NCHU Course Outline
Course Name (中) 大眾文學(3024)
(Eng.) Popular Literature
Offering Dept Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
Course Type Elective Credits 2 Teacher Ho, TAI-CHUN
Department Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate Language English Semester 2025-SPRING
Course Description This course gives students the opportunity to read a range of literary texts: Elizabeth Gaskell’s “The Grey Woman” (1861) and Mayne Reid’s The Headless Horseman (1865-1866), the stories of Arthurian Romance and the lyrics of Taylor Swift, as well as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd (1874). It features two expert-led lectures and encourages students to think about the reasons why these works became “popular” then and now.
Prerequisites
self-directed learning in the course Y
Relevance of Course Objectives and Core Learning Outcomes(%) Teaching and Assessment Methods for Course Objectives
Course Objectives Competency Indicators Ratio(%) Teaching Methods Assessment Methods
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
(1) Become familiar with the major themes and issues of popular literature in nineteenth-century Britain
(2) Identity and analyze nineteenth-century literature of various genres and forms
(3) Demonstrate knowledge of popular nineteenth-century authors and novels
(4) Enhance their reading skills and critical thinking through complex literary texts.
(5) Develop an understanding of the formal, stylistic, and aesthetic qualities of nineteenth-century literature
Course Content and Homework/Schedule/Tests Schedule
Week Course Content
Week 1 (Feb 18) Introduction
Week 2 (Feb 25) Arthurian Children’s Literature
Week 3 (March 4) Gaskell’s The Gray Woman
Week 4 (March 11) Gaskell’s The Gray Woman
Week 5 (March 18) Prof. Elly McCausland’s Lecture: Dreams of Romance: Chivalric Ideals from Sir Gawain to Taylor Swift
Week 6 (March 25) Mayne Reid’s The Headless Horseman
Week 7 (April 1) Mayne Reid’s The Headless Horseman
Week 8 (April 8) Mayne Reid’s The Headless Horseman
Week 9 (April 15) Prof. Linda Hughes’s Lecture 3) Gender and Cross-Cultural Exchange in Adventure Fiction: Elizabeth Gaskell’s “The Grey Woman” (1861) and Mayne Reid’s The Headless Horseman of Texas (1866)
Week 10 (Holiday)
Week 11 (April 29) Pride and Prejudice
Week 12 (May 6) Pride and Prejudice
Week 13 (May 13) Pride and Prejudice
Week 14 (May 20) Far from the Madding Crowd
Week 15 (May 27) Far from the Madding Crowd
Week 16 (June 3) Final Presentation
Week 17 Self-Learning Week
Week 18 Self-Learning Week
Evaluation
10% Weekly Journal Reports
10% Weekly quizzes
40% participation (group presentation 5%; class participation 20%; attendance 15%)
40% Two written responses (submitted in Week 9 and 18)

>Class participation: I will give points based on your speaking frequency during the in-class activities.

0-10 scale system is used.
1-4= didn’t speak but attended the classes
5-6= spoke only a few times
7-8= made a few comments
9-10=talked a lot

Absences

>Sickness: If you can’t come to class because you’re sick, please apply for a leave of absence via the
university’s online system and attach a document which shows your doctor’s notes or your visit to a clinic or hospital. You will need to show me absent notes approved by the university on the day of a quiz or test; otherwise, your absence will be unexcused. Each class absence will drop 1 point off your final grade.

>Tardiness: You should come to class on time. If you arrive late after I take attendance, you
will be marked absent.

>Other reasons: Please discuss them with me beforehand.

Textbook & other References
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice (1813). Edited by Edited by James Kinsley, Oxford
World’s Classics, 2004.

Gaskell, Elizabeth, “The Grey Woman,” published in three parts in All the Years Round, 1861.

Reid, Mayne. The Headless Horseman: A Strange Tale of Texas. London: Richard Bentley, 1866.

Hardy, Thomas. Far from the Madding Crowd (1874). Edited by Suzanne B. Falck-Yi,
Oxford World’s Classics, 2002.

Librovox audios:
https://librivox.org/pride-and-prejudice-by-jane-austen/
https://librivox.org/pride-and-prejudice-by-jane-austen-2/
https://librivox.org/far-from-the-madding-crowd-by-thomas-hardy/
https://librivox.org/the-grey-woman-by-elizabeth-cleghorn-gaskell/
https://librivox.org/the-headless-horseman-a-strange-tale-of-texas-by-thomas-mayne-reid/


Teaching Aids & Teacher's Website
Worksheets containing reading comprehension and discussion questions are available via I-Learning
Office Hours
Monday 3:10-5:00 pm (by appointment)
Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs
include experience courses:N
Please respect the intellectual property rights and use the materials legally.Please repsect gender equality.
Update Date, year/month/day:2025/02/06 21:36:59 Printed Date, year/month/day:2025 / 2 / 10
The second-hand book website:http://www.myub.com.tw/