Dr. Yoder
English 4341.01     English Romantics: Shelley & Byron
Spring 2007     MWF 9:0-9:50am     RH 317

Office: Stabler Hall 501V     Office Hrs.: M 3-4pm, 5-5:30pm; W 12-1pm; by appt.

Office Phone: 569-8321       email: rpyoder@ualr.edu

Texts:	McGann, Jerome, ed. Lord Byron: The Major Works. Oxford UP. 1986.
	Reiman, Donald H. and Neil Fraistat, eds. Shelley's Poetry and Prose. Norton Critical Edition, 2nd ed. 2002.

Goals:

1. Students will read a selection of works by Percy Shelley and Lord Byron.


2. Students will enhance their close reading skills.


3. Students will use the Shelley / Byron relationship to examine how biographical context helps readers understand writers' interaction and their impact on each other's work.


4. Students will examine the writing within the historical and social context of England and Europe in the early nineteenth century .


5. Students will consider the similarities and differences between the poetry and ideas of Shelley and Byron.


6. Students will consider the critical response to the poets' work.


7. Students will discuss all of the above orally in the class discussion and in formal and informal written assignments.

Objectives:

1. To write and discuss the poetry and ideas of principle second generation Romantic writers.


2. To enhance the student's skills in analysis and oral presentation.


3. To demonstrate an understanding of the intersection of biography, history and literature.

Course Assessment:
My course will also include an ongoing assessment of my teaching in the form of weekly
journals. These journals consist of a 250 word (minimum requirement) written response to the
class readings or discussion. These journals allow me to assess how well students are
understanding what I think I am teaching them, and I make adjustments to my class
presentations and assignments accordingly. Taken as a whole, the journals count for 15% of
the student's final grade, thus insuring that the students take this assessment seriously.
The journals also serve other classroom purposes outlined on the "House Rules" page.

Secondary Education Assessement:
See "For Secondary Education Majors" page.