English 488: Getting Away From it All (?): Working the Literary Landscape
	Professor Gilbert L. Gigliotti 304 Willard Hall 860/832-2759 gigliotti@ccsu.edu

Readings
Hesiod, Works and Days (8th Century BCE)

Publius Vergilius Maro, Georgics (30 BCE)

Juan Luis Vives, In Georgica Virgilii (1513)

Girolamo Fracastoro, Syphilis, Book III (1530)

Joseph Addison, “Essay on Virgil’s Georgics” (1697)

James Thomson, The Seasons (1730)

David Humphreys, “Poem on the Industry of the United States of America” (1804)

Willa Cather, My Antonia (1918)

T.S. Eliot, “Virgil and the Christian World” (1951)

David R. Slavitt, The Georgics of Virgil (1972)

Grading Breakdown
Paper (#2) on the “Georgic Tradition” (12-15 pages) 20%
Paper (#1) on Vergil’s Antecedents (4 pages) 15%
E-mail journal (six 250-word entries) 15%
Presentation of scholarly article 10%
Attendance and participation 10%
Thesis statement / outline 5%
Take Home exam 25%

Description of Assignments
Participation and attendance: Since the study of literature benefits greatly from the open discussion of individual reactions and views, class participation is not only encouraged it is required. As a consequence, while voluntary participation is always welcomed, the professor reserves the right to ask students directly to address a variety of topics (i.e., the assigned readings, their journal entries, etc.).

Students should complete the assigned readings by the class for which they are listed in the syllabus. Also, due to the intense nature of a weekly course, students cannot miss more than the total of one class meeting without penalty. If students, because of work and/or family commitments, do not think that they can complete the reading and writing assignments in a timely fashion, it is highly recommended that they not take this class.

E-mail Journals: Six reaction papers based upon the reading assignment for that week. These brief essays should be grammatically correct and structured responses (i.e., include introductory and concluding paragraphs, etc.) that focus upon a single issue or question. To receive credit, the journal entries must be e-mailed to the professor (at gigliotti@ccsu.edu) by no later than 5:00 PM on the assigned class days.

Paper #1: Antecedents of Vergil’s Georgics: A brief comparison of a passage or theme from Vergil’s poem and one of the following Greek or Roman authors: Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, Callimachus, Aratus, Nicander, Lucretius, and Varro.

Presentation: A brief (15 minute) presentation by two/three students of a scholarly article regarding the influence of the Georgics on the work of a later writer. The presentation should a) detail how the critic links Vergil’s poem to the subsequent text and b) evaluate the connections drawn. (Students may develop these presentations further into topics for Paper #2.)

Thesis and Outline for Paper #2: A proposed thesis statement and outline of the second paper, for which the professor will offer suggestions regarding organization, content, and possible ancillary readings.

Paper #2: The Nachleben of the Georgics: A detailed examination of a single work (in any language from any literary period since Rome’s “Golden Age” of the late First Century BCE) that arguably belongs to the tradition of Vergil’s Georgics.

Take Home Exam: A comprehensive essay test. Students will be required to answer two of three questions to be distributed. The answers should be detailed and include specific references to appropriate and relevant texts read and discussed in the course.