Writing at either side of the centurial divide, Thomas Hardy and E.M. Forster grappled with the problems of the modern age.  Their work represents a transitional period in British culture, as “traditional” modes of life and literary forms surrendered to modernity.  Filled with images of individuals lost in worlds they do not understand and buffeted about by forces beyond their control, the fiction of Hardy and Forster echoes with anxiety and uncertainty.  The clash of cultures and social classes rings across the pages of their novels, which chronicle the daily struggles of the individual.  At the back of it all are questions about the complexities of social interaction and the uncertainties of the future. 

In this course, we will read significant portions of the work of both Hardy and Forster as we consider how these two turn-of-the-century authors addressed issues of modernity, community, and destiny. We will consider these texts thematically as well as generically, thinking not only in terms of how these two authors approach similar issues but how their work draws upon und ultimately redefines the novel as a form.

Thomas Hardy

Return of the Native (Oxford, 2005)

The Mayor of Casterbridge (Penguin, 2003)

Tess of the D’Urbervilles (Penguin, 2003)

Jude the Obscure (Penguin, 1998)

Selected poetry

E.M. Forster

Where Angels Fear to Tread (Vintage, 1992)

Howard’s End (Penguin, 2000)

Maurice (Norton, 2005)

A Passage to India (Harvest, 1965)

"Thesis Statement" and Discussion Questions Assignment

Over the course of the semester, each student will be asked to submit to the class TWO sets of 3-5 well-constructed, interesting, provocative, eloquent, discussion-oriented questions about the reading assigned for that day. Your questions should be designed to help spur our discussion by highlighting important issues in the text or by introducing the student's own ideas about the reading. Students are reminded that this is an assignment for which they will receive a grade. In other words, if you want an "A" for this assignment, you'll have to think and craft and refine your questions very carefully. Because these are questions meant to elicit discussions, students will be asked to email their questions to the rest of the class the day before they are due in class. 

Along with the discussion questions described above, you are to provide the class with an answer to one of the questions you have posed. In effect, you'll be presenting an elaborated "thesis statement" that outlines an argument about the reading assigned for that day. Your statement should be no more than a single page in length, so you'll want to consider very carefully how you construct your response.

Your discussion questions will be graded according to their level of sophistication, significance, clarity of expression, and completeness. In evaluating your thesis statements, I will be looking for clarity of thought, engagement with the text, and the completeness of your response. Each of your sets of discussion questions and thesis statements will count towards 7.5% of your final course grade (for a combined total of 15%).

Film producers have been strangely attracted to the works of Hardy and Forster, and the impressive number of film adaptations of these novels invites a series of questions: What is it about these texts that makes them so well-suited to cinematic interpretation? How does the film qualify as an interpretation of the novel? How are the  characters and situations in these texts realized in visual media? How are these texts altered as they are translated from the page to the screen? Are the pleasures of the text identical to or different from the pleasures of the film? How does the film affect the way in which one reads the novel on which it is based?

In order to help us answer these questions, over the course of the semester I will be screening a series of film adaptations of the novels we'll be reading. You need not attend one of these screenings, but you will need to watch at least one of these adaptations. Some of the films will be put on reserve in the Main Library's Media Services, and most will also be available at community libraries, video rental stores, and via Netflix. There are, in other words, lots of ways for you to access these films, and although I encourage you to watch all of them, I'm only requiring that you see one during the semester. After you have seen the film, you are to write a paper addressing some aspect of the film, paying particular attention to the relationship between the film and the novel on which it is based. Your paper should not be merely descriptive; it should, like any good paper, offer an argument in which you take and defend a particular position. There are certainly lots of things you can talk about in relation to cinematic adaptation: the questions above might be a good place to start thinking about this issue. You may also choose (though it is not required) to look at reviews of these films, which you can easily find by conducting a web search or by consulting electronic databases such as MLAB or EBSCO. If you do incorporate outside research, you will of course need to cite your source material appropriately.

Your paper should be 4-6 pages in length (longer papers will be accepted without penalty), typed, double-spaced. You may turn your paper in at any time during the semester, but all papers must be received by 5:00, Friday, 3 May. This paper will be worth 20% of your final course grade.

There will be a take-home exam covering the novels of Thomas Hardy. The questions will be taken mostly from the discussion questions students submit and from the issues that arise during class discussion. The exam will be due by 5:00, Friday 24 March. The exam is worth 20% of your course grade.

There will be a second take-home exam covering the novels of E.M. Forster. As with the midterm, the questions will be taken mostly from the discussion questions students submit and from the issues that arise during class discussion. The exam will be due by 6:30 pm, Tuesday, 9 May. The exam is worth 20% of your course grade.

In place of ONE of the exams, you may substitute a 6-8 page paper on one of the novels covered by the exam the paper is meant to replace (In other words, a "midterm" paper could address any of Hardy's novels; a "final" paper could address any of Forster's work). You may write on any topic of your choosing, though students are encouraged to consult with me before settling on a final topic. Notes from class discussion, discussion questions and "thesis statements" prepared by yourself or other students are excellent places to begin your search for a paper topic.

Due dates: If you choose to write a paper in place of the midterm, your paper will be due Friday, 22 March. If you choose to write a paper in place of the final exam, your paper will be due at the end of the scheduled exam period, Tuesday, 9 May, 4:30-6:30 pm.

Course Overview
Introduction to Thomas Hardy
Selected Poems (handout)

Return of the Native, Books 1-3

*See the novel's illustrations at The Victorian Web

The Mayor of Casterbridge, Volume I

*See the novel's illustrations at The Victorian Web

Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Phases 1-4

*See the novel's illustrations at The Victorian Web

Jude the Obscure, Part First through Part Fourth

*See the novel's illustrations at The Victorian Web

Spring Break

All exams due by 6:30 pm, Tuesday, 9 May