LIT 499 Fall 2008
Seminar in Research and Theory: Paradise Lost
MR
2:00-3:20; place TBA
Course web address:
http://www.tcnj.edu/~graham/LIT499fall08.html, last updated
Instructor: Dr. Jean E. Graham
Office: Bliss Hall 225
Office Phone: (609) 771-3233
Email address: graham (at) tcnj
(dot) edu
Office Hours: TBA and by appointment
In this
seminar, we will read Paradise Lost
and selections from other Miltonic works, along with related literary theory,
reflecting a range of approaches including formalist, feminist,
and postcolonial. We will conclude
the semester by celebrating the 400th anniversary of Milton’s birth.
Learning Goals: [S]tudents will be expected to
demonstrate the same skills and understandings as in their earlier courses in
the major (but on an advanced level and in a more sophisticated and
self-reflective manner). The seminars will challenge students to conduct
advanced research in the humanities by building upon the basic research skills
first introduced in LIT 201; foster the kind of intellectual independence and
sustained, critical thought required for the production of high-quality
literary, linguistic, textual and/or rhetorical scholarship; enable students to
discover, assert and insert their own critical “voice” in the ongoing, and often
interdisciplinary, dialogues, critiques, and debates that frequently
characterize the humanities; encourage students to apply a range of critical
theories – linguistic, literary, rhetorical and/or cultural – to texts and
their contexts in order to elucidate complex issues and concerns in the
discipline and suggest additional avenues of critical inquiry; help students
think theoretically, moving beyond issues of textual analysis into more
abstract modes of thinking; cultivate a sophisticated understanding of issues
of canonicity and disciplinary politics; encourage mastery of essential
concepts and terms of literary, linguistic, rhetorical and/or textual analysis;
and teach students how to prepare and conduct primary research of their own and
communicate their ideas and their findings with precision and clarity. [from
the description of the new English major, as approved by the department 02/04/04]
Required Texts:
Milton, John. The Riverside Milton. Ed. Roy Flannagan. Boston and London: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. ISBN
0395809991. Flannagan
Murfin, Ross, and Supryia M. Ray. Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary
Terms. 2nd ed. Boston and New York: Bedford St. Martin's, 2003. ISBN 0312259107 Bedford
Recommended Text:
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 2003. ISBN 0873529863
Texts on Reserve
Almond, Philip C. Adam
and Eve in Seventeenth-Century Thought.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. BS580.A4 A55 1999
Bray, Alan. Homosexuality
in Renaissance England.
New York: Columbia UP, 1995. HQ76.2.G7 B69 1995
Bryson, Michael. The Tyranny of Heaven: Milton's Rejection of God as
King. Newark, DE; London: U of Delaware P; Associated UP, 2004.
PR3562 .B75 2004
Durham, Charles W., and Kristin A. Pruitt,
eds. Living
Texts: Interpreting Milton.
Selinsgrove: Susquehanna UP, 2000.
PR3588 .L59 2000
Escobedo,
Andrew. Nationalism and Historical Loss in Renaissance England: Foxe, Dee, Spenser, Milton. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2004.
PR428.N37 E83 2004
Gay, David. The Endless Kingdom: Milton’s Scriptural Society.
Newark: U of Delaware P; London: Associated UP, 2002. PR3592.P7 G39 2002
Goldberg, Jonathan, ed. Queering the Renaissance. Durham and London: Duke UP, 1994. HQ76.3.E8 Q44 1994
Herman, Peter C. Destabilizing Milton: Paradise Lost and the Poetics of Incertitude. New York, NY: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2005.
PR 3562 .H45 2005
Kelley, Mark R., and Joseph A.
Wittreich, eds. Altering Eyes: New Perspectives on Samson Agonistes. Newark: U of Delaware P, 2002. PR3566 .A78 2002
Lim, Walter S. H. Arts of
Empire: The Poetics of Colonization from Raleigh to Milton. Newark: U of Delaware P; London: Associated UP, 1998. PR428.I54 L56 1998
Loewenstein, David. Representing
Revolution in Milton and His Contemporaries: Religion, Politics, and Polemics
in Radical Puritanism. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001. PR435 .L64 2001
Martin, Catherine Gimelli, ed. Milton and Gender. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004.
Norbrook, David. Poetry
and Politics in the English Renaissance.
Oxford and New York: Oxford UP, 2002. PR535.H5 N67 2002
Rajan, Balachandra, and Elizabeth
Sauer, eds. Milton and the Imperial
Vision. Pittsburgh: Duquesne UP, 1999. PR3592.I47 M55 1999
Wilson, Emily R. Mocked with Death: Tragic Overliving from
Sophocles to Milton. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2004.
PA3027 .W55 2004
Wittreich, Joseph Anthony. Shifting
Contexts: Reinterpreting Samson Agonistes.
Pittsburgh: Duquesne UP, 2001.
