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Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

School:

School of Letters, Art and Media

Department:

English

Unit of Study:

ENGL3623
The Eighteenth Century: Scandal and Sociability

Session:

Semester 1, 2015

Unit of Study Outline

Unit coordinators are listed on undergraduate and postgraduate coursework semester timetables, and
can be consulted for help with any difficulties you may have. Unit coordinators (as well as the Faculty)
should also be informed of any illness or other misadventure that leads students to miss classes and
tutorials or be late with assignments.
Unit Coordinator:
Location:
Email address:
Phone:
Consultation Hours:

Dr Nicola Parsons
N312, Woolley Building, A20
nicola.parsons@sydney.edu.au
+61-2-9036 7229
Friday 9-11am

This Unit of Study Outline MUST be read in conjunction with the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Student Administration Manual (sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/student_admin_manual.shtml)
and all applicable University policies. In determining applications and appeals, it will be assumed that
every student has taken the time to familiarise themselves with these key policies and procedures.

ENGL3623: The Eighteenth Century: Scandal and Sociability


UNIT DESCRIPTION
In eighteenth-century Britain, authors were brought into new relation with readers.
Commercial publication, now central to literary production and dissemination, meant texts
reached an anonymous and potentially limitless readership. How did awareness of this new
public dimension shape literary texts? This unit evaluates the constitutive role of scandal and
sociability in the periods most important texts. We focus on the development of the novel as
a sociable form and assess recent theories addressing public engagement in eighteenthcentury literature.

OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES


Objectives
This unit will develop your understanding of eighteenth-century literature in its historical and
cultural context. Through a sustained investigation of literary representations of sociability
and scandal, you will uncover connections between literary genres and the spaces in which
they are produced and consumed. As part of this investigation, you will be introduced to
contemporary debates surrounding literary communities, sociable practices, and the dark
side of sociability scandal. Through in-class discussion and written work, you will develop
your analytical skills and your ability to identify and employ appropriate theoretical terms and
methodologies for analysing eighteenth-century texts.
Outcomes
By the end of this unit of study, students will be able to:

understand the relationship between eighteenth-century literature and forms of


social, cultural, and political practice.

analyse eighteenth-century literature in a knowledgeable manner

demonstrate skills in research through the competent use of the library and
resources that are particular to the study of eighteenth-century literature

communicate arguments and ideas effectively and articulately both in writing and
to others.

LEARNING STRUCTURE
Each week, you will attend:

1 x 1 hour lecture, Thursday 10-11am in DT Anderson Lecture Theatre


Lectures will be recorded, but each lecture will only be available for one week.

1 x 2 hour seminar, on Thursday at either 12-2pm (Mackie 107) OR 5-7pm (Eastern


Avenue 116)
Your seminar time has been allocated to you by the Student Centre. If you need
to change classes, you must do online in the first 2 weeks of semester.

UNIT SCHEDULE
NB: A detailed schedule of lecture and seminar readings begins on p. 10 of this outline

Week

Week
beginning

Lecture

Seminar

02 March

Introduction

The EighteenthCentury Public


Sphere

09 March

*Periodicals and Coffee House Culture

Selections from The


Tatler & The
Spectator

16 March

Eighteenth-Century Poetry: Public or


Private?

Alexander Pope, An
Epistle to Dr
Arbuthnot (1734)

23 March

*The Adventures of Rivella: Can Gossip


be a Political Act?

