Eric S Mallin

Instructor:  Mallin, E            Areas:  -- / B

Unique #:  35395-35440            Flags:  n/a

Semester:  Fall 2013            Restrictions:  n/a

Cross-lists:  n/a            Computer Instruction:  No

Prerequisites: E 603A, RHE 306, 306Q, or T C 603A; and a passing score on the reading section of the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) test.

Description: Literature and Social Constructions--

This course will provide a broad overview of British literature from the 14th to the late 20th century. We will read and try to understand some of the great authors in the English tradition: Chaucer, the Gawain poet, Shakespeare, Milton, Swift, the Romantics, Yeats, and others. We will also try to determine why people have regarded them as “great.” Some attempt will thus be made to place the literature in its historical context, but our primary attention will be directed towards the works themselves. The course will be aimed at the development of your skills as close, careful readers of literature.

Most of the period will be devoted to lecture; however, I will frequently ask questions and solicit commentary, so please be prepared to talk about what you have read.

Tentative Texts: Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales; William Shakespeare, Macbeth (signet); Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (signet; Roddy Doyle, The Woman Who…; Tom Stoppard, Arcadia; course Packet (miscellaneous short stories and poems).

You must bring the relevant text to class.

Requirements & Grading: Attendance; Four tests, including a comprehensive final exam, with several diagnostic quizzes.

Instructor:  Mallin, E            Areas:  I / D

Unique #:  35590            Flags: Global cultures, Writing

Semester:  Fall 2012            Restrictions:  n/a

Cross-lists:  n/a            Computer Instruction:  No

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: We will study seven tragedies by Shakespeare. Through a careful reading of the language, stagecraft, and setting of these texts, we will attempt to acquire a deep understanding of tragic art.

We will employ psychological, theatrical, historical, and symbolic approaches. Despite the depressing theme of the course, we will try to enjoy ourselves while we work. To that end, and in order to put your knowledge to practical and entertaining use, you will perform scenes from each play.

Texts: Individual copies of a standard scholarly edition (Oxford, Cambridge, or other TBA)

Tentative: Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus, The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra.

Requirements & Grading: (tentative) Your responsibility for the first day that a work is discussed is to have read at least the first two acts, unless otherwise indicated on the syllabus. You should also read the critical introductions to each work, although you may find these more useful once you have finished the play. I recommend that you receive as much exposure to the dramas as possible—through DVDs, audio recordings, and local performances, when you can. All plays must be read twice.

Requirements: Attendance; two five-page essays and two in-class exams.

This course might be called a focused survey, a reading of four Marlowe and four Shakespeare plays and their intense allusive, poetic, theatrical, and psychosexual relations with one another and their surrounding culture. We will consider some of the biographical materials of the authors so that we may speculate about the connection between literary production and worldly experience. But our primary focus will be the plays. (We may also study the two erotic mini-epics, Hero and Leander and Venus and Adonis, as an envoy to our thematic concerns.)

Participants will be asked to write a short (five-page) research paper and a longer (10 to 15 page) interpretive essay; lead a discussion with a classmate; and stage a scene or deliver a substantial soliloquy from the plays.

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: There have always been heroes: glorious fighters, noble queens, courageous scholars and divines, charismatic politicians, prophets and poets. But not until the Renaissance did the idea of celebrity take hold. Distinguished from ordinary fame or general acclaim, celebrity crucially includes the sense of notoriety along with virtue, of an individual’s recalcitrance or danger or singularity in the context of a public life. A celebrity is not merely the subject of gossip or rumor, but the self-conscious and sometimes subversive generator of her or his own representations.

The figure thus serves as a model for the literary (as well as pictorial and historiographical) imagination, and as spur and challenge to the notion of authorship. Because a celebrity must have an audience, the increasingly broad dissemination of printed matter in the early-modern period helps advance the agenda of fame; at some point, celebrities begin to share their accomplishments with their portrait makers.

In this course we will explore some of the literary strategies and historical consequences of Renaissance celebrity. We will assume that the notion of notorious fame can help us to read and unpack the intricacies of selected works of art, and through them, the cultures that helped in their production. 

Texts: Critical and historical readings will include selections from Roland Barthes, Leo Braudy, Linda Charnes, Richard Dyer, Susan Frye, Hilary Mantel, Louis Montrose, and Stacy Schiff. Literary and historical texts will likely include: The Faerie Queene, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Troilus and Cressida, Antony and Cleopatra; Webster, The Duchess of Malfi; Foxe’s Acts and Monuments; Walter Ralegh’s Discoverie of Guyana, and accounts of the Gunpowder Plot. We will also consider the potent cinematic celebrity-making that we undertake of the Renaissance itself, including the ongoing fabrication of Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth, Thomas More, and others as part and parcel of our own cultural self-image.

