The Eighteenth Century: The Seduction Plot and the Rise of the Novel
Code: 42301 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4313157 Advanced English Studies | OT | 0 | 0 |
Contact
- Name:
- Carme Font Paz
- Email:
- Carme.Font@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- english (eng)
Prerequisites
Apart from the general requirements for the MA admission, students taking this course should be interested in early modern literature. Basic notions will be introduced in the course so that students can engage in research in this area if they decide to do so.
Objectives and Contextualisation
This course traces throughout the eighteenth century what has come to be termed the ‘rise’ of the English Novel, offering both a chronological overview of the nature and concern of novelistic fiction during that century and complementing this with a critical evaluation of the many—sometimes conflictive—contemporary theories on the forces that gave shape to the growth of this now-dominating literary genre. Attention will also be given to the question of the canon, and how its construction, expectations and consequences have influenced and perhaps obscured a more balanced and open-minded understanding of writers conventionally seen as less central to the consolidation of the Novel, very particularly a number of women writers active in the last part of the century.
Competences
- Analyse and synthesise information at an advanced level.
- Analyse the relationship between factors, processes or phenomena in the acquisition of English as a second language, its learning and teaching methods, and its literature, history and culture.
- Apply methodological knowledge of statistical analysis and data generation, treatment and codification of multilingual databases, analysis of literary texts, etc. to research.
- Communicate the knowledge acquired and the contributions of one’s research correctly, accurately and clearly both orally and in writing.
- Critically argue, issue judgements and present ideas on the basis of the analysis of information originating from scientific production in these areas.
- Develop autonomous learning skills applicable to the research process.
- Distinguish and contrast between the different methodological and theoretical models applied to the academic study of the acquisition, teaching and use of English as a second language in multilingual and multicultural contexts, literary studies and cultural studies.
- Show respect towards the opinions, values, behaviours and/or practices of others.
- Use the English language for academic and professional purposes related to research into the acquisition, teaching and use of English as a second language in multilingual and multicultural contexts, literary studies and cultural studies.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyse and interpret at an advanced level literary texts on the English Literature of the 18th century in relation to the representation of desire.
- Analyse and interpret at an advanced level scientifically produced texts about the Eighteenth Century English Literature, extracting relevant citations and making content summaries.
- Analyse and synthesise information at an advanced level.
- Communicate the knowledge acquired and the contributions of one’s research correctly, accurately and clearly both orally and in writing.
- Develop autonomous learning skills applicable to the research process.
- Distinguish and contrast the different theoretical and methodological models applied to the academic study of desire in the novelistics of the English 18th century.
- Make oral presentations on subjects and texts related to advanced research into the English Literature of the 18th century in relation to the representation of desire in Novels.
- Read and analyse texts on desire in the origins of the English novel.
- Show respect towards the opinions, values, behaviours and/or practices of others.
- Write texts defending an idea in relation to a literary text in English on the Novels of the 18th century, applying secondary sources to the critical argumentation.
Content
Unit 1. Introduction. Theoretical and Contextual Perspectives
New transitions: Drama, Poetry, Prose, Satire and the Novel.
Eliza Haywood, Love in Excess. Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World. Henry Fielding, Tom Jones (selections)
Selection of secondary sources
Unit 2. The Epistolary Genre, the Discourses of Virtue, and the mid-18th-Century Novel
Text: Samuel Richardson: Pamela
Selection of secondary sources
Unit 3. Feeling and Sentiment
Text: Laurence Sterne: A Sentimental Journey
Selection of secondary sources
Unit 4. Gothic leanings
Text: Ann Radcliffe: A Sicilian Romance
Selection of secondary sources
Unit 5. Women writers and the 18th century novelistic market
Text: Charlotte Lennox: The Female Quixote
Selection of secondary sources
Unit 6. Women writers and Utopias
Text: Sarah Scott: A Description of Millenium Hall
Selection of secondary sources
Summary, Conclusions and Final Comments
Methodology
There will be a series of lectures to introduce theoretical basic concepts, class discussions on set readings, as well as practical cases and exercises.
The subject is organized as a seminar and its sessions will be based on in-class discussions of the texts. There will also be presentations, an in-class exercise and several assignments which will be returned by the professor with comments and suggestions. We expect students to:
--Read all the texts (both primary and secondary sources)
--Participate in class discussions
--Prepare the activities properly, using bibliography and reliable sources.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Supervised Activities | 50 | 2 | 2, 1, 6, 8, 10 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Formative Activities | 15 | 0.6 | 2, 1, 6, 8, 10 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Autonomous Activities | 40 | 1.6 | 2, 1, 6, 8, 10 |
Assessment
Short Paper 1: 20% 5 h
Short Paper 2: 20% 5 h
Class Debates 15% 20 h
Final Paper 45% 15 h
The teaching methodology and the evaluation proposed in the guide may undergo some modification subject to the onsite teaching restrictions imposed by health authorities.
On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.
Students will obtain a “Not assessed/Not submitted” course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items.
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
Total or partial plagiarism of any of the exercises will automatically be considered “fail” (0) for the plagiarized item. Plagiarism is copying one or more sentences from unidentified sources, presenting it as original work (This includes copying sentences or fragments from the Internet and adding them without modification to a text which is presented as original). Plagiarism is a serious offense. Students must learn to respect the intellectual property of others, identifying any source they may use, and take responsibility for the originality and authenticity of the texts they produce.
In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
Re-assessment:
Re-assessment for this subject requires a content-synthesis test, for which the following conditions are applicable:
-The student must previously have submitted a minimum of two-thirds of the course-assessment items.
-The student must previously have obtained an average overall grade equal to or higher than 3.5.
-The student must previously have passed 50% of the subject’s assessment requirements.
-The maximum grade than can be obtained through re-assessment is 7.0.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class Debates | 20% | 5 | 0.2 | 2, 1, 6, 8, 7, 10 |
| Final Paper | 40% | 20 | 0.8 | 2, 1, 3, 4, 9, 5, 6, 8, 7, 10 |
| Paper 1 | 20% | 15 | 0.6 | 2, 1, 3, 4, 9, 5, 6, 8, 7, 10 |
| Paper 2 | 20% | 5 | 0.2 | 2, 1, 3, 4, 9, 5, 6, 8, 7, 10 |
Bibliography
Some basic bibliography includes (please note that more extensive and specific bibliography will be provided throughout the course):
Armstrong, Nancy, Desire and Domestic Fiction: A Political History of the Novel. Oxford: OUP, 1987.
Eger, Elizabeth. Bluestockings: Women of Reason from Enlightenment to Romanticism. London: Palgrave, 2012.
Looser, Devoney. British Women Writers and the Writing of History. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 2000.
McKeon, Michael. The Origins of the English Novel 1600-1740. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 2003.
Richetti, John. A History of Eighteenth-century British Literature. London: Blackwell, 2016.
Schofield, Mary Anne, and Cecelia Macheski. Fetter'd or Free?: British Women Novelists, 1986.
Schellenberg, Betty. The Professionalization of Women Writers in Eighteenth-Century Britain. London, Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Spender, Dale. Mothers of the Novel. London: Pandora, 1987.
Todd, Janet. The Sign of Angellica: Women, Writing and Fiction, 1660-1800. New York: Columbia University Press, 1989.
Uphaus, Robert W., ed. The Idea of the Novel in the Eighteenth Century. Michigan: Colleagues Press, 1988.
Watt, Ian. The Rise of the Novel, California: University of California Press, 2001 (1957).
Software
This subject does not require specific computer equipment.