English 3307: Restoration and Eighteenth Century British Literature
Eighteenth Century Literature: Culture in the Marketplace
TR 9:30 -- 10:50
Fall 2013

Course description
How did we get our understanding of what constitutes "great literature"? This course will approach Restoration and eighteenth-century literature by exploring that question. Since the long eighteenth century is arguably the true beginning of the modern, we’ll look at how the idea of what literature was changed over the period. At the beginning of the period, court culture and patronage still largely determined what was literary, but the growing influence of the print marketplace was already beginning to change that. From the interaction between the forces of high culture and the marketplace emerged our construction of "literature." We’ll read a wide range of literary texts from the period that not only illustrate the major themes and movements but also illustrate the varying ways that writers thought about what they were doing. As we study these texts, issues, and ideas, you will develop an understanding of major British literary works of the eighteenth century and the historical and cultural contexts and influences that informed them; the ability to write with clarity, precision, and accuracy and to analyze and interpret literature; and the ability to conduct research carefully and systematically and to incorporate that research into your own interpretations of literature.

Learning Outcomes and Methods of Assessment
By the end of the course, students will be able to identify and and define the common forms and genres of literature written between 1660 and 1800, including but not limited to drama, mock heroic, heroic couplets, periodical essays, satire, and the novel. Students will also be able to identify, define, and discuss major literary movements and issues of the period, such as neoclassicism, sensibility, satire, politics, gender, class, and the consumer marketplace. Students will also be able to identify and discuss some major topics of recent scholarship in the field, including gender, status, the development of print culture and the print marketplace, public and private spheres, among others. Students will also develop their skills in analyzing texts through close readings, in constructing written arguments about literary texts, and in conducting research using library resources and in incorporating that research into their own arguments. These outcomes will be assessed through class discussions, short papers, exams, and research papers.

Required Texts

Required Work
NB: students must complete all assignments in order to pass the course. Consult the detailed handouts for each assignment for specific guidelines.

Schedule of Readings and Assignments (subject to change)
Readings can be found in the Longman anthology unless otherwise noted. Readings with the notation "online" will be available online, either as online texts or as password-protected PDFs through the Course Readings page. You must bring these readings to class. For all readings, you are responsible for reading the relevant headnotes and introductions. Note that the amount of reading will vary throughout the semester, but you should be prepared to read around 30 pages per day.