08:090 Topics in Modern British Literature Before 1900: A Question of Identity in Fiction of the Fin de Siècle

Transcription

1 1 08:090 Topics in Modern British Literature Before 1900: A Question of Identity in Fiction of the Fin de Siècle Time: MWF 10:30-11:20 Place: 3 EPB Instructor 1: Professor Teresa Mangum Office: English 357 EPB Hours: MW 11:30-1:00 Phone: or by appointment teresa-mangum@uiowa.edu Course Description Fin-de-siècle fiction reveled in psychological exploration and moral ambiguity. Authors and their reading audiences were deeply influenced by new ideas arising from emerging disciplines such as psychology, anthropology, and biology. As the century ground to an end, the British were confronted with Darwinian connections among humans and animals, with theories of primitivism, with women s demands for the vote and workers demands for unionization, with challenges to a global empire, and with debates over aestheticism, decadence, and degeneration. In fascinating and various ways, the literature of the period is entangled with the fears, hope, and anxieties about national identity and notions of the self spun by such rapid social change. Objectives Goals for the English Major at the U of I to become rigorous readers critical thinkers effective speakers compelling writers engaged world citizens Goals for this class in particular To demonstrate familiarity with significant social, political, cultural, and literary developments during the nineteenth century To recognize and discuss key features of fin-de-siècle style, issues, and themes To reflect on what you are learn and connections among ideas in informal writing To develop skills in close reading and a vocabulary to discuss form To collaborate in building a wiki resource for our class and the world To share your discoveries about the texts we read in interesting, well-argued, well-organized, and well-documented writing 1

2 2 Required Texts (available at Prairie Lights Bookstore unless otherwise indicated) Oscar Wilde, Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), Broadview Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D Urbervilles (1891), Oxford World Classics H. Rider Haggard, She (1888), Broadview Elaine Showalter, ed. Daughters of Decadence. Rutgers UP Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book (1894), Oxford Classics H.G. Wells, The Time Machine (1895), Broadview Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1896), Broadview Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897) Norton Critical Ed Alan Moore, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Volume I. Wildstorm (2002) Moises Kaufman, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde (1999) Dramatists Play Service (or any press) Assignment Dates % Paper 1 Close reading Sep 25 Fellows Rough Draft 30 focused on formal traces of a fin-de-siècle identity Oct 9 Final Draft Paper 2 Literary analysis Nov 9 Fellows Rough Draft 30 using secondary sources Nov 20 Final Draft Midterm Oct 2 10 Wiki group project Each group will present a rough draft of their portion of the wiki during the week we discuss the assigned author. Each group will present a final draft during the last week and/or exam period. 20 Commentaries (Informal one-page, singlespaced discussion of the readings to prompt class discussion.) Note: For the wiki assignments, I will use the rubric created by Professor Amanda French for a course she taught at North Carolina State University in 2007: gnment_grading_rubric 10 due over the course of the semester. Note, these are due on the day assigned for class discussion. No late papers will be accepted, and commentaries are only accepted if you are in class to contribute your ideas to discussion. 10 Teaching Fellows For this course, we are fortunate to work with three Writing Fellows. These students are experienced undergraduate writers who have been trained to act as peer writing coaches. They will suggest ways to strengthen your rough drafts, offering suggestions in writing and holding individual conferences. Having such thoughtful, individual attention to one's writing is a great gift. You are also welcome to discuss drafts and essays with me during office hours or meetings we schedule. They are Kevin McMullen (kevin-mcmullen@uiowa.edu), James Hayden (jameshayden@uiowa.edu), Amy Mattson (amy-mattson@uiowa.edu) 2

