| Course Description |
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. Haunting the margins of these texts are doubts about the politics 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 enagges with the formal elements of narrative fiction.
The number one requirement for the course is to read. Short quizzes and in-class activities will be offered to encourage students to keep pace with the reading schedule. Other course requirements include active participation in class discussion, short written assignments, and midterm and final examinations. |
| Texts |
 |
Thomas Hardy
Selected Short Fiction and Poetry
The Mayor of Casterbridge (Penguin, 2003)
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
(Penguin, 2003)
Jude the Obscure (Penguin, 1998)
|
 |
E.M. Forster
Where Angels Fear to Tread(Vintage, 1992)
Howard's End (Penguin, 2000)
Maurice (Norton, 2005)
A Passage to India (Harvest, 1965)
|
| Assignments |
"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 post their questions to the Blackboard Discussion Forum the day before they are due in class. The deadline for submission will be Sundays, 10:00 pm.
After you have drafted your questions, select your best question and prepare a short but brilliantly inspired answer to it. Your answer should be no more than two double-spaced pages, and it should reflect your very highest level of thinking and writing. It should be tightly focused and well-organized. It should also engage closely with the text. Given the brevity of the assignment, you should pay very close attention to sentence structure, grammar, and prose style. The response should, in other words, be interesting, significant, precise, and highly refined. It may help to think of the short response paper as a sort of elaborated thesis statement: a brief outline of a particular reading or a significant argument one might make about the text in question. You needn't post your response to Blackboard, but you should have the final draft ready to hand in at the beginning of class.
Your discussion questions will be graded according to their level of sophistication, significance, clarity of expression, and completeness. In evaluating your response, I will be looking for clarity of thought, engagement with the text, and the completeness of your argument. Each of the two assignments will count towards 7.5% of your final course grade (for a combined total of 15%). |
| Midterm Exam |
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 6:30 pm, Friday 24 October. The exam is worth 30% of your course grade. |
| Final Exam |
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, December. The exam is worth 30% of your course grade. |
| Optional Paper |
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 the Hardy texts we read; a "final" paper could address any of Forster's). You may write on any topic of your choosing, though students are strongly 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. |
| Schedule of Readings |
Week One
25 August |
Course Overview
Introduction to Thomas Hardy
Selected Poems and Short Fiction (E-texts)
|
Week Two
1 September |
Labor Day Holiday--No Class Meeting
|
Week Three
8 September |
The Mayor of Casterbridge, Volume I
*See the novel's illustrations at The Victorian Web
|
Week Four
15 September |
The Mayor of Casterbridge, Volume II
|
Week Five
22 September |
Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Phases 1-4
*See the novel's illustrations at The Victorian Web
|
Week Six
29 September |
Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Phases 5-7
|
Week Seven
6 October |
Jude the Obscure, Part First through Part Fourth
*See the novel's illustrations at The Victorian Web
|
Week Eight
13 October |
Jude the Obscure, Parts Fifth and Sixth
|
Week Nine
20 October |
Where Angels Fear to Tread
Midterm Exam Due by 6:30 pm, Friday 24 October. |
Week Ten
27 October |
Howard's End, Chapters 1-22 |
Week Eleven
3 November |
Howard's End, Chapters 23-44 |
Week Twelve
10 November |
Maurice |
Week Thirteen
17 November |
A Passage to India, "Mosque," Chapter I through "Caves," Chapter XIX |
Week Fourteen
24 November |
A Passage to India, "Caves," Chapter XX through "Temple," Chapter XXXVII |
Week Fifteen
1 December |
No Class Meeting |
Week Sixteen
December |
All exams due by 6:30 pm, , December |