Fall 2012 Courses: 4000-Level

ENG 4023: Romanticism

Karen Dodwell

Course Description
The course focuses on major writers of the Romantic era in British literature (late 1700s through mid 1800s). Students will read a variety of texts and learn the basic characteristics of Romantic writing as well as study contemporary critical perspectives.

The course begins with a focus on the characteristics of Romantic literature commonly used in a study of the “Big 6” Romantic poets: William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and John Keats. The first part of the course includes a study of how political debate about the American and French Revolutions and the increase in industrialization shaped the “Spirit of the Age.” Students also gain an understanding of the transcendent imagination; gothic elements; the dark side of Romanticism; the Byronic hero; Harold Bloom’s notion of the internalized quest romance; and M. H. Abram’s greater Romantic lyric.

The focus then shifts to more recent definitions of Romanticism and emerging ways of viewing Romantic literature influenced by feminist, gender, ethnic, and postcolonial studies. An examination of women Romantic poets, like Charlotte Smith and Anna Laetitia Barbauld, reveals how their poetry is not the “other” of Romantic studies, but instead offers different ways of being a Romantic. Students study the rise of fiction writing by women during the Romantic period; examine the works of Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, and Maria Edgeworth; and investigate interest in alchemy, formulations of the monstrous and the marginal, constructions of nationality and race, and evidence of the anti-slavery movement in literary texts. The course ends with a positioning of British Romanticism among the sister arts of painting and music and within the context of continental and transcontinental Romanticism(s).

In the course, students develop basic knowledge and a working vocabulary for discussing and writing about literary concepts and texts, and they are asked to demonstrate that they have become critical thinkers who can analyze texts, synthesize ideas about them in insightful ways, and create arguments in formal papers. Quizzes and essay exams test for basic knowledge, critical thinking, and writing skills. One goal of the course is to create a writing sample that might be used in COLFA conference submissions, job applications, and graduate school applications.

Course Texts

  • The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic Period, Stephen Greenblatt- editor W. W. Norton Ninth edition Volume(s): D 2012 ISBN 978-0-393-91252-4 Paperback
  • The Cambridge Companion to British Romanticism. Stuart Curran, editor. Cambridge University Press. 2nd edition 2010 ISBN-13: 978-0521136051 Paperback
  • Mansfield Park: Norton Critical Edition Jane Austen, author; Claudia I. Johnson, editor 1998 ISBN 0 393 96791 3 paperback

Course Requirements
Quizzes, tests, final exam, short paper, and term paper

ENG 4533: Advanced Creative Writing: Poetry

Instructor: Wendy Barker

Course Description
This is a course for students eager to work on developing their craft in writing poetry, a genre that includes a wide range of styles. Since permission of the instructor is required, interested students should submit sample poems and a statement of interest to Wendy Barker as soon as possible at wendy.barker@utsa.edu.

We will function as a workshop, with regular but flexible assignments weekly. We will be encouraging and supportive of every student’s uniqueness, while also offering specific suggestions for growth and improvement.

Regular readings will also be required, with responses due weekly in addition to a weekly (new) poem. The final grade will be based on participation, weekly assignments, and a portfolio due at the end of the semester.

ENG 4933: Internship

Instructor: Maia Adamina
Cross-Listed with WS 4933

Course Description
Whether a student’s interest is in the field of editing, publishing, print or broadcast journalism, technical writing, media, grant, or creative writing, ENG 4933 is designed to help him or her gain real-world experience and translate skills learned in a classroom into marketable assets. Additionally, students who complete internships can develop contacts and apply new skills in a hands-on environment.

Students must apply for entry into ENG 4933 and are responsible for securing their internship by the first day of the term.

Course Texts

  • n/a

Requirements
Attendance at three meetings with the Internship Coordinator (Start of term, mid-term, and end of term); A professional, detailed, and well-organized weekly Blackboard blog; Signed time sheets. The student will work at least 150 hours at the host site.; A professional and well-organized portfolio; The evaluation from the internship supervisor

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