Winter 2006
English 543:  Twentieth-Century British Fiction
T-Th 11:30 - 1:18
Denney Hall 206
Instructor:  David Herman
Office: 409 Denney (office hours M 3:00 - 4:30, TR 5:30 - 6:30, and by appointment)
Phone: 292-6123; e-mail: herman.145[at]osu.edu

Web address for this syllabus: http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/herman145/ENG543-06.html

Course Description:

Welcome! This course will explore ways in which writers of twentieth-century British and Irish fiction have sought to “make it new,” focusing on modes of innovation and experimentation that are the hallmarks of modernist as well as postmodernist British fiction. We will study the experimental, avant-garde impulse that manifests itself in the themes and techniques of key twentieth-century texts, relating that impulse to questions about the nature of identity, the role of gender and class in constituting the modernist and postmodernist subject, the limits of knowledge, and the sociocultural functions of literature itself. We will also consider counter-trends—currents of traditionalism that coincide with, and help throw into relief, the impulse to innovate.
    Although focusing on 20th-century British fiction in particular, the course is designed to improve your ability to appreciate, analyze, and write coherently and persuasively about all sorts of texts, equipping you with interpretive skills that will assist you in your lifelong practice of reading.

Required Texts (Available at SBX):
 *When reading Dubliners, you may wish to consult Don Gifford's Joyce Annotated, which is on reserve in the library in the ETC Reading Room under call number PR6019.09Z5335. This volume contains information about historical and political events mentioned in Joyce's text, place names specific to Dublin, etc.

In addition, the following items are available on electronic reserve at OSU's library; the Course Schedule below indicates which readings are on e-reserve:
 Click here for full bibliographic citations for the items on e-reserve.

Course Requirements:

Please note that I use a +/- system of grading and a 10-point grading scale.  Your grade for the course will be determined by the following factors:
1. Attendance and active class participation. I expect this class to be a collective endeavor, and your attendance and participation are crucial. You will get more out of each class if you come having done the assigned reading and prepared to discuss it. More than two unexecused absences will lower your participation grade by one whole grade: for example, from a B to a C. I may also give occasional quizzes and in-class exercises that will also factor into your participation grade.
2. A collaborative oral presentation. Each student will team up with several classmates to present a research report on a topic related to our class discussions. The dates of the reports are indicated on the schedule of readings. You will sign up for a group during the second week of the quarter; at that time I will also distribute more specific guidelines for the report. Presentations should be about 15 minutes long and should be shared by all of the students in the group.
3. Two papers. Two expository essays, word-processed and submitted in hard copy, not by e-mail. The first essay is to be 1250 words and is due Tuesday, February 7.  The second essay is to be 1500 words and is due the last day of class, Thursday, March 9. Please use your word-processing program to do a word count for each assigned paper, and type in the number of words at the end of your paper. Paper topics will be distributed well in advance of the due dates for your essays, and specific details will be discussed in class. In the meantime, for general guidelines concerning how to compose and format your papers, click here. 
    These papers must represent your own work; all cases of suspected plagiarism will be reported, in accordance with university rules, to the Committee on Academic Misconduct. Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses at OSU and will be reported to the appropriate officers of the university. Plagiarism is the representation of another's work or ideas as one's own; it includes unacknowledged quotations as well as paraphrases of someone else's words or ideas. Penalties may range from failure of the particular assignment, to failure of the course, or worse.
4. A midterm and comprehensive final examination. The midterm exam is scheduled for Tuesday, January 31, and will contain brief definition questions; identification questions, which ask you to identify and analyze passages from works we’ve discussed; and an essay question asking you to compare and contrast several works. The final exam, scheduled for Thursday, March 16, will be comprehensive and have the same format as the midterm.

Grading:

Attendance and participation: 10%
Oral presentation: 10%
First paper: 15%
Second paper: 20%
Midterm: 20%
Final: 25%

Completing Assignments:

All assigned readings must be read before the date listed on the syllabus. All out-of-class assignments are due at the beginning of class. If an emergency arises and prevents you from turning in your assignment on time, always call me and leave a message on my voicemail if I am not there. In the absence of any previous consultation with me, work handed in late will be graded down, normally one letter grade for each day that it is late.

Other Policies:

Cellphones:

Please make sure that cellphones, pagers, etc. are turned off before you enter the classroom. 

Special needs:

Anyone who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Anyone with such needs should also be aware of the the Office for Disability Services in room 150 Pomerene Hall (614-292-3307) which provides services for students with documented disabilities.

The Writing Center:

All members of the OSU community are invited to discuss their writing with a trained consultant at the Writing Center. Go to http://www.cstw.org or call 688-4291 to make an appointment.

Course Schedule:

The following is tentative course schedule. Depending on the actual pace at which we proceed during the quarter, we may have to make adjustments to the syllabus as we go.

January

T 3  Introduction; read L. Williams, "Writing from Modernism to Postmodernism," and Roberts, "Culture and Consciousness in the Twentieth-century English Novel" [both on electronic reserve]

Th 5  Dubliners; also read R. Williams, "Modernism and the Metropolis" [on e-reserve]      

T 10  Dubliners; also read Stevenson, "Modernism and Modernity" [on e-reserve] 

Th 12  Dubliners; Sons and Lovers 

T 17  Sons and Lovers; also read Trotter, "The Modernist Novel" [on e-reserve].

Th 19  Sons and Lovers; Mrs Dalloway

T 24  Mrs Dalloway; also read Dekoven, "Modernism and Gender," and Woolf, "Modern Fiction" [both on e-reserve]  

Th 26  Mrs Dalloway; also read Lukács, "The Ideology of Modernism" [on e-reserve]. Group presentation #1

T 31  Midterm      

February

Th 2  Murphy; also read Rainey, "The Cultural Economy of Modernism" [on e-reserve]. Group presentation #2

T 7  Murphy; FIRST ESSAY DUE

Th 9  Murphy; Lucky Jim

T 14  Lucky Jim. Group presentation #3

Th 16  Lucky Jim; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

T 21  The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Group presentation #4    

Th 23  The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; Time's Arrow

T 28  Time's Arrow; also read Connor, "Introduction" and "Postmodernism and Literature" [both on e-reserve]. Group presentation #5

March

Th 2  Time's Arrow; Written on the Body

T 7  Written on the Body. Group presentation #6

Th 9  Written on the Body; SECOND ESSAY DUE

Final Examination: Thursday, March 16, 11:30 - 1:18