Nova Southeastern University

College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Department of Literature and Modern Languages
LITR 2010: British Literature I ONLINE
Last Date Revised: 8/18/16 RF
I. COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE: LITR 2010: British Literature I Online
Semester & Year: Fall 2016
Course Start and End Dates: 8/22/2016-10/16/2016
Course Prefix, Number & Title: LITR 2010: British Literature I Online
Course CRN & Section: 21141 5W1
II. INSTRUCTOR:
Name: Dr. Ryan Farrar
Email: TBA
Office: N/A

Phone: N/A
Office Hours:
Virtual (Sunday 5PM-6PM) and by
appointment

This course is administered by the Department of Literature and Modern

Languages. If the instructor cannot be reached, please contact the
Department of Literature and Modern Languages at 954-262-8201.
III. COURSE DESCRIPTION:
A survey of major literary movements and writers, from Old English through
the 18th
Century. The course examines themes common to various historical periods.
Prerequisite: COMP 1500 or COMP 1500H.
IV. LEARNING OUTCOMES:
To complete this course successfully students must:
1.
Identify the major periods, authors and works in British literature from
Old English through the 18th century;
2.
Explain the historical and cultural influences that have shaped the
development of
British literature;
3.
Apply the basic principles of literary study/textual analysis to a variety
of texts;
4.
Produce at least one documented research paper demonstrating
critical reading, analysis, research and writing skills.
V. REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS:
The Norton Anthology: English Literature Package Vol 1A, 1B, 1C
Carol T. Christ
Norton, W.W. & Company, Inc
2012 - 9th Edition
9780393913002

Blackboard: You will need to be able to log in to Blackboard in order

to retrieve documents and receive updates and instructions. Online

assignments will also be completed through Blackboard.

VI. COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES:

Discussion Board Postings
All discussion board postings must be completed by 10 pm on the Friday of
the week they are assigned
Part of your responsibility in this course is interacting with your fellow student
writers. For this reason, you must participate in the discussion board. You
may post more than one reply to my discussion prompts; in fact, you can
have several back-and-forth discussions. The goal is to create a dialogue
between students. These discussion postings are in lieu of a live chat as I find
it is difficult to get all online students to agree on a day and time to meet.
See the course schedule for details. Each student will receive up to 100
points for each initial discussion post, which should be at least one paragraph
(6 or more sentences), insightful, thorough, completed on time,
grammatically correct, coherent and thoughtful. You must also post at least
two different responses to two different classmates (each worth 100 points
on their own as well, which equals 3 individual grades). Your responses
should not simply state your agreement with the persons post, but include a
brief point of your own. For example, you may agree but note another
example of the point the person is making. You may also, of course, disagree.
You may also connect someones post to something else you have read in
another class, an experience you have had, a movie you have watched, or an
image you have seen.

Exams
You will have two timed exams during this semester.
You will only have one access opportunity to each exam, so do not
begin the exam until you are ready to complete it.
Exams are only available for a limited window; your exam will no
longer be available to you once this window has passed.
Prepare for exams by diligently completing all reading assignments on
the syllabus.

Literary Analysis Essays

During the semester you will write two major essays. All due dates as well as the
reading on which your essays are based are in section II. Course Schedule & Topic
Outline on this syllabus.
Essay # 1
You will have a list of prompts to choose from on Blackboard. Choose one of the
prompts, and write an academic essay in response. Keep in mind the feedback you
received from me. Be sure you develop a clear and coherent thesis that you support

