice
Write: Focused Annotation
Friday, April 3 Lecture: The Role or Mr. Darcy
Read: Pride and Prejudice
Group Presentation
Write: Blog Post
Week Eleven: Jane Austin Pride and Prejudice
Monday, April 6 Lecture: Austin’s Place in our reading
Read: Pride and Prejudice
Write: Focused Annotation
Wednesday, April 8 Lecture: The social implications of Pride and Prejudice
Read: Pride and Prejudice
Group Presentation
Write: Blog Post
Friday, April 10 Lecture: Reflection on the grand journey
Read: Pride and Prejudice
Group Presentation
\Write: Focused Annotation
Week Twelve [Group Presentations/Long Paper Focus]
Monday, April 13
Wednesday 15
Friday, April 17
Week Thirteen: [Group Presentations/ Long Paper Focus]
Monday, April 20
Wednesday, April 22
Friday, April 24
Week Fourteen [Long Paper Focus/ Final Exam Review]
Monday, April 27
Wednesday, April 29
Friday, May 1 Long Paper Due
Final Exam TBA
[...] 2) Proposed Syllabus [...]