Delarivier Manley,
The Adventures of
Rivella (1714)

30 March

The Adventures of Rivella: Scandal and


the Law

Delarivier Manley,
The Adventures of
Rivella (1714)

BREAK

06 April

SESSION BREAK / EASTER

13 April

Introducing Moll Flanders

Daniel Defoe, Moll


Flanders (1722)

Assignment Due Monday 13 April


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20 April

A Self out of Scandal: Criminality and


Serial Fiction
READING WEEK

Daniel Defoe, Moll


Flanders (1722)
READING WEEK

27 April

04 May

Literary Scandal: Samuel Richardsons


new species of writing

Samuel Richardson,
Pamela (1740)

10

11 May

Resisting Pamela

Samuel Richardson,
Pamela (1740)

Essay Due Monday 11 May


11

18 May

*Literary Celebrity: Considering Samuel


Johnson

Selections from
James Boswells Life
of Johnson & Hester
Thrale Piozzis
Anecdotes of the
Late Doctor Johnson

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25 May

Models of Feminine Sociability

Sarah Scott,
Millenium Hall
(1762)

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01 June

Reflections: Scandal and Sociability

* Entries in your assessable reading journal are required in weeks 2, 4, and 11. See pp. 5-6
below for a full description of this task.

READING REQUIREMENTS
The novels listed below are central to this unit of study. Please acquire the editions Ive
specified. They are available for immediate purchase at the Co-op bookshop or, if you order
in advance, from online retailers such as Book Depository. Fisher Library also has copies of
all four novels that can be borrowed. Regardless of where you obtain your books, make sure
you bring your text to class.

Delarivier Manley, The Adventures of Rivella, edited by Katherine Zelinsky


(Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 1999)

Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders, edited by Paul A. Scanlon (Peterborough, ON:


Broadview, 2005)

Samuel Richardson, Pamela, edited by Thomas Keymer and Alice Wakely


(Oxford: Oxford Worlds Classics, 2001; Reissued 2008)*
* NOTE: There are substantial differences between editions of Pamela, so
please make sure you buy this edition. Otherwise, you could quite literally
be reading a different text

Sarah Scott, Millenium Hall, edited by Gary Kelly (Peterborough, ON:


Broadview, 2001)

In addition to these four novels, you will be asked to read a number of short literary texts and
to complete weekly critical reading. Details of these texts are given in the Seminar Reading
Schedule that begins on p. 10. This reading is available online, via the Librarys eReading
service. Except for the instances noted in the reading schedule, the best way to access
these readings is to search the Library catalogue by the UoS code (ENGL3623).

ONLINE COMPONENTS
This unit requires regular use of the Universitys Learning Management System (LMS), also
known as Blackboard Learn. You will also be required to submit your assignments online;
this process is described on p. 7 below. You will need reliable access to a computer and the
Internet to use the LMS and submit your work.
The easiest way to access is through MyUni (click on the MyUni link on the university home
page, http://sydney.edu.au or link directly to the service at https://myuni.sydney.edu.au/.
There is a Blackboard LMS icon in the QuickLaunch window on the left hand side of the
screen.
If you have any difficulties logging in or using the system, visit the Student Help area of the
LMS site, http://sydney.edu.au/elearning/student/help/.
Mobile Learn
You can also access your LMS sites via the Sydney Uni App for iPhone and Android. The
full set of features available on the mobile app for the University LMS can be found in detail
in this PDF document: Features in the mobile App for the University LMS (PDF)
To download the University of Sydney mobile app directly to your phone or mobile device
you need to be able to access the marketplace associated with your device's operating
system.

iTunes store on your iPhone/ iPod touch or iPad

Play Store or the Android Marketplace (depending on the phone's OS)

BlackBerry App World on your BlackBerry smartphone device

Palm App Catalog on your HP webOS device

Once you are at the marketplace or app store:


1. Search for University of Sydney
2. Install the app
3. Open the app and click on the icon 'Bb Learn' to access the LMS
4. Login to the LMS with your UniKey and password.
Important: due to the limitations of mobile devices you cannot submit assignments using the
assignment tool. You should not complete graded tests (quizzes) using your mobile device
due to the possibility of Internet drop out.
The Universitys Privacy Management Plan governs how the University will deal with
personal information related to the content and use of its web sites. See
http://sydney.edu.au/privacy.shtml for further details.

