ENGL 435
Restoration and Eighteenth Century

1. Catalog Entry

ENGL 435. Restoration and Eighteenth Century
Three hours lecture (3).

Prerequisite: Completion of English general education requirements.

Study of several chief works of English literature from Dryden through Samuel Johnson, including the development of the English novel.

2. Detailed Description of Content of Course

Close reading of selected major works from the Restoration of 1660 (exclusive of Milton) through the Eighteenth Century Neo-classical Period, representing a variety of literary forms such as satirical poetry and prose, heroic verse, diaries and narratives, early journalism, and early novels.

3. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

ENGL 435 uses a wide variety of instructional strategies which may include a number of the following: lecture; discussion; web-enhanced instruction; collaborative group work; individual or group student reports to elucidate primary texts or pertinent historical, biographical and cultural contexts; individual or group student creative presentations on course material; informal writing activities such as in-class focused writing exercises, readers’ logs, journals or discussion questions; audio-visual resources on literary works and authors as well as pertinent contexts; library instructional workshops to reinforce students’ information literacy and knowledge of resources available; peer writing groups on drafts of essays; individual or group conferences with the instructor on drafts of essays.

4. Goals and Objectives of Course

The fundamental goal of this course is to provide students with an overview of Restoration and Eighteenth Century British literature, the varied modes of expression used during the period and their relevance today, thereby building a solid foundation for more advanced, more intensive, more in-depth study of earlier or later literary periods, individual authors in context, and significant literary movements within the entire spectrum of British literature. To that end, students who have successfully completed this course will be able to:

• identify and discuss significant works and authors in British literature from 1660 until the end of the eighteenth century (exclusive of Milton);
• identify and discuss significant developments, trends and movements in British literature from 1660 until 1799 (exclusive of Milton);
• identify and discuss the interrelationships among literary works and among authors, in particular the influence of literary works or authors on subsequent works and authors;
• identify and discuss some of the central thematic and aesthetic concerns of the period, with emphasis on varied poetic, prose, and dramatic genres;
• identify and discuss some of the stylistic qualities of the literary works examined in the course;
• identify and use a number of literary critical strategies in analyzing literary works;
• explain how an awareness of literary history of the period affects the understanding and interpretation of a literary work;
• examine literary works and authors in a precise historical and cultural context;
• explain the relationship between a particular text and its historical and literary context;
• access electronic and printed sources pertinent to the study of the works and authors examined in the course.

5. Assessment Measures

ENGL 435 uses a variety of assessment measures, which may include a number of the following:

• informal writing activities such as readers’ logs, journals and discussion questions;
• in-class student oral presentations and recitations;
• reading quizzes and examinations on the assigned readings;
• in-class or take-home essay examinations on the assigned readings;
• researched or non-researched essays on the literary works and authors examined in the course;
• research project and/or final essay focused on a single work or several works examined in the course;
• short critical essays examining individual literary works within an historical, biographical, cultural or literary context;
• short critical essays using specific literary strategies to analyze a literary work;
• short critical essays to analyze the formal qualities of particular literary works;
• short imaginative/creative pieces that imitate a literary work or style or that extend or revise the point of view of a literary work.

6. Other Course Information

NONE

7. Review and Approval