ENGL*1080 Literatures in English I: Reading the

Past
Winter 2019
Section(s): C01

School of English and Theatre Studies

Credit Weight: 0.50
Version 1.00 - January 03, 2019

1 Course Details
1.1 Calendar Description
This course is focused on the disciplinary skill of close reading and is intended for students
planning to specialize in the study of English Literature. Through a series of case studies, the
course introduces students to a range of historical and national writings in prose, poetry, and
drama, and to some of the key terms and concepts in contemporary literary studies. Lectures
and discussions address selected works from the Middle Ages onwards, the periods in which
these works were produced, and some of the ways in which these texts have been or could be
interpreted. ENGL*1080 and its companion course, ENGL*2080, are required for a major or
minor in English. Students are encouraged to enrol in ENGL*2080 in the semester after they
have completed ENGL*1080. Reading - and writing-intensive course.
Restriction(s): This is a priority access course. Enrolment in the fall
semester may be restricted to students registered in the
English major, minor, area of concentration, Creative Writing
minor, or in semesters one or two of the BA or BAS program.

1.2 Course Description

The course follows the calendar description above with the addition of the Gryphon Reads
book selection: David Chariandy's Brother. We will study the following texts:

Alterity:

• Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, (1726, 1735)

• H. G. Wells, The Time Machine, (1895)

Idealism:
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• Sir Thomas Malory, "Merlin," "Lancelot and Elaine," "The Fair Maid of Astolat,"
and "The Death of King Arthur" from Le Morte Darthur (1485)
• Lord Alfred Tennyson, "The Coming of Arthur" and "The Passing of Arthur" from
Idylls of the King, (1859-1885), and "The Lady of Shalott" (1832, 1842)

Narrating histories:

• Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point," (1848)

• Toni Morrison, Beloved, (1987)

At home:

• Thomas King, "Borders," (1993)

• Katherine Mansfield, "At the Bay" and "The Doll's House" (1922)
• David Chariandy, Brother, (2017)

1.3 Timetable
Lecture: MacKinnon 120 (MW 10:30-11:20)

Seminar 1 (ENGL*1080-0101): MacKinnon 309 (F 10:30-11:20)

Seminar 2 (ENGL*1080-0102): MacDonald Institute 017 (F 10:30-11:20)

Seminar 3 (ENGL*1080-0103): Crop Science 403 (F 10:30-11:20)

1.4 Final Exam

April 15, 8:30-10:30 pm, location tba

Exam time and location is subject to change. Please see WebAdvisor for the latest
information.

2 Instructional Support
2.1 Instructional Support Team
Instructor: Michelle Elleray
Email: melleray@uoguelph.ca
Telephone: please use email
Office: MCKN 417

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Office Hours: Wednesdays 11:30-12:20 or by appointment

3 Learning Resources
Notes on required textbooks:

• Please buy the assigned edition of King Arthur and His Knights, not another
version of the King Arthur tales—there are many variants
• I have ordered cheap but scholarly editions of The Time Machine and Gulliver’s
Travels—you are welcome to use other editions though this will mean your page
numbers will be different from my slides in lectures. Make sure that your copy is
unabridged if you have a different edition.
• Hard copies of required textbooks are available through the University
Bookstore and Co-op Bookstore. If you prefer ebooks as a way of minimizing
your impact on the environment you will need to purchase these online
• The rest of the texts we will be reading are available through Literature Online
(a database accessed through the library website), and/or as documents on
Courselink—this is my attempt to keep your course costs down. You are
responsible for bringing a hard or electronic copy of texts to classes.

3.1 Required Resource(s)

David Chariandy, Brother, McClelland & Stewart (Textbook)
Sir Thomas Malory, King Arthur and His Knights: Selected Tales, edited by Eugene Vinaver,
Oxford University Press (Textbook)
Toni Morrison, Beloved, Vintage (Textbook)
Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, Oxford University Press (Textbook)
H. G. Wells, The Time Machine, Oxford University Press (Textbook)

4 Learning Outcomes
4.1 Course Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
1. define and apply 30-35 literary and cultural terms relevant to literary analysis
2. understand how to perform an effective close reading of a literary text
3. recognize the embeddedness of literary texts and reading practices in cultural and
historical formations
4. write an effective essay introduction with thesis

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5. organize your ideas and use close reading to present an argument for a specific reading
of a literary text
6. deploy the basic mechanics of formal prose (grammar, punctuation etc.) to present your
ideas clearly in writing
7. recognize what constitutes plagiarism at the University of Guelph

5 Teaching and Learning Activities

Organized below week by week are the readings you need to do and the assessment you
need to complete. There is no assigned reading for seminars--you will either read material in
the seminar itself or work from material you have read for lectures. 

