Autumn 2004
English 543: Twentieth-Century
British Fiction
MW 3:30 - 5:18
Denney Hall 253
Instructor:
David Herman
Office:
409 Denney (office hours MW 10:45 - 11:15, 2:30 - 3:30 and by
appointment)
Phone: 292-6123; e-mail: herman.145@osu.edu
Web address for this syllabus: http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/herman145/ENG543.html
Course Description:
Welcome! This course will survey important works of
twentieth-century British fiction, considering the cultural and
historical forces that shaped the writing of the period, and exploring
in turn how the period's innovative fictional techniques
contributed to a rethinking of issues such as identity, colonialism,
class, gender, the notion of "place," and the nature of
consciousness. A connecting thread throughout the course will be
the way these works draw attention to narrative itself; we will thus
interweave
into our discussions key ideas from current theories of narrative
fiction, gaining a more precise vocabulary for describing the narrative
strategies
used by the authors. 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 texts in
general, equipping you with interpretive skills that will assist you in
your lifelong practice of reading.
Required Texts (Available at SBX):
James Joyce, Dubliners
E. M. Forster, A Passage to India
Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
Flann O'Brien, The Third Policeman
Ian McEwan, The Cement Garden
Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the
Day
In addition, the following items are available on electronic reserve
at OSU's library:
- Gaby
Allrath and Marion Gymnich, "Gender Studies"
- John
Carey, "The Suburbs and the Clerks"
- Jim
Duncan, "Place"
- Brian
McHale, "Postmodern Narrative"
- Alan
Palmer, "Thought and Consciousness Representation"
- Andrew
Roberts, "Culture and Consciousness in the Twentieth-century English
Novel"
- Marie-Laure
Ryan, "Narrative" (available at http://lamar.colostate.edu/~pwryan/narrentry.htm)
- Michael
Toolan, "Narrative: Linguistic and Structural Theories"
- Linda
Williams, "Introduction: Writing from Modernism to Postmodernism"
- Patrick
Williams, "Post-colonialism and Narrative"
- Raymond
Williams, "The Metropolis and the Emergence of Modernism"
Click here
for bibliographic information about each item in the above list.
Course Requirements and Grades:
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. Active class participation (10%), including oral presentations and
possibly quizzes on the assigned
readings. The quality of class
discussions will determine how many such quizzes are necessary.
As the
quarter
unfolds, I will assign oral presentations to "panels"
consisting of groups of students. Students in each panel will need to
work together in using the questions below to prepare a 10-15 minute
presentation on
the
assigned reading. These panels of experts will also field comments and
questions from the other students in class. The following is a
menu of issues to consider as you prepare your panel presentations:
- Basic
issues of structure/plotting/comprehension: What are the
noteworthy aspects of the text's structure, including its handling of
temporality, perspective, setting, etc.? What patterns of imagery
did you detect, and what functions do they seem to be serving?
Were there details of the plot you couldn’t follow? Were there
inconsistencies (in the characters or setting) that threw you
off?
- Conceptual/thematic
issues: What main ideas did the author seem to be trying to get
across, and how? More specifically, what aspects of the text are
relevant to the focal concerns of our class? In what ways does
the
work manifest issues of identity,
colonialism,
class, gender, the notion of "place," the nature of
consciousness, or the status of narrative itself? Along the same
lines, how can ideas discussed in our secondary sources be brought to
bear on the text?
- Overall
assessment of the text: Were you disappointed in any sense by the
work? If so, why? Or do you find the work to be successful
or interesting in some ways, but not others? Support your
reaction by referring to specific features of the text.
You should use
this same "checklist" to prepare for class discussions even when you
are not scheduled to participate in a panel discussion.
2. Mandatory
attendance (10% or more [see below]).
3. Two formal, non-research papers, word-processed and submitted in
hard copy, not by e-mail. The first
essay (15%) is to be 900-1100 words and is due Wednesday, October
13. The second
essay (20%) is to be 1400-1600 words and
is due Wednesday, December 1.
Paper topics
will be distributed well
in advance of the due dates
for your essays; the topics for your first paper can be found here
or
else by
scrolling down to the course schedule below and clicking on "FIRST
ESSAY DUE." Meanwhile, for general guidelines
concerning how to compose and format your papers, click here.
Also,
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.
4. A midterm
exam (25%), the first on Wednesday, October 27. The
exam 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.
5. A final exam (20%) on Monday, December 6, 3:30 - 5:18. The
final,
which will be comprehensive, will have the same format as the midterm.
Attendance:
10% of the final
grade is based on attendance. Every student begins with an "A" for this
grade. After three unexcused absences it drops to "B", and then one
letter grade for every absence thereafter. Pop quizzes or other graded
classwork missed because of absence or tardiness cannot be made up,
although every student's lowest single score for such work will be
dropped.
If you are late to class you should ask, at the end
of the class, to be given a "tardy" mark. Three tardy marks count
as one absence
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:
Plagiarism:
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.
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:
Below is a list of readings for all class meetings. The readings
are organized in what is basically a chronological order. This
list is meant to provide a common frame of reference for all readings
and assignments, but we may have to adjust the schedule as the quarter
proceeds.
September
Week One
W 22 Introduction; read Ryan and
L. Williams
Week Two
M 27 Dubliners; also
read Roberts. Recommended reading: Don Gifford, Joyce Annotated; PR6019.O9 Z8 G46
1982 in the ETC Reading Room, Main Library.
W 29 Dubliners; also
read Toolan
October
Week Three
M 4 Dubliners; also
read Duncan
W 6 Mrs. Dalloway; also
read R. Williams
Week Four
M 11 Mrs Dalloway; also
read Palmer
W 13 Mrs Dalloway;
FIRST
ESSAY DUE
Week Five
M 18 A Passage to India;
also read P. Williams
W 20 A
Passage to India
Week Six
M 25 A Passage to India;
review
[click here for a study guide for the midterm]
W 27 MIDTERM EXAM
November
Week Seven
M 1 Wide Sargasso Sea;
also read a plot summary of Jane
Eyre like the one at http://www.bookrags.com/notes/je/SUM.htm
W 3 Wide Sargasso Sea;
also read Allrath and Gymnich
Week Eight
M 8 Wide Sargasso Sea;
The Third Policeman
W 10 The Third Policeman;
also read McHale
Week Nine
M 15 The Third Policeman
W 17 The Cement Garden
Week Ten
M 22 The Cement Garden
W 24 The Cement Garden;
The Remains of the Day
Week Eleven
M 29 The Remains of the Day;
also read Carey
W, Dec 1 The Remains of the
Day; SECOND
ESSAY DUE
Final Examination: Mon, Dec 6, 3:30 - 5:18 PM. Click here
for a study guide for the final.