Course Description: Responding to increasing levels of individual and social freedom in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Europe, the vanguard culture of Modernity, enters a period of revolutions—intellectual, political, industrial/economic, and artistic. Romanticism is the name we give to the artistic revolution of this era. British Romanticism is notable for its poetry, and we will read a number of canonical works by Romantic poets – Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats. Continental Romanticism is predominately Germanic: philosophical and musical as well as literary; in this class we will turn our attention to the music of Beethoven, and to the philosophy of Hegel. For our finale, we will read Mary Shelley’s novelistic exploration/critique of Romanticism, Frankenstein.
Learning Outcomes: Students will have a sense of the historical context and conceptual core of artistic Romanticism, especially of the High Romantic aesthetic founded on the notion of the quasi-transcendental creative power of the individual Imagination.
Required Textbooks and Other Resources:
The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic Period Volume: D (any edition should work – I will be using Ninth Edition: ISBN 978-0-393-91252-4 )
Frankenstein preferably the 1818 edition – buy it, or find it online (actually I have uploaded it to files)
Grades: In order to keep you attentive to the reading and ready for class, I will give a series of brief Assignments for you to do before class. In general, you should have read anything on Canvas (c) or in the textbook (T) before the class that lists that reading. The Assignments that have bold numbers (1-10) require you to upload a response of some kind. Each assignment will account for 50 points of your 1000 point grade. The rest of your grade will involve a midterm exam and a final exam, both of which will mix identification of passages from the reading with short essay questions. You will find that these exams will be easier if you attend class regularly. I will accept late work, but will take points off for lateness. Note: if the assignment has essentially been answered in class before you get around to turning it in, I will take off at least 40% of the points.
Students are expected to attend class whenever possible. You will find the exams much easier if you do.
Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. All work submitted must be original and properly cited. Plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will result in immediate consequences as outlined in the university's academic integrity policy.
This is a Core IMPACTS course that is part of the Humanities area. Core IMPACTS refers to the core curriculum, which provides students with essential knowledge in foundational academic areas. This course will help master course content, and support students’ broad academic and career goals. This course should direct students toward a broad Orienting Question:•How do I interpret the human experience through creative, linguistic, and philosophical works? Completion of this course should enable students to meet the following Learning Outcome:•Students will effectively analyze and interpret the meaning, cultural significance, and ethical implications of literary/philosophical texts or of works in the visual/performing arts. Course content, activities and exercises in this course should help students develop the following Career-Ready Competencies:•Ethical Reasoning •Information Literacy •Intercultural Competence