English 417-001
Readings for Writers: The Pleasures of Satire
Instr: Chapson, Jim
Office: CRT 525; 229-4243
e-mail: jchapson@uwm.edu
Office hours: TBA
Course Information: TR; 2:00-3:15pm; CRT 286
Course Description
The course will begin with a careful investigation of 17th-18th century satire, with emphasis on The Earl of Rochester, Jonathan Swift, and Alexander Pope. We will follow the trajectory of satire into the present age in order to compose original satires exploring the students' interests and concerns. Students will turn in new satires approximately every two weeks, to produce a portfolio of about twenty pages by the end of the semester.
Grades will be based on the final portfolio. Because the success of the class requires the active participation of all of its members, attendance will affect the semester grade: after four absences grades will be lowered one level (e.g. B to B-) for each additional absence.
Texts:
John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, Selected Works
Jonathan Swift, Selected Poems
Alexander Pope, et al., Memoirs of the Extraordinary Life, Works and Discoveries of Martinus Scriblerus
