Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "EN 303"
COURSE NAME: "Race, Class, and Gender in the Victorian Novel"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2020

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Shannon Russell
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: TTH 10:00-11:15 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: EN 110 with a grade of C or above and one previous English literature class
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday and Thursday by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course focuses on the novel of the Victorian period analyzing the reasons which led to the predominance of the form and how it succeeded in balancing mass popularity and aesthetic complexity. The study of the possible critical approaches to the texts and the identification of the formal structures which govern the novel will be an integral part of the course, as will a consideration of the novel’s relationship to cultural and historical changes in the period. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 300-level literature classes are required to produce 5-6,000 words of critical writing.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Students will read six novels including Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Charles Dickens's Great Expectations, Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone, Arthur Morrison's A Child of the Jago, Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. Students may also use material from an edition of contemporary Victorian writing entitled Criminals, Idiots, Women and Minors as part of a critical apparatus that will help them engage with relevant issues which inform this fiction. The course will focus on the ways in which discourse on gender, race, and class operate in these works.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of the course, students will have read six influential Victorian novels and will be familiar with the historical moment out of which they emerge. They will also have been exposed to the vitality of the genre, and the cultural and literary influences that helped to shape it, including oriental and biblical myths, detective fiction, the gothic novel, social realism/reportage and decadence as an aesthetic movement.

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Comments
The Picture of Dorian Gray	Oscar Wilde	Broadview Press	1-55111-126-8
Great Expectations	Charles Dickens	Broadview Press	9-781551-111742
A Child of the Jago	Arthur Morrison	Broadview Press	978-1-55111-985
Jane Eyre	Charlotte Bronte	Broadview Press	1-55111-180-2
The Moonstone	Wilkie Collins	Broadview Press	978-1-55111-243-5	Please order all books for this class from the Almost Corner Bookshop.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	Robert Louis Stevenson	Broadview Press	1-55111-655-3

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
2 Essays of 2,000 words each	Essays should include peer-reviewed research and conform to MLA standards.	45% (20% for first essay and 25% for second)
Mid-term Exam (1,000 words written in class)		15%
Seminar Presentation	Seminar presentations are designed to enhance our historical understanding of the context of the novel studied. Students will be expected to do some research and to present a seminar on a specific topic to be assigned by the professor. Presentations should be limited to 15-20 minutes in length and may involve powerpoint presentations, short films or any other mode of communication. The important thing is to provide the class with relevant information and material so that our understanding of the Victorian novel, in general and in particular, evolves throughout the course. Seminars should be starting points for class discussions of each novel.	10%
Participation	In their comments in class students should demonstrate that they have thought about the assigned reading. Peer-review of the presentations of other students is also included in this grade.	10%
Final Exam		20%
Honors (Optional with 3.5 GPA pre-requisite)	Students must arrange the Honors requirement with me by the second week of the semester. Traditionally, students in Honors are expected to write 1,250 more words of critical writing in the semester. Students can also choose to do an extra presentation or devise another assignment.	Pass/Fail

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the cour
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised. There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance is mandatory. After three absences the overall grade for the course will be reduced.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Week 1

Tues. Jan. 21 Introduction to the Course and Requirements

View Simon Schama’s History of Britain: Victoria and Her Sisters

Please view this episode if you miss the first class -- ON RESERVE in LIBRARY

Read: Jane Eyre Chapters 1-4 for Thursday

Optional background reading for essays, from Criminals, Idiots, Women and Minors (ON RESERVE in LIBRARY) Anna Brownwell Jameson's "The Milliners" and Margaret Oliphant's "The Condition of Women"; view of the governess in Harriet Martineau's "Female Industry"

Thurs. Jan. 23 Last Day to Add/Drop

Jane Eyre Chapters 1-4

Seminar: Domestic Ideology

Week 2

Assignment of Presentation Topics and Schedule (to be determined based on enrollment after Add/Drop)

Tues. Jan. 28

Jane Eyre Chapter 5-15

Thurs. Jan. 30

Jane Eyre Chapter 16-26

Seminar: Phrenology and Victorian Racial/Cultural Theory Week 3

Tues. Feb. 4

Jane Eyre Chapters 27-38

Seminar: Victorian Attitudes to Suttee and Suicide (See Victorian Web)
Background reading: Selection from Criminals, Idiots, Women, and Minors Frances Power Cobbe "What Shall We Do with Our Old Maids" and " vs. Marriage" and "Wife Torture in England"

