ENGL 455: TOPICS IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE Evolution in Early Science Fiction Prof. John MacNeill Miller Oddfellows 203

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1 ENGL 455: TOPICS IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE Evolution in Early Science Fiction Prof. John MacNeill Miller Oddfellows 203 Oddfellows 230 M W 3-4:15pm Office Hours: M 12-2pm; T Th 3-4pm; F 1-3pm jmiller2@allegheny.edu Course Description Charles Darwin s concept of natural selection was more than just a scientific theory: it reshaped modern culture, from our understanding of science to our sense of what it means to be human. In this course, we will read Victorian scientific writing on evolution alongside contemporaneous novels that take science as their central subject. These different manifestations of nineteenthcentury scientific thought will thus provide a means of exploring the importance of evolutionary ideas to Victorian and Edwardian society. At the same time, reading across disciplines will enable us to trace the complex, reciprocal exchanges between science and culture that complicate any easy distinction between facts and values whether in the Victorian era or our own. Learning Outcomes Students who successfully complete a 400-level literature course in English will continue to hone their skills as close readers of literary texts.... find and evaluate relevant published criticism.... apply critical methods to a focused literary topic.... complete a substantial research project that displays a sustained sense of historical and cultural context. Required Texts Bulwer-Lytton, Edward. The Coming Race. Ed. Peter W. Sinnema. Peterborough, ON: Broadview, Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Lost World. New York: OUP, Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: OUP, Wells, H. G. The Time Machine. Ed. Stephen Arata. New York: Norton, Assorted historical and critical readings posted to Sakai. Course Requirements Graded Assignments Final grades are determined on the basis of two research bibliographies, a research presentation, two papers, and class participation. Final grades will be calculated by weighting assignments as shown:

2 10% Participation 10% Preliminary Research Bibliography 10% Final Annotated Bibliography 20% Close Reading Paper (5-7 pp.) 20% Research Presentation 30% Research Paper (12-15 pp.) Policies Your presence and participation are expected in every class. Coming to class late, or missing classes, will directly and detrimentally affect your participation grade. Because you will miss our class discussions and the information disseminated in class, missing classes will also indirectly damage your performance in a multitude of other ways. Your participation grade reflects the type and frequency of your participation. Those students who arrive well-prepared every day, who regularly comment on and respond to others questions (including mine), and who offer their own incisive contributions can expect an A in participation. Students who generally arrive well-prepared and make a clear effort to participate in class each week can expect a B in participation. Students who come to class having done most of the reading, and who occasionally pitch into the conversation with relevant comments, can expect a C in participation. Students who show up, but rarely say anything relevant can expect a D in participation. Students who do not show up regularly, or who never say anything relevant to the conversation, will receive an F in participation. Missing the equivalent of more than three weeks of class automatically leads to an F in participation. Late assignments are dropped by one grade interval (A! B+, B+! B, B! B, etc.) for each class they are late. Incorrectly formatted assignments risk being dropped by one grade interval, especially if the formatting results in a shortened assignment. All assignments must be turned in both online (through the Sakai site) and in hard copy in class unless otherwise specified. Every student should familiarize himself or herself with the Allegheny Honor Code. Drawing on someone else s original thinking or writing without attributing that work to its source is plagiarism. Plagiarism, like other forms of cheating and academic dishonesty, constitutes a violation of the honor code. Violating the honor code may result in failure of the assignment, failure of the course, or even more serious academic and disciplinary repercussions. Computers, cell phones, etc. are not permitted in class, except insofar as they are functioning as e-readers.

3 Expectations and Exceptions Course policies are designed to make this class run smoothly. In order for a teacher to do his or her job effectively (see Learning Outcomes) and deliver the best course possible to students, students must hold up their end of the bargain (see Course Requirements). Having this syllabus in your possession and choosing to remain in this course constitutes a kind of contract, both among all students and between every individual student and the instructor. You break these rules, or ask for exceptions to them, at your own risk. If you do end up needing an extension or other exception, you are much more likely to get it by speaking with me about it as soon as you think you may have an issue. Emergencies and unexpected situations arise of course and it is your duty to inform me of them as soon as possible, so that we can work together to make sure they do not disrupt your individual work or our work as a class. While I will try to inform you when you accumulate too many absences or late arrivals, or are in any other way no longer a member in good standing of this class, following the rules is finally your responsibility. If you need to get in touch with me, feel free to me or to come to my office hours. I check my regularly during normal work hours (8am 5pm). If I receive an from you during that window, I tend to respond as soon as possible often immediately, or within an hour or two of receiving it. s that arrive at other times may take longer to receive a response. You are also welcome no, encouraged!!! to come and speak to me during my office hours. Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact Disability Services at Disability Services is part of the Learning Commons and is located in Pelletier Library. Please contact that office as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely manner. As with any other absence, if you need to miss class due to a religious observance, please let me know in advance to we can make arrangements to ensure that your absence does not adversely affect your standing in this class. Last but not least: this world we share can be a grim, gruesome place. The authors, artists, and thinkers we encounter in class are trying to make sense of the world by representing it. They are also, in their own ways, historically bound, flawed human beings. In their work, then, they may represent facets of life that some people find disturbing or overwhelming. Please prepare yourself accordingly. If you find that something you encounter in a text or that we discuss in class profoundly and pathologically unsettles you, I would like to know about it. Nevertheless, I am not a trained mental health professional. If such a case arises and I hope it never does I encourage you to seek the guidance of our counselors at the Counseling Center on the third floor of Reis Hall. They can be reached at (814) during work hours, or after hours through Campus Security: (814)

