ENGL 3382.001/WS 3382.001 Fall 2007 TTh 2:00 – 3:20 PM English/Philosophy Room 351 http://www.faculty.english.ttu.edu/snead

Prof. Jennifer Snead Office: English/Philosophy 204 Office hours: TTh 3:30 – 5:00 PM Tel. 742.2500 ext. 256 Email. jennifer.snead@ttu.edu

Women Writers: The Bluestocking Circle Course Description: This seminar explores the writings, ideas, and impact of the Bluestocking Circle of the mid- to late eighteenth century. A group of writers and intellectuals who originally gathered for conversation and the exchange of ideas in the salons of educated women like Frances Boscawen, Elizabeth Montagu, and Elizabeth Vesey, the Bluestockings believed in intellectual rather than social merit, polite sociability, and equality between the sexes. The term "bluestocking" itself originally referred to the blue worsted stockings worn by seventeenth and eighteenth-century men on informal occasions, and it became both symbol and metaphor for the group's informality and sense of equality among its members. Throughout the second half of the eighteenth century, the Bluestockings wrote and published poems, novels, plays, essays, translations, and reams of letters – especially among and by the prominent women in the group. Later in the century, however, the term "bluestocking" gradually took on the meaning it retains today: a somewhat derogatory epithet for an intellectual, socially privileged, and conservative woman. In this class we'll read the writings of many of the best-known women writers of the Bluestocking circle, exploring their relationships with each other and with the public, print culture they participated in. We'll pay close attention not only to the content of these texts, but also to the material forms those texts took when originally published, via access to the ECCO database. We'll also read a few examples from the Bluestocking "backlash" of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and the work of two woman writers, Mary Hays and Mary Wollstonecraft, who took the ideas of their Bluestocking forebears in new and radical directions. What did it mean to be a public female intellectual – writing and publishing – during the second half of the eighteenth century? And in what relationship do these early women writers stand to the later development of feminism and feminist thought? Required readings: (All books available at the Book Store in the Student Union, the Varsity Bookstore, or Amazon.com (sometimes faster than the former) or half.com (often cheaper than all the rest) Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Selected Poetry and Prose, ed. McCarthy and Kraft (Broadview, 2002) Sarah Fielding, The History of Ophelia, ed. Sabor (Broadview, 2004) Sarah Scott, A Description of Millennium Hall, ed. Kelly (Broadview, 1995) Mary Hays, The Victim of Prejudice, ed. Ty (Broadview, 2^nd edition) Mary Wollstonecraft, The Vindications of the Rights of Man and of Woman, eds. Macdonald and Scherf (Broadview, 1997) A coursepack, available at CopyTech (contents of the coursepack are detailed at the end of this syllabus) The Eighteenth-Century Collections Online (ECCO) database (via the TTU library: http://galenet.galegroup.com.lib-e1.lib.ttu.edu/servlet/) Expected learning outcomes By the end of the course, students should be familiar with the major women writers of the Bluestocking circle of the eighteenth century, and with the social, religious, and gender issues that surrounded their writing and publishing. They should have a basic understanding of the historical, cultural, intellectual, and ideological contexts that gave rise to, fostered, or resisted these writers, with a more specific understanding of the ways that the emerging technology of print and the growing audience of readers influenced their work. They should also be conversant with the major issues of current scholarly discourse concerning the period, including but not limited to questions of gender, public vs. private spheres, secularization, the growth of print culture, sentiment and sensibility, and the rise of the novel. In addition, students completing this course should be able to identify and use library resources for research connected with the period (including Special Collections, the databases ECCO, ABELL, LION, etc.). Methods of Assessment of Learning Outcomes The above outcomes will be assessed via student performance in the following areas: class discussion and participation; weekly response papers; group presentations; two short papers. Schedule of readings and assignments: Week 1: 28 – 30 August 28 August: Introductions. Poems by Philips, Behn, Finch (handout) 30 August: Porter, "Contrasts" (coursepack) Week 2: 4 - 6 September 1^st response paper due. Montagu, all selections in coursepack Week 3: 11 - 13 September 2^nd response paper due. Carter, all selections in coursepack Week 4: 18 – 20 September 3^rd response paper due. Chapone, all selections in coursepack Week 5: 25 – 27 September 4^th response paper due. Scott, Millennium Hall Week 6: 2 – 4 October 1^st short paper due on 4 October. Barbauld, Selected poetry and prose Week 7: 9 – 11 October 5^th response paper due. Seward, poems (coursepack) ECCO tutorial Week 8: 16 – 18 October 6^th response paper due. Seward, poems (coursepack) Visit to Special Collections library, 18 October Week 9: 23 – 25 October 7^th response paper due. Fielding, The History of Ophelia Week 10: 30 October – 1 November 8^th response paper due. More, all selections (coursepack) Week 11: 6 – 8 November 9^th response paper – Special Collections version - due Hays, The Victim of Prejudice Week 12: 13 – 15 November 10^th response paper due. Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman Week 13: 20 November NO CLASS 20 - 22 November: THANKSGIVING BREAK Week 14: 27 – 29 November 11^th response papers due Byron, Polwhele (coursepack) Burney, The Witlings (coursepack) Week 15: 4 – 6 December Class presentations 2nd longer paper due: 10 December Grading Criteria Class participation: Regular and engaged class participation is an important part of this course and will be graded accordingly. For details and evaluation criteria, see my website: http://www.faculty.english.ttu.edu/snead. Response papers: Each week (with the exception of the first week, the week of the midterm exam, and the week of your presentations) you will be required to write a brief (2-3 double-spaced pages, no more!) response paper to the assigned readings. These responses must be turned in to me at the beginning of class on the first meeting of the week that they are due, with no exceptions. I will not accept response papers submitted by email; if you cannot hand in a hard copy yourself, arrange to have a classmate or friend submit it for you, either in class or the day the paper is due, to the English Department office. The contents of your response papers are entirely up to you; all I require is that each one demonstrate a strong, detailed engagement with the reading assignment for the upcoming week by selecting one or two passages from that text and making an argument or taking a position on those passages, using close reading and analysis to support the observations or argument that it makes. You are required to hand in a total of eight response papers for the semester – this means that you can skip three at your own discretion. Just let me know it's your chosen free week on the day that paper is due. You may NOT skip the Special Collections response paper (due on 30 October); that one is mandatory. You might also consider writing and handing in all eight response papers, and then choosing two for me to not count towards your total response paper grade. For detailed information about response papers, how to write them, and how they are graded, see my website. Your longer papers (5-7 pages long) will each receive a letter grade, based on the following criteria: they must demonstrate a clear thesis about one (or a combination of) the course readings, within the first paragraph of the paper. Each paper must support that thesis using evidence, in the form of close reading of passages from the text or texts in question. Your final papers must also conclude with a restatement of its argument, and some indication of why that argument, overall, might be important to the context of larger issues in the field of eighteenth-century studies. Proper grammar, spelling, and citation of texts go without saying. You may, but are not required to, use secondary sources for each paper. If you do, those sources must be properly identified, quoted, and cited. Feel free to use one or two of your weekly response papers as a germ for these longer papers, or draw upon your experience in Special Collections, or your class group presentation. I will be happy – nay, delighted! – to read and comment upon rough drafts up to one week before the paper is due. Class presentation: during the last week of class you will be divided into smaller groups of four or five; each group will then be responsible for a class presentation on one of the Bluestocking writers whose works we did not read this semester: Mary Delany, Catharine Macaulay, Clara Reeve, Catherine Talbot, Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi, or Elizabeth Vesey. Your group will be responsible for a 15 minute presentation on its Bluestocking, which should include the following elements: - a biographical sketch and a bibliography of her work - a close reading of a significant piece of her work (or of several poems) - a comparison of her work with one of the other Bluestockings weπve read together as a class - a consideration of her work in its contemporary material form, as printed/published (youπll need to use the ECCO database for this) So long as it includes these four elements, your presentation may take on whatever form and style your group wishes (power point, musical interlude, interpretive dance?). It should show evidence of each group memberπs equal input and participation. Your presentation will be graded by the other members of the class as well as by me. Final grades will be determined by the following percentages: Class participation: 20% Response papers (8 total): 30% Longer papers (2) 30% Class presentation 20% Course Policies and Student Responsibilities Attendance Attendance in this class is mandatory; our discussions during each class session are as crucial to the course as the assigned readings and writing you and your fellow students will be doing outside of class. I expect your regular, punctual attendance and engaged – even enthusiastic – participation in all class discussions and activities. I consider lateness the equivalent of an absence. Absences accrue from the first day of the semester, regardless of the add/drop period. If for any reason you must miss class, know that if you miss more than five classes during this semester, you will fail the course, regardless