ASSESSMENT TASKS AND DUE DATES


All assessment tasks must be attempted for you to be eligible to pass the unit. If you score a
failing mark in a piece of assessment, this does not mean you will necessarily fail the unit.
Heres a breakdown of the assessment tasks required for this unit:

One 1,500 word research assignment, worth 35%, due Monday 13 April
One 2,000 word research essay, worth 45%, due Monday 11 May
One 1,000 word reading journal, worth 20%, throughout the semester.

One 1,500-word research assignment (worth 35%, due Monday 13 April)


The publication of The Tatler (1709-11) and its successor, The Spectator (1711-12), are
central to critical arguments regarding the public sphere. For Jurgen Habermas, for example,
the new periodicals and the coffeehouses with which they were associated were vital cultural
sites in a developing public culture of rational discussion. This assignment asks you to
evaluate discussion of the relationship between the periodical and the public sphere by
analysing any three numbered issues of The Tatler AND/OR The Spectator in relation to one
critical lens. Further details about this assignment will be distributed in week one.

One 2,000-word essay (worth 45%, due Monday 11 May)


For this assessment task, you will be asked to write a 2,000-word essay in response to one
of a selection of set questions. In preparing your essay, you will need to consider the text on
which you are writing, as well as a number of critical essays. Essay questions will be
distributed in class in Week 5, and further advice about this assessment task will be provided
in lectures and seminars.
One 1,000-word reading journal (worth 20%, throughout the semester)
For this assignment, you will keep a reading journal that consists of at least five entries and
totals 1000 words. You must write in your reading journal in weeks 2, 4 and 11, and two
weeks of your own choosing. These entries are to be made in your private journal on
Blackboard and must be submitted by midnight the day before class in the weeks you
nominate. This assessment task is described more fully below.

Why?
The purpose of the reading journal is to help you come to grips with each weeks material, to
enable you to develop ideas about the texts, and to act as a record of your thoughts. It will
also help you to prepare for class discussion by enabling you to synthesise ideas and
formulate questions before class. Your journal is meant to be a reflective tool and a
document that helps you generate and develop ideas about the literary and critical texts we
work with. You should think of each entry you write as a potential starting point for the two
formal assignments in this unit, and revisit your journal in the early stages of your research.
When?
Excluding the first and final weeks of semester, we have 10 weeks of class. You will post an
entry for 5 of those 10 weeks. You must write an entry for week 2, week 4, and week 11; the
other weeks in which you post are entirely up to you. On the weeks you choose not to post,
simply write pass in your journal.
I will read your journals every week before class. You will receive feedback from me on your
entries, but not every week. You can expect comments from me in weeks 2, 5, 10 and 13.
These comments will be on all your posts to date, not just on entries made in the nominated
weeks.

How?
In weeks 2, 4 and 11, and two weeks of your own choosing, you will write a short entry in
your journal about the weeks reading. Make your entry in your online journal on Blackboard,
and be sure to submit it before class (this means by midnight on Wednesday). Your journal
is private: it is only visible to you and to me.
Please dont try and encompass the entire work in your entry. Entries work much better
and will be more useful to you if they are focused and specific. For example, you might
concentrate on a particular passage or an aspect of the text that has you flummoxed. You
may find it works better to formulate questions about the text rather than develop ideas.
Think of this kind of entry as a thread you can pick up in class discussion or in your
assignments. If your entry does take the form of a question, make sure you take the time to
show how your question comes out of the text. For instance, you might need to point to an
illustrative scene or describe a textual dynamic to make sense of the question you ask.
You will receive a mark for this assessment task according to criteria you will find in the
assessment section of Blackboard.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
This unit uses standards referenced assessment for award of assessment marks. Students
assessment will be evaluated solely on the basis of students achievement against criteria
and standards specified to align with learning outcomes. For reference to criteria and
standards, please consult the grade descriptors for the Department of English at
http://sydney.edu.au/arts/english/postgrad_research/grades.shtml

SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN WORK


Compliance Statements
All students are required to submit an authorised statement of compliance with all work
submitted to the University for assessment, presentation or publication. A statement of

compliance certifies that no part of the Work constitutes a breach of Academic Dishonesty
and Plagiarism Policy.
The format of the compliance statement will differ depending on the method required for
submitting your work (see Assessment Submission below). Depending on the submission
method, the statement must be in the form of:
a. a University assignment cover sheet;
b. a University electronic form; or
c. a University written statement.
Assessment Submission
Electronic submission of assessment tasks via the Universitys Learning Management
System will be required by the due date. You must complete an online compliance statement
via LMS before you submit your assignment. You must include your name and SID in the file
name, and it is also good practice to repeat this information in the header and footer of your
assignment. Essays and assignments not submitted on or before the due date are subject to
penalty. Refer to http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/late_work.shtml for the Policy on
Late Work.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AND PLAGIARISM


Academic honesty is a core value of the University. The University requires students to act
honestly, ethically and with integrity in their dealings with the University, its members,
members of the public and others. The University is opposed to and will not tolerate
academic dishonesty or plagiarism, and will treat all allegations of academic dishonesty or
plagiarism seriously.
The Universitys Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy 2012 and associated
Procedures are available for reference on the University Policy Register at
http://sydney.edu.au/policies (enter Academic Dishonesty in the search field). The Policy
applies to the academic conduct of all students enrolled in a coursework award course at the
University.
Under the terms and definitions of the Policy,

academic dishonesty means seeking to obtain or obtaining academic advantage


(including in the assessment or publication of work) by dishonest or unfair means or
knowingly assisting another student to do so.
plagiarism means presenting another persons work as ones own work by
presenting, copying or reproducing it without appropriate acknowledgement of the
source.

The presentation of another person's work as one's own without appropriate


acknowledgement is regarded as plagiarism, regardless of the authors intentions.
Plagiarism can be classified as negligent (negligent plagiarism) or dishonest (dishonest
plagiarism).
An examiner who suspects academic dishonesty or plagiarism by a student must report the
suspicion to a nominated academic in the relevant faculty. If the nominated academic
concludes that the student has engaged in dishonest plagiarism or some other sufficiently
serious form of academic dishonesty, the matter may be referred to the Registrar for further
disciplinary action under the terms of the Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy 2012
and Chapter 8 of the University of Sydney By-Law 1999 (as amended).

SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences assesses student requests for assistance relating to
completion of assessment in accordance with the regulations set out in the University
Assessment Policy 2011 and Assessment Procedures 2011. Students are expected to
become familiar with the Universitys policies and Faculty procedures relating to Special
Consideration and Special Arrangements.
Students can apply for:

Special Consideration - for serious illness or misadventure

Special Arrangements - for essential community commitments

Simple Extension an extension of up to 5 working days for non-examination


based assessment tasks on the grounds of illness or misadventure.

Further information on special consideration policy and procedures is available on the


