English 449: Nathaniel Hawthorne: I'll Take Romance
	Professor Gilbert L. Gigliotti 304 Willard Hall 860/832-2759 gigliotti@ccsu.edu

By focusing upon Hawthorne's conception, definition, and employment of the genre of 'Romance,' this course closely examines his short stories and four major works of fiction. The course also emphasizes the critical history of Hawthorne's texts as well as the impact of his own critical writings upon both his contemporaries and the development of American Literature.

SYLLABUS

Introduction to Course
    "Endicott and the Red Cross" (1837)

"Reading as Disruption" (Millington 15-25)
    "Roger Malvin's Funeral" (1831)
    "The Celestial Rail-Road" (1843)

"Hawthorne's Careerists" (Millington 26-41)
    "Young Goodman Brown" (1835)
    "Wakefield" (1835)
    "The Minister's Black Veil" (1835)
    "The Birthmark" ((1843)
    "Rappaccini's Daughter" (1844)
    "Ethan Brand" (1850)

"The Invention of Romance" (Millington 42-56)
    "The Old Manse" (1846)
    "The Custom House" (1849)
    "Preface" to the Third Edition of Twice-Told Tales (1851)
    "Preface" to The Snow-Image (1852)

"Romance as Revision" (Millington 59-104)
    The Scarlet Letter (1850)

"Romance as Engagement" (Millington 105-153)
    The House of the Seven Gables (1851)

"Romance as Attack" (Millington 154-176)
    The Blithedale Romance (1852)

"The Defeat of Romance" (Millington 177-206)
    The Marble Faun (1860)

ASSIGNMENTS
E-mail Journals: A collection of ten e-mail postings to the professor at his e-mail address (Gigliotti@ccsu.edu) on any aspect of the readings for that week that the student finds intriguing. The student must post the 100-200 word e-mails no later than 12:00 noon on the day on which that particular text will be discussed in class.
Presentation: A discussion and evaluation by 2-3 students of at least two divergent critical readings of any short story in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales (Norton 1987) not specifically mentioned in the syllabus.
Paper I: An application of the criticism of Richard Millington, as found in Practicing Romance (Princeton UP 1992), to one of Hawthorne's short works not discussed by the scholar. The paper should include the student's critique of the benefits/drawbacks of Millington's approach.
(5-8 pages)

Thesis and Annotated Bibliography: A focused and well-articulated statement of the proposed topic for the research paper together with a targeted bibliography of appropriate and applicable sources. In addition, for each source, the student should include a one-paragraph summary of the ideas and arguments presented.
Paper II: A thoroughly researched and well-documented discussion of some significant aspect of one of Hawthorne's four major Romances: The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, The Blithedale Romance, and The Marble Faun.

GRADING BREAKDOWN
Participation and Attendance 10%
E-mails (10 posts) 15% will be graded holistically - on the general quality of the posts over the course of the semester.
Presentation 15%    * The grade for the oral presentations will be based upon:
        1. the organization and clear exposition of the critical approaches to
the story (45%),
        2. the critique offered of the various approaches (35%), and
        3. the presentation and delivery (20%).
Paper I (5-8 pages) 20%
Thesis and Annotated Bibliography 10%
Paper II (15 pages) 30%
(The two papers will be evaluated according to the Diederich Scale.)

REQUIRED TEXTS
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Blithedale Romance. Ed. William E. Cain. Boston: Bedford Books, 1996.
- - - . The House of the Seven Gables. Ed. Seymour Gross. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1967.
- - - . The Marble Faun. New York: Penguin Books, 1990.
- - - . Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales. Ed. James McIntosh. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1987.
- - - . The Scarlet Letter. Ed. Seymour Gross, et. al. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1988.
Millington, Richard. Practicing Romance: Narrative Form and Cultural Engagement in Hawthorne's Fiction. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1992.