Requirements & Grading: One short (5 page) analytical essay about a passage in a literary or historical document (poem, play, essay, story; or biography, letter, or diplomatic dispatch). One long (10-12 page) research paper about the historical influence of celebrity and fame on portraiture or representation. Less-substantial, though still significant writing, will include three one-page "position" papers on selected historical figures, particularly the rhetorical strategies they use to advance their own celebrity or perceived significance. Much of the writing will be evaluated by your peers. Grading: first essay: 20%. second essay, draft: 10%; final draft, 40%. Position papers: 15%. Class participation, in-class work, and helpfulness in peer evaluation will complete the percentile tally (15%).

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: We will study seven tragedies by Shakespeare. Through a careful reading of the language, stagecraft, and setting of these texts, we will attempt to acquire a deep understanding of tragic art.

We will employ psychological, theatrical, historical, and symbolic approaches. Despite the depressing theme of the course, we will try to enjoy ourselves while we work. To that end, and in order to put your knowledge to practical and entertaining use, you will, once a week or so, perform scenes from each play. 

Texts: Individual copies of a standard scholarly edition (Oxford, Cambridge, or other TBA)

Tentative: Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus, The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra.

Requirements & Grading: (tentative) Your responsibility for the first day that a work is discussed is to have read at least the first two acts, unless otherwise indicated on the syllabus. You should also read the critical introductions to each work, although you may find these more useful once you have finished the play. I recommend that you receive as much exposure to the dramas as possible—through videotapes, recording, and local performances, when you can. All plays must be read twice.

Requirements: Attendance; two five-page essays and two in-class exams. 

Prerequisites: Completion of at least thirty semester hours of coursework, including E 603A, RHE 306, 306Q, or T C 603A, and a passing score on the reading section of the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) test.

Course Description: Poetry and Literary History -- What is the role of tradition in British Literature? How does it operate to both generate and resist creative change, how does it shape the meanings of particular literary works, and in what sense can we say that some works exist "outside" the tradition? It is something of a paradox that writers develop their authorial identity by revisiting the works of their predecessors: the tradition authorizes the very attempt to alter it. Thus, as T. S. Eliot observed, the masterworks of literature collectively form an ideal order that must nevertheless become changed through the addition of new "Individual talent." Or as another great Modern anglophile, Jorge Luis Borges, put it: "every writer creates his own precursors." This survey course views British literary tradition as, not a fixed chain of monuments, but a negative feedback loop in which a handful of enduring themes and ideas are reworked and transformed. To name a few: What is a hero? How can we represent God? What is the good of art?

Note: This course involves extensive reading and analysis of poetry.

Texts: Norton Anthology of English Literature: Major Authors, 7th ed. (Norton)
; James Hogg, Private Memoir and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, ed. Hunter (Broadview)
; Shakespeare, Tempest; Mary Shelley, Frankenstein.

Some additional major works to be examined include:
 Milton, Paradise Lost ; Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner ; Conrad, Heart of Darkness.

Grading: Two 50-minute tests in discussion section, two half-term exams (no final; the second half-term is on the last class day).

The University requires you to attend all classes. I'll permit three absences. If you do miss a class, you are responsible for finding out what went on that day and obtaining copies of any materials distributed.

It is crucial that you do the assigned reading on time.

Two tests, 17.5% each; 
Two half-term exams, 25% each
; Contribution to discussion section, 15%.

English 336E: British Literature: Beginnings through the Renaissance

One of the great things about the semi-animated film Beowulf (2007)—aside from the truly comic high heels that Grendel’s naked, gold-toned mother seems to wear—is the animation itself. The visual technique gives the human form a fake and slightly robotic quality, suggesting a world somewhere between photographic realism and cartoonish imagination. This midpoint is also occupied by the original Beowulf epic, thus making the adaptation a flawless formal expression of the source text. When we read the Anglo-Saxon poem, or so many other ancient, medieval, and Renaissance works, we often find ourselves in landscapes whose features and inhabitants straddle this divide: they are plausible, historical, psychologically acute; and n an instant they turn towards the dreamworld of myth, allegory, and fantasy. How can we reconcile or understand this contradiction?

In this course we will take a close look at the foundations of British literature, beginning with the earliest Anglo Saxon poems, extending through the mystery plays, continuing through the great poetic tradition—Chaucer, Spenser, Herbert, Donne, and Milton—and finishing with plays by Shakespeare. Marlowe, and Middleton. Throughout, we will attempt to comprehend the dual vision of early English literature: its obsessions with spiritual probity (or depravity) and worldly enticements, and the way these obsessions determine styles of representation.

Probable Works: Beowulf, heroic Anglo-Saxon poems, Everyman, The Canterbury Tales (Chaucer), The Faerie Queene (Spenser), Paradise Lost and selected poems (Milton), selections from Wyatt, Sidney, Herbert, Shakespeare, Jonson, and Marvell, and two or three plays: Doctor Faustus, King Lear, and The Changeling.

Likely requirements with approximate percent of grade: two major exams (40%), two essays (40%), discussion leading, frequent quizzes, and one creative adaptation of one of the works (total of 20%).

