2120 Teaching Resources
Sample 2120 SyllabiUse the following links to view various syllabi for 2120.
The description in the university catalogue describes 2120 as a "historical survey of literature from the British Isles with considerations of literary genres, conventions, and modes." Furthermore, according to the catalogue, the course addresses issues such as "language change, periodization, canon formation, national identity and interrelationships between literature and other elements of culture."
Given the broad expanse of time under the course's mandate (all of British literature in one semester) covering all of the above "issues" in any depth is probably too much for instructors to expect from themselves or their students. Since students from various disciplines take survey literature classes, teachers should aim to expose all students (English majors and non-majors) to literature disciplinary conventions, focusing on terms and modes peculiar to the British literary tradition. These may include courtly literature, epic, mock epic, sonnet, etc. Instructors may choose to focus on a particular issue or two in the British literary tradition or touch on several issues listed in the first paragraph to accomplish this outcome. A particular learning outcome for British literature students includes a strong sense of British literary history. In other words, students will be able to distinguish among the various literary periods such as the Renaissance (or Early Modern period) and the Romantic period and which authors are writing in those traditions and which traditions they are writing against.
Two common anthologies that aid in this task are the Norton Anthology for English Literature and the Longman Anthology for British Literature . Both include introductions to the periods addressing the literature's historical and cultural contexts and headnotes to individual authors and works. The Norton tends to use fairly traditional period delineations and texts, i.e. Renaissance, while the Longman uses a more New Historical approach, i.e. the Early Modern Period. Given its new historical approach, the Longman includes fewer texts in general and includes philosophical, historical, and political writings in sections called "Perspectives." For instance, under the "Romantics and their Contemporaries" chapter, the "Perspectives" section includes pieces from Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France among others. When choosing texts, instructors should teach to their strengths and interests, keeping in mind the subtle difference in approaches of the anthologies if they choose to use one.
Students seem to respond well to a presentation of the literature that includes a well-developed sense of the time and culture. This information adds richness to the work and provides them with a framework for understanding more fully how literary genres, conventions, and modes function and why they are important.