Thurs. Feb. 6. Peer-review sources for First Essay due to me (send via email)

Great Expectations Vol. 1 Chapters 1-9

Week 4

Tues. Feb. 11

Great Expectations Vol. 1 Chapters 10-20

Seminar: Victorian Transportation of Convicts to Australia and the Case of George Barnwell

Thurs. Feb. 13

Great Expectations Vol. 2 Chapters 1-15

Seminar: Darwin's ideas of evolution and Samuel Smiles's philosophy of Self-Help: Can a gentleman be made?

Week 5

Tues. Feb. 18 FIRST ESSAY DUE

Great Expectations Vol. 2 Chapters 16-20; Vol. 3 Chapters 1-7

Background reading: Selection from Criminals, Idiots, Women, and Minors Frances Power Cobbe's essay "Criminals, Idiots, Women and Minors"

Thurs. Feb. 20

Great Expectations Volume 3 Chapters 8-20 and Appendix A: Original Ending

Week 6

Tues. Feb. 25

MID-TERM EXAM

Thurs. Feb. 27

Wilkie Collins The Moonstone Prologue and First Period

Seminar: Constance Kent Roadhouse Murder Case of 1860 (Broadview Appendix B)

Week 7

Tues. March 5

The Moonstone First Period (cont.)

Seminar: The Major Murry/Northumberland Street Case of 1861 (Broadview Appendix C)

Thur. March 7

The Moonstone Second Period: First and Second Narratives (Miss Clack and Matthew Bruff)

Seminar: Exeter Hall and the Philanthropic Movements of the mid-Victorian period

Week 8 MARCH BREAK March 9-13

Week 9

Tues. March 17

The Moonstone Third Narrative (Franklin Blake)

Background reading: Selection from Criminals, Idiots, Women, and Minors Margaret Oliphant "The Grievances of Women" and Helen Taylor "Women and Criticism"

Thurs. March 19

The Moonstone Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Narratives and Epilogue and "A Sermon for Sepoys" (Appendix D)

Week 10

Thurs. March 24

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Seminar: Victorian Attitudes to Psychology -- The Science of Split Personalities (Broadview Appendix K)

Tues. March 26

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Seminar: Ideas of Degeneration and Crime and the Jack the Ripper Case

Week 11

Tues. March 31

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Thurs. April 2

Arthur Morrison Child of the Jago Chapters 1-12

Seminar: What does Africa have to do with London? Construction of the poor as foreign others.

Week 12

Tues. April 7

Arthur Morrison Child of the Jago Chapters 13-25

Seminar: London's East End Slums in the 1890's compared to London of the 1880s.

Thurs. April 9

Arthur Morrison Child of the Jago Chapters 26-end

Due Today: Please send me an email with your Works Cited page in MLA format with a list of references you will be consulting for your final research paper. Remember to title your attachment with your last name.

Week 13

Tues. April 14

The Picture of Dorian Gray Chapters 1-4

Seminar: The Decadence Movement

Thurs. April 16

The Picture of Dorian Gray Chapters 5-10

Seminar: Victorian Attitudes to Homosexuality (Appendix F), including codes and covers in a homophobic age: Pater, Huysman and Wildean Languor (See Broadview Appendices D, E, G for codes).

Week 14

Tues. April 21 SECOND ESSAY DUE

The Picture of Dorian Gray Chapters 11-15

(See selections from Criminals, Idiots, Women, and Minors, including Eliza Lynn Linton "The Girl of the Period," "The Modern Revolt," "The Wild Women: as Politicians," The Wild Women: as Social Insurgents")

Seminar: The New Woman: How to smoke and ride a bicycle

Thurs. April 23

The Picture of Dorian Gray Chapters 16-20

Background Reading: Selection from Criminals, Idiots, Women, and Minors Mona Caird "Marriage," "A Defence of the So-called Wild Woman" Millicent Garret Fawcett "The Emancipation of Women"

Week 15

Tues. April 28

Dorian Gray and After

Seminar: Wilde's trial, conviction, and "The Ballad of Reading Gaol"

Thurs. April 30

Review and Summing Up

Meet at the Protestant Cemetery for field trip