Just Jane Austen: Gender, Justice, and the Art of Fiction

Transcription

1 ENG 145b Spring 2014 Just Jane Austen: Gender, Justice, and the Art of Fiction As its title suggests, Just Jane Austen is an immersion course, an intensive exploration of Austen s six completed novels, an early epistolary work, and the novel left unfinished at her death. We will examine the formal complexities of Austen s fiction, wrestle with the interpretive dilemmas and critical controversies her novels raise, and consider the ways in which stories that may appear to focus simply on three or four families in a country village, as Austen once put it, engage the turbulent and transformative Age of Revolution in which she lived. As our title also suggests, this course asks how issues of justice play out in Austen s work. How do the novels embed or evade the social, political, and ethical concerns that preoccupied her contemporaries? How do the novels conceive just behavior in both individual and collective terms? How do they resolve conflicting moral claims, and with which philosophical positions do they sympathize? How do Austen s representational practices the structures and strictures of her fiction create un/just textual worlds? In raising such questions, we will give particular attention to issues of gender, class, and race in an age of intense debate about the rights of man, the abolition of slavery, the enfranchisement of the lower orders, and the status of women. This course fulfills a post-1800 requirement for the English major and the historical requirement for the major in Women s and Gender Studies. Course texts: Austen, Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, etc (NA) Oxford World s Classics Austen, Sense and Sensibility (SS) Oxford World s Classics Austen, Pride and Prejudice (PP) Oxford World s Classics Austen, Mansfield Park (MP) Oxford World s Classics X Austen, Emma (E) Oxford World s Classics Austen, Persuasion (P) Oxford World s Classics Sandel, Justice: What s the Right Thing to Do? (J) Farrar, Straus and Giroux Additional required and auxiliary readings will be posted to our New Latte site. Professor: Sue Lanser: lanser@)brandeis.edu x63093 Rabb 211 MW by appt. Students who complete English 145b should be able to: - read Austen s novels closely and critically - understand the major social, cultural, and literary underpinnings of Austen s novels - distinguish the contours of gender, race, and class relations in Austen s England - understand key issues in moral philosophy vis-à-vis differing frameworks of justice - gain some familiarity with moral and political philosophies influential in Austen s time - identify and analyze the significant formal and structural elements of Austen s novels - recognize major interpretive challenges and controversies concerning Austen s novels - improve and refine your skills at critical thinking, persuasive argument, and effective academic writing

2 Weekly Schedule If your edition of an Austen novel has sequential chapter numbers, see conversion table on page 4. Note: only required readings are listed below; auxiliary readings are visible on Latte by suggested date. Week Date Reading and Writing 1 M 13 January Introduction: Just Austen LeFaye, Chronology (Latte) W 15 Th 16 Lady Susan, Letters 1-25 (in NA ; also on Latte) Fergus, Biography (Latte) Lady Susan, to end (in NA ; also on Latte) Sandel, Justice, from Chapter 1 (3-10, 19-21, 27-30) 2 M 20 NO CLASS: Martin Luther King Day W 22 Northanger Abbey, Chapters I,1 to II,3 (5-107) Radcliffe, summary and chapter from Mysteries of Udolpho (Latte) Th 23 Northanger Abbey, Chapters II,4 to II,10 ( ) 3 M 27 Northanger Abbey, Chapters II,11 to II,16 ( ) Sandel, Justice, from Chapter 2 (31-37) Bentham, from Principles of Morals and Legislation (Latte) W 29 Th 30 First chapters of NA, SS, PP, MP, E, P (Latte or your books) First Chapters paper due in class: no grace-period Locke, from The Second Treatise of Civil Government (Latte) Sandel, Justice, from Chapter 3 (58-64) Group Writing Session I 4 M 3 February Sense and Sensibility, Chapters I,2 to I,16 (7-68) Definition of Sensibility (Latte) W 5 Sandel, Justice, Chapter 5 ( ) Group Writing Session II Th 6 Sense and Sensibility, Chapters I,17 to I,22 (68-102) 5 M 10 Sense and Sensibility, Volume II ( ) Smith, from Theory of Moral Sentiments (Latte) W 12 Sense and Sensibility, Chapters III,1 to III,9 ( ) Th 13 Sense and Sensibility Chapters III,10 to III,14 ( ) Spring 2014 Eng 145b page 2