5.1 Lecture
Week 1

Topic(s): ALTERITY

Monday lecture: H. G. Wells, The Time Machine, first

half of text

Wednesday lecture: Wells, The Time Machine,

second half of text

Friday seminar: Wells, The Time Machine

Assessment: online exercise 1

Reference(s): • Wells, H. G. The Time Machine. 1895. Oxford

University Press, 2017.

Week 2

Topic(s): Monday lecture: Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels,

Part 1

Wednesday lecture: Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Part 2

Friday seminar: Swift, Gulliver's Travels

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Assessment: close reading due, Friday January 18, 9

am

Reference(s): Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. 1726, 1735. Oxford

University Press, 2008.

Week 3

Topic(s): Monday lecture: Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Part 4

IDEALISM

Wednesday lecture: Sir Thomas Malory "Merlin"

Friday seminar: Malory

Assessment: online exercise 2

Reference(s): • Malory, Thomas Sir. King Arthur and His Knights:

Selected Tales, edited by Eugene Vinaver,
Oxford University Press, 1975.

Week 4

Topic(s): Monday lecture: Malory, "Lancelot and Elaine" and

"The Fair Maid of Astolat"

Wednesday lecture: Malory, "The Death of King

Arthur"

Friday seminar: Tennyson

Assessment: online exercise 3

Week 5

Topic(s): Monday lecture: Tennyson, "The Coming of Arthur"

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Wednesday lecture: Tennyson, "The Passing of

Arthur"

Friday seminar: Tennyson

Assessment: online exercise 4

Reference(s): • Tennyson, Alfred Lord. "The Coming of Arthur"

and "The Passing of Arthur." Idylls of the King.
1859-1885. Literature Online,
Proquest, literature-proquest-
com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca. Accessed xxx.
(Access Literature Online through university
library)

Week 6

Topic(s): Monday lecture: Tennyson, "The Lady of Shalott"

Wednesday lecture: Midterm (held in regular lecture

theatre)

Friday seminar: opening paragraphs (available online;

no physical seminar meeting)

Assessment: Midterm

Reference(s): • Tennyson, Alfred Lord. "The Lady of

Shalott." 1832, 1842. Literature Online,
Proquest, literature-proquest-
com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca. Accessed xxx.
(Access Literature Online through university
library)

Week 7

Topic(s): NARRATING HISTORIES

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Monday lecture: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "The

Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point," stanzas 1-18

Wednesday lecture: Barrett Browning, "Runaway

Slave," stanzas 19-end

Friday seminar: Barrett Browning, "Runaway Slave"

Assessment: essay introduction due, Mar 1, 9 am

Reference(s): • Barrett Browning, Elizabeth. "The Runaway Slave

at Pilgrim's Point." 1848. Literature Online,
Proquest, gateway.proquest.com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca.
Accessed xxx. (Access Literature Online through
university library)

Week 8

Topic(s): Monday lecture: Toni Morrison, Beloved, pp. 3-86

Wednesday lecture: Morrison, Beloved, pp. 87-158

Friday seminar: Morrison, Beloved

Assessment: online exercise 5

Reference(s): • Morrison, Toni. Beloved. 1987. Vintage, 2004.

Week 9

Topic(s): Monday lecture: Morrison, Beloved, pp. 159-241

Wednesday lecture: Morrison, Beloved, pp. 242-end

Friday seminar: essay workshop

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Assessment: online exercise 6

Week 10

Topic(s): AT HOME

Monday lecture: Katherine Mansfield, "The Doll's

House"

Wednesday lecture: Mansfield, "At the Bay"

Friday seminar: Mansfield

Assessment: essay due Friday March 22, 9am

Reference(s): • Mansfield, Katherine. "The Doll's House." The

Collected Stories of Katherine Mansfield, 1922,
Penguin, 1981, pp. 383-391. [online course
reserve]
• ---. “At the Bay.” The Collected Stories of
Katherine Mansfield, 1922, Penguin, 1981, pp.
205-245. [online course reserve]

Week 11

Topic(s): Monday lecture: Thomas King "Borders"

Wednesday lecture: David Chariandy Brother, pp. 1-

61

Friday seminar: Chariandy, Brother

Assessment: online excerise 7

Reference(s): • Chariandy, David. Brother. McClelland Stewart,

2017.

