English 4608.03

Swift and His Age

McCain 2184 MW: 2:35 - 3:55

BLS: http://integratedlearningonline.academiccomputing.dal.ca/index.html

Instructor: David McNeil, 3193 McCain Building, 494-3508

http://is.dal.ca/~dmcneil/home.html

dmcneil@dal.ca

Office Hours: W: 3:30- 4:30, R 3:30-4:30, or by appointment

Description:

This class provides students with the opportunity to study the works of Jonathan Swift in detail. While a good deal of attention will be paid to his great satiric texts, the class will also examine Swift’s lesser known prose and verse. We will consider the young man at Moor Park, the political activist during the reign of Queen Anne, and the mature figure as Dean of St. Patrick’s. The class will also look at the some of the works that were produced by the Scriberians, the literary club that included such people as Alexander Pope and John Gay, and that of other Tory satirists such as Delariviere Manley. The ultimate objective of this class is to understand Swift’s work, as well as that of some of his peers, within an historical and cultural context.

Method of Evaluation:

Students will be evaluated on the basis of class participation (10%), a mid-term test (20%), a ten-minute presentation (10%), a 2000-3000 word research essay or creative project (30%), and Final Exam (30%). The class will use various electronic resources, including e-texts from the internet and the Blackboard Learning System (BLS). All written work will have to be submitted to Turnitin.com. Students with permanent or temporary disabilities who would like to discuss classroom or exam accommodation are asked to see the instructor as soon as possible.

Texts:

The Writings of Jonathan Swift. Norton Critical Edition.

Online Texts and the Eighteenth-Century Collections Online (ECCO) will also be used.

Tentative Schedule (check BLS “Calendar” for updates):

Jan.     3          Introduction

                        Swift - Early Poems 

            8          Swift, Battle of the Books

            10        Swift, A Tale of A Tub

            15        Swift, A Tale of A Tub

            17        Swift, A Tale of A Tub

            22        Manley, Secret Memoirs, selection

            24        Swift Videos

            29        Haywood, Memoirs of a Certain Island, selection

            31        In-Class Essay

Feb.     5          Pope, The Rape of the Lock

            7          Pope, The Rape of the Lock

            12        Swift - “Isaac Bickerstaff”

14Swift - Poetry

            19-21  BREAK

            26        Gay, The Beggar’s Opera

                        Essay/Project Proposal Due

            28        Gay, The Beggar’s Opera

Mar.    5          Gay, The Beggar’s Opera

            7          Pope, Martinus Scriblerus: Peri Bathos, Or the Art of Sinking in Poetry

            12        Pope, Dunciad IV

            14        Swift, Gulliver’s Travels I & II

            19        Swift, Gulliver’s Travels III

            21        Swift, Gulliver’s Travels IV

                        Essay/Project Due 

            26        Swift, “A Modest Proposal”

            28        Swift - Later Poetry 

Apr.    2          Pilkington - Memoirs, selection

            4          Review

            21        9;00 am - noon: Final Exam All students must be available to write the Final Exam.

Objectives:

To study the life and work of Jonathan Swift in some detail; to become more knowledgeable about European history and culture (1660-1745); to improve skill sets in literary research and communication (written and oral); and to have a BLAST appreciating the finest satirist in English Literature!