ENL3004 The Literary Canon: How to Read Great Books

Contents

• Staffing
• Requisites
• Synopsis
• Objectives
• Topics
• Texts
• Reference materials
• Student workload
• Assessment details
• Important assessment information
• Assessment notes
• Production date
• PDF version

STAFFING

REQUISITES

SYNOPSIS

This course provides students with a range of strategies for reading 'great books'. A number of celebrated English literary texts will be examined in terms of their sophistication and value, framed within the context of historical debates about the cultural importance of Classic Literature and the social and political functions of an English literary canon.

OBJECTIVES

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

1. Describe the formal characteristics of great books and critically apply this knowledge using specific examples drawn from different periods of literary history;
2. Critically discuss the cultural importance of Classic Literature within the context of the formation of the English literary canon, with reference to a number of celebrated English literary texts;
3. Research, devise and express an argument in written and oral forms which addresses objectives 1 and 2.

TOPICS

TEXT and MATERIALS required to be PURCHASED or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials are available for purchase from USQ BOOKSHOP (unless otherwise stated). Orders may be placed via secure internet, free fax 1800642453, phone 07 46312742 (within Australia), or mail. Overseas students should fax +61 7 46311743, or phone +61 7 46312742. For costs, further details, and internet ordering, use the 'Textbook Search' facility at http://bookshop.usq.edu.au click 'Semester', then enter your 'Course Code' (no spaces).

Austen, Jane 1998, Mansfield park, Norton, New York.
(Norton Critical Edition, edited by Johnson, Claudia)

Defoe, Daniel 1993, Robinson crusoe, 2nd edn, Norton, New York.
(Norton Critical Edition, edited by Shinagel, Michael)

Eliot, George 1998, Silas marner, Oxford University Press, New York.

Joyce, James 2000, Portrait of the artist as a young man, Oxford University Press, New York.

Milton, John 2004, Paradise lost, Norton, New York.
(Norton Critical Edition, edited by Teskey, Gordon)

Shakespeare, William 1992, Hamlet, 2nd edn, Norton, New York.
(Norton Ctitical Edition, edited by Hoy, Cyrus)

REFERENCE MATERIALS

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.

Bloom, Harold 1994, The western canon: the books and school of the ages, Harcourt Brace, New York.

Bristol, Michael 1996, Big-time Shakespeare, Routledge, London.

Brown, Cedric 1995, John Milton, St Martin's Press, New York.

Court, Franklin E 1992, Institutionalising English literature: the culture and politics of literary study, 1750-1900, Stanford University Press, Stanford, Calif.

Dodd, Valerie A 1990, George Eliot: an intellectual life, Macmillan, Basingstoke.

Donoghue, Frank 1996, The fame machine: book reviewing and eighteenth century literary careers, Stanford University Press, Stanford, Calif.

Felperin, Howard 1990, The uses of the canon, Oxford University Press, New York.

Guillory, John 1993, Cultural capital: the problem of literary canon formation, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Kaplan, Carey & Rose, Ellen Cronan 1990, The canon and the common reader, University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TENN.

Kastan, David Scott 2001, Shakespeare and the book, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

King, John 2000, Milton and religious controversy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Kramnick, Jonathan Brody 1998, Making the English canon: print capitalism and the cultural past, 1700-1770, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
(Also electronic book)

Lauter, Paul 1991, Canons and contexts, Oxford University Press, New York.

Lewalski, Barbara Kiefer 2003, The life of John Milton: a critical biography, Blackwell, Oxford.

Milner, Andrew 1996, Literature, culture and society, University College of London Press, London.

Newlyn, Nancy 2001, Paradise Lost and the romantic reader, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Silver, Victoria 2001, Imperfect sense: the predicament of Milton's irony, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

Terry, Richard 2001, Poetry and the making of the English literary past, 1660-1781, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS

ASSESSMENT DETAILS

NOTES

1.

This assessment is aligned with all Objectives.

2.

This assessment is aligned with all Objectives.

3.

Students will be advised of the official exam date after the timetable has been finalised.

IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

1. Attendance requirements:
   It is the student's responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. For this course, normal class attendance consists of one 1 hour lecture and one 1 hour tutorial per week.
2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
   To successfully complete an individual assessment item, a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks or a grade of at least C-. This statement must be read in conjunction with Statement 4 below.
3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
   If students submit assignments after the due date without prior approval, then a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the assignment will apply for each of the first FIVE working days late, after which a zero mark will be given.
4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
   To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
   The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.
6. Examination information:
   The exam for this course is a CLOSED EXAMINATION, and candidates are allowed to bring only writing and drawing instruments into the examination.
7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
   Any deferred or supplementary examinations for this course will be held during the next examination period.
8. University Regulations:
   Students should read USQ Regulations 5.1 Definitions, 5.6 Assessment, and 5.10 Academic Misconduct for further information and to avoid actions which might contravene University Regulations. These regulations can be found at the URL http://www.usq.edu.au/corporateservices/calendar/part5.htm

ASSESSMENT NOTES

This version produced 27 May 2008.