ENGL C231: Survey of British Literature: Beginning-1785

Introduction 

Welcome to the liquid syllabus of English C231! Consider this page an early jumpstart to your semester, providing you an opportunity to preview the class and to dive into a few first assignments if you so choose. Reading through this page is your first bold step on the road to developing strong academic critical thinking and writing skills. 

My name is Gary Enns, and I am your instructor and coach. If you need anything or have any questions, large or small, don't hesitate to reach out! I am here to help you succeed. You will find my college contact information through the Cerro Coso directory.

Here is a little about myself: I am a creative writer and an avid reader, local stage actor, traveler, backpacker, and tennis player, among many other things. I received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from California State University, Fresno. Some of my stories and poems have appeared in journals such as Granta, Crazyhorse, The Missouri Review, Southern Humanities Review, The Wayfarer, and others. For more on my travels and writing, visit GaryEnns.com, and  feel free to follow my public-facing Instagram, @Gary.S.Enns.

To learn more about this course, scroll down. For a quick start into the first weeks' assignments and some great literature from the semester, visit Getting Started and Literary Works. For the course's academic honesty policy, including AI usage, see Academic Honesty.

About the Course

This course surveys the literature written in the British Isles up to the last quarter of the 18th century.

Great Authors, Great Works

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."

So says Jaques, the melancholy counterpart to the lovesick Orlando in Shakespeare's As You Like It.

In this course we will explore many rich literary works, and if indeed we are all merely players on the grand stage of life, then the characters we study in our great literature are representations of ourselves.

This course studies English literature from Anglo-Saxon times to the end of the Eighteenth Century. You can expect to study weekly lessons on history and literature and enjoy weekly readings of some of the English-speaking world's most cherished literary treasures, including

• Beowulf

• The Lais of Marie de France

• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

• Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

• Julian of Norwich's The Book of Showings

• William Shakespeare's Richard III

• John Milton's Paradise Lost

• Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels

How This Course Works

Major Units

In brief, here are the major units of the class:

• Weeks 1-2: Anglo Saxon Literature - Beowulf

• Weeks 3-4: Anglo Norman Literature - The Lais of Marie de France

• Weeks 5-6: Middle English Literature - Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

• Weeks 7-8: Middle English Literature - Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

• Week 9: Middle English - Julian of Norwich's The Book of Showings

• Weeks 10-11: Modern English - William Shakespeare's Richard III

• Weeks 12-13: Early 17th Century - John Milton's Paradise Lost

• Weeks 14-15: Restoration - Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels

Working Through Material

All that you need for any given week is provided in the weekly Canvas module. Simply move through the items in the module, study, and complete them in order. 

For the purpose of this course, weekly modules run from Tuesday to Monday, allowing you the weekend plus a day to complete the work of the module. 

Average Week Described

A typical week will consist of written (and often video-accompanied) lessons, a quiz or two (or three), a journal entry focused on the lessons of the week, and a discussion with peers and professor. 

Plan ahead for the following due date pattern:

• Mondays to Tuesdays: Finishing up readings

• Wednesdays: Most journal entries or quizzes due

• Thursdays: First discussion posts due

• Fridays to Saturdays: Completing any readings/studies as needed

• Sundays: Discussion responses to peers and professor due