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• King, Thomas. "Borders." One Good Story, That

One: Stories, Harper Perennial, 1993, pp. 131-
145. [online course reserve]

Week 12

Topic(s): Monday lecture: Chariandy, Brother, pp. 62-115

Wednesday lecture: Chariandy, Brother, pp. 115-end

Friday seminar: exam review

Assessment: none

6 Assessments
6.1 Assessment Details
Exercises (best 5 of 7) (15%)
Date: Weeks 1, 3-5, 8-9, 11, done online through Courselink
Learning Outcome(s): 6,7
Primarily short writing or grammar exercises (one exercise is on plagiarism). General
information:

• you will be directed to websites or documents that will enable you to learn the
topic in order to finish the exercise successfully. If you're familiar with the
topic, you may be able to successfully complete the exercise without the
supporting websites and documents
• you will be able to sit the exercise test twice, so if you get a low score you can
do some reading, then resit (the grade book will log your highest result)
• each exercise is available online for a week (from the beginning of Monday to
the end of Sunday)--you can do the exercise whenever it suits you within the
week. If for some reason I'm late uploading an exercise, I'll extend the closing
date so you have the full week
• there are no make-up tests, but since the grade book recognizes the best

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five of your exercise grades out of seven, you will have the opportunity for the
full 15% should you miss an exercise.

Close Reading (15%)

Due: Fri, Jan 18, 9:00 AM, hand in through Dropbox
Learning Outcome(s): 2,3,6
A 350-500 word analysis of a short passage or set of lines, tying the passage or lines under
consideration to the ideas of the text, with your own writing demonstrating the ability to be
clear, concise and elegant. Keep your introduction and conclusion to the bare minimum for
this type of exercise (1-2 sentences). Information on how to do a close reading will be
covered in lectures and seminars, and there are also resources available on Courselink (see
the Writing Resources folder on the Contents page)
Midterm (20%)
Due: Wed, Feb 13, 10:30 AM - , 11:20 AM, MacKinnon 120
Learning Outcome(s): 1,2,3,6
Consists of:

• definition and application of key terms covered in lectures and seminars

• close reading of an assigned passage taken from course reading

The midterm exam is 50 minutes long and takes place in the regular lecture theatre. Ten
minutes before the end of the exam I will ask that no one leaves the room so that those still
remaining have the opportunity to finish the exam in quiet (you may hand in your
completed exam and leave anytime before the last ten minutes).

Essay Introduction (5%)

Due: Fri, Mar 1, 9:00 AM, hand in through Dropbox
Learning Outcome(s): 4,6
The essay introduction is a pre-writing exercise for your essay. It should:

• engage your reader in the issue to be discussed

• inform your reader of your thesis
• inform your reader of the text(s) to be discussed
• demonstrate clear, concise and elegant writing.

You will workshop the elements of an effective essay introduction in the online seminar for
week 6. The essay introduction will reappear (revised as necessary) in your essay. 

Essay (20%)
Due: Fri, Mar 22, 9:00 AM, hand in through Dropbox
Learning Outcome(s): 2,3,4,5,6
The essay questions will be made available on Courselink in the Assessment folder on the

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Contents page

Your essay should:

• provide a clear, engaging introduction (with thesis)

• demonstrate your ability to close read moments of the text
• use close readings to support your argument for a specific reading of the text
• demonstrate clear, concise and elegant writing

Requirements:

• title
• bibliography of works cited (this may only be the literary text you are
analyzing as there is no research requirement for this course)
• MLA formatting (see the Writing Resources folder on the Contents page of
Courselink)
• length of 900-1200 words, not including, title, works cited, headers,
assignment information, etc. Essays that are short of the minimum will be
docked marks.

The seminar on March 15 will help you with thinking through your essay, with additional
information and opportunities for questions in lectures and seminars up until the due date.
See the link to Harvard's "Strategies for essay writing" in the Writing Resources folder for
further help with writing essays on literary texts.

Final Exam (25%)

Due: Mon, Apr 15, 8:30 AM - , 10:30 AM, to be announced (see Webadvisor)
Learning Outcome(s): 1,2,3,4,5,6
Consists of three parts:

1. definition and application of key terms covered in lectures and seminars

2. close reading of an assigned passage that has not been covered in lectures
and seminars
3. essay on an assigned topic addressing texts covered in the second half of the
course (i.e. post-midterm)

The exam will be two hours long and is held in a different building from either the lectures
or seminar groups—keep an eye on WebAdvisor for details of the room assignment. Fifteen
minutes before the end of the exam I will ask that no one leaves the room so that those still
remaining have the opportunity to finish the exam in quiet (you may hand in your
completed exam and leave anytime before the last fifteen minutes).

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6.2 Assignment Details

Written assignments are due via Dropbox by 9 am of the assigned day. The assignments
should be typed (Times Roman 12 point font) and double-spaced, with your name, student ID
number, class and section number (or TA’s name) in the top left corner. You do not need a
title page.

