British Literature Syllabus, Spring 2016

	Literature Reading Assignment Due this Week	Writing Assignment Due this Week
Week 1 (1/21)	Brief timeline of British History; Introduce Beowulf
Week 2 (1/28)	Discuss Beowulf;	Read History of English Literature (I & II) Read p. 1 – 30; 3 Discussion Questions
Week 3 (2/4)	Discuss Beowulf; Introduce Much Ado About Nothing	Read History of English Literature (III) Read p. 30 – 57; 3 Discussion Questions
Week 4 (2/11)	Discuss Much Ado About Nothing	Read History of English Literature (IV) Read Acts I, II & III; 3 Discussion Questions
Week 5 (2/18)	Discuss Much Ado About Nothing Introduce Great Expectations	Read Acts IV & V; 3 Discussion Questions Read History of English Literature (VII)
No CHAT
Week 6 (3/3)	Discuss Great Expectations	Read p. 1 – 96; 3 Discussion Questions
Week 7 (3/10)	Discuss Great Expectations	Read p. 96 – 191; 3 Discussion Questions
Week 8 (3/17)	Discuss Great Expectations	Read p. 191 – 286; 3 Discussion Questions
Week 9 (3/24)	Discuss Great Expectations; Introduce Poetry	Read p. 286 – 380; 3 Discussion Questions
No CHAT
Week 10 (4/7)	Discuss Poetry (Romantic & Metaphysical Poets)	Read History of English Literature (VI) Poetry selections TBD; 3 Discussion Questions
Week 11 (4/14)	Discuss Poetry (Victorian Poets); Introduce Pygmalion	Read History of English Literature (VII) Poetry selections TBD; 3 Discussion Questions
Week 12 (4/21)	Discuss Pygmalion	Read Acts I, II & III; 3 Discussion Questions
Week 13 (4/28)	Discuss Pygmalion; Introduce 39 Steps	Read Acts IV & V; 3 Discussion Questions
Week 14 (5/5)	Discuss 39 Steps	Read p. 1 – 42; 3 Discussion Questions
Week 15 (5/12)	Discuss 39 Steps	Read p. 43 – 88; 3 Discussion Questions Reflection Paper

British Literature -- Spring Grades

This British Literature class was a great pleasure for me.  Not only did I get to re-read some of my favorite pieces of literature, but I had the opportunity to discuss and “unpack” these with a wonderful group of students.  Each week they came prepared; not only had they read the sometimes challenging material, but they had insightful discussion questions that we used as a group to explore deeper meanings in the novels, poetry, and dramatic works; they all contributed to our discussions and added many perceptive opinions.

Because this class required a lot of reading, I didn’t assign any writing assignments.  At the beginning of the semester, I modeled the kind of discussion questions that would help us examine the assigned readings.  After those initial weeks, the students themselves were assigned to bring in questions for the class to consider and explore.   Some days, we had so many discussion questions that we couldn’t get through all of them. 

Their grades are then somewhat subjective.  This was not a class in which a student could sit back, not read the assignments, and refuse to participate.  A small class like this demanded much more interaction.  I don’t have any percentages or specific scores to use to determine a letter grade; however, as I considered each student’s grade for the semester, I asked myself these questions:

·         Did he/she come to class having read the assigned portions?  Could I tell the student’s comprehension via his/her comments and participation?

·         Did he/she bring thoughtful and insightful questions for the class to discuss?

·         Did he/she think carefully over the discussion questions and share individual comments?

·         Was he/she resistant to participating in the discussions?

·         Over the course of the class, did he/she grow in his/her abilities to analyze fiction, poetry, and drama?

Each of the students did marvelously, and my suggested grade for each is an “A.”  I hope they enjoyed the class as much as I did.   If they ever need some ideas for more good British literature to read, I’d be more than glad to help them find more good books, drama, or poetry to read.