Week One (January 7-11)

M
Introduction to the course and to the Robinsonade 
William Cowper: “The Castaway” (1799) and W. S. Gilbert: “Etiquette” (1859) 
Select a topic to research (some topics may have two people working together)
T
Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe (1719)—read to the footprint 
• Defoe’s inspirations (Alexander Selkirk and others) **WINNING REPORT FOR THE DAY
• Tobacco and its medicinal uses in Defoe’s time 
• Parrots and penguins, their characteristics and native range 
W
Robinson Crusoe—read to the end 
• Robinson Crusoe’s wanderings: a map study 
• Cannibalism: fact or fiction? 
• Robinson Crusoe Island, a resort in development **WINNING REPORT FOR THE DAY
 In-class writing assignment 
Th 
Robert M. Ballantyne: The Coral Island (1857)—read to the arrival of the pirates 
• Breadfruit, taro, banyan, and candlenut trees 
• Coral reefs, their construction and colorful inhabitants 
F
The Coral Island—read to the end 
• Pigs, their origin and their domestication 
• Pirates and piracy on the high seas **WINNING REPORT FOR THE DAY
• Missionaries in the South Seas during the mid-nineteenth century
In-class writing assignment
Season Finale of Survivor on television tonight at 8 pm!
Sat 
If possible, watch The Mysterious Island (1961) at 1 pm on the Sci-Fi Channel (it features a giant chicken not in Verne’s original novel)
 

Week Two (January 14-18)

M
James M. Barrie: The Admirable Crichton (1902) 
• The organization of the upper-class English household (“upstairs/downstairs”) **WINNING REPORT FOR THE DAY
• Fabian Socialism and radicalism in late 19th-century England 
T
William Golding: Lord of the Flies (1954) 
• Beelzebub, history of 
• Hobbes versus Rousseau on human nature and the social contract 
• Sigmund Freud on the id, ego, and superego **WINNING REPORT FOR THE DAY
W 
Presentations about other castaway narratives (strict 3-minute limit per person) 
Start work on the novels: meet your (assigned) group, lay out the basics, brainstorm 
Th
Guest lecture by Rona Kaufman (Univ of Michigan) on collaborative writing
Continue work on developing a plot outline 
F 
“Pitch Your Novel”; bring the chapter-by-chapter plot outline (typed) as well as a quick summary 
 

Week Three (January 21-25)

MT 
Work on the novels (I’ll be in my office for consultation) 
W
“The Book Launch”: each group makes a short presentation to the class 
Write description in class of “who did what” 
Please send me your novel as an email attachment today 
Th 
No class: read the novels written by the other groups
F 
No class: email your reviews by 5 pm
By Monday, you can read “Reviews of the Latest Books" 
 

Grading

15% A well-researched oral presentation on one of the specified topics. You will become an expert who will illuminate the text we are reading with your knowledge. Each presentation should not occupy more than 10 to 15 minutes and you will need to hand in a typed outline of the presentation the same day you give it. At the end of class, the other students will rate the day’s presenters on these criteria: organization, style, and usefulness.

15% A researched oral presentation (1, 2, or 3 people per work) on a castaway text not on the syllabus. You will be limited to 5 minutes each, so don’t spend all the time giving a plot summary; focus on how this work puts a new twist on the tradition. Here are some texts to consider if you don’t already have one in mind: 

Castaway (film) 
Coetzee: Foe (novel) 
Colman Jr: Inkle and Yarico (play) 
Eco: The Island of the Day Before (novel) 
Gilligan’s Island (television show) 
Reade: Foul Play (novel) 
Shakespeare: The Tempest (play) 
St Pierre: Paul and Virginia (play) 
Survivor (television game show) 
The Blue Lagoon (film) 
Verne: The Mysterious Island (novel) 
Wyss: Swiss Family Robinson (novel)

15% The various writing assignments and class participation, which includes attendance and attention.

15% Reviews of the other collaborative novels (200 words per novel). Please read 5 professional book reviews before you write yours to get a sense of what a book review should be like: look at the New York Times Book Review and the Times Literary Supplement, both in the library near the newspapers. Your review will be posted (anonymously) on the class website.

20% The group grade for the short novel set on a desert island, written collaboratively. This novel will be posted (pseudonymously, if you wish) on the class website. I will need the written permission of everyone in the group if it is to be accessible off-campus.

20% The personal grade for the short novel. Each member of the group will write a description of who did what, which will aid me in working out the grade. The areas to keep track of are:

Brainstorming 
Developing the plot 
Developing the characters 
Outlining the chapters 
Making the “pitch” 
Researching, fact-checking 
Writing specific chapters 
Revising style for consistency 
Proofreading the final text 
Calming troubled waters 
Being reliable 
Giving the final presentation 

I assume you will always be in class. Frequent absences will injure your final grade. Call or email me if you are sick or trapped in the snow so I won’t think dark thoughts about you.

Please take notes on the reading and review those notes just before class. I expect you all to be prepared.

Finally, because of our tight schedule, it is simply not possible to give extensions. Contact me if there is some major disaster in your life that will cause a problem.