ENGL C232: Survey of British Literature: 1785-Present

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 British literature from the late eighteenth century to contemporary British and post-colonial texts.

Great Authors, Great Works

You can expect to study weekly lessons on history and literature and enjoy readings of some of the English-speaking world's most cherished literary treasures, including

• The Great Romantic, Victorian, and 20th Century poets

• Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

• George Eliot's Silas Marner

• Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest

• James Joyce's short stories from Dubliners

How This Course Works

Major Units

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

Week 1-5: Romantic Age 

• Romantic Poets Charlotte Smith, William Blake, William Wordsworth, George Gordon, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats

• Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Week 6-10: Victorian Era; Mid-term Exam 

• Victorian Poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, Matthew Arnold, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Rossetti

• George Eliot's Silas Marner

• Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest

Weeks 11-15: Twentieth Century to Present

• Twentieth Century Poets William Butler Yeats, Mina Loy, T. S. Eliot, Stevie Smith, Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney

• James Joyce's Dubliners

Week 16: Final Project; Final Exam

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, 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