Skip to main content
Unit outline_

ENGL4121: The Secret History of the Novel

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal evening] - Remote

The English novel emerged as a distinct genre in the eighteenth century. This unit investigates its development and circulation, analysing novels that have since been canonised as well as material usually excluded from the story of the novel's rise. We aim at a more complex understanding of the novel as a historical genre as well as the roots of its contemporary appeal.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

No

Teaching staff

Coordinator Nicola Parsons, nicola.parsons@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Assignment Option 1: Essay (100%)
Option 1: Essay
100% Formal exam period 6000wd
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Assignment Option 2: Part A Conference Paper (50%)
Conference Paper delivered at Honours Conference
0% Formal exam period 20 mins
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Assignment Option 2 Part B, Conference Paper Write-up (50%)
3000-word write up of your conference paper
0% Formal exam period 3000wd
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4

Assessment summary

This Honours unit is assessed by either:

  • One research essay of 6000 words (worth 100%)

OR

  • One 20-minute conference paper (worth 50%) delivered at the Honours Conference, followed by a 3000-word write-up (worth 50%), due one week later

The due dates for these assessment tasks will be provided to you by the Honours Co-ordinator, and reflected on the Canvas site for this unit.

Assessment criteria

Refer to the specific Honours marking scale in the Honours Handbook on Canvas

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Introduction Seminar (2 hr)  
Week 02 Novels for Childish Readers Seminar (2 hr)  
Week 03 Novels for Childish Readers Seminar (2 hr)  
Week 04 Quixotic Novels Seminar (2 hr)  
Week 05 Quixotic Novels Seminar (2 hr)  
Week 06 Narratives of Circulating People Seminar (2 hr)  
Week 07 Narratives of Circulating Objects Seminar (2 hr)  
Week 08 Reading Week Independent study (2 hr)  
Week 09 Dramatic Novels Seminar (2 hr)  
Week 10 Dramatic Novels Seminar (2 hr)  
Week 11 Experimental Novels? Seminar (2 hr)  
Week 12 Experimental Novels? Seminar (2 hr)  
Week 13 Conclusion Seminar (2 hr)  

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance

According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold. For more information on attendance, see http://sydney.edu.au/policies/showdoc.aspx?recnum=PDOC2014/345&RendNum=0.

 

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Please acquire your own copies of the following four texts:

  • Sarah Fielding, The Governess, or the Little Female Academcy, ed. Candace Ward (Broadview, 2005)
  • Charlotte Lennox, The Female Quixote, ed. Margaret Dalziell, intro. Margaret Doody (Oxford, 2008)
  • George Colman, Polly Honeycombe, in The Rivals and Polly Honeycombe, ed. David Brewer (Broadview, 2012)
  • Laurence Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, ed. Joan New, Melvyn New (Penguin, 2003)

You are welcome to use any modern critical edition of The Female Quixote and Tristram Shandy, though I have noted the two I recommend. The Governess and Polly Honeycombe are only available from Broadview. You can purchase inexpensive eBooks of both directly from the Broadview site. I recommend selecting the pdf option, which mirrors the pagination of the print edition. Of course, all four texts are also freely available as facsimile texts from library databases (like ECCO), but you will miss out on the explanatory notes and critical introductions that are often important aids to understanding. 

All other texts are available via eReserve. Please see Canvas for a detailed reading schedule.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. assess the relationship between eighteenth-century novels and the intellectual, social, legal, political and cultural environment
  • LO2. understand and evaluate theoretical debates about the origins of the novel in England
  • LO3. communicate arguments and ideas effectively and articulately to others, both in writing and verbally
  • LO4. demonstrate skills in research through the competent use of the library and electronic resources that are particular to the study of eighteenth-century literature

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

In response to feedback from students who undertook the unit on Zoom in s1, 2020, I have made several changes to the way we use the online environment to improve the quality of our interactions and collective capacity to produce knowledge.

More information relating to this unit, including a detailed schedule of readings, can be found on Canvas

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.