Engl. 315

Motooka

Fall 1998

Rice 111

MWF 1:30 -2:20

Office hrs: MW 2:30-4

King 339

Ext. 6585

wendy.motooka@oberlin.edu

Eighteenth-Century Fiction

The eighteenth century is often credited with inventing the genre we now know as the novel. This course surveys prominent examples of the early English novel, focusing on questions of individualism and characterization, "realism" and "historicism," representation and authority, and the forms and meanings of fiction. We will examine the relation between originality, genre, and narrative accuracy. We will also speculate thoughtfully upon the significance of the novel's current cultural dominance, its status as truthful depiction of other people's experience, and its role in creating social realities.

Course requirements: Students should come to class each day having completed the assigned readings, and prepared to discuss them. Engagement and initiative in class discussions will be expected. The reading list is fairly long, and the number of pages that students will be asked to prepare can vary substantially from day to day. Please read ahead on the syllabus and plan accordingly. Because of the heavy reading load, this course counts for four credit hours. There will be three written assignments, a 3-4 pp. paper, a 5 pp. paper, and a final paper of 8-10 pp. There will also be a required oral presentation in which students, working together in teams, will facilitate the day's discussion of a critical essay. Triple-asterisks mark the days on which these presentations will be given. Be sure to sign up for one of those days.

Under the College's Honor Code, your written work must be your own: please do not attempt to submit essays written by or heavily revised by other people. Published sources should be properly cited and not overused. Please consult with me if you have any questions as to what constitutes plagiarism.

Required Texts (available at the Co-op Bookstore):

Behn, Aphra. Oroonoko.
Defoe, Daniel. Roxana.
Fielding, Henry. Shamela.
Fielding, Henry. Tom Jones.
Goldsmith, Oliver. The Vicar of Wakefield.
Lennox, Charlotte. The Female Quixote.
Lewis, Matthew. The Monk.
Richardson, Samuel. Pamela.
Sterne, Laurence. Tristram Shandy.
coursepack (CP)-available at the Rice 130

The readings should also be available through the Reserve Room in the basement of Mudd Library.

Schedule of Readings

Sept. 2 (W):

introduction

Sept. 4 (F):

Behn, Oroonoko (in its entirety)

Sept. 7 (M):

Labor Day

Sept. 9 (W):

Oroonoko

Sept. 11 (F):

Lipking, "The New World of Slavery - An Introduction" (at the back of the Norton Critical edition of Oroonoko)Oroonoko

Sept. 14 (M):

Defoe, Roxana (first third of the book)

Sept. 16 (W):

Roxana (second third of the book)

Sept. 18 (F):

Roxana (final third of the book)

***Sept. 21 (M):

Watt, "Realism and the Novel Form," from Rise of the Novel Roxana (CP)

Sept. 23 (W):

Richardson, Pamela (Richardson's prefatory material through letter XXIII) Richardson, selections from Letters Written to and for Particular Friends (CP)

Sept. 25 (F):

Pamela (letter XXIV through p. 169, where Pamela recounts Mr. B's "articles")

Sept. 28 (M):

Pamela (p. 169 through p. 287, where Pamela claims that Mr. B is all "tender Relations in One")

Sept. 30 (W):

Yom Kippur

Oct. 2 (F):

Pamela (p. 287 through 409, which completes Pamela's narrative)

Oct. 5 (M):

Pamela (p. 409-12, where the editor edifies)

***Oct. 7 (W):

Armstrong, "The Politics of Domesticating Culture, Then and Now," from Desire and Domestic Fiction (CP)

Pamela

Oct. 9 (F):

Fielding, Shamela (in its entirety)

Oct. 12 (M):

Fielding, Tom Jones (dedication, Bk. I)

DUE: Paper I (3-4 pp.)

Oct. 14 (W):

Tom Jones (Bk. II-IV)

Oct. 16 (F):

Tom Jones (Bk. V-VI)

Autumn Recess

Oct. 26 (M):

Tom Jones (Bk. VII-IX)

Oct. 28 (W):

Tom Jones (Bk. X-XII)

Oct. 30 (F):

Tom Jones (Bk. XIII-XV)

Nov. 2 (M):

no class

Nov. 4 (W):

Tom Jones (Bk. XVI-XVIII)

***Nov. 6 (F):

Johnson, Rambler no. 4 (CP)

Tom Jones

Nov. 9 (M):

Lennox, The Female Quixote (dedication, Bk. I-III)

DUE: Paper II (5 pp.)

Nov. 11 (W):

The Female Quixote (Bk. IV-VI)

Nov. 13 (F):

The Female Quixote (Bk. VIII-IX)

***Nov. 16 (M):

Spacks, "The Subtle Sophistries of Desire," from Desire and Truth

The Female Quixote (CP)

Nov. 18 (W):

Sterne, Tristram Shandy, vol. I

Nov. 20 (F):

Tristram Shandy, vol. II

***Nov. 23 (M):

Hall, "The Hobbyhorsical World of Tristram Shandy"

Tristram Shandy

Nov. 25 (W):

Tristram Shandy, vol. III
Thanksgiving Break

Nov. 30 (M):

Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield

Dec. 2 (W):

The Vicar of Wakefield

***Dec. 4 (F):

Haggerty, "Satire and Sentiment in The Vicar of Wakefield"

The Vicar of Wakefield (CP)

Dec. 7 (M):

Lewis, The Monk (vol. I-II)

Dec. 9 (W):

The Monk (vol. III)

***Dec. 11 (F):

Sedgwick, "Towards the Gothic: Terrorism and Homosexual Panic" (CP)

The Monk

Dec. 14 (M):

concluding remarks

DUE: Final paper (8-10 pp.), Wednesday, Dec. 16 by 5 pm.

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