3 NO CLASS FEB 17-21: WINTER BREAK Week Date Reading and Writing 6 M 24 February Pride and Prejudice, Chapters I,1 to I,20 (1-88) Rousseau, from Origins of Inequality and Emile (Latte) W 26 Pride and Prejudice, Chapters I,21 to II,3 (88-116) Th 27 Pride and Prejudice, Chapters II,4 to II,10 ( ) Wollstonecraft, from Rights of Woman and Wrongs of Woman (Latte) F 28 Due by 5:00 p.m.: Sense and Sensibility essay option 7 M 3 March Pride and Prejudice, Chapters II,11 to III,8 ( ) W 5 Pride and Prejudice, Chapters III,9 to III,14 ( ) Woloch, from The One vs. the Many (Latte) Th 6 Pride and Prejudice, Chapters III,17 to III,19 ( ) Group Writing Session III 8 M 10 Mansfield Park, Chapters I,1 to I,12 (3-95) W 12 Mansfield Park, Chapters I,13 to I,18 (95-135) Appendix A ( Lovers Vows ) in MP Th 13 Mansfield Park, Chapters II,1 to II,4 ( ) National Archives Black Presence Exhibition (Latte) Equiano, from The Interesting Narrative (Latte) F 14 Due by 5:00 p.m.: Pride and Prejudice essay option 9 M 17 Mansfield Park, Chapters II,5 to III,5 ( ) Sandel, Justice, from Chapter 8 ( , ) Said, Jane Austen and Empire from Cultural and Imperialism (Latte) W 19 Mansfield Park, Chapters III,6 to III,10 ( ) Th 20 Mansfield Park, Chapters III,11 to III,14 ( ) Group Writing Session IV 10 M 24 Mansfield Park, Chapters III,15 to III,17 ( ) Emma, Chapters I,1 to I,8 (5-55) W 26 Emma, Chapters I,9 to I,17 (55-113) Th 27 Emma, Chapters I,18 to II,3 ( ) Group Writing Session V Spring 2014 Eng 145b page 3

4 Week Date Reading and Writing 11 M 31 Emma, Chapters II,4 to II,18 ( ) W 2 April Emma, Chapters III,1 to III,9 ( ) Th 3 Emma, Chapters III,10 to III,13 ( ) Sandel, Justice, from Chapter 6 ( , ) 12 M 7 Emma, Chapters III,14 to III,19 ( ) Davis, from Resisting Novels (Latte) Tu 8 Due on LATTE by 11:59 p.m.: Mansfield Park essay option W 9 Persuasion, Chapters I,1 to I,5 (38-78) Th 10 Persuasion, Chapters I,6 to I,10 (78-98) Sandel, Justice, from Chapter 9 ( ) NO CLASS APRIL 14-22: PASSOVER BREAK NOTE DUE DATE FOR EMMA ESSAY and PLAN AHEAD 13 M 21 Due on LATTE by 11:59 p.m.: Emma essay option W 23 Persuasion, Chapters II,1 to II,9 (99-170) Th 24 Persuasion, Chapters II,10 to II,12 ( ) Nussbaum, from Poetic Justice (Latte) 14 M 28 Austen, Sanditon, Chs. 1 and 8 (NA and or on Latte) Sandel, Justice, from Chapter 10 ( ) 15 M 5 May Take-home final exam due on Latte by noon Volumes into Chapters: Conversion Table Novel Vol. Chapters Sequential Chapters Novel Vol. Chapters Sequential Chapters NA I: 15 ch 1-15 MP I: 18 chs 1-18 II: 16 chs II: 13 chs SS I: 22 chs 1-22 III: 17 chs II: 14 chs E I: 18 chs 1-18 III: 14 chs II: 18 chs PP I: 23 chs 1-23 III: 19 chs II: 19 chs P I: 12 chs 1-12 III: 19 chs II: 12 chs Spring 2014 Eng 145b page 4