with solid topic sentences for each paragraph and lots of evidence from the texts.
Once you draft your essay, be sure to read through your work and revise
accordingly. If you have questions about the quality of your progression, you may
contact me to discuss your progress.
Length: 750-1000 words.
Sources: At least 2 critical sources*.
Essay # 2
You will have the same setup as essay #1 but your second paper will go a little
more in-depth in its response.
Length: 1000-1250 words.
Sources: At least 3 critical sources*.
See the Model Literary Analysis Paper, under Course Contents for a good
example of the kind of analysis I am expecting.
* Critical Sources
A critical source is simply one in which the author offers critical analysis of literature
(literary criticism).
As you have learned in COMP 1500, finding reliable sources is an important part of
developing a sound paper. Note that Wikipedia is NOT considered a reliable source;
however, citations at the end of a Wikipedia entry may lead you to a reliable source.
Use databases such as JSTOR, ProjectMUSE, or Academic Search Premier.
General Guidelines & Information
Formatting Assignments:
All final drafts of your essays and thesis development & support exercises
must be processed in MS Word and uploaded to the Submit Assignments
tab in Blackboard by the due date and the due time. All papers must be
double-spaced, have 1 in. margins (on the sides, top, and bottom), and be
in 12-point Times New Roman font and in MLA format. The due dates are
listed on the schedule.
Late assignments: Unless otherwise indicated, all assignments are due on
the date listed on the syllabus. An essay received after the due date is late. A
late assignment is penalized one full letter grade for each calendar day that it
is late; assignments later than two calendar days are not accepted at all and
earn an F.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism means the presentation of the ideas and/or the
words of someone else as ones own.
You commit plagiarism if you do the following:
use any part of another persons written words without correct
documentation
use any part of another persons ideas without correct documentation
This includes any part of a book, encyclopedia, magazine article, journal
article, newspaper article, CD-ROM, website, or any other media used without
correct documentation. It also includes using any part of another students
paper as part of ones own or resubmitting a paper done for another class. All
papers containing references to the words and/or ideas of another author or
authors must be properly documented using the MLA style of documentation.
Papers may be submitted for review to Turnitin.com. All cases of

plagiarism will be reported to the College of Undergraduate Studies

as an incident of academic misconduct.
Computer problems: Students must address their technical problems to
the NSU Help Desk at help@nova.edu or by phone at (954) 262-4357. Note
that computer problems are not acceptable excuses for late completion of
assignments.
Department of Literature and Modern Languages Bulletin Boards:
Bulletin boards for each major are located throughout the third floor of Parker.
Please visit these boards for information on all majors offered by the
department as well as upcoming events relevant to each major.
Method of Feedback
With regards to grades and comments, I make use of recorded videos of your paper
(ranging from 4 to 8 min. long) to deliver feedback. This will be the default method
for feedback. I understand that some students prefer typed comments on their
assignments. If you desire typed comments as opposed to video feedback, you
must contact me through email in order to request this method.
The videos will be uploaded to Blackboard and only you may view them.
VII. COURSE SCHEDULE AND TOPIC OUTLINE:
Class schedule subject to modification, but not without prior notification.
Please read the biographical information on each assigned author.
Read
Syllabus
Prior to Start
Email Etiquette from The Online Writing Lab (OWL)
of Course
at Purdue University
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/636/01/
Read
Introduction and Chapter 1 Paraphrase, Summary,
Description from Writing about Literature (available
under Course Contents)
Chapter 2 The Elements of the Essay from Writing
about Literature (available under Course Contents)

Literary Terms
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/575/1/
Beowulf (41-108)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (186-238)
Week One
Watch
(8/22-8/27)
Week 1 Lecture
Post to Discussion Board
Discussion #1: Your personal introduction & any
questions you have about the syllabus.
Discussion #2: One analytical point about either
Beowulf or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Present
that point as an argument contained in one or two
sentences. Explain how you arrived at your argument,
and use evidence from the reading to support your
perspective. All posts due by Friday 10 PM

Week Two
(8/29-9/3)

Week Three
(9/5-9/10)

Week Four
(9/12-9/16)