4 Course Schedule Non-bold, non-italic items denote readings to be completed prior to that class period. Bold items denote in-class activities scheduled for that class period. *Starred, italic items denote assignments given, due, or returned during that class period. Note: Readings and assignments may be subject to change as the semester progresses. Week 1 W 1/20 Introductions & Course Expectations Week 2 M 1/25 W 1/27 Sakai: Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species (1859), Chs. III-IV Sakai: Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species, Chs. VI, XIV Week 3 M 2/1 Sakai: Dame Gillian Beer, Fit and Misfitting: Anthropomorphism and the Natural Order, and Analogy, Metaphor, and Narrative in The Origin, from Darwin s Plots (1983) George Levine, The Prose of On the Origin of Species, from Darwin the Writer (2011) W 2/3 Sakai: Sir Francis Galton, Hereditary Talent and Character (1865) Ray Lankester, from Degeneration: A Chapter in Darwinism (1880) Week 4 M 2/8 W 2/10 Sakai: Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man (1871), Chs. IV-V James Turner, Man Becomes Animal, from Reckoning With the Beast (1980) Darwinian Visual Culture Edward Bulwer-Lytton, The Coming Race (1871), Chs. I-X Week 5 M 2/15 W 2/17 Bulwer-Lytton, The Coming Race, Chs. XI-XVIII Bulwer-Lytton, The Coming Race, Chs. XIX-XXIII Week 6 M 2/22 Bulwer-Lytton, The Coming Race, Chs. XXIV-END Peter W. Sinnema, Introduction, The Coming Race (2008)

5 , ed., Appendix A: Bulwer s Letters on The Coming Race, ed., Appendix B: Reviews W 2/24 Sakai: Ann-Barbara Graff, Administrative Nihilism : Evolution, Ethics, and Victorian Utopian Satire (2001) Christopher Lane, Bulwer s Misanthropes and the Limits of Victorian Sympathy (2002) Week 7 M 2/29 Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), Story of the Door The Last Night W 3/2 Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Lanyon s Narrative END Week 8 M 3/7 Sakai: Stephen D. Arata, The Sedulous Ape: Atavism, Professionalism and Stevenson s Jekyll and Hyde (1995) Ed Block, Jr., James Sully, Evolutionist Psychology, and Late Victorian Gothic Fiction (1982) *Close Reading Paper Assigned W 3/9 Sakai: Kelly Hurley, Hereditary Taint and Cultural Contagion: The Social Etiology of Fin-de-Siècle Degeneration Theory (1990) Daniel Pick, Fictions of Degeneration, from Faces of Degeneration (1989) **3/10-3/13 Professor Miller Traveling for Academic Conference** Week 9 M 3/14 H. G. Wells, The Time Machine (1895) W 3/16 Sakai: Elana Gomel, Shapes of the Past and the Future: Darwin and the Narratology of Time Travel (2009) Library Research Explained *Preliminary Research Bibliography Assigned *Research Presentation Assigned *Research Paper Assigned *Close Reading Paper Due to Sakai by 4pm on Friday, 3/18. *Preliminary Research Bibliography Due to Sakai by 4pm on Friday, 3/18. **SPRING BREAK**

6 Week 10 M 3/28 W 3/30 Sakai: Fredric Jameson, from Archaeologies of the Future: The Desire Called Utopia and Other Science Fictions (2005) Raymond Williams, Utopia and Science Fiction (1978) *Close Reading Paper Returned *Preliminary Research Bibliography Returned *Final Annotated Bibliography Assigned Sakai: Roger Luckhurst, The Scientific Romance and the Evolutionary Paradigm (2005) Brian Stableford, Science Fiction Before the Genre (2003) Discussion of Writing: Close Reading Papers Paper Exchanges Week 11 M 4/4 W 4/6 Paper Workshop Peers and All Together Discussion of Writing: Research Papers *Final Annotated Bibliography Due *Sign-ups for One-on-One Meetings Doyle, The Lost World (1912), Chs. I-IV Week 12 M 4/11 W 4/13 Doyle, The Lost World, Chs. V-IX *Revised Close Reading Paper Due *Final Annotated Bibliography Returned Doyle, The Lost World, Chs. X-XII Week 13 M 4/18 W 4/20 Doyle, The Lost World, Chs. XIII-END Sakai: Howard Davies, The Lost World: Conan Doyle and the Suspense of Evolution (1988) W. J. T. Mitchell, from The Last Dinosaur Book (1998) Amy R. Wong, Arthur Conan Doyle s Great New Adventure Story : Journalism in The Lost World (2015) Week 14 M 4/25 Symposium: Research Presentations, Part I

7 **4/26 Professor Miller s Baby Due Watch for Absences and Sleeplessness** W 4/27 Symposium: Research Presentations, Part II Week 15 M 5/2 Course Conclusion & Wrap-Up *Research Papers Due **Research Papers will be available for pick-up in individual meetings during our exam period on Tuesday, May 10 from 7-10pm. Please schedule a slot to meet with me in advance of our period so that I know when to expect you.