LIT 2012 The Novel Syllabus

Weeks	Readings	Journal Assignments (250-300 wds. @)
UNIT ONE	Novel Development: Fielding and Eliot
Week One August 24-30	Read: Mark Canada's "An Introduction to the Novel" Review: The History of the Novel PPT Start reading Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding	What is your history in reading novels? How much do you read for pleasure? What kind of novels do you prefer to read? Compare and contrast your favorite "literary" novel with your favorite "escapist" novel. What appeals most to you about each of these novels? Why would you define one as "literary" and the other as "escapist"?
Week Two August 21- September 6 Joseph Andrews, 17	*Finish reading Joseph Andrews* by Henry Fielding** Henry Fielding	In his Preface to the novel, Fielding declares his intention is to present a comic romance whose subject is the ridiculous. And as, "The only source of the true ridiculous ... is affectation," (xii), one of the major purposes of the novel is to allow the reader to discover such affectation in the characters. "Now affectation proceeds from one of these two causes, vanity or hypocrisy; for as vanity puts us on affecting false characters, in order to purchase applause; so hypocrisy set us on an endeavour to avoid censure, by concealing our vices under an appearance of their opposite virtues." (xii) Describe the "affectation" of four different characters in Joseph Andrews, and show how their affectation arises from either vanity or hypocrisy.
Week Three September 7-13	*Watch the 1976 film Joseph Andrews* directed by Tony Richardson Start reading Silas Marner by George Eliot**	Tony Richardson's 1976 adaptation of Joseph Andrews stars Peter Firth, who had recently originated the role of Alan Strang in Equus; Swedish-American actress, Ann-Margret; and an array of prominent British stage actors including Michael Hordern as Parson Adams, John Gielgud as the Doctor and Beryl Reid as Mrs. Slipslop. While mostly faithful to the novel, Richardson does make a few significant changes to the plot and to some scenes that were probably meant to appeal to his late 1970s audience. What particularly about the film do you think would appeal to the late 1970s audience? (It received mixed critical reviews). Do you think the film holds up for a 21st century audience? Why or why not?
Week Four September 14-20 Silas Marner, 18	*Finish reading Silas Marner* by George Eliot** George Eliot at 30 by François D'Albert Durade	George Eliot is noted for her realistic depiction of ordinary, non-heroic people coping with the travails of daily life. However, she was also highly influenced by Romantic idealism and philosophy. Review: Romanticism and The Romantics; Realism and Naturalism and The Victorians Point out and describe at least two specific instances of Realistic conventions or motifs and at least two specific instances of Romantic convention or motifs used in Silas Marner. Don't hesitate to quote (briefly) from the novel to illustrate your examples.
Week Five September 21-27	*Watch the 1985 BBC TV film Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe* directed by Giles Foster Start reading The Turn of the Screw by Henry James**	BBC film/TV adaptations of classic novels are noted for their fidelity to the novel. Film, of course, must use different techniques to convey the verbal descriptions and ideas provided by the novel's author. Describe three different filmic techniques (montage, lighting, sound effects, music, casting, etc.) used by Foster to convey Eliot's ideas, symbolism or description in Silas Marner. See: A Glossary of Film Terms and Joseph's Glossary of Film Terms for help with film vocabulary.
UNIT TWO	MODERNISM: James and Mann
Week Six September 28- October 4 *The Turn of the Screw* The Turn of the Screw, 18	Finish *reading The Turn of the Screw* by Henry James Henry James by John Singer Sargent Depending upon how you feel about psychological horror films -- you may want to watch the film before you read the book.**	Review: Narrative Stances and Modes of Narration . The Turn of the Screw opens with layers of narration at a Christmas house party in which the guests are telling ghost stories. Identify and describe the different narrators and the modes of narration used. Why does James use this narrative layering technique? What different affect does each narrator add to the telling of the tale? How reliable is each of the narrators?
Week Seven October 5-11	Watch the 1961 film The Innocents directed by Jack Clayton, screenplay by Truman Capote Start reading Death in Venice by Thomas Mann	*After you have watched The Innocents,* read Dennis Tredy's "Shadows of Shadows: Techniques of Ambiguity in Three Film Adaptations of The Turn of the Screw" : http://erea.revues.org/index196.html Tredy discusses The Innocents in terms of mise en abyme. Here is Wikipedia's definition of the term: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_abyme As a reader and film viewer, discuss your analysis of what happened to Flora and Miles at Bly. Be sure to back up your analysis with some illustrations.**
Week Eight October 12-18 Death in Venice, published in 1912 as Tod in Venedig	*Finish reading Death in Venice* by Thomas Mann** Thomas Mann in 1905 by Johannes Lindner	Modernist writers were highly influenced by recent studies, from various disciplines, of the influence of Greek mythology in Western Civilization. Mann was no exception. One work that is recognized as seminal for some of the ideas and allusions in Death in Venice is Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy which explicated the tension between the Apollonian and Dionysian impulses (see:http://www.historyguide.org/ europe/dio_apollo.html ). Mann makes use of this tension in the character of Aschenbach, an intellectual dedicated to the Apollonian ideal who becomes obsessed with an irrational Dionysian passion. Trace some of the mythological allusions in the novel and discuss how these allusions contribute to your understanding of the fate of Aschenbach. *Do you consider Death in Venice* to be a tragedy? Why or why not?**