7 Course Statements
7.1 Extensions on Assignments and Late Penalties

• If you need extra time for written assignments* you may have up to 72 hours
from the original due date without requesting an extension (this means
assignments due Friday 9 am may be handed in by Monday 9 am without
penalty).
• If the assignment has not been handed in through Dropbox after the 72 hours
you must make an appointment with the TA to show what you have to date, and
your plan for completing the assignment in a timely manner; the TA will then
assign you an extended due date of no more than two weeks from the original
due date. Any extension beyond two weeks from the original due date must be
arranged through Prof. Elleray.
• Late assignments (with or without an extension) may have limited or no
comments since TAs have their own class assignments and professional
obligations to meet.
• Assignments that are more than 72 hours late, and where there has been no
meeting with the TA or Prof. Elleray to discuss the status of the assignment and
an extension, will receive a 10% penalty.

* written assignments include the close reading, the essay introduction, and the essay. Note
that the TAs have an extremely quick turnaround on grading the essay introduction and
so essay introduction assignments handed in within the 72 hour extension period may be
handed back later than assignments handed in by the due date

7.2 Computers, Phones, Electronic Devices

We need to keep a balance between the usefulness of electronic devices and their potential
for distraction. To this end, feel free to use such devices to support your learning in the
classroom; however, they must be silent, texting is not appropriate in the classroom, nor is
running in and out of the classroom in order to use your phone, and if you are using your
laptop for purposes other than the class you may be asked to leave the room.

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8 University Statements
8.1 Email Communication
As per university regulations, all students are required to check their e-mail account regularly:
e-mail is the official route of communication between the University and its students.

8.2 When You Cannot Meet a Course Requirement

When you find yourself unable to meet an in-course requirement because of illness or
compassionate reasons please advise the course instructor (or designated person, such as a
teaching assistant) in writing, with your name, id#, and e-mail contact. The grounds for
Academic Consideration are detailed in the Undergraduate and Graduate Calendars.

Undergraduate Calendar - Academic Consideration and Appeals

https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c08/c08-ac.shtml

Graduate Calendar - Grounds for Academic Consideration

https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/graduate/current/genreg/index.shtml

8.3 Drop Date

Courses that are one semester long must be dropped by the end of the fortieth class day;
two-semester courses must be dropped by the last day of the add period in the second
semester. The regulations and procedures for course registration are available in the
Undergraduate and Graduate Calendars.

Undergraduate Calendar - Dropping Courses

https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c08/c08-drop.shtml

Graduate Calendar - Registration Changes

https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/graduate/current/genreg/genreg-reg-
regchg.shtml

8.4 Copies of Out-of-class Assignments

Keep paper and/or other reliable back-up copies of all out-of-class assignments: you may be
asked to resubmit work at any time.

8.5 Accessibility
The University promotes the full participation of students who experience disabilities in their
academic programs. To that end, the provision of academic accommodation is a shared
responsibility between the University and the student.

When accommodations are needed, the student is required to first register with Student
Accessibility Services (SAS). Documentation to substantiate the existence of a disability is
required; however, interim accommodations may be possible while that process is underway.

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Accommodations are available for both permanent and temporary disabilities. It should be
noted that common illnesses such as a cold or the flu do not constitute a disability.

Use of the SAS Exam Centre requires students to book their exams at least 7 days in advance
and not later than the 40th Class Day.

More information can be found on the SAS website

https://www.uoguelph.ca/sas

8.6 Academic Integrity

The University of Guelph is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic
integrity, and it is the responsibility of all members of the University community-faculty, staff,
and students-to be aware of what constitutes academic misconduct and to do as much as
possible to prevent academic offences from occurring. University of Guelph students have
the responsibility of abiding by the University's policy on academic misconduct regardless of
their location of study; faculty, staff, and students have the responsibility of supporting an
environment that encourages academic integrity. Students need to remain aware that
instructors have access to and the right to use electronic and other means of detection.

Please note: Whether or not a student intended to commit academic misconduct is not
relevant for a finding of guilt. Hurried or careless submission of assignments does not excuse
students from responsibility for verifying the academic integrity of their work before
submitting it. Students who are in any doubt as to whether an action on their part could be
construed as an academic offence should consult with a faculty member or faculty advisor.

Undergraduate Calendar - Academic Misconduct

https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c08/c08-
amisconduct.shtml

Graduate Calendar - Academic Misconduct

https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/graduate/current/genreg/index.shtml

8.7 Recording of Materials

Presentations that are made in relation to course work - including lectures - cannot be
recorded or copied without the permission of the presenter, whether the instructor, a student,
or guest lecturer. Material recorded with permission is restricted to use for that course unless
further permission is granted.

8.8 Resources
The Academic Calendars are the source of information about the University of Guelph’s
procedures, policies, and regulations that apply to undergraduate, graduate, and diploma
programs.

Academic Calendars
https://www.uoguelph.ca/academics/calendars

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