Spring 2005
Professor John Rickard
Office: Carnegie 202
Phone: 577-1424
E-mail: rickard@bucknell.edu
Home Page: http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rickard/
Class meets MWF 11:00-11:52 am, Dana 321
Office Hours: TR 2:00 - 3:30 pm, and by appointment
Required Texts:
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane
Eyre, Bantam ed.
Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe, Oxford ed.
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations, Penguin ed.
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man, Vintage ed.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby,
Scribner ed.
Morrison, Toni. Sula, Plume.
Twain, Mark. Huckleberry Finn, Penguin ed.
Woolf, Virgina. Mrs. Dalloway, Harcourt Brace ed.
Required Readings:
Wednesday, January 19: The novel and the historical study of literature
Friday, January 21: The Nature and History of the Novel
Read: "What is a Novel?" by Terry Eagleton
Monday, January 24: Nature and History of the Novel, Continued
Read: "Happy Endings," by Margaret Atwood)
Wednesday, January 26: Begin Defoe, Robinson
Crusoe; read "Introduction" and pp. 3-57
Friday, January 28: Defoe, Robinson Crusoe;
read pp. 57-113
Monday, January 31:
Defoe, Robinson Crusoe; read pp. 114-179
Extra Reading: Karl Marx on Robinson Crusoe
Extra Reading: Virginia Woolf on Robinson Crusoe
Friday, February 4: Defoe, Robinson Crusoe;
read pp. 242-306
Monday, February 7: Brontë, Jane Eyre; read Introduction, Preface, and Chapters 1-10 (pages 1-85)
Wednesday, February 9: Brontë, Jane Eyre; read Chapters 11-17 (pages 85-170)
Extra Reading: Virginia Woolf on Jane Eyre
Friday, February 11: Brontë, Jane Eyre; read
Chapters 18-23 (pages 170-244)
Monday, February 14: Brontë, Jane Eyre; read
Chapters 24-31 (pages 244-349)
Wednesday, February 16: Brontë, Jane Eyre; read
Chapters 32-38 (pages 349-433)
Friday, February 18: Dickens, Great Expectations, Introduction and
Chapters 1-12 (pages 3-99)
Monday, February 21: Dickens, Great Expectations, Chapters 13-24 (pages 99-202)
PAPER 1 DUE
Wednesday, February 23: Dickens, Great Expectations, Chapters 25-38 (pages 202-298)
Friday, February
25: Dickens, Great Expectations,
Chapters 39-48 (pages 299-394)
Monday, February 28: Dickens, Great
Expectations, Chapters 49-59 (pages 394-484), and Appendix A ("The
Ending as Originally Conceived"), pages 508-509
Wednesday, March 2: Mid-Term Examination
Friday, March 4: Twain, Huckleberry
Finn; read Introduction and Chapters 1-10 (pages vii-61)
Monday, March 7: Twain, Huckleberry
Finn; read Chapters 11-21 (pages 62-159)
Wednesday, March 9: Twain, Huckleberry
Finn; read Chapters 22-31 (pages 160-239)
Friday, March 11: Twain, Huckleberry
Finn; read Chapters 32-End (pages 240-321)
Monday, March 14 - Friday, March 18: SPRING BREAK
Monday, March 21: Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway; read Introduction
and up to page 100
Wednesday, March 23: Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway; read to page 150
Friday, March 25: Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway; read to page 194 (end of book)
Monday, March 28: Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
Wednesday, March 30: Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
Friday, April 1: Fitzgerald, Great Gatsby
Monday, April 4: Fitzgerald, Great Gatsby
Wednesday, April 6: Fitzgerald, Great Gatsby
Friday, April 8: Ellison, Invisible
Man, Chapters 1-3 (up to page 97)
Monday, April 11: Ellison,
Invisible Man, Chapters 4-8 (pages 98-171)
Wednesday, April 13: Ellison, Invisible Man, Chapters 9-11 (pages 172-250)
Friday, April 15: Ellison, Invisible Man, Chapters 12-16 (pages 251-355)
Monday, April 18: Ellison, Invisible Man, Chapters
17-20 (pages 356-444)
Wednesday, April 20: Ellison, Invisible Man, Chapters 21-23 (pages 445-512)
Friday, April 22: Ellison, Invisible
Man, Chapters 24-Epilogue (pages 513-581)
PAPER 2 DUE
Monday, April 25: Morrison, Sula
Wednesday, April 27: Morrison, Sula
Friday, April 29: Morrison, Sula
Monday, May 2: Conclusions
FINAL EXAMINATION: TIME TBA
COURSE OBJECTIVES AND CLASS FORMAT
This course satisfies the survey requirement for the new English major. It seeks to provide a general overview of the history of the novel as a genre, in both English and American literature. Like any general survey, such a course cannot hope to be comprehensive, but we will read some important works of fiction and to draw some limited conclusions from this survey concerning the nature and history of the novel as a literary form. We will also work on developing reading, writing, and critical thinking skills through discussion, papers, exams, and in-class writings. Although at times I will lecture in order to present background information, I do expect class participation in discussion and in other in-class activities. I expect you to keep up with the reading and to prepare for class. Class attendance in a literature class is essential for a good grade; therefore, I expect you to attend class regularly, to be prepared for class, and to participate when you are here. Your grade in this class will begin to drop after three absences. MORE THAN SIX UNEXCUSED ABSENCES WILL RESULT IN AN F GRADE IN ENGLISH 286.
ASSIGNMENTS
Papers: (1) a shorter paper (approx. 6-8 pages) focusing on your own intrepretation of a critical problem, a crucial passage, or a comparison of elements from two or three works; and (2) a longer essay, 10-12 pages in length, incorporating researched sources to support an argument about one or more of the works we've read.
Exams: There will
be a mid-term exam and a final examination. Your midterm exam will
cover everything up to that point in the semester, including
introductory and background historical material on the novel. The final
will be comprehensive, but will focus especially on material read after
the midterm.
In-class Writing: I will assign brief, graded in-class writings on each novel.
Evaluation:
Paper 1 (February 21) -- 15%
Mid-term Exam (March 2) -- 20%
Paper 2 (April 23) -- 20%
Final Exam -- 25%
In-class Writing -- 10%
Class Participation -- 10%
An important part of my job is making sure that you know how to use sources carefully and correctly in academic writing and that you understand the University's policies concerning plagiarism, which I define as the unacknowledged use, either intentional or unintentional, of material first expressed by another person. We'll discuss proper methods of documentation during the semester, but if, at any time, you have questions about plagiarism problems in this or any other class, please come and ask me about them.