Week Nine October 19-25 Dirk Bogard as Gustav Aschenbach Gustav Mahler c. 1888	*Watch the 1971 film Death in Venice* directed by Luchino Visconti Start reading Beloved by Toni Morrison**	Luchino Visconti made Gustav Aschenbach a composer and conductor rather than an author. In addition, throughout the film he used music composed by Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). See Wikipedia bio. Mahler had recently died at the age of 50 as Mann was writing the novella. While there are no actual biographical references to Mahler in the novella, Mann was interested in addressing "the tragedy of greatness" in the novel. How does Visconti's change of Aschenbach from writer to composer affect the impact of the film? How do the visions of Visconti and Mann about the role of the artist in society compare and contrast?
UNIT THREE	MAGICAL REALISM: Toni Morrison
Week Ten October 26- November 1	*Finish reading Beloved* by Toni Morrison Read: "Magical Realism at the World's End" by Michael Valdez Moses**. Toni Morrison	Follow the steps below to find a work of literary criticism on Toni Morrison's Beloved. Read the work and summarize the major points that the literary critic is making. Discuss how this article enhances or modifies your understanding of the novel. Include a properly formatted MLA citation for the article. Go to SCF's library website Click on Databases Your login name is your G00 # -- your password is the last 4 numbers of your G00#. If you cannot login, contact the library for assistance. Click on LITERATURE; under LITERATURE click on JSTOR. On the opening of page of JSTOR, under SEARCH THE COLLECTIONS, click on ADVANCED SEARCH. In the first box type: Beloved by Toni Morrison. Unclick: Search for Items outside of JSTOR. Under LIMIT TO, click: Articles Click SEARCH. You should end up with 600 some articles. Choose an article that deals only with Beloved for this assignment.
Week Eleven November 2-8	Watch the 1991 film Beloved directed by Jonathan Demme *Start reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being* by Milan Kundera**	Film critics loved or hated Demme's film of Beloved . See: http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/beloved/ Discuss what techniques that Demme uses to capture the Magical Realist qualities of Morrison's novel. Give some specific examples. Do you find his visual images of Morrison's descriptions effective or grotesque? Why?
UNIT FOUR	POST-MODERNISM AND POLITICS: Kundera and Satrapi
Week Twelve November 9-15 MLA	Review: Citing Sources MLA STYLE Read: Postmodernism by Mary Klages, University of Colorado Some Attributes of Post-Modern Literature by John Lye, Brock University	Quiz 3 will cover MLA Documentation -- in text and Works Cited. Review the 2009 MLA Guidelines as found on the Citing Sources MLA STYLE PPT and at OWL's MLA Site. As you are reading Kundera, look for elements of Post-Modern thought and techniques. Do you find Post-Modernist style difficult? Ask a question or two about something that puzzles you in the novel, and try to answer a question or two posed by your classmates.
Week Thirteen November 16-22	*Finish reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being* by Milan Kundera** Milan Kundera	Choose one of the following questions to answer: 1. Kundera insists that "the criminal regimes were made not by criminals but by enthusiasts convinced they had discovered the only road to paradise." What visions or versions of paradise are presented in the novel? By whom? How does each vision/version of paradise affect the lives of its enthusiasts and the lives of others? or 2. What kinds of being carry the attribute of lightness? How is the "lightness of being" of the novel's title presented? In what ways is it "unbearable"? What is the difference between "the sweet lightness of being" that Tomas enjoys in Zurich, after Tereza's return to Prague, and "the unbearable lightness of being"?
Week Fourteen November 23-29	*Watch the 1988 film The Unbearable Lightness of Being* directed by Philip Kaufmann Start reading Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi**	Each of the major characters in The Unbearable Lightness of Being engages in artistic activity. Discuss how Kaufmann's film comments on how art is used to shape and frame our awareness and understanding of events.
Week Fifteen November 30- December 6	*Finish reading Persepolis* by Marjane Satrapi** Marjane Satrapi
Week Sixteen December 7-13 Critical Essay due December 7	*Watch the 2007 film Persepolis* by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud**

Jane Anderson Jones	Language and Literature	State College of Florida
Syllabus Fall 2009 LIT 2012 The Novel Distance Learning Course Objectives Pre-Requisites Texts Policies Course Schedule Writing Assignments Grading ANGEL

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Assignments		Points
16 Weekly Journal entries posted on ANGEL : 25 points @.	Each Journal entry should be 200-300 words. Journals posted after the date due will lose 50%.	400 points
4 Quizzes on ANGEL		100 points
Critical Essay due December 7.	A 2000-2500 critical essay incorporating research.	400 points
Final Exam		100 points