ENG 540: Early Modern Literature and Ecology, Spring 2019

Prof. Eric Leonidas

leonidase@ccsu.edu

860 832 2750

Willard-Diloreto 401-009

Mon and Wed, 12:30-2:00

Thurs, 1:00-3:00

And by appointment

Description:  The course is organized around a central question: how did writers in the early modern period conceive of and repesent nature?  That is, how were values projected onto nature, what were those values, and what ideas about social, political, theological, and economic order did they reflect?  These questions, and others we’ll act, together make up a branch of Ecocriticism, a school of literary criticism emerging over the last 40 or so years.

Following some approaches foundational to this theory, we will read Renaissance poetry, drama and prose to determine in what ways representations of nature perform cultural work by legitimizing, reinforcing, questioning, or challenging prevailing ideas of order and their resulting social institutions.  Almost all of our texts will precede the full impact of the “scientific revolution,” but we will discuss how representations of nature lead up to the objectification of the physical world often associated with the New Science.  Alongside our primary texts, we will also read some secondary material that seeks to historicize concepts of nature rather than view the “natural” as an objective realm of phenomena independent of human thought and acts.

The course schedule is here.

Required Texts:

• Norton Anthology of English Literature, 9^th ed., vol. B, ed. Greenblatt et al. (Norton)
• Spenser, Edmund, Edmund Spenser’s Poetry, ed. Maclean and Prescott (Norton)
• Ecocriticism: An Essential Reader, ed. Ken Hiltner (Routledge)

And, we’ll be reading a number of Shakespeare texts. You should have a good collected works of Shakespeare. If not, you can purchase individual editions of the plays or take them out of the library (I recommend Arden, Cambridge or Norton Critical); alternatively, you can use the web, but it’s hard to work with etexts in class and there is usually little good editorial glosses, notes, etc.

Course Requirements:

• Short Paper:                                     20%
• Long Paper (with presentation)         40%
• Short assignments, participation      30%
• “Exam”                                             10%

General Policies:

1.  Attendance: you are expected to be in class on time, and prepared, for each meeting.  This includes bringing whatever texts we are discussing that day.  If you do not come prepared, with your text, you will not be considered present.

Over the course of the semester, I realize, perfect attendance may not be possible.  Depending on how often the course meets, an absence or two will not hurt your grade and does not require an excuse.  However, more than 3 unexcused absences will begin to affect your grade. An excused absence comes in very few forms: a note from a health-care provider, counselor, funeral director, university official, or court officer (this includes athletics).  Please note that nothing having anything to do with your job, your car, your apartment, your roommate, your pet, your printer, traffic, etc. will count as an excused absence.  These things do make demands on our time, of course, but they are manageable, to a degree, and I expect you to manage them over the course of the semester, especially on days when you have something due.

Please note, too, that an excused absence—whether for sickness, athletic commitments, family demands, other university activities—is still an absence.  You are expected to make up any work due or assigned.  And please don’t email me to ask what you missed.  I’ll be happy to discuss it with you beforehand, but afterward I expect you to get notes and other information from your fellow students or to schedule an appointment with me.  At the semester’s end I will review your attendance and adjust your final grade accordingly (see the syllabus for specifics).

2.  Due dates:  Please do not ask me for an extension the day something is due.  I recognize that at times an extension can be useful.  If you are working on a project and you think you might benefit from more time, let me know what you’re working on, where you are in the project, what (specifically) more time will help you to do, and I will consider it—as long as you ask me at least a day in advance. 

3.  Email: I check my email frequently and it is the best way to reach me.  I will accept emailed assignments only as formatted attachments.  Papers should be in Microsoft Word (files ending in extension .doc or .docx).  If you use something else, resave it with a .doc or .rtf extension.  If you email me an assignment I should have it before class on the due-date.  Please ask me to respond to your email to make sure I received it and that I can open the attachment.  If I do not respond, assume I have not received your email and bring me a hardcopy.  It’s your responsibility to make sure I receive what you send.  “I emailed it to you; I don’t know what happened” is not an acceptable excuse.

4.  Course requirements:  You are required to complete all of the course requirements.  Failure to complete any of them, no matter what percentage of your grade is involved, will result in an “F.”

5.  Plagiarism: I stick to the university policy.  Any language or ideas lifted from a secondary source and not properly acknowledged is plagiarism.  You will receive an “F” for the course and I will file an “Academic Misconduct Report.”  The University Judicial Officer will decide the next steps.

6.  Cell Phones:  They are a fact of modern life, and I accept that, but I ask you to take exceptional care with yours.  When you enter the classroom, silence yours and put it away.  Do NOT leave your phone on your desk or within eyeshot.  You’ll notice that sometimes I use the clock on mine to manage time; when you’re responsible for managing time you can use yours.  Please do not use your cellphones—even for texts—during the whole of class, even if there’s some “down” time after a quiz or other in-class assignment.  I understand that “multi-tasking” has become the norm, but I find it distracting (and yes, I can see you staring into your lap even when you think you’re being stealthy).

7.  In-class conduct: Courtesy is the key.  Please enter the room and settle yourself by the time the class begins (as opposed to fighting noisily with your girlfriend on your cellphone in the hallway), taking out the necessary books and materials and placing them on your desk (do not wait for me to mention the text before you take it out).  During discussion and presentations, be as courteous to your fellow students as you are to me (if not more).  Respectful disagreement is fine, even encouraged, but please express your ideas considerately.

8. It is critical to me that everyone in the course have an equal opportunity to excel.  Please contact me privately to discuss your specific requirements if you believe you need course accommodations based on the impact of a disability or medical condition, or if you have emergency medical information to share. I will need a copy of the accommodation letter from Student Disability Services to arrange your class accommodations. Contact Student Disability Services, Willard-DiLoreto Hall, Room W 201, if you are not already registered with them. Just about everything you will need can be found on their website, http://www.ccsu.edu/sds/ 

Student Disability Services maintains the confidential documentation of your disability and assists you in coordinating reasonable accommodations with your faculty.