English
201.002 and .003
Fall 2002
VM
102 8:30 and 9:30 MWF
Dr. Carol Pippen
"The
Works and World of Jane Austen
VM 219
via
the Julia Rogers Library"
email: cpippen@goucher.edu
Office Hours: MWR 4:30-5:30
and
by appointment
This
course privileges writing although our texts will be novels by one of the great
writers in the English canon Jane Austen. Austen has been popular, as well as
respected, since the late 19th century. Recently, she has been a hit for
Hollywood, A & E, and the BBC. Her works never go out of style and never
lack critical commentary.
Goucher
is a good place to read and write about Jane Austen because the Austen
Collection in the Rare Book Room and in the regular collection is among the
best, if not the best, in the world. Much of that collection will be available
to us this semester. Sidney Roby, the Rare Book Room librarian, is expecting
students, and Randy Smith, a student services librarian and the guru of all
databases and the Internet, also knows the focus of the class. Each will be of
great help to you. Get to know them immediately.
You
can check some of the holdings from your own computers by getting on the Julia
Rogers Library's main page and going to the Collections icon and to the
Audiovisual Holdings under Library Services, where you will find
Jane Austen material. Check out the new AV site for all of the
"newsy" material collected by Alberta Burke '27 and her husband Henry;
the critical and biographical books; the translations; the books mentioned in
the novels; the books on architecture, landscaping, travel, and places of Jane
Austen's time; the books on
history, social life, customs, and manners; and the periodicals from her time.
Check out this valuable research source by the first of next week.
By
the end of September, you should have a research topic that you have pounced on
after reading two novels, thinking about the world of Austen, and participating
in class discussions, a topic chosen in consultation with the instructor and the
class. You have much to choose from besides the novels themselves:
Austen Juvenilia, the British Navy, the Napoleonic War, slavery in
England, the class system, land ownership, entertainment, dress, popular books,
schooling and education, Bath and other spas, and music are just some of the
topics that are appropriate to the class this semester. We will begin visiting
the library to do initial research in early October.
The
assignments other than the ten-page research paper due in the middle of December
include short analytical papers, both in and out of class, on topics from the
Austen novels that we read.
A
word of caution about all of your writing: Make It Your Own; Don't Try to Pass Off
The Work Of Others As Yours. Stealing Another's Words Is Wrong And Will Hurt You
More Than The One You Stole Them From.
Check The Goucher Handbook For The Process That
Arises From The Unpleasant
Subject Of Plagiarism
Reading
Schedule (tentative)
August
28-September 11
Sense and Sensibility
September
12-September 20 Pride
and Prejudice
September
23-October 4
Emma
October
14-October 25
Persuasion
Writing
in this period on these novels:
In-class
on questions given ahead of time on limited topics (5% each)
September 4
September 16
October 2
October 25
Out-of-class
papers, three to four pages, typed and doubled-spaced, on assigned topics
September 25
October 16 November 1
(10% each)
Research
Project
Our
major push begins November 1 with extensive time in the library doing research
and writing. Bring your disks with you to use the computers on a regular basis.
We cannot all be in the Rare Book Room during our sessions in the library. It is
too small and its holdings too valuable. You also have to know what you want; we
are not allowed to roam. However, the library has many other books and databases
that are available at all times. The library can get you any book or article
that you need for your paper if you give the librarians enough time.
Stages:
1.
As you read and collect material, keep a careful record; you will save yourself
much anguish and time if you organize yourself from the beginning. Consult with
instructor.
2.
Compile a bibliography of possible books, articles, and other sources. We will
begin visiting the library in early October. Type the bibliography in correct
MLA form and hand in that work on November 4. Consult with instructor. (5%)
3.
Compile an annotated bibliography of the books, articles, and other sources that
you plan to use for the paper. Type the bibliography in correct MLA form and
hand in that work on November 18. [You may use other sources in your paper that
you find in the last weeks of the course even though they do not appear in the
annotated bibliography.] Consult with instructor. (10%)
4.
As you read, begin to develop a thesis on the topic and consult regularly with
the instructor and the class.
5.
Complete a first typed draft of your work with references in correct MLA form to
hand in on or before December 2. (November 22 and 25 will be extra days to work
on your drafts or to do any last-minute research. No class; you are on your
own.) Consult with instructor. (10%)
6.
Complete the last typed draft of your work with references in correct MLA form
with no errors on or before December 11. (15%)
Class
Participation, Unannounced Quizzes, and Attendance (10%)
Individual
conferences about the written work will occur throughout the semester; however,
the last weeks of the semester after Thanksgiving will be devoted entirely to
individual conferences. Consult with the instructor.
If
you feel that you will need extra credit, You may see me before November 4 about
writing assignments involving Mansfield Park or Northanger
Abbey.
****No
class during Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, or October 11 for Jane Austen
Conference
********Possible
English Majors: You need a computing proficiency. Instructions to complete the
proficiency are online at the address below:
http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng211/computer_proficiency_in_the_major.htm