ENGL 2310 ENGLISH LITERATURE TO 1700 is an overview of literature written during the first millennium of English history. A prerequisite for enrolling in the course is a grade of "C" or higher in the University System of Georgia's ENGL 1102, 1103, or 1105H English Composition course or the equivalent in transfer credits from another institution of higher learning. For the average undergraduate, ENGL 2350 -- like its counterpart ENGL 2310 -- helps fulfil the "Area C" requirement of the core curriculum for the baccalaureate in all of the University of Georgia's schools and colleges. It also fulfils the "Area F" requirement for the English Major and serves as one of the two prerequisites for upper-division (3000- and 4000-level) courses in the English Department. The Honors version of the course is more individualized, with smaller class sizes (about half the number of students in a normal ENGL 2310 class); it is more intensive, offering the opportunity for discussion and written exercises at a level of intellectual sophistication befitting students in the Honors Program. This course also serves as a tool by which the English Department can identify students -- and whereby students may identify themselves -- as candidates for the English major.
Grades.
Though a rather high percentage of students may earn a "B" for this course, it is only the most serious students -- those for whom literary study is more than a perfunctory academic requirement, who are genuinely interested in literature, literary scholarship, and the deeper issues touched by them; i.e., prospective English majors -- who are most likely to earn a grade higher than "B."
Regardless of their academic interests, however, students who fulfill the lower-order tasks of keeping up with the reading, attending class meetings, and participating in the discussions, stand an excellent chance of earning a "B" in the course. Those who apply themselves with keen intensity to the higher-order operations stand a good chance of earning at least a "B" and possibly an "A" in the course. Higher-order tasks include: thinking through the deeper issues addressed in the literature, working out the meaning of these issues in terms of academic, intellectual, and spiritual understanding, and expressing such understanding in excellent written prose. Those who apply themselves to neither the lower-order nor the higher-order components of this course may expect to earn a grade lower than "B." Indeed, in recent semesters grades lower than "B" have been awarded by this instructor, and some students occasionally fail to pass the course.
Course contents.
While the Department of English no longer conceives of this course in traditional terms as a survey of English literature, students enrolling in this class with this instructor typically are exposed to highlights of Old English, Middle English, Elizabethan, Renaissance, and Restoration English literature. Across the English Department, the literary focus of classes in this course rubric may vary widely from instructor to instructor and from semester to semester, so that even with any individual instructor, no two ENGL 2310 courses are ever exactly the same. I haven't decided yet what works to cover, but there'll probably be a good dose of Old English literature including Beowulf, some Middle English literature including Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a Shakespeare play--probably I Henry IV, and probably some John Donne and John Milton.
Attendance policy
The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences permits its instructors to penalize students for unexcused absences beyond five missed classes. For a Tuesday/Thursday course, this effectively translates to 2½ missed class sessions. Though your instructor isn't interested in punishing people and takes attendance largely as a method for learning your names, he reserves the right to apply this penalty if necessary. However, experience shows that missed classes normally result in decreased involvement in the intellectual life of the class, decreased learning, lower grades, and social anonymity in what ideally, over the course of the semester, ought to become a vibrant, stimulating, and enthusiastic (albeit temporary) community of scholars working together joyfully in an atmosphere of mutual trust and harmonious sharing of ideas.
Written Work and Grades
Quizzes. A large percentage of the course grade will be comprised of points earned on short quizzes given at the beginning of many class meetings. The quizzes will consist of a factual question or two based on the previous lecture/discussion or on the reading assigned for that day's meeting–or perhaps both–and a question or two designed to elicit deeper engagement with, understanding of, or interpretation of the work under consideration. The average of these quiz grades accumulated over the course of the whole semester will constitute a major course grade: i.e., a grade equal in value to that of the Final Examination and any additional written work submitted by the student.
Additional work. Students who wish to demonstrate higher-order engagement with the material and the themes of the course may do so by executing additional written assignments. These may include the composition of a scholarly essay, the review of a book or alternate literary text, a written response to an academic article, or the compilation of an annotated bibliography of research related to a crucial question raised in class. Such additional assignments may be assigned unilaterally by the instructor or proposed by the student; the precise nature of the assignment must be finalized in consultation with the instructor and submitted for a grade on a date mutually agreed upon by the student and the instructor.
Final Examination. The Final Examination for this class will cover much the same territory as the quizzes but will include additionally a longer essay component demanding engagement with the material of the course at the deepest possible level of appreciation, understanding, and interpretation. Students should not assume their performance average on quizzes guarantees a particular outcome on the final: those entering with a high average may not necessarily produce exam answers that secure an average equal to that of their earlier work in the course; correspondingly, those who enter the Final Examination with a lower quiz average may produce exam answers that significantly improve upon their earlier work. The best guarantor of a final exam commensurate with earlier performance is the quality of work produced for additional assignments as outlined above. Students who perform well on the quizzes and who have submitted high quality work on additional assignments may request an exemption from the Final; in some cases, these requests may be granted.
Final Course Grade. The final course grade will be determined as the equal average of all major course grades: quiz average, additional written assignments, and the Final Examination.