FALL 2001

"More than any other literary form. . .the novel serves as the model by which society conceives of itself, the discourse in and through which it articulates the world." --Jonathan Culler, Structuralist Poetics, 1975

In this course we will read some of the major British novels from the Victorian period to the present. This is a formidable task, as you'll see when you stack the novels on top of one another, and I expect you to take it seriously--to read, think, discuss, and write in an open yet critical manner. At the same time, though, a major goal of this course is for you to enjoy yourselves. E.M. Forster, one of our novelists and an important critic of the genre wrote, "The final test of a novel will be our affection for it, as it is the test of our friends. . . ."

You will be evaluated in several ways. Class discussion and informal assignments will allow you to work toward interpretations of texts that you'll be able to expand upon in papers and exams; class participation will also demonstrate "effort," and will be heavily rewarded. Exams will test how carefully you studied the assignments and how well you're able to synthesize what you read and discussed in class. Papers will allow you to articulate more carefully and formally your ideas about the readings for the course.

TEXTS: (Please have access to these specific editions.)

Jane Austen, Mansfield Park (Norton Critical)
Jamaica Kincaid, A Small Place (Penguin)
Charles Dickens, Hard Times (Norton Critical)
David Lodge, Nice Work (Penguin)
Rudyard Kipling, Kim (Oxford UP)
Krupabai Satthianadhan, Saguna (Oxford UP)
EM Forster, A Passage to India (Harcourt)
Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things (Harper Collins)
Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway (Harcourt)
Michael Cunningham, The Hours (Picadour)

REQUIREMENTS: **You must complete all major assignments to pass the course.
3 Essay Exams 30%
1 Analytical Paper (7-10 pages) 30%
2 Movie Reviews (1 page each) 10%
1 Criticism Paper (2 pages) 10%
Participation 20%
Including answering, preparing, and leading assigned discussion questions.

The Essay Exams will operate not only as "exams" (to test your knowledge of the texts) but also as short in-class papers or responses to the novels. Your Analytical Paper will be a reworking of one of these exams. It will be longer, of course, but will also include textual evidence from the novels and critical support from outside sources. In this way, the long paper will incorporate skills and ideas that you developed in writing the Criticism Paper as well as the exams.

Attendance: I expect you to be in class. If you need to be absent, you should notify me ahead of time to arrange to hand in assignments due that day. I will not accept late assignments or give make-up exams unless we’ve made arrangements beforehand. With six absences, I will lower your final grade in proportion to the number of absences. I reserve the right to drop you from the course or fail you for excessive absences.

(Syllabus subject to change. See on-line version for updates. You’re responsible for knowing about changes that affect due dates, etc.)

AUGUST

20 Introduction to the course

22 Austen, Mansfield Park: "Introduction" (xi-xxi); 5-54.

24 MP (54-120)

27 MP (121-210)

29 MP (211—as far as you can get)

31 Said, "Jane Austen and Empire" (MP 490-93); be prepared to discuss in class.

(Over the weekend: finish the novel; screen MP the movie—with the class or on your own; start reading assigned criticism.)

SEPTEMBER

3 LABOR DAY HOLIDAY

5 Criticism Reports (all critical pieces in Norton Critical Edition):

Duckworth: Edna

Auerbach: Kristy

Johnson: Natalie

Litvak: Kari

Lew: Laura

7 NO CLASS (to make up for screening the movie); start on Kincaid.

10 MOVIE REVIEW #1 DUE. Be prepared to discuss in class.

12 Kincaid, A Small Place (3-81)

14 Dickens, Hard Times (5-85)

17 HT (85-145)

19 HT (146-184)

21 HT (184-222)

24 Criticism Reports (all critical pieces in Norton Critical Edition):

Lodge: Melissa

Johnson: Sarah

Beauchamp: Tim

Nussbaum: Amber

Cowles: Jami

Carr: Julie

Levy: Andy

Toker: Malcolm

26 Lodge, Nice Work (3-57)

28 NW (61-187)

OCTOBER

1 NW (191-277)

3 EXAM 1

5 NO CLASS—STUDENT FREE DAY

8 Kipling, Kim (1-114)

10 Kim (115-147)

12 Kim (148-205)

15 Kim (206-289)

17 Satthianadhan, Saguna (1-86)

19 Saguna (87-164)

22 Forster, A Passage to India (3-132)

24 PTI (135-199)

26 PTI (199-264)

29 PTI (265-362)

EXTRA CREDIT: Screen A Passage to India (Lean production) and write up a review that compares/contrasts the novel and the movie. Be prepared to discuss in class. (Due today.)

31 Roy, The God of Small Things (3-83)

NOVEMBER

2 GST (84-147)

5 GST (148-253)

7 GST (254-321)

9 EXAM 2

12 Screen Mrs. Dalloway (1997) with class or on your own.

Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway (Foreword [vii-xiv]; 3-48)

14 Mrs. D (48-80)

16 Mrs. D (80-115)

19 NO CLASS (…to make up for film screening; catch up with novel)

21 NO CLASS—THANKSGIVING

23 NO CLASS—THANKSGIVING

26 Mrs. D (115-194); Movie Review #2 Due: be prepared to discuss in class

28 Cunningham, The Hours (3-74)

30 Hours (75-172)

DECEMBER

3 Hours (173-206)

5 EXAM 3

7 Course evaluations, etc.