PR3566 .W56 2002
Wood, Derek N. C. “Exiled
from Light”: Divine Law, Morality, and Violence in Milton’s Samson Agonistes. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2001. PR3566 .W66 2001
Course grade:
Participation and preparation: 100 points
Essay 1: 150 points
Essay 2: 200 points
Reflective critical statement: 100
points
Topic proposal: 50 points
Final essay: 400 points
Total: 1000 points (A = 930-1000 points, A- = 900-929, B+ = 870-899, B = 830-869, B- =
800-829, C+ = 770-799, C = 730-769, C- = 700-729, D+ = 670-699, D = 600-669,
and F = below 600)
Preparation and Participation: You will be expected to discuss
the readings, and discussion entails reading the assignment(s) before class as
well as listening respectfully to others. Although attendance is not graded at TCNJ, please note that it is difficult
to participate unless you are both physically and mentally present; therefore,
absences and tardiness will adversely affect your grade in the course.
This grade includes participation in the rough draft workshop (see
below). Preparation may include assignments in addition to those listed
below, as I deem necessary during the semester.
Essay 1: Feminist or gender
reading. Write
a 3-5-page essay exploring a Miltonic text or passage as it depicts a
construction of gender and/or male relationships (homosocial and/or
homoerotic). Consider not simply gender but what Foucault calls the
entire “cluster of power relations.”
Essay 2: Post-colonial or new
historicist reading. Write a 3-5-page essay focusing on a Miltonic text or passage
that you see as connected to imperialism or to a political controversy
of the period.
Reflective Critical Statement: How do you begin to interpret a
literary text? You have just met Diane Purkiss, Feisal Mohamed, and Bruce
Boehrer at an MLA cocktail party and they’re talking about literary theory and Milton. You’re aware of their
different theoretical perspectives, and eager to join in the
conversation. Write a description of your personal critical stance, using
appropriate terms from literary criticism but also (recognizing that the terms
may be used differently by different people) explaining what you mean by these
terms. In your 3-5-page essay, you should demonstrate that you have
thought about how your critical stance is consistent with your worldview,
values, and personal and professional goals. Your statement will be
assessed on how well it demonstrates your familiarity with concepts from
multiple current literary theories—even if rejecting them.
Final Researched Paper on Milton: You will write an essay of
approximately 15 double-spaced pages, not including abstract and list of works
cited; all sources used must be acknowledged appropriately. The final draft is
due in class on the date listed on the syllabus; it is to be headed with your
name and the essay's title. For this essay you are expected to go beyond the
criteria listed above for essays, and 1) articulate a theoretical approach
consistent with your worldview, values, and personal and professional goals
(see “Reflective Critical Statement,” above); 2) demonstrate an understanding of
current theoretical trends and conversations; and 3) present your argument and
research findings in a way consistent with your theoretical stance. In most
cases, doing exhaustive research on your topic is not a realistic goal, but
your essay should demonstrate familiarity with recent criticism specific to the
topic as well as major earlier critical statements.
These earlier stages are
required: topic proposal and working bibliography, abstract, and rough draft
for workshop. The final
paper itself must include an abstract (maximum of 250
words) and a list of works cited.
All essays:
Every essay should have not only an assignment name but also a title. Each essay (including the Reflective Critical
Statement) will be evaluated according to the rubric for out-of-class essays
(in SOCS), which may be modified for the specific assignment. A passing essay will demonstrate
understanding of the relevant literary theory (or theories) and text(s), and
provide ample appropriate support cited with considerable accuracy. A superior essay will contain citations which
are brief, highly accurate (including use of spacing or virgule for poetry—see
"Tips on Quoting Poetry," in SOCS); it will also connect formal and
stylistic features with deeper analysis. Above all, it will demonstrate that
the essay-writer has thought about literary theory and primary texts rather
than merely accepting and regurgitating an expert's comments. To answer a FAQ,
writing in the first person is always acceptable in this class.
Each assignment is due on paper and
in SOCS on the date specified below; it should be headed with your name
and the name of the assignment (e.g., " Essay 1," “Topic
Proposal”). SOCS is set up to receive documents in Microsoft Word or saved in rich
text format (RTF); other formats cannot be interpreted using SOCS.
Academic Integrity: Every source used must be acknowledged appropriately in the latest MLA
format. Using the words and/or ideas of others without giving credit is
intellectual theft, and a serious infraction of the college's Academic
Integrity Policy (www.tcnj.edu/~academic/policy/Academicintegrity.htm)
as well as the laws of our nation. All suspected violations of the Academic
Integrity Policy will be reported to the Dean of the School of Culture and Society.
Accommodations: Anyone requiring special adaptations or accommodations will benefit
from contacting the Office of Differing Abilities (www.tcnj.edu/~Ewellness/disability/). If you require special assistance, I will
make every effort to accommodate your needs and to create an environment where
your special abilities will be respected.
Emergencies: In the case of a
medical or personal emergency that causes an absence of a week or more, it is
advisable to contact Toni Buchanan (x2825 or buchanan@tcnj.edu) in Records and
Registration. Ms. Buchanan will notify all instructors of the absence,
although such notification does not necessarily guarantee that absences will be
excused. Documentation of an emergency of any length should be shown to
each instructor.