3 3 Syllabus Week 1 Aug 24 Introductions to course and to each other Aug 26 THE FIN DE SIÈCLE AS A LITERARY PERIOD TRANSFORMATION, TRAGEDY, TRAVESTY (AND THE NEW WOMAN ) Sally Ledger and Roger Luckhurst, Reading the Fin de Siècle. In The Fin de Siècle: A Reader in Cultural History, c Eds. Ledger and Luckhurst. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000: xiii-xxiii. (coming by ) Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D Urbervilles (1891), Phase the First, Chs. 1-4, pp Aug 28 Tess of the D Urbervilles, Phase the First, Chs. 5-11, pp Week 2 Aug 31 Tess of the D Urbervilles, Phase the Second, Chs , pp Sep 2 Tess of the D Urbervilles, Phase the Third, Chs , pp Sep 4 Tess of the D Urbervilles, Phase the Fourth, Chs , pp Week 3 Sep 7 LABOR DAY Sep 9 LIBRARY WIKI TRAINING Sep 11 Tess of the D Urbervilles, Phase the Fifth, Chs , pp Week 4 Sep 14 Tess of the D Urbervilles, Phase the Sixth, Chs , pp Sep 16 Tess of the D Urbervilles, Phase the Seventh, Chs , pp Sep 18 Tess of the D Urbervilles, Phase the Eighth, Chs , pp Rough Draft of Hardy Vicwik 3

4 4 Week 5 Sep 21 DECADENCE AND DANDIES NEW SEXUAL AND SOCIAL IDENTITIES Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), The Preface-Ch. 7, pp From Arthur Symons: The Decadent Movement in Literature (1893) Sep 23 The Picture of Dorian Gray, Chs. 8-14, pp Append E: `Poisoned by the Book and `the worship of the senses, pp Rough Draft of Wilde Vicwik Sep 25 The Picture of Dorian Gray, Chs. 14-end, pp DUE: PAPER 1 DRAFT FOR WRITING FELLOWS Week 6 Sep 28 OUR OWN TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY FROM MATTHEW SHEPHERD TO GAY MARRIAGES IN IOWA NEO- VICTORIAN/POSTMODERN LITERATURE AND SEXUALITIES Moises Kaufman, Gross Indecencies (1999) (read entire play for today) Appendix F. Picture of Dorian Gray: The First Wilde Trial Sep 30 Gross Indecencies Oct 2 MIDTERM Week 7 Oct 5 ANXIETIES OF EMPIRE MALE ROMANCE AND FEMME FATALES H. Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure (1888), Pts. 1-3, Intro-Ch. 5, pp

5 5 Appendices: A.9 Haggard, About Fiction, pp A.10 Augustus M. Moore, Rider Haggard and The New School of Romance, pp Oct 7 She: A History of Adventure, Pts. 4-6, Chs. 6-11, pp Appendices B.1-4 on Victorian archeology and mummies, pp Oct 9 She: A History of Adventure, Pts. 7-9, Chs , pp DUE: PAPER 1 Week 8 Oct 12 She: A History of Adventure, Pts , Chs , pp Rough Draft of Haggard Vicwik Oct 14 She: A History of Adventure, Pts , Chs , pp Oct 16 WORK DAY FOR WIKIS Week 9 Oct 19 ANXIETIES OF EMPIRE THE BEASTS WITHIN (AND WITHOUT) Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book (1894) (stories to be announced) In The Time Traveller, Appendix A. The Evolutionary Context, pp Oct 21 The Jungle Book Oct 23 The Jungle Book Week 10 PSYCHOLOGY, CIVILIZATION, AND THE URBAN GOTHIC SPECIAL EVENT: Film Screening on Sunday afternoon Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), directed by Rouben Mamoulian. Starring Fredric March. Oct 26 Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) pp Appendix I: William Booth, On Darkest England, pp Appendix J: Jack the Ripper, pp

6 6 Oct 28 GUEST LECTURER: PROFESSOR COREY CREEKMUR, Transformations and Adaptations: Film Looks at Fin-de-Siècle Fiction Dr. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde pp Appendix G: The Stage Version, pp Oct 30 WORK DAY FOR WIKI Week 11 Nov 2 Dr. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Appendix H: Degeneration and Crime, Rough Draft of Stevenson Vicwik Nov 4 IMPERIAL GUILT AND REVERSE COLONIZATION GOTHIC Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897) Nov 6 Dracula Week 12 Nov 9 Dracula DUE: PAPER 2 DRAFT FOR WRITING FELLOW Nov 11 Dracula Nov 13 Dracula Rough Draft of Stoker Vicwik Week 13 Nov 16 Dracula Rough Draft of Wells Vicwik 6

