The Eighteenth Century

English 326, Spring 2004

Honors College Section

Jack Lynch

Course Description

Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 10:30-11:30, and by appointment (appointments are best).

Home: (609) 882-4642 (before 10:00 p.m.!).

E-mail: jlynch @ andromeda.rutgers.edu (the best way to reach me).

Listserv: 18th-honors @ andromeda.rutgers.edu (for the whole class).

Course Requirements

• Written Assignments: There will be two papers, the first of around 1,500 words (six pages), the second of 2,000 (eight pages). There are also four short "OED Exercises," in which you'll provide brief reports of your discoveries in the Oxford English Dictionary (we'll discuss these in class).
• Final Exam: A short final examination will include identification of quotations, close reading, and short essays.
• Attendance: Almost any excuse, given in advance (in person, by phone, or by E-mail), will receive my blessing. Absences not excused in advance will be frowned upon, and your final grade will be lowered by half a grade for each unexcused absence. The same policy applies to late papers: I'll grant extensions, but only if you talk to me before the due date.
• Class Participation: Regular and active class participation (including doing the readings) is essential, and counts for a large part of your grade.
• Computing: Some essential information will be available only electronically. All students therefore must have an E-mail account by the end of the first week of classes, and must be able to use the World Wide Web. Participation in the mailing list (see "listserv" above) will count toward the class participation grade. I'll provide any computing help you need.
• Plagiarism: It should go without saying, but all work in this class must be your own. Handing in someone else's work as your own will result in an F for the course with no second chance, and may result in disciplinary action. I encourage you to use outside sources, but you have to cite anything you didn't write yourself. If you have even an inkling of a doubt about what's legitimate or how to cite something, see me before handing in the paper.
• Readings: Six books are available from New Jersey Books (not the Rutgers Bookstore). You might also try other sources to save money; I've provided links to Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, which may have discounts.
  1. James Boswell, Boswell's London Journal (Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble);
  2. Frances Burney, Evelina (Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble);
  3. William Godwin, Caleb Williams (Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble);
  4. Samuel Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands (Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble);
  5. Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey (Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble);
  6. Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels (Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble).
  Those who weren't in the Honors College section of English 325 last semester will also have to get Robert DeMaria, Jr., British Literature, 1640-1789, also available at New Jersey Books (or Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble). Some additional readings will be available on-line.

Schedule of Class Meetings

Tues., 20 Jan.

Introduction (class business, &c.).

Thurs., 22 Jan.

Samuel Johnson, from the Preface to A Dictionary of the English Language (BL 654-60).

Tues., 27 Jan.

Joseph Addison & Richard Steele, Spectators 11, 267, and 279 (BL 501-8); Samuel Johnson, Rambler 2 (BL 651-54).

Thurs., 27 Jan.

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, letters (BL 587-94).

Tues., 3 Feb.

Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, part 1. OED EXERCISE DUE: Three woreds from Johnson, Addison, Steele, or Montagu.

Thurs., 5 Feb.

Swift, Gulliver's Travels, part 4.

Tues., 10 Feb.

William Cowper, "The Negro's Complaint" (BL 827-28); Hannah More, selection from The Slave Trade (BL 882-85); abolitionist selections from Boswell's Life of Johnson (on-line).

Thurs., 12 Feb.

John Wesley, "Advice to a People Called Methodist," "The Character of a Methodist" (on-line); Isaac Watts, "Against Quarrelling and Fighting" and "The Sluggard" (BL 509-10); William Cowper, "The Castaway" (BL 830-31); selections from Christopher Smart, Jubilate Agno (BL 785-88).

Tues., 17 Feb.

James Boswell, selections from The Life of Johnson (BL 851-62); Hester Thrale, selections from Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson (BL 863-65).

Thurs., 19 Feb.

Boswell, Boswell's London Journal, pp. 39-140.

Tues., 24 Feb.

Boswell, Boswell's London Journal, pp. 140-235.

Thurs., 26 Feb.

Boswell, Boswell's London Journal, pp. 235-333. OED EXERCISE DUE: Three words from Swift, Cowper, More, Boswell, Wesley, or Watts.

Tues., 2 March

Eliza Haywood, Fantomina (BL 602-16).

Thurs., 4 March

James Macpherson, selection from Fingal (BL 832-33); Thomas Chatterton, "An Excelente Balade of Charitie" (BL 888-91); William Henry Ireland, An Authentic Account (on-line). FIRST PAPER DUE (around six pages).

Tues., 9 March

Henry Mackenzie, selection from The Man of Feeling (on-line); Hannah More, selection from Sensibility (BL 881-82); Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey, pp. 3-63 (vol. 1).

Thurs., 11 March

Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey, pp. 64-125 (vol. 2). OED EXERCISE DUE: Three words from Haywood, Macpherson, Ireland, Mackenzie, or Sterne.

Tues., 16 March

NO CLASS: Spring break.

Thurs., 18 March

NO CLASS: Spring break.

Tues., 23 March

Anna Letitia Barbauld, "The Mouse's Petition," "Verses Written in an Alcove," "Washing-Day" (BL 867-70); Charlotte Smith, "To Hope," "To Friendship," "The Laplander," "Written Near a Port on a Dark Evening" (BL 886-87); Ann Yearsley, "On Mrs. Montagu," "To Indifference," "To Those Who Accuse the Author of Ingratitude" (BL 906-10).

Thurs., 25 March

NO CLASS: I'll be away at a conference.

Tues., 30 March

Oliver Goldsmith, "The Revolution in Low Life" and "The Deserted Village" (BL 814-24); George Crabbe, selection from The Village (BL 902-5); William Godwin, Caleb Williams, pp. 1-109 (vol. 1).

Thurs., 1 April

Godwin, Caleb Williams, pp. 111-213 (vol. 2).

Tues., 6 April

Godwin, Caleb Williams, pp. 215-337 (vol. 3) and Appendix I (pp. 339-46).

Thurs., 8 April

Samuel Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, pp. 35-74.

Tues., 13 April

Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, pp. 74-119.

Thurs., 15 April

Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, pp. 119-52. OED EXERCISE DUE: Three words from Barbauld, Smith, Yearsley, Goldsmith, Crabbe, Godwin, or Johnson.

Tues., 20 April

Stephen Duck, selection from "The Thresher's Labour" (BL 634-35); Mary Collier, "The Woman's Labour" (BL 726-31); Jane Collier, selection from An Essay on the Art of Ingeniously Tormenting (BL 732-39).

Thurs., 22 April

Frances Burney, Evelina, pp. 1-132 (vol. 1).

Tues., 27 April

Burney, Evelina, pp. 135-269 (vol. 2).

Thurs., 29 April

Burney, Evelina, pp. 273-406 (vol. 3). SECOND PAPER DUE (around eight pages).