Late Work: Unless I receive documentation of
an emergency (see "Emergencies," above), each late assignment will be
marked down 10 points for each day it is late and the college is open. Each presentation/discussion leading will be
marked down 10 points for each class meeting it is late.
SOCS and Email: For this class,
you must be able to use SOCS (http://socs.tcnj.edu/),
and you must read your TCNJ email
regularly. If you need assistance with either, please let me know during
the first week of class. If you prefer,
you may forward your TCNJ email to another
email account: log into SOCS, click the "Email" tab, and there you
will find instructions about how to forward your mail.
Schedule of Readings: complete the assignments before
class
Key:
SOCS: in SOCS resources.
Reserve: on 3-hour reserve in the
library circulation desk; you will need the Library of Congress number (call
number).
Journal: to find journals in the
library, do a search at http://www.tcnj.edu/%7Elibrary/research/databases/journals.html.
Luminarium: http://www.luminarium.org/lumina.htm,
ed. Anniina Jokinen.
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R 8/28 background
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Bedford: “Renaissance,” “Jacobean Age,” “Carolingian
Age,” and “criticism”
Reserve: Greenblatt, Stephen.
“Culture.” Critical Terms for Literary Study. Ed. Frank
Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1995. PN81.C84
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T 9/2 love
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“O Nightingale” Flannagan 78
“Qual in colle aspro” Flannagan 80
“Diodati, e te’l divio” Flannagan 82
"Methought I Saw" Flannagan 258
“When I Consider” Flannagan 255
“feminist criticism” and “gender
criticism” Bedford
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R 9/4
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Lycidas. Flannagan 94
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M 9/8
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“psychological criticism and
psychoanalytical criticism” Bedford
“new historicism,” “Marxist
criticism,” “cultural criticism,” and “cultural materialism” Bedford
Foucault, Michel. Part 2. “The Repressive Hypothesis.” The History
of Sexuality. Vol. 1. Trans. Robert Hurley. New York: Vintage, 1980. 17-49. Reserve HQ12.F6813
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R 9/11
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[article(s) on Lycidas]
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M 9/15
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“gay and lesbian criticism” and
“queer theory” Bedford
“Epitaphium Damonis.” Flannagan 237
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R 9/18
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Boehrer, Bruce. "'Lycidas':
The Pastoral Elegy as Same-Sex Epithalamium." PMLA 117 (2002): 222-36.
Bray, Alan. “Homosexuality
and the Signs of Male Friendship in Elizabethan England.” In Queering the
Renaissance. Ed. Jonathan Goldberg. Durham and London: Duke Univ. Press, 1994. 40-61. Reserve
HQ76.3.E8 Q44
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M 9/22
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Essay 1 due
Genesis 1-3 in the 1611 [King
James] Bible: The Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/kjv.browse.html
Paradise Lost (Flannagan 353): “The Verse,” 1.1-26, and
3.1-55
Andrew
Marvell. “On Paradise Lost.” Flannagan 350
“epic” Bedford
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R 9/25
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Paradise Lost Books
1-2
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M 9/29
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Paradise Lost Book 3
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R 10/2
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Paradise Lost Book 4
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M 10/6
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Reserve:
from Rajan, Balachandra, and Elizabeth Sauer, eds. Milton and the Imperial Vision. Pittsburgh: Duquesne UP, 1999. PR3592.I47 M55 1999
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R 10/9
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Paradise Lost Book 5
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M 10/13
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Reserve:
from Loewenstein, David. Representing Revolution in Milton and His
Contemporaries: Religion, Politics, and Polemics in Radical Puritanism. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001. PR435 .L64 2001
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R 10/16
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Paradise Lost Book 6
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M 10/20
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Fall Break
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R 10/23
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Essay 2 due
“To Cromwell” Flannagan 290
Reserve: Purkiss, Diane.
“Dismembering and Remembering: The English Civil War and Male Identity.” In The
English Civil Wars in the Literary Imagination. Ed. Claude J.
Summers and Ted-Larry Pebworth. Columbia: Univ. of Missouri Press, 1999. 220-41. PR438.P65
E54
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M 10/27
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Paradise Lost Book 7
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R 10/30
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Paradise Lost Book 8
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M 11/3
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Paradise Lost Book 9
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R 11/6
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Paradise Lost Book 10
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M 11/10
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Paradise Lost Books
11-12
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R 11/13
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Topic proposal and working
bibliography due
“tragedy” Bedford
Samson Agonistes Flannagan 783
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M 11/17
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Finish Samson
Agonistes
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R 11/20
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Mohamed,
Feisal G. “Confronting Religious
Violence: Milton’s Samson
Agonistes.” PMLA 120 (March
2005): 327-40.
“On the Massacre in Piedmont.”
Flannagan
254
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M 11/24
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Abstract of final
essay due.
Reflective Critical
Statement due
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R 11/27
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Thanksgiving
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M 12/2
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Workshop for final essay
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R 12/4
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Planning for Milton celebration
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T 12/9
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Milton celebration
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TBA
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Final essay due
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[Dr. Graham's home page] [TCNJ English Department]