English 333: Moby Dick vs Middlemarch
T./Th. 10:30 – 12:20
Condon Hall 110B
Jesse Oak Taylor
Office Hours: T. / Th. 1:00 – 2:00 PM
Padelford A-408
Overview:
Moby Dick. Middlemarch. The Great American Novel. The Great British Novel. Each of these monumental works of nineteenth century realism has a plausible claim to being the greatest novel ever written in English. Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1851) is a whaling tale whose action spans the globe, featuring a cosmopolitan (but all male) cast. George Eliot’s Middlemarch (1871) takes place in a provincial English town, devoting sustained attention to states of interior consciousness. One is about the spiritual and metaphysical turmoil of whaling, and how it reflects a young, fractured and radically unequal nation. The other puts community, democracy, and individual psychology under the microscope at a critical turning point, analyzing in detail the fears, ambitions, and thoughts and desires that govern the lives and deaths of citizens at the heart of a worldwide empire. Melville’s style is powerful, philosophical, and playful; Eliot’s style worldly, ironic, and meditative. One is perhaps the most influential adventure novel of all time; the other an epic study of love and failed ambition. If one is the greatest novel ever written, WTF is the other?
In drawing these comparisons, we will lean into the versus, bashing one novel against the other not in hopes of declaring absolute victory, but in order to see what emerges from the struggle. We will also draw comparisons between nineteenth century and the present, using the vantage opened by historical fiction to revisit the Victorian origins of some of the social, political, and ecological crises that continue to shape our world.
We will read both novels in their entirety, alternating in different weeks throughout the term. I do expect you to stay up with the reading, and come to class prepared to discuss the novels in detail. Weekly writing assignments will ask you to engage with each novel throughout the term, in preparation for a final project the shape of which will be up to you. One option for the final project will be to work in groups on preparing an annotated edition of either novel. More details about this and other assignment options will be forthcoming.
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the aesthetics, structures, and functions of literary texts
- Situate works within the world in which they were written, especially in terms of how their meaning in context might be markedly different from the meaning they carry in the present.
- Understand how large-scale forces (historical, political, climatic) are interwoven into the representation of everyday fictional worlds. At the same time, to see present historical conditions and forces (e.g., globalization, capitalism, racism, nationalism, urbanization) as part of unfinished and ongoing processes, and think about the vantage opened on them by a long-term view.
- See historical periods as characterized by shared concerns but also as internally divided, respecting the difference both of, and within, the past.
Readings:
The following editions have been ordered to the University Bookstore. If you acquire them elsewhere, please make sure to get these editions. (Note that the Moby Dick is new – you should get the one edited by Hester Blum.) If you prefer to also read in another format (say, listening to an audiobook version, or even reading in translation), I have no objection to that as long as it is not an abridged edition. However, please still acquire these editions so that you can consult them in class discussion, and reference them in your essays.
- Herman Melville, Moby Dick, (2nd Edition) Oxford ISBN: 9780198853695
- George Eliot, Middlemarch, ISBN: 9780141439549
Grade Breakdown:
Participation: 15%
Weekly Essays: 50%
Final Project Preliminary Proposals: 5%
Final Project Prospectus: 10%
Final Project: 20%
Participation: This is a “participatory lecture” course. While I will do most of the talking, you are expected to speak up in class, raise questions, disagree with me (respectfully), join in small actively in small-group discussion, and generally make your engagement with the material known. At the end of each class session, you will hand in a slip of paper with a brief (1-3 sentence) comment or question pertaining to that day’s discussion. These will contribute to your participation grade. However, to receive a 4.0 in participation, you must speak up in class!
Weekly Essays: Our primary task is engaging with the novels in depth. To facilitate that, each week you will submit a brief (1-3 page) essay, in which you offer close readings of some portion(s) of that week’s assigned reading. These essays do not need to be formally structured arguments. They can ask questions, express confusion, and certainly do not need to be polished prose. (I do not care about your grammar.) However, they should engage with the particularities of the text, and show me your active thinking. Thus, they must include quotes, and be written directly to and from those quotes. They can be completed at any time during the week, but must be done no later than Friday, so that you are ready to move on to the other novel. If you miss one, it’s better to move on than to fall behind. There will not be essays assigned in Weeks 1, 9, or 11, though you are welcome to write one in those weeks for additional credit.
Weekly essays will be awarded from 1 – 3 points, and assessed a single cumulative grade at the end of the term, according to the following scale:
18(+): 4.0
16: 3.9
14: 3.7
12: 3.5
10: 3.2
8: 3.0
6: 2.5
4: 2.0
2: 1.0
Final Project:
At the end of the term, you will complete a final project of your own design. This should be the equivalent of a 7-10-page research paper, drawing on 5 or more outside sources. However, you are not confined to a traditional essay format. You may pursue creative projects of various kinds as well. If you wish to, you will also have the option of working collaboratively on an annotated edition of one of the novels, using Manifold a digital publishing platform. In this case, you would work together to write notes, an Introduction, supplementary materials, compile a bibliography, and anything else you think would help illuminate the novel for contemporary readers. For an example of what this might look like, take a look at this “Anthropocene Edition” of Eliot’s Mill on the Floss, which students did in one of my courses.
Given the range of options for the final project, you will submit two preliminary documents related to it as the term progresses, a Preliminary Proposal and a Project Prospectus.
