Dr. Laura L. Runge
Office: CPR 301J
Phone: 813-974-9496
Office Hours:
T/R 12:15-1:00 pm
And by appt.

Required Materials Electronic Media Schedule

Assignments Related Sites Paper Guidelines

Eighteenth-century Resources

Course bibliography for Restoration (2004)

Course Description

This graduate course on Restoration and Eighteenth-century Literature will introduce the poetry, prose and drama of the era organized by the concepts of civility and the public sphere, related topics that currently hold interest in the scholarship on the period. During the years 1660-1780, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland underwent tremendous urban development and witnessed a great population growth. These demographic changes helped to fuel a burgeoning print industry that accommodated the needs of increasing numbers of readers. In the meantime, Britain attempted to calm the strife of seventeenth-century wars and religious controversies and to secure its place as a powerful world leader. Concepts of civility and politeness became paramount in these projects as people of different ideas, stations, genders and ethnicities came together in a new type of public sphere.

Our readings for the semester will include many authors and genres to be found in the Norton Anthology of English Literature. We will be supplementing this text with a number of comedies and one additional novel, Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett. Because this class will also be introducing the research and scholarship on the literature, the literary readings will be accompanied by assigned readings in critical texts.

The class format will be a mixture of presentation and discussion. Each student will be responsible for two in-class presentations (one oral and one written) as well as WEEKLY informal writing assignments to be posted to the class discussion board on BLACKBOARD. Each class will have a set of discussion notes and questions available the week before class to guide your reading and prompt your writings. The final project will be a 10-15 page critical/ scholarly paper based in research.

Objectives

This course has been designed to meet the following objectives:

1. To introduce students to the authors and literature of the Restoration and Eighteenth century;

2. To have students work with research and indexing tools designed for the study of eighteenth-century British literature, and to produce a well-documented, firmly grounded research project;

3. To introduce students to the current trends in eighteenth-century literary research;

4. To have students develop critical understanding of the above and to demonstrate this through weekly writings, active discussion and two in-class presentations.

Required Materials

(All assignments must be read in full before the date of discussion.)

The Norton Anthology of English Literature 7th edition, Section C

Tobias Smollett's Humphry Clinker ed. James L. Thorson, Norton Critical Edition, (1983)

Scott McMillin (ed.), Restoration and Eighteenth-century Comedy, 2nd edition, Norton Critical Edition (1997)

Recommended

Frank O'Gorman, The Long Eighteenth Century: British Political and Social History, 1688-1832 London: Arnold, 1997, reprint 2004

Electronic Media

For an general introduction to computing facilities and classes at USF, see USF Academic Computing Home Page.

This class will be interacting with the Blackboard website for ENL6236.001F05, to be located on your MY USF website. To register and log in, visit https://my.usf.edu .

You will find the discussion board for your weekly informal postings on this Blackboard site, and I will also post assignments, messages and further information about the class on this site. PLEASE CHECK IT FREQUENTLY.

My website: information on class, assignments and links to other important sites on literature, etc.

Norton Topics Online contains important supplemental information, texts and illustrations which we will be using throughout the semester.

Other important websites will be listed in the schedule of reading and following the assignments.

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Schedule

NOTE: Individual class notes with detailed reading assignments will be updated weekly.

Reading Suggestions: Please read the author headnote in the Norton Anthology for every author. Also read the period introductory essay for essential background information. We will also be using the Norton Online materials, and so you should be prepared to read and consult the materials there.

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Aug. 30: Introductions -- Syllabus, class policies, assignments.

Sep. 6: Annual Review Articles and Introduction

"Recent Studies in the Restoration and Eighteenth Century," Studies in English Literature -- available through Project Muse at USF Libraries.
Allen Reddick, SEL 43.3, (Summer 2003):719-768; Steven N. Zwicker, SEL 44.3 (Summer 2004): 639-688; Michael Mckeon, SEL 45.3 (Summer 2005): 707-782.

NAEL, Introduction, 2045-2070

RECOMMENDED: O'Gorman, Chapter one

Due: Post #1

Sep. 13: Addison and Steele, Periodical Essays (NAEL 2479-2505)

Report Topic: Public sphere and Coffee house culture

Due: Post #2

Sep. 20: Republic of Letters -- Criticism

Dryden's "Mac Flecknoe" (2099-2106) and prose (2114-2122)
Pope's Essay on Criticism (2509-2524)
Johnson's Lives of the Poets (2736-2749)

Report Topic: Public debate and critical manners

Due: Post #3

Sep. 27: Theatre and the Reformation of Manners

Behn's The Rover; Congreve's Way of the World; Steele's Conscious Lovers; Hobbes (on Wit, Humour and Laughter) in McMillin (457-465); Collier Controversy in McMillin (493-516)

Report Topic: Reformation of the Stage -- Carrie

Due: Post #4

Oct. 4: Crime and Deviance - Theatre, Fashion and Sex

Gay's Beggar's Opera (2605-2652)
Haywood's Fantomina (TBA)

Report Topic - Women and Theatre or Urban Crime

Bibliography -- Matt

Due: Post #5 Group B

Oct. 11: Town and Country -- Contrast in manners

Swift, "Description of a City Shower (2300)
Goldsmith, "The Deserted Village," (2857-2867)
Crabbe, "The Village," (2867-2875)
Leapor, selected poems (TBA)

Recommended: O'Gorman, Chapters 4 and 11

Report Topic: Transformation of English Countryside, enclosure, urban migration

Bibliography -- Carrie

Due: Post #6

Oct. 18: Nighttime and Nature -- Sensibility?

