ENGL 4313: Studies in Fiction
Eighteenth-Century Novels by Women
MW 4:00 – 5:20
Spring 2011
Course description
Many eighteenth-century critics viewed the novel with alarm as a genre primarily written by women for women—yet until very recently, the modern canon of eighteenth-century novelists was largely male. This course will focus on some of the women novelists active during the eighteenth century; we will study a number of significant novels by women and explore the various contexts—historical, social, literary, cultural, and so on—as they both shaped and were shaped by these texts. Among the questions we will consider are the following: What were the changing notions about women during the long eighteenth century? What were the changing notions of authorship, particularly female authorship, during the long eighteenth century? How were the shifting boundaries of public and private connected to these developing concepts? What is the relationship between these novels and the novels of the period traditionally considered canonical?
Learning Outcomes and Methods of Assessment
Students completing the course should be able to articulate an understanding of British novels by women in the eighteenth century and their historical and cultural contexts. Students should also be able to identify, understand, and discuss some of the major critical statements on eighteenth-century British novels by women. Students should also be able to analyze and interpret texts through close readings, construct clear and persuasive written arguments for their interpretations, conduct research carefully and systematically using library resources, and integrate that research into their own arguments. These objectives will be assessed through participation in class discussion, presentations, and papers.
Required Texts
Burney, Frances. Evelina. 1778. Ed. Kristina Straub. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1997.
Fielding, Sarah. The Adventures of David Simple and Volume the Last. 1744-53. Ed. Peter Sabor. Lexington, KY: U of Kentucky P, 1998.
Haywood, Eliza. Love in Excess. 1719-29. Ed. David Oakleaf. 2nd ed. Peterborough: Broadview, 2000.
Lennox, Charlotte. The Female Quixote. 1752. Ed. Margaret Dalziel. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Radcliffe, Ann. The Mysteries of Udolpho. 1794. Ed. Jacqueline Howard. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2001.
Required Work
NB: students must complete all assignments in order to pass the
course. Consult the detailed handouts for each assignment for specific
guidelines.
| 10% | |
| Presentation-based paper (5-8 pp.) | 20% |
| Midterm paper (5-8 pp) |
20% |
| Semester paper (12-15 pp.) | 30% |
| Proposal & annotated bibliography for semester paper |
10% |
| Participation | 10% |
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 print these readings and bring them 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.
| Week One | W 1/12 | Introduction to the course | |
| Week Two | M 1/17 | MLK holiday; no class | |
| W 1/19 | Haywood, Love in Excess to p. 150 | ||
| Week Three | M 1/24 | Haywood, Love in Excess to p. 210 Bowers, “Sex, Lies, and Invisibility: Amatory Fiction from the Restoration to Mid-Century” (online) |
|
| W 1/26 | Haywood, Love in Excess to end | ||
| Week Four | M 1/31 | Fielding, David Simple through Book III, ch. VI | Presentation 1 |
| W 2/2 |
Fielding, David Simple through Book IV, ch. IV Schellenberg, The Convesational Circle, Intro & Ch. 1 (online) |
Presentation 2 | |
| Week Five | M 2/7 |
Fielding, David Simple through end (including Appendix I) |
Presentation 3 |
| W 2/9 | Lennox, Female Quixote through Book II, ch. II | Presentation 4 | |
| Week Six | M 2/14 | Lennox, Female Quixote through Book V Martin, “High and Noble Adventures: Reading the Novel in The Female Quixote” (online) |
Presentation 5 |
| W 2/16 | Lennox, Female Quixote through Book VII, chapter VII | Presentation 6 | |
| Week Seven | M 2/21 | Lennox, Female Quixote through end | Presentation 7 |
| W 2/23 | Scott, Millenium Hall through p. 120 | Presentation 8 | |
| Week Eight | M 2/28 | Scott, Millenium Hall through p. 180 | Presentation 9 & 10 |
| W 3/2 | No class | ||
| Week Nine | M 3/7 |
Scott, Millenium Hall through end Midterm paper due |
|
| W 3/9 | Burney, Evelina through Vol. I, Letter XVI | Presentation 11 | |
| [Spring Break] | |||
| Week Ten | M 3/21 | Burney, Evelina through Vol. II, Letter XVIII Straub, “Frances Burney and the Rise of the Woman Novelist” (online) |
Presentation 12 |
| W 3/23 | Burney, Evelina through Vol. III, Letter II | Presentation 13 | |
| Week Eleven | M 3/28 | Burney, Evelina through end | Presentation 14 |
| W 3/30 | Radcliffe, Mysteries of Udolpho through vol. I, ch. V | Presentation 15 | |
| Week Twelve | M 4/4 |
Radcliffe, Mysteries of Udolpho through vol. II, ch. V Proposal/annotated bibliography due |
|
| W 4/6 | Radcliffe, Mysteries of Udolpho through vol. II, ch. VII | Presentation 16 | |
| Week Thirteen | M 4/11 |
Radcliffe, Mysteries of Udolpho through vol. III, ch. IX Clery, “The Genesis of ‘Gothic’ Fiction” (online) |
Presentation 17 |
| W 4/13 | Radcliffe, Mysteries of Udolpho through vol. IV, ch. III | Presentation 18 | |
| Week Fourteen | M 4/18 | Radcliffe, Mysteries of Udolpho through end | Presentation 19 |
| W 4/20 |
Workshop: draft of research paper due (bring 2 copies) Print and bring to class 2 copies of peer workshop sheet |
||
| Week Fifteen | M 4/25 | University holiday; no class | |
| W 4/27 | Austen, Northanger Abbey through Vol. I, ch. IX | Presentation 20 | |
| Week Sixteen | M 5/2 |
Austen, Northanger Abbey through end Research paper due |
|