Read
Chapter 3 The Writing Process from Writing about
Literature (available under Course Contents)
Geoffrey Chaucer from The Canterbury Tales, The
Knights Tale (summary) and The Millers Prologue
Tale (263-280) (Check Blackboard for modern
translations with which to read along)
Thomas More Utopia (Bk. 1; 575-597)
Watch
Week 2 Lecture
Post to Discussion Board
One analytical point about any of the readings.
Present that point as an argument contained in one or
two sentences. Explain how you arrived at your
argument, and use evidence from the reading to
support your perspective. All posts due by Friday
10 PM
Read
Chapter 4 The Research Essay from Writing about
Literature (available under Course Contents)
Browse through the Alvin Sherman Library Literature
Subject Guide. This details a variety or literaturerelated resources available through the library:
http://www.nova.edu/library/help/subjectguides/literat
ure/literature.html
Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, Whoso list to hunt, My
galley (Read accompanying poems by Petrarch) and
They flee from me, (649-650; 651-652; 653-654)
Sir Philip Sidneys sonnets #31, #47, and #71 (1090;
1092; 1095-96)
Elizabeth I Speech to the Troops at Tilbury and The
Golden Speech (762-766)
Sir Philip Sidneys Arcadia (1039-1044)
Edmund Spenser from The Faerie Queene, Book 1,
Canto 1-2 (777-806)
Watch
Week 3 Lecture
Post to Discussion Board
One analytical point about The Faerie Queene or
Doctor Faustus. Present that point as an argument
contained in one or two sentences. Explain how you
arrived at your argument, and use evidence from the
reading to support your perspective. All posts due
by Friday 10 PM
Take Exam
Complete Exam # 1 by Saturday at 10:00 p.m.
Read
Chapter 5 Quotation, Citation Documentation from
Writing about Literature (available under Course
Contents)
For more information on MLA format you may visit/consult
with Academic Services in the Parker Building:
http://www.undergrad.nova.edu/academicservices/ or consult

the MLA link in your course under Study Tools.

Model Literary Analysis Paper under Course
Contents
Christopher Marlowe Doctor Faustus (1128-1163)
William Shakespeare from Sonnets, #1, #18,

Week Five
(9/19-9/24)

Week Six
(9/26-10/1)

Week Seven
(10/3-10/8)

#20, #129 and #130 (1171; 1172-1173; 1173;

1183-1184)
John Donne The Flea and Elegy 19. To His
Mistress Going to Bed (1373; 1393-1394)

Post to Discussion Board

One analytical point about any of the readings.
Present that point as an argument contained in one or
two sentences. Explain how you arrived at your
argument, and use evidence from the reading to
support your perspective. All posts due by Friday
10 PM
Submit Assignment
Essay # 1 due by Saturday at 10:00 p.m.
Read
John Webster The Duchess of Malfi (1572-1647) (I
recommend watching the stage film online while
having the text in front of you)
Watch
Week 5 lecture
Post to Discussion Board
One analytical point about The Duchess of Malfi.
Present that point as an argument contained in one or
two sentences. Explain how you arrived at your
argument, and use evidence from the reading to
support your perspective. All posts due by Friday
10 PM
Read
Andrew Marvell To His Coy Mistress (1796-1797)
John Milton Paradise Lost, Books 1 and 9 (1945-1964;
2091-2116)
Watch
Week Six Lecture
Post to Discussion Board
One analytical point about Paradise Lost. Present that
point as an argument contained in one or two
sentences. Explain how you arrived at your argument,
and use evidence from the reading to support your
perspective. All posts due by Friday 10 PM.
Read
Aphra Behn Oroonoko (2313-2358)
Jonathan Swift A Modest Proposal (2633-2639)
Week Seven
Post to Discussion Board
One analytical point about the Oroonoko. Present that
point as an argument contained in one or two
sentences. Explain how you arrived at your argument,
and use evidence to support your perspective. All
posts due by Friday 10 PM.

Week Eight
(10/10-10/14)

Take Exam
Complete Exam # 2 by Saturday at 10:00 p.m.
Submit Assignment
Essay # 2 due by Friday at 10:00 p.m.

