Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2026

British Literature II (Face-to-Face)

ENGL 3235-01

Course: ENGL 3235-01
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2026
Department: English
CRN: 31569

Course Description

A study of British literature from the Jacobean period (1603) through the Romantic era (1830). Readings will include both canonical and non-canonical works. Prerequisite: ENGL 2400

Required Texts

  • The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Shorter 11th Edition (Vol. 1) [ISBN 978-1-324-04516-8]
  • If you have The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Major Authors (Vol. 2) from Dr. Siemer’s Spring 3240 course, please be prepared to use it when we reach Unit 3: The Romantic Era. If you don’t have this book, I will be supplying links to required poems via Canvas.

Learning Outcomes

  • Knowledge of Human Cultures: Students demonstrate the ability to identify, describe, and compare the features of a variety of genres across different historical periods and cultures.
  • Communication: Students demonstrate the ability to articulate interpretations and critical positions through academic essays.
  • Information Literacy: Students demonstrate the ability to conduct scholarly research.

Course Requirements

  • Critical Responses. These 2-3-page end-of-unit, thesis-driven responses should allow you to engage more deeply with assigned literary works, as well as discuss them in relation to broader questions of literary and cultural history. See individual assignments for specific details. 30%
  • Interpretive Essay. Each of you will write a short (5-7 page) interpretive essay on a single complete text by one of the assigned authors and utilizing one scholarly essay (25%). You will also complete a draft/outline as part of this assignment category (5%). 30%
  • Book Review. Each of you will read an early English novel (1666-1830) not assigned to the rest of the class and write a “professional” book review of that work (4-5 pages) utilizing relevant research (20%). You will also complete 1) a draft/outline and 2) a draft w/an online peer review as part of this assignment category (10%). 30%
  • Classroom Engagement. Please do the following before each class: complete all readings, take notes on things of interest, and be prepared to offer an observation (or respond to a classmate’s comments) during class. 10%

Grading. Final grades will be determined by the percentage of the 100 possible points earned: 93-100% A, 90-92% A-, 87-89% B+, 83-86% B, 80-82% B-, 77-79% C+, 73-76% C, 70-72% C-, 67-69% D+, 63-66% D, 60-62% D-, and 59% and below F. Also, if your grade lands at a .5, I will round it up (I.e., 89.5 = 90).