Finch, "Nocturnal Reverie" (2239-4)
Thomson, "Autumn" (2822)
Gray, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" (2830-2833)
Collins, "To Evening" (2836-7)

Report Topics: Eighteenth-century Nature Poetry, Ecological perspectives, influence of Milton -- Maria

DUE: Post #7

Oct. 25: Civility and Refinement - A Satire

Pope, Rape of the Lock (2525-44)

Report Topic: Public Rooms, Courtship and Gallantry -- Shannon

Due: Post #8

Nov. 1: Proper Marriage and Divorce

Astell, from Some Reflections (2281-2284)
Defoe, from Roxana (2284-2291)
Wortley Montagu, "Epistle from Mrs. Yonge" (2582-3)
Sheridan, School for Scandal (in McMillin)

Report Topic: Adultery or Marriage Laws

Bibliography -- Maria

Due: Post #9

Nov. 8: Liberty and Slavery

John Locke, from Treatises Norton Online or TBA
Samuel Johnson, Brief to free a slave (2811)
Equiano, from Interesting Narrative (2812-2822)

Recommended: O'Gorman, Chapter 7 and Behn's, Oroonoko (2170-2215)

Report Topic: Slavery and the Slave trade -- Matt

Due: Post #10

Nov. 15: Swift and the Exposure of Civility

A Modest Proposal (2473-2479) and Gulliver's Travels Book Four (2428-2473)

Report Topics: Ireland's colonial history; global travel and travel literature

Bibliography -- Shannon

Due: Post #11

Nov. 22: Public Places - Domestic Tourism

Smollett's Humphry Clinker Vols. 1-2

Recommended: O'Gorman's Chapter 11

Report Topic: Public Spas (Bath, Bristol, etc.); domestic tourism -- Susan

Bibliography -- Kathy

Due: Post #12

Nov. 29: Scotland and Manners of a Country

Humphry Clinker volume 3
Sekora, "The Politics of Humphry Clinker in Thorson, (385-407)

Recommended: O'Gorman's Chapter 11

Report Topic: Politics and Scotland, Highlands, Scottish culture -- Kathy

Due: Post #13 Group A

Dec. 6: Public and Private Selves - Biographical and Autobiographical Writing

Pepys, Diary (2122-2132)
Boswell, The journal and Life of Samuel Johnson (2749-2783)
Burney, Journals and Letters (2783-2806)

Report Topic: Journals, Letters and Autobiographical writing

Bibliography -- Susan

Due: Post #14 Group A

Graded Assignments

Weekly posts (14) 25%

Presentation 1 -- Oral report on given topics 15%

Critical bibliography and Student led discussions
Survey of recent or relevant critical
scholarship on the day's reading (10 pages) 15%

Final Project:
Critical/Scholarly paper (10-15 pages) 45%

Description of Graded Assignments

Weekly Posts:

For general description and specific requirements of this assignment, see my webpage on weekly posts. For each class, I will post a series of discussion questions and related information about the day’s reading. From this list, you can choose a question to focus your writing. Also, try to incorporate the ideas and observations made in other posts by your classmates. It is also your responsibility to read the posts (and print them out if necessary) before class, so that we can use these ideas as the starting point for our class discussion.

Oral reports

Each student will be responsible for making an oral report to the class on one of the topics listed on the syllabus. These reports should inform the class of relevant historical information about the subject and its role in the literature or culture. These reports should be based in solid research. They should be explanatory and helpful; it wouldn't hurt if they were also interesting to listen to. You should consider preparing a visual aid or some classroom pedagogical tool as an accompaniment. The presentations should last between fifteen and twenty minutes, and the presenter should be willing to answer questions on the topic afterwards. The presentations will be graded on accuracy, thoroughness presentation style. Aim to be clear, instructive, focused and audible. For resources to use in your research, consult the bibliography in O'Gorman, in the SEL review articles and the reference works listed in “Eighteenth-century Reference and Research”.

Critical Bibliography and Student Led Discussions:

Each student will be responsible for initiating and focusing a class discussion based on a critical bibliography of an author covered that day. The anchor of the student presentation will be a formal annotated bibliography on the critical materials related to all or part of the day’s assigned reading. This should be photocopied or posted to the Blackboard site for everyone to share. This critical bibliography should present at least 10 items in separate entries in alphabetical order by author. The annotations should cover a full description (if you are using only part of a reference, make clear how it fits into the whole) and an assessment of its strengths and weaknesses. Also summarize the key points that you have gleaned from it.

Students will sign up for specific classes during our second class meeting. Your research on this critical bibliography should begin as soon as you identify your date and topic. You should begin by checking the library references I have provided in my list of “Eighteenth-century Reference and Research” This includes both online sources and indexes and materials housed in the reference section of the library. Call numbers are provided. Please note that there was some major shifting of reference materials in the spring and so I cannot guarantee the location of these items.

For class discussion, please summarize the major secondary works, critical issues and problems that you encountered in the research, and tie these to discussion questions on the material for class. Your presentation of the bibliography should last between 10 and 15 minutes, but discussion can be shared among the class members after this point.

You will be graded on the coverage of research materials, the pertinence of the items presented, the formal presentation of the bibliography (MLA standards and clear, concise and correct writing), the range and relevance of discussion questions you provide. If you have questions at any point on the preparation of these materials, please contact me or raise them in class.

This syllabus is subject to change.

** Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to a major religious observance must provide notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second class meeting.

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Related Sites

• VoS English Literature: English Literature Page A highly organized and extensive collection of web sources for literature; with search engine.
• Eighteenth-Century Resources: Extensive collection of sites and text-databases related to all aspects of the eighteenth century; with search engine.




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Students may contact me at any time by email: runge@chuma1.cas.usf.edu

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