of the reasons for your absences. You are responsible for turning in all assigned work on time, regardless of your attendance, and for obtaining notes and/or assignments from your classmates, not me. If you are involved in a university-sponsored activity that will require you to miss class, come and see me well in advance so that we can discuss strategies for helping you to make up class absences. Remember that the free exchange of ideas is predicated on civility in the classroom: treat your fellow students and their ideas with the same courtesy and consideration you expect from them. In your classroom interactions with one another, I expect you will honor the English Departmentπs guidelines for student ethics in English, observing clarity, honesty, tolerance, respect, objectivity, fairness, engagement, and responsibility. You can access a more detailed description of ≥Ethics in English: A Guide for Students,≤ via the department website: www.english.ttu.edu/linked_files/Ethics_in_English_for _Students.pdf If you engage in inappropriate or abusive behavior (including intolerance based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical or any other disability), youπll be removed from the course. Further administrative action may also be pursued, so be sure you know and understand the universityπs policies on acceptable conduct in the classroom (see your Student Handbook for that information). I expect that all of us will turn off all cell phones and beepers before class starts (this includes me). Remember, that the free exchange of ideas is predicated on civility in the classroom: treat your fellow students and their ideas with the same courtesy and consideration you expect from them. I expect that all of us will turn off all cell phones and beepers before class starts (this includes me). If you engage in inappropriate or abusive behavior (including intolerance based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical or any other disability), youπll be removed from the course. Further administrative action may also be pursued, so be sure you know and understand the universityπs policies on acceptable conduct in the classroom (see your Student Handbook for that information). Assignments I do not give extensions for any assignments, including papers. For every day a graded assignment is late, I will take off one-half a letter grade (i.e. a B paper will become a B-, an A paper an A-, and so on). I do not accept late response papers – youπll simply receive a zero on that weekπs response if you do not hand it in on time. All deadlines are listed in the course syllabus; budget your time wisely, and plan ahead! If you have difficulty getting your work finished on time, the university has many resources for helping students with time management, study skills, etc. Feel free to check in with me about how you can access those resources. One in particular that Iπll mention here is the University Writing Center (UWC), a one-on-one, free tutoring center right here in this very building (Room 175) where you can get another set of eyes to look over your writing before you turn it in to me. I highly recommend you take advantage of this resource, either online at english.ttu.edu/uwc01/, or by making a phone appointment (742-2476), or by simply walking in. I expect that you'll take pride in your work, and that its appearance will reflect that pride. Spell-check and grammar-check your papers, and become familiar with a dictionary. Please type all of your written assignments in a simple12-point font (I prefer Times New Roman), double-space them, and use one-inch margins on the sides. Number your pages and staple them all together; be sure your name is on the first page, along with the course number and title. A running header or footer with your last name is also a good idea. You must properly cite any sources used in your papers using MLA style (you can access the MLA Handbook For Writers of Research Papers online or buy a hard copy at the bookstore. If you're planning on writing papers throughout your college career, I recommend you own this!). Failure to document or acknowledge your sources is not only sloppy scholarship, itπs also a serious academic infraction. A word on plagiarism and cheating: both are utterly unacceptable, and university disciplinary procedures will be strictly enforced should either arise. If you engage in academic dishonesty, wittingly or unwittingly, it could lead to expulsion from Texas Tech University, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the definitions of and policies surrounding plagiarism and cheating in your Student Handbook. If you ever have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, please discuss them with me during my office hours before you hand in the work in question. If you have a documented disability that might affect your coursework in any way, please come to see me early in the semester so we can discuss any accommodations you might need. To quote the department of Student Disability Services, "students should present appropriate verification from Student Disability Services during the instructorπs office hours. Please note instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodations to a student until appropriate verification from Student Disability Services has been provided. For additional information, you may contact the Student Disability Services office at 335 West Hall or 806-742-2405."