VIII. GRADING CRITERIA:

The A essay is an excellent piece of writing. It presents a focused

thesis that is clearly supported throughout the essay. It is structurally
sound, with smooth and apt transitions between sentences and
paragraphs. The essay logically moves toward its stated purpose, and
is appropriate in language and style for its audience. The writing is
clear and controlled, and the language is often sophisticated, effective,
and interesting. The essay is original, forceful, and compelling. It is
free of spelling, typographic, and/or other grammatical errors.
The B essay is a good piece of writing. It clearly and adequately
presents a thesis that is almost completely supported throughout the
essay. The language is effective. The essay is clear, focused, and
mostly free of spelling, typographic, and/or grammatical errors. It may
contain shortcomings, such as occasional monotony in expression, lack
of originality, ambiguity in purpose, or some lack of precision and
economy in use of words.
The C essay is a fair piece of writing, acceptable college work. It meets
only the minimum requirements of the assignment. There is likely a
thesis, but it is either too broad or too narrow, or not adequately
supported throughout the essay. There are likely transitional flaws.
Language is adequate, but flawed with awkwardness and/or
imprecision. There are likely spelling, typographic, and/or grammatical
errors in most paragraphs. It may be rely on predictable arguments
and obvious support or hasty generalization. It lacks originality,
significant purpose, or development.
The D essay falls below acceptable college standards. It may partially
address the assignment, but lacks any expected insight as to the goal
of the essay. Frequently, its writer has not understood the assignment
and therefore does not address or respond to a definite purpose. It
may express a thesis, but it is likely inappropriate for the assignment.
Paragraphs do not exhibit coherent organization or development. The
language of the essay is flawed. It likely contains some of these
problems: monotonous sentence patterns, imprecise use of words,
rambling organization, and repetition of ideas. Sentences are poorly
constructed, and spelling, typographic and/or grammatical errors
appear frequently.
The F essay is an unacceptable piece of writing. It has a multitude of
flaws. It may have no thesis or support. There may be flaws of
organization and development. It likely includes an unacceptable
number of spelling, typographic, and/or grammatical errors. The essay
shows no real understanding of the assignment. An essay that receives
a failing grade does not automatically mean a failing grade in the
course. It does mean, however, that performance on the particular
assignment is markedly below college standards and that prompt
improvement needs to be made.

Final Course Grade:

Your final grade is determined by your performance on the following:

Essay #1:
Essay #2:
Exam #1
Exam # 2
Discussion Board Posts
TOTAL

20%
30%
15%
20%
15%
100%

Letter grades translate to percentages as follows:

Percentag
Final
e
Grade
93 and
above
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
77-79
73-76
70-72
67-69
63-66
Below 63

A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
F

IX: COLLEGE-WIDE POLICY STATEMENTS

Students should visit www.fcas.nova.edu/about/policies.cfm to access additional
required college-wide policies. It is your responsibility to access and carefully
read these policies to ensure you are fully informed. As a student in this class,
you are obligated to follow these college-wide policies in addition to the policies
established by your instructor.
The following policies are described on this website:

Academic misconduct
Last day to withdraw
Email policy
Student course evaluations
Student responsibility to register
Student responsibility for course prerequisites

Additional Academic Resources: Nova Southeastern University offers a

variety of resources that may aid in student success. Among these resources
are:
Accommodations for students with documented disabilities. For more
information about ADA policy, services, and procedures, students may call the

Office of Student Disability Services at 954-262-7189 or visit

http://www.nova.edu/disabilityservices.
Tutoring and Testing Center:
Free tutoring services: Students are encouraged to use the free,
individualized tutoring services offered by the Tutoring and Testing Center
(TTC). TTC provides a supportive atmosphere in which tutors and students work
collaboratively on improving students writing, math and/or science skills.
http://www.nova.edu/tutoring-testing/index.html