Survey of British Literature: 1785-Present

Dr. Yvonne Mills

Picture of my dog, Mr. Charlie Chaplin

Introduction

Welcome to the liquid syllabus for Professor Mills's Brit Lit 2! You can think of this as a crash course in what to expect from this class, as it offers a preview of what's to come and an overview of course objectives , major assignments, scheduling, and expectations. Reviewing this page is the first step in orienting yourself to the course and asserting your commitment to delving into the challenge that is modern British literature.

My name is Dr. Yvonne Mills, and this semester I will be playing the role of instructor and guide. If you need me or ever have questions (no question is too small), please don't hesitate to reach out. I am here to help facilitate your success this semester. You can find my contact information through the Cerro Coso Staff and Faculty Directory. Preferred methods of contact and additional ways to contact me are detailed in the complete course syllabus available to you on Canvas.

Who am I?

I am an award-winning stage actor and director, whose past credits range from playing Hamlet in a reverse-gender adaptation of the play, to directing Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, to performing as The Witch in Into the Woods. My love of literature, and especially Shakespeare, has allowed me to bridge the gap between the study of literature and literature as living art. I earned a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and Biology from the University of Redlands, a Master's degree in Literature and Film from the Claremont Graduate University, and a PhD in English, also from the Claremont Graduate University. My academic research centers on adaptations of Shakespeare used across the globe as socio-political commentary, and my publications can be found in such journals as LLIDS and Theory and Practice in English Studies.

In addition to my academic and stage pursuits, I sing in the Eastern Sierra Community Chorus, ski, garden, enjoy hikes with my dog, Mr. Charlie Chaplin, and am an avid traveler.

Dr. Yvonne Mills as Hamlet

To learn about this course, scroll down to continue reading or visit the course pages in the dropdown menu at the top of the page

About the Course

This course surveys British literature from the late eighteenth century to contemporary British and post-colonial texts. Through close-reading and text-based writing, students will grapple with the literary movements spanning from the Romantic Era to post-modernism and beyond with consideration of the historical, social, political, and religious influences that shaped this period of British literature.

Additional Course Information

As this course covers a huge breadth of time, we cannot hope to cover everything, but we will strive to delve into some of the most influential works and authors of the time period. We will gain an appreciation for these works’ contributions to and participation in the English literary tradition and attain a basic understanding of the cultural, intellectual, historic and artistic trends of the period.

In addition to an emphasis on close-reading and literary analysis, this course will also delve into the cultural, socio-political, and religious contexts from which the studied works emerge.

English 232 demands that you give over much of your time these next 16 weeks to the solitary and sometimes exhausting task of puzzling through a wide variety of literary works. Most students will need to spend at least six hours a week reading; many will have to devote eight or ten. Some of what we read is likely to frustrate, confuse, and/or bore superficial readers, and even attentive readers are likely to find some of what is assigned annoyingly opaque.

It is in the nature of a survey course to give students the somewhat dizzying experience of reading more broadly than deeply. There are advantages and disadvantages in trying to get through so much literature. Part of the rationale is to give you points of reference for further reading, in other courses or in your free time.

I expect all students to make an honest effort to read carefully the works that are assigned. But don’t worry too much when you don’t understand something; you’re almost certainly not alone.

And one more thing: There will be several readings assigned each week. While, ideally, you should read them all, I understand that sometimes life happens and some weeks are busier than others. But again, please strive for completion each week. When major, long works are assigned (for example, complete plays) alongside shorter works, if you cannot complete everything, you should strive to prioritize the major work. Weekly discussions will offer a variety of topics about which to write or will be based around broad conceptual topics that will allow inclusion of any number of the assigned readings.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Compose formal written analyses of texts that demonstrate appropriate academic discourse and the conventions of literary analysis.
Define, identify, and analyze literary and dramatic techniques in the works.
Identify key elements of literary genres in order to analyze and interpret texts.
Read actively and critically a selection of literary works of English literature from the Romantic Period to the present.
Relate literary works to their historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts.
Research appropriate primary and secondary sources and apply documentation skills without plagiarism.

How this Course Works

Major Units and Readings

In brief, here are the major units of study for the semester:

The Romantic Era: Weeks 1-3
- Select poetry by authors such as Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Blake
- Select essays by authors such as Wollstonecraft and Dorothy Wordsworth
- Excerpts from Frankenstein
The Victorian Age: Weeks 4-8
- Select early Victorian poetry and prose
- Selections of mid-Victorian Realism and social commentary
- Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest
- Conrad's Heart of Darkness
Early Twentieth Century and Modernism: Weeks 9-10
- Selections of Modernist poetry by authors such as Yeats and Eliot
- Selections of Modernist fiction by authors such as Woolf, Joyce, and D.H. Lawrence
Mid-Century, Post-War, and Contemporary: Weeks 11-15
- Selections of post-war and existentialism
- Beckett's Waiting for Godot
- Selctions of contemporary fiction and poetry

Working Through Course Materials

Everything you need for a given week is provided to you in Canvas, including our primary course textbook. Each week has two modules associated with it. The first module, "Overview and Lessons" will provide you with the learning materials you will need to be successful on assignments for the week. The second module, "Assignments" will house all of your assignments for the week. Reviewing the Overview and Lessons module each week is a pre-requisite to unclocking your assignments each week.

Average Week Described

This course operates on a Monday through Sunday schedule with the following typical due-date pattern:

Fridays: Initial discussion posts due
- On rough draft weeks for formal writing, drafts will typically be due on Fridays
Sundays: Response posts due to classmates;
- On quiz or essay weeks, quizzes and final drafts of essays will typically be due on Sundays

I will typically post materials for the upcoming week the Friday before the week begins but will post by Sunday at the latest.

Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's creature in Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Positive Attendance, Participation, and Drop Policy

Drops: Please note it is the student’s responsibility to drop a course that he/she does not plan on completing. You will receive a grade if you do not drop the course before the drop date.

Since 2013-2014, the Cerro Coso Community College Catalog has included the following statement about participation and attendance. Please read the following insert very carefully, noticing my clarifications in parentheses:

Regular active participation is expected of all students enrolled in the college. Students not actively participating may be dropped from the course. A student shall be dropped by the instructor for lack of active participation prior to the census (20%) date and any time up to the 60% date when the student is not actively participating. A student also shall be dropped by the instructor anytime up to the 60% date when he or she has been absent from or not actively participating in class for the total of two consecutive weeks. Students also may be dropped when non-consecutive absences number the equivalent of two (or more) weeks of the course.
In my ENGL C232 students will be dropped when they fail to participate for a total of two weeks (either consecutively or non-consecutively). Remember that it is not enough for students to merely log on to Canvas. They have to actively participate in the class, i.e., engage in the course’s designed learning activities: participate in discussions, submit homework and papers, ask for feedback, etc. Please note that submission of plagiarized work does not constitute “active participation” and students who plagiarize repeatedly may be dropped for lack of participation in class activities.
It is the responsibility of the student to be aware of his or her current attendance/participation status. Students who have not been actively participating in a course should notify the instructor of the reason. Notification in no way relieves the students of responsibility for work missed. Students are responsible for officially withdrawing from any course in which they no longer wish to be enrolled. Non-attendance/non-participation does not release the student from this responsibility.
Drop dates for this semester can be found in the Important Dates section of the course syllabus

Academic Honesty

For an explanation of this course's expectations regarding academic honesty, please visit the "Academic Honesty" page in the drop-down menu above

Getting Started

To get a jump start on your readings for Week 1, visit the "Getting Started" page in the drop-down menu above.

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