Elizabethan Literature

Dr. Margaret Hannay

Spring  2009

TEXTS:

           

Edmund Spenser’s Poetry, ed. Maclean and Prescott (Norton)

Queen Elizabeth I: Selected Works, ed. Steven May (Folger)

Sir Philip Sidney: The Major Works, ed. Katherine Duncan-Jones (OUP)

Selected Works of Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, ed. Hannay, Kinnamon, and Brennan (ACMRS)

Various short selections online, as listed on course assignments 

 

REQUIREMENTS:

 

Literary analysis paper:  In order to practice techniques of literary analysis, you will be required to write a 10 page paper analyzing one or two works on your reading list, following the MLA format for parenthetic documentation and list of works cited as outlined in Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual. Topics will be chosen in consultation with the instructor.  No duplicate topics will be permitted, so reserve your topic early on Blackboard.  Students are encouraged to begin their research early, to consult with the instructor, to visit the Writing Center and to exchange papers with another student before submission.  Students may undertake a project in place of the paper; details will be given on a handout later.  Each project will include a timelog and a short (@5 page) written report summarizing your research.

 

Prospectus for term paper/ project:  In order to help with your research, you will be required to write a description of your paper/ project and to give an annotated bibliography listing 7 recent books, book chapters, or scholarly articles on your topic.

 

Exams:  In order to demonstrate your mastery of the material, you will have one mid-term and one final exam.  Each exam will include short answer questions and a substantive essay; essay topics will be distributed in advance.

 

Journal Entries:  In order to help you master these challenging readings, each student will keep a reading journal, submitting approximately one entry per week on the class day of your choice for a total of 14 journals.  (The article report will count for an additional double journal, for a total of 16 journal grades.) Journals are due at the front of the classroom at the beginning of class; late journals will not be accepted.  No more than one journal may be submitted on any class day. Journals are an important learning technique as you approach material that may seem difficult or unfamiliar at first.  (See attached sheet for details.)  Journals, article report, and the discussions based on them, will count 25% of your final grade.

 

Article Report:  Each student will give a brief (5 minute) oral report on a critical article and distribute a one-page handout to the class.  See separate handout for topics.  The report will equal a double journal.

 

Class participation:  Participation begins with preparing for class by doing the assigned readings and formulating questions and comments.  Always come to class prepared to summarize the assignment, to connect it with the other material that we are reading, and to ask open-ended questions about the author's ideas and arguments that will stimulate class discussion.

 

 

GOALS

 

• To study significant Elizabethan literary texts in their historical context, focusing on works by Elizabeth, Edmund Spenser, and the Sidneys.
• To discover connections between the literature and culture of the sixteenth and twenty-first centuries.
• To continue developing skills in critical thinking and in written and oral communication.

 

POLICIES

Attendance:  Class instruction and participation are vital components of the course.  Obviously, the more classes you miss, the more difficult the work will become and the less you will gain from taking the course.  Because life outside the classroom is complex, if you need them you may take up to 2 absences without external penalty.  After that, each absence lowers your final grade 2 points.  (Note that there are no “excused” or “unexcused absences," so save your cuts for when you catch the flu or have an emergency.) Coming late counts as an absence. Any student who must miss more than these two classes for other college-sponsored commitments (athletics, class trips, etc.) should see me at the beginning of the semester to figure out a plan to make up the missed work. Whether you are present or not you are still responsible for all work done in class, including group projects, and for any work that was assigned while you were absent.  It is your responsibility to obtain notes and assignments from another student; then I will be happy to answer any additional questions that you may have on the material.  Make-up tests will be given only in the most extreme cases, such as acute illness or family tragedy.

 

Of course extra consideration will be given in case of emergency, such as prolonged illness or death in the family. Please let me know your situation so that I can help you catch up with the course. Students who wish extra consideration for prolonged absence (more than a week) should also contact the office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs.  In the case of a death in the family, please also notify Campus Ministry; wake and funeral times will be posted, and you will receive help and sympathy from faculty and fellow students.

 

Classroom etiquette:  Be courteous to other students. Arrive on time. Turn off all phones and other electronic devices before class. Do not eat during class. Do not carry on side conversations. Use restrooms before class.  If you need to leave you may certainly do so, but please take your books and do not interrupt the class again by coming back during that period.

 

Late Papers: Papers are due at the beginning of class. Late papers will be accepted until the last day of class, but will be marked down one-half letter grade for each class day late (B+ to B, for example).  If there is any problem in submitting a paper on the due date, turn it in early.

 

Grading: Your grades are divided into four equal parts, each counting 25%: midterm exam, final exam, class discussion/preparatory writing, and literary analysis paper.

 

 

Letter Grade Equivalents

 

 

Academic Integrity: Academic inquiry depends on intellectual integrity.  Students are expected to work diligently to the best of their ability, to do their own research and writing, to avoid cheating on exams and plagiarism on papers.  Cooperation among class members is encouraged in the form of study groups--but when you walk into an exam, you are each on your own. Note that plagiarism means stealing someone else's words or ideas and lying to say they are your own.  The difference between research and plagiarism is the acknowledgment of the other person's words and/ or ideas in the text, notes, and bibliography.

            Scholarship cannot thrive in an atmosphere of suspicion.  I will assume that you are a person of moral integrity.  If instances of cheating or plagiarism do come to light, however, you will fail this course and be subject to other penalties as set forth in the Academic Integrity Siena College Catalog Statement and in the attached English Department Policy on Academic Integrity. (Please note that any downloaded paper  (including journals) or portion thereof means an automatic F in the course.)

 

Students with disabilities: If you have a disability and require accommodation, please contact me early in the semester so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. You should also contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (Foy Hall, Room 109, 783-4239.)