Course Outline

DatesReading AssignmentsWriting Assignments
W 9/2Intro to Course Requirements & Policies
F 9/4Unit 1: “The Early Seventeenth Century, 1603-1660” (pp. 713-745)
Poetry Review: Please read the “Poetics” handout and be prepared to apply these elements to the poems I’ll distribute in class.
Complete Novel Request Survey (in class)
M 9/7Labor Day: No Class
W 9/9John Donne (pp.746-49) & the following poems: “The Flea” (p. 750), “The Sun Rising” (p. 752), “The Canonization” (p. 753-754), “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (p. 759-760), and “The Relic” (pp. 763-764)
Assign Novels for Book Review Assignment
F 9/11John Donne: Holy Sonnets 5, 7, 9, 10, 14, and 18” (pp. 770-774), “Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward” and “Hymn to My God, in My Sickness” (pp. 274-276)
Discuss Interpretive Essay Requirements
M 9/14Amelia Lanyer (pp. 779-797) + poems in Unit 1 Module
W 9/16Ben Jonson (pp. 798-808)
F 9/18Mary Wroth (pp. 808-813)
M 9/21George Herbert (pp. 813-825) + poems in Unit 1 Module
W 9/23Robert Herrick (pp. 825-830) + poems in Unit 1 Canvas Module
F 9/25Andrew Marvell (pp. 834-836, pp. 840-846)
Read Research GuideIntroduction & Outline Due
M 9/28John Milton (pp. 864-867) Paradise Lost, Book 1 (pp. 894-914)
Vote on Friday’s Reading
W 9/30John Milton, PL, Book 2 (pp. 915-937)
F 10/2TBACritical Response 1 Due
M 10/5Unit 2: “The Restoration and Eighteenth Century, 1660-1785” (pp. 1029-1055)
John Dryden (pp. 1056-57) + poems in Unit 2
W 10/7John Dryden, “Epigram on Milton” and Criticism” (pdf. In Unit 2)
F 10/9Research & Writing Workshop in Class
M 10/12John Wilmot (pp. 1090-1097)
W 10/14Aphra Behn (pp. 1097-1104) + poems linked in Unit 2 Module (in Canvas)
F 10/16Ann Finch (pp. 1151-1154) + Mary Astell (1155-1158)Interpretive Essay Due
M 10/13Alexander Pope (pp. 1302-1322) + poems in Unit 2
W 10/15Lady Mary Chudleigh (poems in Unit 2)
F 10/17Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (pp. 1361-1368)
Discuss Book Review Guidelines
M 10/19No Class: Fall Break
W10/21Samuel Johnson (pp. 1390-1404)
F 10/23No Class: I’ll be at an academic conference.Critical Response 2 Due
M 10/26Unit 3: Romantic Era (pp. 3-30)
Anna Laetitia Barbauld (pp. 31-39)
Switch to either The Norton, Major Authors (Vol. 2) or links in Canvas Unit 3 Module
W 10/28Charlotte Smith (pp. 40-43) + poems in Unit 3
F 10/30Discuss Books Reviews & Research (the Hook and Context Paragraphs)—please read the assigned professional book reviews in Canvas before class)
M 11/2William Blake (pp. 44-47) + the following poems: Songs of Innocence: “Introduction,” “The Chimney Sweeper,” “The Divine Image,” “Holy Thursday,” “Infant Joy”/Songs of Experience: “Introduction,” “Earth’s Answer,” “Holy Thursday,” “The Chimney Sweeper,” “London,” “Infant Sorrow,” and “A Divine Image”
W 11/4Blake continued: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (pp. 68-79)
F 11/6Research & Writing Workshop in Class—you should be at least halfway through your novel by now to complete this assignment.Book Review Introductory Paragraphs & Outline
M 11/9William Wordsworth (pp. 124-129, pp. 131-135) and Sonnets (pp. 188-191) + poem in Unit 3
W11/11Dorothy Wordsworth (pp. 235-236, pp. 248-251) + poems in Unit 3
F 11/13Samuel Taylor Coleridge (pp. 251-257, pp. 292-294) + poems in Unit 3
M 11/16George Gordon, Lord Byron (pp. 336-343)
W 11/18Percy Bysshe Shelley (pp. 385-389, 395-398) + poem in Unit 3
F 11/20John Keats (pp. 475-478) + poems in Unit 3Critical Response 3
Thanksgiving Break
M 11/30Work on Book Review
W 12/2Work on Book Review
F 12/4No Class: submit revised Introductory Paragraphs and whatever else you’ve written so far to Canvas.Book Review Due for Online Peer Review
M 12/7Work on Book ReviewsPeer Review Due today
W 12/9Work on Book Reviews
F 12/11Book Review Due

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Late Assignments. All written work is due as indicated in the course schedule below. You will have a 24-hour window to turn in Critical Responses without penalty; you will have a 48-hour window to turn in the Interpretive Essay and the Book Review, but with a reduction of 10 points per day. I will provide extensions on a case-by-case basis, so please reach out to me at least 24 hours in advance for approval should you need one for any of the assignments.

Attendance Policy

Attendance. Attendance is required, and participation in classroom discussion is expected. Because these categories are worth 20% of your grade, failure to attend class and participate could result in a low or failing grade for the course. Moreover, if you come to class more than 10 minutes late, it will have an impact on your overall Classroom Engagement grade.

Course Fees

$12.00

Generative AI Policy

Generative AI Policy. This course expects that all work submitted by students will be generated by the students, working individually as directed by class assignment instructions. Using Generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT or Claude) to produce content for essays is not acceptable in this class; moreover, relying on AI for organizational strategies, especially for comparative interpretations, usually leads to weak essays.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.