7 7 Nov 18 TECHNOLOGY, NEW TIMEFRAMES, AND SCIENCE FICTION H. G. Wells, The Time Machine (1895), Intro-Ch. 7, pp Appendix B: The Evolutionary Context: Society, p Nov 20 The Time Machine, Chs. 8-Epilogue, pp DUE: PAPER 2 NOV THANKSGIVING BREAK Week 14 Nov 30 WOMEN WRITERS BETWEEN THE OLD WORLD AND THE NEW Elaine Showalter, ed., Daughters of Decadence: Victoria Cross, Theodora: A Fragment Ada Leverson, Suggestion George Egerton, A Cross Line George Fleming, By Accident Dec 2 Daughters of Decadence Olive Schreiner, The Buddhist Priest s Wife Charlotte Mew, A White Night Mabel E. Wotton, the Fifth Edition Dec 4 Daughters of Decadence Vernon Lee, Lady Tal Sarah Grand, The Undefinable: A Fantasia Olive Schreiner, Three Dreams in a Desert Olive Schreiner, Life s Gifts Due: Final Draft of Paper 2 Week 15 Dec 7 NEO-VICTORIAN FROM ONE FIN DE SIECLE TO ANOTHER Alan Moore, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Volume I Here's an insanely annotated guide to the comic: Dec 9 The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Volume I 7

8 8 Dec 11 Vicwik Presentations Final Exam: Thursday, December 17, 8:00 a.m. Final Exam: Wiki Presentations The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Policies and Procedures Administrative Home of the Course The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the administrative home of this course and governs such academic matters as the add/drop deadlines, the second-grade-only option, issues concerning academic fraud or academic probation, and how credits are applied for various graduation requirements. Different colleges may have different policies. Students with questions about these or other CLAS policies should speak with an academic advisor or with the staff in 120 Schaeffer Hall. Also see the CLAS Academic Handbook: Academic Fraud Plagiarism and any other activities that result in a student presenting work that is not his or her own are academic fraud. Academic fraud is a serious matter and is reported to the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Lori Branch, and to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum, Helena Dettmer. The instructor and Director of Undergraduate Studies decide on appropriate consequences at the departmental level while the Associate Dean enforces additional consequences at the collegiate level. See the CLAS Academic Fraud section of the Student Academic Handbook. Making a Suggestion or a Complaint Students with suggestions or complaints should first visit with the instructor, then with the course supervisor, Professor Lori Branch, and next with the departmental DEO, Professor Claire Sponsler. All complaints must be made within six months of the incident. Accommodations for Disabilities A student seeking academic accommodations should first register with Student Disability Services and then meet with a SDS counselor who determines eligibility for services. A student approved for accommodations should meet privately with the course instructor to arrange particular accommodations. See Understanding Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment subverts the mission of the University and threatens the well-being of students, faculty, and staff. All members of the UI community have a responsibility to uphold this mission and to contribute to a safe environment that enhances learning. Incidents of sexual harassment should be reported immediately. See the UI Comprehensive Guide on Sexual Harassment at for assistance, definitions, and the full University policy. Reacting Safely to Severe Weather In severe weather, class members should seek appropriate shelter immediately, leaving the classroom if necessary. The class will continue if possible when the event is over. For more information on Hawk Alert and the siren warning system, visit the Public Safety web site, Recommended Information CLAS recommends that instructors include relevant resources for students on the syllabus. The following are examples of such resources that might be included: Writing Center 110 English-Philosophy Building, , Speaking Center 12 English-Philosophy Building, , 8

9 9 Mathematics Tutorial Laboratory 314 MacLean Hall, , Tutor Referral Service Campus Information Center, Iowa Memorial Union, , Instructors might also wish to include a policy statement on classroom behavior and the University policies concerning exams: Student Classroom Behavior The ability to learn is lessened when students engage in inappropriate classroom behavior, distracting others; such behaviors are a violation of the Code of Student Life. When disruptive activity occurs, a University instructor has the authority to determine classroom seating patterns and to request that a student exit immediately for the remainder of the period. One-day suspensions are reported to appropriate departmental, collegiate, and Student Services personnel (Office of the Vice President for Student Services and Dean of Students). 9