Faculty website at http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/special_consideration.shtml.
OTHER POLICIES AND PROCEDURES RELEVANT TO THIS UNIT OF STUDY
The Facultys Student Administration Manual is available for reference at the Current
Students section of the Faculty Website (http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/). Most
day-to-day issues you encounter in the course of completing this Unit of Study can be
addressed with the information provided in the Manual. It contains detailed instructions on
processes, links to forms and guidance on where to get further assistance.
STAYING ON TOP OF YOUR STUDY
For full information visit http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/staying_on_top.shtml
The Learning Centre assists students to develop the generic skills, which are necessary for
learning and communicating knowledge and ideas at university. Programs available at The
Learning Centre include workshops in Academic Reading and Writing, Oral communications
Skills, Postgraduate Research Skills, Honours, masters Coursework Program, Studying at
University, and Workshops for English Language and Learning. Further information about
The Learning Centre can be found at http://sydney.edu.au/stuserv/learning_centre/.
The Write Site provides online support to help you develop your academic and professional
writing skills. All University of Sydney staff and students who have a Unikey can access the
WriteSite at http://writesite.elearn.usyd.edu.au/.
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has units at both an Undergraduate and
Postgraduate level that focus on writing across the curriculum or, more specifically, writing
in the disciplines, making them relevant for all university students. To find out more visit
http://sydney.edu.au/arts/teaching_learning/writing_hub/index.shtml and
http://sydney.edu.au/arts/teaching_learning/pg_writing_support/index.shtml.
In addition to units of study on writing, The FASS Writing Hub offers drop-in sessions to
assist students with their writing in a one-to-one setting. No appointment is necessary, and
this service is free of charge to all FASS students and/or all students enrolled in WRIT units.
For more information on what topics are covered in a drop-in session and for the current
schedule, please visit http://sydney.edu.au/arts/writing_hub/writing_support/index.shtml
Pastoral and academic support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students is
provided by the STAR Team in Student Support services, a dedicated team of professional
Aboriginal people able to respond to the needs of students across disciplines. The STAR
team can assist with tutorial support, mentoring support, cultural and pastoral care along
with a range of other services. More information about support for Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander students can be found at


http://sydney.edu.au/current_students/student_services/indigenous_support.shtml.
The Library offers students free, online tutorials in library skills at
http://sydney.edu.au/library/skills. There's one designed especially for students studying in
the Humanities and Social Sciences at http://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/. And don't forget
to find out who your Faculty Liaison Librarians are.
OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES
Disability Services is located on Level 5, Jane Foss Russell Building G20; contact 8627 8422
or email disability.services@sydney.edu.au. For further information, visit their website at
http://sydney.edu.au/stuserv/disability/.
Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS) are located on Level 5, Jane Foss Russell
Building G20; contact 8627 8433 or email caps.admin@sydney.edu.au. For further
information, visit their website at http://sydney.edu.au/current_students/counselling/.

SEMINAR READING SCHEDULE


NB: unless otherwise noted, all items are available via ereadings
WEEK ONE
5 March
Required Reading:

The Eighteenth-Century Public Sphere


Anon, The Character of a Coffee-House, with the Symptomes
of a Town-Wit, 1673. In The Commerce of Everyday Life:
Selections from the Tatler and Spectator, ed. Erin Mackie
(Boston: Bedford, 1998), pp. 137-48
Edward Ward, A Visit to a Coffee-House, 1709. In The
Commerce of Everyday Life: Selections from the Tatler and
Spectator, ed. Erin Mackie (Boston: Bedford, 1998), pp. 144-8

WEEK TWO
12 March
Required Reading:

The Tatler and The Spectator


The Tatler, numbers 1, 155, 160, 178, 225, and 264
The Spectator, numbers 1, 2, 10, 49, 262, 568, 625
Stuart Sherman, To Print My Self Out: Correspondence and
Containment in the Spectator and its Predecessors, in Telling
Time: Clocks, Diaries, and English Diurnal Form, 1660-1785
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996)

WEEK THREE
19 March
Required Reading:

Public Writing: Eighteenth-Century Poetry


Alexander Pope, An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, in The Poems of
Alexander Pope: a one-volume edition of the Twickenham text,
edited John Butt (London: Methuen, 1968), pp. 597-612
J. Paul Hunter, Couplets and Conversation, in The Cambridge
Companion to Eighteenth-Century Poetry (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 11-36.
NB: This is available as an eBook. To locate the reading,
search the catalogue by the title of the companion.

WEEK FOUR
26 March
Required Reading:

The Adventures of Rivella: Can Gossip be


Political?
Delarivier Manley, The Adventures of Rivella, ed. Katherine
Zelinsky (Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 1999), Available from
the Co-op Bookshop
Catherine Gallagher, Political Crimes and Fictional Alibis: The
Case of Delarivier Manley, Eighteenth-Century Studies 23.4
(Summer, 1990): 502-521.