For the Preliminary Proposal, you will describe two or three ideas for the final project. They could be variations on the same topic, or completely different ideas. However, I want to see that you have put some real thought into them, and weighed the benefits and challenges of each.
For the Prospectus, you will submit a more detailed plan for the project of your choice. This will need to include a research question, preliminary bibliography, and work plan. Especially if you are planning a creative project, it will also need to clarify what skills and/or materials are required, whether you have them, and how you plan to acquire them. Think of it as the recipe for your project.
More details about all aspects of the Final Project, including the Manifold Edition option, will be forthcoming.
Schedule:
We will read the novels in alternate weeks. Please complete the assigned reading by the class for which it is listed. If you’re able to read ahead, great! Future you will thank you. But do pay attention to the assigned portions so that you don’t spoil later plot points for your classmates.
Week 1: Th. 9.29: Moby Dick, “Etymology,” “Extracts,” & Ch. 1; Middlemarch, Prelude & Ch. 1.
Week 2: T. 10.4: Moby Dick, Ch. 1-16 (pp. 23-93); Th. 10.6: Ch. 17-28 (pp. 93 – 130)
Week 3: T. 10.11: Middlemarch, Ch. 1-12 (pp. 7-120); Th. 10.13: Middlemarch, Ch. 13-22 (pp. 123-225)
Week 4: T. 10.18: Moby Dick, Ch. 29-44 (pp. 130-200); Th. 10.20: Moby-Dick, Ch. 45-60 (pp. 200-272)
Week 5: T. 10.25: Middlemarch, Ch. 23-33 (pp. 229-319); Th. 10.27: Middlemarch, Ch. 34-42 (pp. 323-427)
Final Project Preliminary Proposals DUE Tues. 11.1
Week 6: T. 11.1: Moby Dick, Ch. 61-87 (pp. 272-366); Th. 11.3: Moby Dick, Ch. 88-105 (pp. 366-428)
Tuesday Nov. 8 is Election Day. Get your ballot to a box!!!
Week 7: T. 11.8: Middlemarch, Ch. 43-53 (pp. 431-531); Th. 11.10: Ch. 54-62 (pp. 535-636)
Week 8: T. 11.15: Moby Dick, Ch. 106-124 (pp. 428-473); Th. 11.17: Moby Dick, FINISH!!!
Week 9: NO CLASS. Keep reading!!! Final Project Prospectuses DUE 11.25
Week 10: T. 11.29: Middlemarch, Ch. 63-71 (pp. 639-730); Th. 12.1: Middlemarch, FINISH!!!
Week 11*: T. 12.6: Hester Blum, “Introduction” to Moby Dick; Th. 12.8: Rosemary Ashton, “Introduction” to Middlemarch
*Yes, there is one this term.
Final Projects Due 12.15
Additional Course Policies:
Computers and Electronics:
I would prefer that you not use laptops, tablets, or other electronics in class. That said, I don’t prohibit them because I know that for some people they are genuinely helpful. However, I expect that you will not use them for anything unrelated to the class. Doing so is disruptive and disrespectful. If it becomes an issue, I will call you out.
Extensions and Due Dates:
My policy is to grant all extensions requested at least 24 hours in advance. However, when you request an extension, I expect you to propose a new due date, and to stick to it. Work received after an extended deadline will be penalized at a rate of .2 points per calendar day (on a 4.0 scale), as will any late work without a prearranged extension.
Barring an extension, weekly essays will only be accepted as late as the Monday after they were due. Late weekly essays received by Monday will be docked 1 point.
Please note: If you take an extension on the Final Project, I may not be able to get your grade in on time. This should not cause problems for you unless you are graduating this quarter. If that is the case, let’s talk.
Disability Accommodations:
Your success in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at https://disability.uw.edu.
Religious Accommodations:
Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).
Academic Integrity:
When quoting, paraphrasing, or referring to another writer’s words or ideas (including any you might find on the Internet), you must cite the source properly using either MLA or Chicago-style citation guidelines, which I will explain before the first essay assignment is due. Don’t hesitate to ask me if you have questions about proper attribution. I will hand over any plagiarized work to the Dean’s Committee on Academic Conduct, and plagiarism may result in a failing grade on the assignment or the course. For further information on what constitutes plagiarism, see http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm#misconduct.
University Land Acknowledgment:
The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations.
English Department Statement of Values:
The UW English Department aims to help students become more incisive thinkers, effective communicators, and imaginative writers by acknowledging that language and its use are powerful and hold the potential to empower individuals and communities; to provide the means to engage in meaningful conversation and collaboration across differences and with those with whom we disagree; and to offer methods for exploring, understanding, problem solving, and responding to the many pressing collective issues we face in our world--skills that align with and support the University of Washington’s mission to educate “a diverse student body to become responsible global citizens and future leaders through a challenging learning environment informed by cutting-edge scholarship.”
As a department, we begin with the conviction that language and texts play crucial roles in the constitution of cultures and communities, past, present, and future. Our disciplinary commitments to the study of English (its history, multiplicity, and development; its literary and artistic uses; and its global role in shaping and changing cultures) require of us a willingness to engage openly and critically with questions of power and difference. As such, in our teaching, service, and scholarship we frequently initiate and encourage conversations about topics such as race and racism, immigration, gender, sexuality, class, indigeneity, and colonialisms. These topics are fundamental to the inquiry we pursue. We are proud of this fact, and we are committed to creating an environment in which our faculty and students can do so confidently and securely, knowing that they have the backing of the department.