EN314--Major Women Novelists
Dr. Adrienne McCormick mccormick@fredonia.edu Fenton 258 (W 9-12, 4:30-5:30; Th 9-11) 673-3851
Required texts (in order of reading): Aphra Behn, Oroonoko (1688) Norton Critical edition. Jane Austen, Emma (1816) Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre (1847) Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth (1905) Norton Critical edition. Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) Toni Morrison, Sula (1973) Julia Alvarez, Yo! (1997)
Course Requirements: 1) Attendance and participation 15% 2) Discussion questions 25% 3) Film/novel comp/contrast paper (due Oct 5) 20% 4) Analytical paper (due Nov 4) 20% 5) Final Learning Analysis (due Dec 15 by 4) 20%
1) Attendance is required. More than three unexcused absences will reduce your final letter grade by one half per extra absence. More than five absences of any kind will result in failure of the class. Participation is required. This includes being in class on time and prepared to discuss the readings for that particular day. Discussion involves asking and answering questions, and being engaged with the instructor and your classmates. 15% of grade.
2) Discussion questions are due in class on any day we discuss a novel. Pick a day when the reading particularly appeals to you, and write five discussion questions for that day. No late discussion questions will be accepted. If you've written a set of questions and miss class, then you'll need to write a new set on the material for the day that you return. You cannot write questions on elements of the novel that have already been discussed in class; the questions must be on the reading for the day they are turned in. You don't have to write on Oroonoko and I will drop your lowest set of questions for a total of 5 sets. HINT: Discussion questions cannot be answered with a yes or no, but should be constructed of multiple parts and should address thematic or structural issues that are central to the novel or part of the novel read for that day. (See sample discussion questions for Oroonoko). Worth one point each totaling 25 (% of grade).
3) Film/novel comparison contrast paper. 7-8 pages. We will be watching an adaptation of Emma and a prequel to Jane Eyre based on the novel Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. Choose one of these films and write a comparison contrast paper that addresses how the films adapt/respond to/interact with the novels. The papers will need to be structured differently depending upon which option you go for:
Emma/Clueless: How/is the film faithful to the novel, and how not? Which issues that we discussed in class come through in the film, and which do not? Are the characters realized on film in the same manner as in the text? Explore how and how not? Feel free to survey reviews of the film, but always cite your sources. (I'm very familiar with the Internet Movie Database and Reel.com, so don't risk failure due to academic dishonesty / plagiarism.) Extra credit for watching both films and including commentary on both in your paper.
Jane Eyre: How does watching Wide Sargasso Sea add to or detract from your understanding of the novel? Compare how the film characterizes Rochester to how the novel does. Is he a better man in one or the other? By what standards? Compare how the novel and film portray Jane and Bertha /Antoinette differently. Extra credit for reading the novel by Jean Rhys and including comments on it in your paper. 20 % of grade. Due Oct 5. No late papers will be accepted.
4) Analytical Paper. 7-8 pages: Everyone will write a paper on a set of topics that I will distribute more details on later in the semester. You will have two or three choices: broad topics will possibly include a) motherhood and _____ (either slavery, race, class--your choice); b) marriage, family, and work. You will have to develop the particular thesis that you want to articulate, and analyze two or three novels that pertain to your topic. 20% of grade. Due Nov 4. No late papers will be accepted.
5) Final Learning Analysis. 5-10 pages. Whatever you make it. Obviously, a well done 8 page analysis will receive a higher grade than a well done 5 page analysis, but there is also the possibility that a well done 5 page analysis will get a higher score than 5 or 6 pages of BS. This is a creative way of looking back over the course of the whole semester and synthesizing what you've learned. A detailed handout will be forthcoming. Due Wed, Dec. 13, by 4 in my office.
EN314--Major Women Novelists Syllabus
24 Aug Course Introduction: Who counts as a Major Woman Novelist? 26 Aphra Behn, Oroonoko (1688) 1-65; Lipking 75-89.
30 Behn, continue discussion; read Spencer 209; Brown 232; Sussman 246. 2 Sept Jane Austen, Emma (1816) ch 1-10. Woolf on Austen, handouts.
7 Emma, Vol. I, ch 11 - Vol. II, ch 8. 9 Emma, Vol. II, ch 9 - ch 18.
14 Emma, Vol. III. (finish the book) Screening: Clueless or Emma or Sense and Sensibility. 16 Discuss filmic adaptation.
21 Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre (1847); preface, ch 1 - 12. 23 Jane Eyre, ch 13 - 17; Woolf on Bronte;, handouts.
28 Jane Eyre, ch 18 - 26. Screening: Wide Sargasso Sea. 30 Jane Eyre, ch 27 - 30; Gilbert handout (and discuss film).
5 Oct Jane Eyre, ch 31 - 38 (finish the book) 7 No class; Fall break.
12 Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth (1905) 1-100. 14 House of Mirth, 101-142; Veblen 264-271.
19 House of Mirth, 143-203; skim 274-287; read Gilman, Schreiner, Pruette 288-296. 21 House of Mirth, 203-256; read Ammons and Showalter 345-372.
26 Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) 1-31. 28 Their Eyes, 32-89.
2 Nov Their Eyes, 90-139. 4 Their Eyes, 140-184. (finish the book)
9 Toni Morrison, Sula (1973) 1-48. 11 Sula, 49-85.
16 Sula, 89-137. 18 Sula, 138-174. (finish the book)
23-25 No class; Thanksgiving.
30 Julia Alvarez, Yo! (1997) 1-109. 2 Dec Yo! 113-209.
7 Yo! 213-309. 9 Yo! (final discussion;talk about structure)