5 ENGLISH 145b COURSE REQUIREMENTS 1. Attendance and participation (20% of course grade). Your work in the classroom constitutes a significant portion of your grade for this course. Class participation entails your prompt, prepared, alert, and consistent attendance; completion of readings by the assigned dates; and your thoughtful contributions to our discussions. Be sure, therefore, to bring your carefully read and well-marked print copies of the day s readings to class. Except on group writing days, laptops, tablets, phones, and other electronic devices will not be permitted in class. 2. Three short essays (40% of course grade): - 10%: words on Austen s first chapters, due Wed January 29 (no grace period) - 15%: words on either SS (due Friday February 28) or PP (due Tues March 18) - 15%: words on either MP (due Tues Apr 8) or Emma (due Mon Apr 21) Details and options for each assignment will be distributed separately. The second and third papers will encourage engagement with one or more auxiliary readings (posted to Latte). 3. Group papers (20% of course grade): The class will be divided into small groups, with some attention given to your particular spheres of interest in relation to the course themes. You will keep these groups throughout the semester. On five designated occasions, the groups will be given a collaborative writing project that will be composed during a class session and submitted electronically at the end of class. Those present will receive collective credit for the assignment (on a check/check plus/check minus basis). Those absent on that occasion will receive a zero. You will be honor-bound to contribute your share of words and ideas to the group. 4. Take-home final exam (20% of course grade): Your last assignment for the semester will be a take-home exam that allows you to demonstrate, in creative as well as critical ways, your understanding of Austen s novels and of our required and auxiliary readings. The exam will be distributed on Wednesday,April 23, and due at noon on Monday May 5. Grace period and late papers: All assignments are due on the dates specified, but you may take one 72-hour, no-questions-asked grace period for any one of the writing assignments except for the first (due 1/29). Otherwise, late submissions will be lowered by 1/6 letter grade each day. When you elect to use your grace period, please send me a courtesy to that effect. Students with a documented disability: If you have a disability on record at Brandeis and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please submit paperwork to me immediately. Please keep in mind that reasonable accommodations are not provided retroactively. Completion of Work: In keeping with university regulations, you must complete all assignments in order to receive credit for this course. Intellectual responsibility: Intellectual integrity is the ground of trust that sustains a scholarly community and allows us to create new ideas and benefit from one another s insights. The web and the world are filled with material about Austen s novels. There will be zero tolerance for any use of print, web sources, paper mills, friends, or any other sources for your papers other than Austen s novels, our classroom discussions, materials assigned or posted to LATTE, and your own fertile mind. Violations of university policies on academic integrity can result in failing the assignment or the course--or in suspension or dismissal from the University. If you are not sure what constitutes academic integrity, see BIBLIOGRAPHY OF REQUIRED READINGS Spring 2014 Eng 145b page 5

6 Austen, Jane. Emma [London: John Murray, 1816]; Lady Susan [written c. 1794, published 1871]; Mansfield Park [London: Thomas Egerton, 1814]; Northanger Abbey [completed 1803, published London: John Murray, 1818]; Persuasion [London: John Murray, 1818]; Pride and Prejudice [London: Thomas Egerton, 1813]; Sanditon [written 1817, published 1925]; Sense and Sensibility [London: Thomas Egerton, 1811]. Oxford World Classics Editions. Bentham, Jeremy. Principles of Morals and Legislation. London: T. Payne, Excerpts. Davis, Lennard. Resisting Novels: Ideology and Fiction. London: Methuen, Ch. 1, pp Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano. London, Excerpts. Fergus, Jan. Biography. Jane Austen in Context, ed. Janet Todd. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2005, LeFaye, Deirdre. Chronology. Jane Austen in Context, ed. Janet Todd. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2005, xxiv-xxx. Lerner, Lawrence. Sensibility. Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Princeton UP, 1993, Locke, John. Second Treatise of Civil Government. London, Excerpts. Nussbaum, Martha C. Poetic Justice: The Literary Imagination and Public Life. Boston: Beacon Press, Preface (xiii-xix) and excerpts from chapters. Radcliffe, Ann. The Mysteries of Udolpho, A Romance. London: Robinson, Vol. IV, Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile, ou De l éducation [Emile, or Education, 1762]. Excerpts in translation.. Discours sur les origines de l inégalité parmi les hommes [Discourse on the Origins of Inequality, 1756]. Excerpts in translation. Said, Edward. Jane Austen and Empire. In Culture and Imperialism. New York: Knopf, 1994, Sandel, Michael J. Justice: What s the Right Thing to Do? New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Smith, Adam. The Theory of Moral Sentiments. London/Edinburgh, Excerpts. Wollstonecraft, Mary. Mary, a Fiction. London: J. Johnson, Excerpts. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, With Strictures on Moral and Political Subjects. London: J. Johnson, Excerpts.. The Wrongs of Woman; or, Maria. In Posthumous Works. London: J. Johnson and G. G. and J. Robinson, Excerpts. Woloch, Alex. The One vs. the Many: Minor Characters and the Space of the Protagonist in the Novel. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Excerpts from Introduction and Ch. 1. Spring 2014 Eng 145b page 6