ENGLISH 422 BRITISH VICTORIAN LITERATURE FALL 2009 PROFESSOR JASON R RUDY TTH 2 00PM 3 15PM TAWES HALL ROOM 0205 OFFICE HOURS TTH 1 00 2 00PM BY ARRANGEMENT OFFICE TAWES 3243 EMAIL JRRUDY UMD EDU COURSE WEBSITE http www englweb umd edu englfac JRudy 422Fall2009 htm This rigorous advanced level course will study the extraordinary literary achievements of Victorian Britain An age of cultural political and aesthetic upheaval the Victorian period was a time of workingclass agitation struggles for women s rights industrialization imperial aggression and scientific discovery Through the study of novels poems and non fiction prose we will consider how both formally and thematically Victorian literature engages with the disordered age in which it was composed COURSE REQUIREMENTS TEXTS available at the University Book Center Charlotte Bront Jane Eyre Broadview ISBN 1551111802 Charles Dickens Tale of Two Cities Penguin ISBN 0141439602 George Eliot The Mill on the Floss Oxford ISBN 0192833642 Broadview Anthology of British Literature volume 5 The Victorians ISBN 1551116138 GRADING Participation Quizzes Responses Essay 1 due 2 27 20 20 15 Term Paper 5 8 Final Exam 25 25 WRITING ASSIGNMENTS The first essay due in class October 6th will be a 3 page close reading of a passage from Aurora Leigh You should choose a passage we have not discussed in class OR if you must write about a passage we have discussed make sure to bring a new perspective to your argument This close reading exercise will be a practice run for the term paper The term paper due on the penultimate day of class December 8th will be developed throughout the semester A project proposal is due October 20th and a revised thesis statement and annotated bibliography are due November 11th The details of these assignments will be elaborated in a separate hand out Papers are due at the beginning of class on the day the assignment is due late papers will be down graded according to the following policy Any essay not in my possession within the first 5 minutes of class on the due date will be down graded one full letter grade A becomes a B The essay will lose one more full letter grade for each 24 hour period following the due date In the case illness or dire emergency I will accept digital copies of your essays in lieu of hard copies But the deadline for these submissions is the same as for everyone else and your email must have an appropriate time and date stamp Please paste your essay into the body of your email in addition to attaching it to the email as a Word document And finally do not consider your essay submitted until I have confirmed receipt of your essay If I do not respond to your email that means I have not yet received it If you are unable to turn in your paper because of illness or dire emergency written proof is required and your essay must be turned in as soon as humanly possible For example if you have a doctor s note excusing you from class on September 24th your essay must be submitted by 11 00am on the 25th unless you have my permission for an extension Extensions will be granted in extreme situations but they must be requested in advance of the deadline That is you cannot fail to turn in your paper and then retroactively ask for an extension Each of you will schedule a one on one meeting with me after you have submitted the project proposal for your term paper In our meeting we will discuss your project we also might take time to look at your first essay and to strategize for doing well on your term paper I will pass around sign up sheets for these meetings early in the semester You must turn in four responses through the semester Except for the first response due September 3rd there are no specific due dates for the responses you should write about what most interests you but you are required to turn them in periodically within specified periods all marked on the syllabus Do not turn in more than one response paper for any one literary work Responses must be turned in before we discuss the work you write about They should be no longer than 1 page in length and they should present an idea you had while reading the text under consideration Responses are not summaries of texts they are ideas insights curious observations etc Responses will be marked on a scale of 1 weak to 5 strong they will be averaged at the end of the term and then converted into a letter grade QUIZZES AND EXAMS Quizzes will be easy for those who have done the reading That said we all have bad days so I will drop your lowest quiz grade at the end of the semester The final exam will ask you to synthesize material from the entire semester You will be expected not only to know the material to be able to identify passages for example but to say something interesting and intelligent about it Failing the final exam will result in a final grade no higher than a C ATTENDANCE PARTICIPATION Enthusiastic participation is expected at all times Come to class with thoughts and questions about the reading Asking a good question about a text is often as helpful and sometimes more helpful than making a brilliant point Because it is impossible for you to participate when not in class I will take attendance daily and I will use your attendance record to help determine your participation grade at the end of the semester More than 5 unexcused absences will result in a failing participation grade 2 If possible let me know in advance when you will be missing class for a permissible reason e g a religious holiday It is your responsibility to find out about materials handed out and discussed during classes you have missed Ask a classmate for a copy of his or her notes PLAGIARISM I will adhere strictly to University policy with respect to plagiarism Students who plagiarize will fail this class and will risk suspension from the university Follow MLA guidelines for proper citation when quoting passages and when paraphrasing ideas Do not hesitate to speak with me if you have any questions regarding this matter I quote below from the University policy on academic honesty The University of Maryland College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity administered by the Student Honor Council This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating fabrication