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WEEK FIVE
2 April
Required Reading:

The Adventures of Rivella: Scandal and


the Law
Delarivier Manley, The Adventures of Rivella, ed. Katherine
Zelinsky (Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 1999), Available from
the Co-op Bookshop
Kathryn Temple, Manleys Feignd Scene: Fictions of Law at
Westminster Hall, Eighteenth-Century Fiction 22.4 (Summer
2010): 573-98.

WEEK SIX
16 April
Required Reading:

WEEK SEVEN
23 April
Required Reading:

Introducing Moll Flanders


Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders, ed. Paul A. Scanlon
(Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 2005). Available from the Coop Bookshop
Moll Flanders: Criminality and Serial
Fiction
Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders, ed. Paul A. Scanlon
(Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 2005). Available from the Coop Bookshop
Hal Gladfelder, Moll Flanders and her Confederates, in
Criminality and Narrative in Eighteenth-Century England
(Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001), pp.
113-130.

WEEK EIGHT
30 April

READING WEEK

This reading week is designed to give you the opportunity to begin reading Pamela. This
novel is central to the course, so you should use this time to make substantial progress
reading the novel and thinking through the critical issues it raises.

WEEK NINE
7 May
Required Reading:

Literary Scandal: Samuel Richardsons


new species of writing
Samuel Richardson, Pamela, edited by Thomas Keymer and
Alice Wakely (Oxford: Oxford Worlds Classics, 2001;
Reissued 2008), pp. 1-219. Available from the Co-op
Bookshop
William Warner, The Pamela Media Event, Licensing
Entertainment: The Elevation of Novel Reading in Britain,
1684-1750 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press,
1998), pp. 176-230.

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WEEK TEN
14 May
Required Reading:

Resisting Pamela
Samuel Richardson, Pamela, pp. 220-503, (available from the
Co-op Bookshop)
AND
James Grantham Turner, Novel Panic: Picture and
Performance in the Reception of Richardsons Pamela,
Representations No. 48 (Autumn, 1994): 70-96.
OR
Henry Fielding, An Apology for the Life of Shamela Andrews
(London, 1741), in Joseph Andrews/Shamela, edited by Judith
Hawley (Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1999), pp. 3-43, 336-44.

WEEK ELEVEN
21 May
Required Reading:

Literary Celebrity: The Life of Samuel Johnson


and Anecdotes of the Late Dr Johnson
Hester Piozzi, Anecdotes of the Late Dr Johnson, (London:
Cassell, 1887), pp. 15-21, 38-41, 47-8, 60-3, 135-6, 142-9,
164-73
James Boswell, Life of Samuel Johnson, (New York: Knopf,
1992), pp. 9-24, 242-51, 387-99, 454-6, 464-71, 482-3, 598604, 671-81, 828-831, 1174-9
Catherine N. Parke, Johnson and the arts of conversation, in
The Cambridge Companion to Samuel Johnson, ed. Greg
Clingham (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp.
18-33.
NB: This is available as an eBook. To locate the reading,
search the catalogue by the title of the companion

WEEK TWELVE
28 May
Required Reading:

Models of Feminine Literary Sociability:


Millenium Hall
Sarah Scott, Millenium Hall, edited by Gary Kelly
(Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 2001). Available from the Coop Bookshop
Betty A. Schellenberg, Authorizing the Marginalized Circle in
Sarah Scotts Millenium Hall, in The Conversational Circle:
Re-reading the English novel, 1740-1775 (Lexington, KY:
University of Kentucky Press, 1996), pp. 88-101, 154-56.

WEK THIRTEEN
4 June

Reflecting on Scandal & Sociability

This final seminar is an opportunity to reflect on what weve discovered about scandal and
sociability in the eighteenth century and to draw some conclusions from our discussion.
There is no set reading for this seminar, but you may be asked to think through some
specific questions in preparation for discussion.

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