General course information

Required Texts

• Du Maurier, George. Trilby.
• Hornby, Nick. About a Boy.
• McCaffrey, Anne. Dragonsong.

Full reading list

• Amadeus. Dir. Miloš Forman. 1984.
• Browning, Robert. “Master Hugues of Saxe-Gotha.”
• Cather, Willa Sibert. “A Wagner Matinée.” 1904. The Troll Garden. New York: McClure, Phillips, 1905. 195-210. <archive.org/stream/trollgarden01cath#page/194/mode/2up>
• Coleridge, Samuel T. “The Eolian Harp.” 1796. Ed. Marc R. Plamondon. Representative Poetry Online [older site]. <oldrpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/3301.html>.
• Dryden, John. “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day, 1687.” 1687. Ed. G. G. Falle. Representative Poetry Online [older site]. <oldrpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/749.html>.
• Du Maurier, George. Trilby. London, 1895. Facsimile reprint. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2003.
• Hardy, Thomas. “Fiddler of the Reels.” 1893. Life's Little Ironies and A Few Crusted Characters. The Works of Thomas Hardy in Prose and Verse. Vol 8. London: Macmillan, 1920. 165-85. <archive.org/stream/worksofthomashar08harduoft#page/164/mode/2up>
• Hornby, Nick. About a Boy. New York: Riverhead Books, 1998.
• Joyce, James. “Clay.” Dubliners. London: Grant Richards, 1914. 120-29. <archive.org/stream/dubliners00joyc_8#page/n123/mode/2up>
• Kivy, Peter. “Mozart and Monotheism: An Essay in Spurious Aesthetics.” The Journal of Musicology 2.3 (1983): 322-28. JSTOR. <www.jstor.org/stable/763734>.
• McCaffrey, Anne. Dragonsong.
• Pushkin, Alexander. “Mozart and Salieri.”
• Sassoon, Siegfied. “Everyone Sang.”
• Shakespeare, William. Sonnet 8.
• Thomas, Lewis. “Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler’s Ninth Symphony.” Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. Viking: 1983. <vserver1.cscs.lsa.umich.edu/~crshalizi/Thomas/mahlers-ninth.html>.
• Whitman, Walt. “I hear America singing.”
• Wordsworth, William. “The Solitary Reaper.” 1807. Eds. Ian Lancashire and J. R. MacGillivray. Representative Poetry Online. <rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poems/solitary-reaper>.

Recommended Texts

• A good writing guide for (Canadian) students.

Course Expectations or Outputs

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. identify the defining features of major literary forms.
2. identify and use key literary and critical terms in the process of analysis.
3. apply basic critical and theoretical methodologies to close, critical readings of a wide variety of texts.
4. discuss texts and ideas comfortably and respectfully in class.
5. construct and sustain analytical arguments in clear, coherent prose and proper essay format.

Course Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this course will demonstrate:

1. an introductory knowledge of some key concepts and methodologies of English Studies.
2. a promising ability to comprehend primary texts and offer analytical commentary.
3. a promising ability to analyze texts and propose persuasive answers to interpretive questions.
4. a promising ability to communicate in clear, correct prose.

Participation and Attendance

You are expected to participate in class in an informed manner. At the very least, you are expected to come to class regularly, having read all assigned reading. You are expected to participate in class discussions. Keep in mind that participating in class is usually a highly rewarding experience, greatly enhancing your ability to understand the course material and helping ensure your success in the course. Everyone is expected to be courteous and professional at all times in class.

Lateness

Essays are due in class, on the date indicated by the assignment. There will be no lateness penalties for the first seven days after the essay is due. For every additional day (including weekend days) that an essay is late, the grade on the essay will be reduced by 2%.