Course Description: This course studies one of the most popular and difficult writers in English, whose complexity might be underestimated because he seems so accessible in the theater and in popular culture. We will study eight Shakespeare plays, and watch selected scenes and adaptations of Shakespeare to enhance reading and writing skills.

Texts: (subject to change) The Riverside Shakespeare, ed. G. Blakemore Evans etc.; The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare, ed. by Russ Macdonald (2nd edition). Works for this semester: Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry IV (Part 1), A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, Othello, Hamlet, The Tempest. You must bring the relevant text to class.

Grading: 

1. Daily reading assignments and class discussions.
2. Three exams, two in class, one final.
3. Four blog/Bb entries (at least one long paragraph each) about different plays; you must also, at least once, comment on one of your classmates’ entries.
4. Leading discussion with a classmate once during the course.
5. Regular attendance.  See Policy Statement. 

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.  

English 321:  Shakespeare: Selected Plays (Unique # 34665)

Spring 2010:  M W 5:00-6:15, Parlin 204

Prof. E. Mallin, Parlin 18, 471-1697

Office Hours:  W 2-3:15, and by appointment

Required Books

            The Riverside Shakespeare, ed. G. Blakemore Evans et. al.
            Christopher Marlowe: The Complete Plays
            The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare, ed. by Russ MacDonald, 2nd. edn.
            Course packet, 1592 Game (available after 3/1)
            You must bring the relevant text to class.

Works for this Semester:

Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, The Jew of Malta, The Merchant of Venice, Dr. Faustus, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, King Lear (optional, t.b.e.)

Requirements

1. Attendance.
2. Two short essays, one longer final essay, and a midterm exam..
3. Participation in historical role-playing game.

Policy Statement

            1.  Attendance is required.  It is your responsibility to sign the attendance sheets which I will make available every day.  Three unexcused absences are allowed.  A fourth absence will result in a one-grade reduction for the course.  A fifth absence will cost you another grade.  If you miss more than five classes, you cannot pass the course.  No absences are considered excused except in the case of extreme medical and personal emergencies, which will require documentation.

            2.  Please arrive promptly at 5:00 p.m.  Habitual latecomers will be penalized on their “class participation.” 

            3.  Unannounced quizzes may be given at the beginning of class periods.  There will be no make-ups and no extensions during class time for latecomers.  A missed quiz counts as a zero.

            4.  The midterm examination must be taken at the time specified in the syllabus. Make-ups will only be given in the case of dire, documented circumstances.  Unexcused missed exams count as zero.

            5.  Grading. Quizzes and class participation (excluding game performance) will constitute 10% of the final grade (the lowest quiz grade will be dropped).  Here is the approximate weighting of the major assignments:  first essay, 15%; midterm, 15%; game performance and writings, 30%; final essay, 35%. Improvement throughout the semester will be considered favorably in your evaluation.

            6. No incompletes will be given except for medical emergencies.

For more information, please download the full syllabus.

English 361K:  English Drama to 1642

Spring 2010:  M W 3:30-5:00, Parlin 204

Prof. E. Mallin, Parlin 18, 471-1697

Office Hours:  W 2-3:15, and by appointment

Required Books

• English Renaissance Drama, ed. Bevington et. al.
• Course packet available after 2/1.

Works for this semester:

• The Spanish Tragedy
• Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay
• Arden of Feversham
• Dr. Faustus
• Knight of the Burning Pestle
• The Alchemist
• The Changeling
• Women Beware Women

Requirements

1. Attendance.
2. Presentation with a colleague on one author and his play.
3. Two short essays, midterm exam, and one longer final essay.
4. Participation in performance with your troupe and discussion leading with a colleague.

Policy Statement

1. Attendance is required.  It is your responsibility to sign the attendance sheets which I will make available every day.  Three unexcused absences are allowed.  A fourth absence will result in a one-grade reduction for the course.  A fifth absence will cost you another grade.  If you miss more than five classes, you cannot pass the course.  No absences are considered excused except in the case of extreme medical and personal emergencies, which will require documentation.
2. Please arrive promptly at 3:30 p.m.  Habitual latecomers will be penalized on their “class participation.” 
3. Unannounced quizzes may be given at the beginning of class periods.  There will be no make-ups and no extensions during class time for latecomers.  A missed quiz counts as a zero.
4. The midterm examination must be taken at the time specified in the syllabus. Make-ups will only be given in the case of dire, documented circumstances.  Unexcused missed exams count as zero.
5. Grading. Here is the approximate weighting of the major assignments: first essay, 10%; second, 15%; midterm, 20%; performance, presentation, and discussion leading, 25%; final essay, 30%. Improvement throughout the semester will be considered favorably in your evaluation.
6. No incompletes will be given except for dire, documented emergencies.

For more information, please download the full syllabus.

Unique #s: 34750, 34755, 34760, 34765, 34770, 34775, 34780, 34785, 34790, 34795