Required Materials
The Longman Anthology of British Literature, Volume 2A: The Romantics and Their Contemporaries (Longman)
The Italian, Ann Radcliffe (Penguin Classics)
The Tale of Old Mortality, Walter Scott (Penguin Classics)

Course Description
 In this course we will examine Romantic literature in the context of the profound political upheavals in revolutionary France and in Great Britain at the end of the eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth. Many prominent Romantics, including William Wordsworth, were initially ardent supporters of the radical ideals of the French Revolution. Many English political radicals developed and responded to ideas and attitudes we now describe as "Romantic." In this course we will be examining how the ideas and cultural forms of Romanticism impinged on the rhetoric and politics of revolution and vice-versa. How did Romantic writers speak on the nature of radical change in their society? What role should the artist adopt to effect change in society? Why did writers like Wordsworth abandon their initial support of the French Revolution? Is there a conservative Romanticism? How did the literature of the times both shape and reflect the revolutionary spirit of the age? To help give a fuller sense of that spirit and some historical context, I will provide examples of illustrations, political pamphlets, artwork, and some historical background on the French Revolution along the way.

Course Requirements
Literary Essay paper 20%

Response papers 35%
Literary Response One
Literary Response Two
Literary Response Three
Literary Response Four

Presentation 10%
Quizzes 5%
Final 20%
Participation 10%

Literary Essay
You will have the opportunity to write a literary analysis (5-7 pages) on the literature we will cover.

Response Papers
There are also four response papers, one due about every third week. Response papers are linked to specific reading assignments and are posted on the course website (see above). You are to respond to any one day’s questions from each assignment. Response questions must be typed, double-spaced and turned in on the day that you have selected. For example, answers to questions from October 9th's reading must be turned in on that day. Late papers will be subject to a reduction in grade. After-due date extensions, except in the case of emergencies, will be difficult to obtain.

Avoid plagiarism (stealing the exact words or ideas of another) like the plague. In this class acts of plagiarism incur a zero and could also result in course failure or expulsion from the university.

Presentation
At some point early in the semester I will divide the class into four or five groups.  Each group will then be given the task of putting together an oral presentation. There are several throughout the semester.  Each presentation will be devoted on a specific topic.  (See the Calendar for specific topics)  Each presentation should be at least 15 minutes (and last no more than 20 minutes) and must include at least one handout to be given to the class as a whole.  In addition you must provide me with a bibliography of your research materials in MLA format. Beyond the handout and the bibliography, the materials and format of the presentations are only limited by the group's imagination and may include use of a variety of media.

Exams
In addition to a cumulative final exam, there will be three short surprise quizzes given throughout the semester.  These are intended merely to give friendly encouragement to keep up with the assigned reading in class.

Participation
Regular attendance of classes is absolutely expected for this course. Three or more unexcused absences will lower your participation grade significantly.

Calendar
Week 1
September 2: Introduction

September 4: Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, 103-112

THE CLASH OF IDEAS

Week 2
September 9: Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France Marie Antoinette, the female body, and revolutionary politics

 Week 3
September 16: Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Men, 112-120

Student Response: Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Men

September 18: September 25: William Wordsworth, "A Letter to the Bishop of Landaff" (handout); The Prelude, Books First, 453-464, (line 490); Ninth, Tenth, 489-504

Student Response:  Wordsworth's Experience of the French Revolution in The Prelude

Week 4
September 23: Oral Presentation:  The French Revolution and British Reaction William Wordsworth, "Tintern Abbey," 404-408

September 25: Landscape art and the Picturesque, 30-46

Week 5
September 30: Landscape art and the Picturesque

THE IMAGE OF THE OPPRESSED

October 2: "The Old Cumberland Beggar" 428-432
Student Response: "The Old Cumberland Beggar"

Week 6

October 7:William Blake, from Songs of Innocence, 156-166 and Songs of Experience 169-183

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October 9: Oral Presentation: Condition of the Poor and Working-Class

Hannah More, Village Politics, 137-145

Week 7
October 14: Robert  Burns, "To A Louse" 373, John Barleycorn, A Ballad" (handout), "Scots Wha Hae Wi' Wallace Bled" 377,   "The Dumfries Volunteers" (handout) "Is There for Honest Poverty" 377, Why should na poor folk mowe" (handout), "The Fornicator.  A New Song" 381

WOMEN, WRITING, AND REVOLUTION

October 16:  Oral Presentation: The Status of Women in Britain

Mary Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 279-303

Week 8
October 21: Vindication of the Rights of Woman; Hannah More,  from Strictures on the Modern System of Female Education, 339-344
Student Response: Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Women

October 23: Mary Prince, The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave, 219-224
Student Response: The History of Mary Prince and Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Week 10
November 4: Ann Radcliffe, The Italian

November 6: Ann Radcliffe, The Italian (read to Volume III)

Week 11
November 11: Ann Radcliffe, The Italian (read to the end)
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November 13: Walter Scott, The Tale of Old Mortality (read to Volume II, Chapter 1 [in some editions Chapter 14], pg. 119)

Week 12
November 18:Walter Scott, The Tale of Old Mortality (read to Volume III, Chapter 1 [in some editions Chapter 31], pg. 249)

November 20: Research Methods and Materials

November 27: Happy Holiday

December 4: Oral Presentation:  Revolution at Home?
"Mont Blanc" 817-821

 Percy Shelly on Love and Marriage

Week 15
December 9: "To Wordsworth" 816-817; "Feelings of a Republican on the Fall of Bonaparte" (handout); "Similes for Two Political Characters" (handout) "Sonnet: England in 1819" 824, "Song to the Men of England" (handout)

December 11: TBA Literary Essay Due.

Student Response: Shelley's Political Poems

Final Exam Week
Final exam:
12:30-2:30, Thursday, December 18

Some Useful Links
A Bibliography on Romanticism and Revolution

The Library's Guide to MLA Citation

Library Databases:
The Library's Research Guide for English 322 "Romantics and Revolution"

Historical Backgrounds:
Spartacus Educational

Literature:
Romantics Unbound Page
Voice of the Shuttle's Romanticism Page
The Romantic Chronology
San Antonio College's Romantic Movement Page

The Gothic:
The Gothic Literature Page
The Gothic: Materials for Study

The French Revolution:
The French Revolution Homepage
Historical Texts:  The French Revolution
Timeline of the French Revolution

Timelines:
A Romantic Chronology

Authors:
William Blake
   The Blake Archive
Ann Radcliffe

Texts:
Arthur Young's Travels in France

Illustration:  Liberty Leading the People, Eugene Delacroix, 1830