Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2017 - ENGL 320 E100

Studies in Eighteenth Century Literature (1660-1800) (4)

Class Number: 4071

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 5 – Dec 4, 2017: Tue, 5:30–9:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Dec 12, 2017
    Tue, 7:00–10:00 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    Two 100 division English courses, and two 200 division English courses.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

The study of selected works of late seventeenth century and eighteenth century literature. May include some writing from outside Britain, and may be organized by various critical issues or approaches.

COURSE DETAILS:

Secularism in America
The eighteenth century is usually described as the Era of Enlightenment, a time when “reason” (a confusing word) and individualism mark the growth of modern politics, economies, and culture, typically in the stew of Western European colonial projects. This course studies the growing influence of those values in the literature of Britain’s most valuable colony, New England (to be the good old US of A by century’s end). The eighteenth century was a time of real turbulence in American culture; the American colonies went from burning witches to establishing the first western democracy in about one hundred years, a fact perhaps related to a population explosion from a couple hundred British subjects to over five million people. Pulled between two impulses, to prove its worth to Britain and to establish its own identity, readings for this course reflect those tensions in American culture, among others.

Grading

  • Attendance and Participation 10%
  • Two Reading Responses (2-3 pages) 30%
  • Short Essay (4-5 pages) 20%
  • Research Paper (8-10 pages) 40%

NOTES:

Students are encouraged to purchase hard copies of the required texts on their own to avoid delays with the SFU Bookstore. PDF versions of texts are not acceptable.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Jonathan Edwards, A Jonathan Edwards Reader (Yale University Press, 2003) 
ISBN: 9780300098389

Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016)
ISBN: 9781319048914

Jeffrey Richards, ed., Early American Drama (Penguin, 1997)
ISBN: 9780140435887

Mary Rowlandson, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1997)
ISBN: 9780312111519

Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Huntly or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker (Penguin, 1988)
ISBN: 9780140390629

Department Undergraduate Notes:

IMPORTANT NOTE Re 300 and 400 level courses: 75% of spaces in 300 level English courses, and 100% of spaces in 400 level English courses, are reserved for declared English Major, Minor, Extended Minor, Joint Major, and Honours students only, until open enrollment begins.

For all On-Campus Courses, please note the following:
- To receive credit for the course, students must complete all requirements.
- Tutorials/Seminars WILL be held the first week of classes.
- When choosing your schedule, remember to check "Show lab/tutorial sections" to see all Lecture/Seminar/Tutorial times required.

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS