Eng. 604, Studies in Women's Literature: Medieval Women Writers is an intensive survey of medieval women's writing from across Europe, with some emphasis on women writing in Middle English. The process of the course is straightforward: We will read significant texts from across Europe, analyze their content, and discuss their potential meanings, both in the context of their historical culture and our own period. We will also identify and interpret significant thematic emphases of individual works and authors, distinguish the characteristics of each genre, period, and writer, and look for both significant continuities and crucial innovations within and between writers and periods. As a way of examining the complicated relationship between literature, culture, and authorship, we will frame our examination of each author or text according to its historical context and examine each text through a set of social practices--the "cultural codes"--characteristic of that writer's historical context.

Process

The process of the course is straightforward: We will read significant texts from the period, analyze their content, and discuss their potential meanings, both in the context of their historical culture and our own period. We will also identify and interpret significant thematic emphases of individual works and authors, distinguish the characteristics of each genre, period, and writer, and look for both significant continuities and crucial innovations within and between writers and periods. As a way of examining the complicated relationship between literature, culture, and authorship, we will frame our examination of each author or text according to its historical context and examine each text through a set of social practices or "discourses"--the "cultural codes"--characteristic of that writer's historical context.

Top

Key Questions

1. We will also find ourselves returning to key questions of literary interpretation throughout the course, including:
2. What is "women's writing"? What does it mean to read or write like or as a woman? How did medieval women writers create a discursive space for their own literary production within male-dominated cultures?
3. How does an author perceive the artistic process and justify his/her work; that is, what are the various "authorizing strategies" used in these texts? To what in the reader(s) does the author appeal to gain a hearing for the work? In a broader sense, what is an "author" and how do these women writers experiment with that construct?
4. What is the position and function of literature within culture? What is the relationship of art to society and to politics; that is, to systems of power, domination, and subordination?
5. How does art shape our view of nature, culture, and humanity? In a similar vein, what is the relationship of history and literature or "historical" to "literary" texts?
6. How does the writer view the text in context of her culture? What in the culture is the author, criticizing, justifying, exploring, analyzing, satirizing, and/or subverting?
7. What is reading, and what happens when we read? What do we attend to or ignore in our readings?
8. What is the nature of the interaction between reader and text? What personal and social variables (gender, class, race, ethnicity, age) constrain or enable our readings?
9. Other related topics will include the place and role of women in society; the relationship of patriarchy and feminism; the construction and conventions of love, both spiritual and physical; the nature and exercise of power; the relationship of the individual to society; gender; and other such topics.

Our overall (and modest) goal for the course will be to achieve both an understanding and appreciation of approximately 600 years of European literature by and about women. The general goal of the course will enable you, by the end of the semester, to be:

1. Well-versed in the major authors and genres, important texts, and main themes of medieval women’s writing in Europe.
2. Conversant in the major theoretical concerns involved in the analysis of women's writing.
3. Familiar with the cultural and historical contexts of this literature.
4. Able to explore and articulate the connections between this literature and our present historical, cultural, and personal situation(s).
5. A competent and critical academic researcher and writer as demonstrated by a seminar length piece of original research, suitable for academic presentation.

Any student requiring individualized accommodation due to a documented ADA disability should see me during the first week of class. UAA is an equal opportunity institution.

Texts

• Amt, Emily, ed. Women's Lives in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook. London:
          Routledge, 1993.
• The Book of Margery Kempe. Ed. Lynne Staley. Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute, 1996.
• Cantimpre, Thomas de. The Life of Christina Mirabilis. Trans. Margot H. King.
          Toronto: Peregrina, 1997.
• Ferrante, Joan M. To the Glory of Her Sex: Women's Roles in the Composition of
          Medieval Texts. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1997.
• Hrotsvit of Gandersheim: A Florilegium of Her Works. Ed. Katharina M. Wilson.
          London: Boydell and Brewer, 1998.
• The Lais of Marie de France. Trans. Robert Hanning and Joan Ferrante. Grand Rapids:
          Baker, 1978.
• The Letters of Abelard and Heloise. Trans. Betty Radice. London: Penguin, 1974.
• Leyser, Henrietta. Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in England, 450-1500.
          New York: St. Martin's, 1997.
• Silence: A Thirteenth Century Romance. Trans. Sarah Roche-Mahdi. East Lansing:
          Colleagues, 1992.

Thorough reading, active class participation, 4 brief response papers (2-3 pgs max), and 1 seminar paper (15-20 pgs) are required in Eng. 604, Medieval Women. I also expect you to come to class regularly and to keep up with the reading assignments.

Reading: The careful and thorough reading of all assignments is essential to your successful completion of the course. Although we will be reading most texts in translation, you may find the Middle English selections initially difficult, but you will persevere. In addition, you should also read the editor's notes to each text, author, or historical period for each assignment. The historical context is important to our reading.

Discussion: As part of your classroom work, you will serve as "primary" respondent for one set of readings and the "secondary" respondent for another set. As the Primary Respondent, you will be responsible for a 2-3 (typed) page write-up of the primary texts for that day. You are to present relevant historical, cultural, or textual information from the introductory material; summarizes the day’s reading selections; and offers 3 questions, concerns, or statements to initiate discussion. As the Secondary Respondent, you are responsible for a 1 page summary (1-2 paragraphs, typed) of key questions and issues for the secondary source under discussion. In both cases, you will need to reproduce copies for the entire class, and we will compile these at the end of the term.

Response Papers: You will write a brief critical response (1-1/2 to 2 typed pages; no more than 2 pages) to a central question from each unit (4 of 5 papers total). These are to be very precise, focused, and clearly argued papers. I will present you with a question, issue, or problem (or a choice of several, including more creative options) to respond to in your paper; these in turn may reappear in some form on your midterm or final. See the unit schedule for due dates; late papers begin with a "C." Format: All papers (response and analysis) are to be typed on standard 8 1/2 x 11 inch typing paper according to the MLA format (title block in upper left-hand corner, no title page or plastic covers).

Seminar Paper: Your seminar paper, the term's major assignment, is to be a substantial and original critical essay (15-18 pages, no more than 20 of text). You are free to define your own topic within the purview of the course material. You will write-up a preliminary report on your topic in early March, meet with me once in conference with a preliminary outline and bibliography, and offer a final presentation during finals week (20 minutes). In preparation for the final presentation, you will also supply copies of your paper to each class member for feedback. In addition, you will serve as a reader on two other seminar papers and will prepare brief constructive critiques on those papers (3-4 pages) to be turned in to the author and to me. I will circulate more detailed instructions later in the term.

Attendance: I expect your regular attendance and participation in all aspects of the course. If you miss class, you are still responsible for the work due and should check with classmates for notes and assignments before the next class meeting. Excessive absences warrant grade penalties. A roll sheet will be circulated at the beginning of each class to record attendance.

Plagiarism: Using other people's ideas, phrases, or writing without proper documentation, including having others write your assignments or using undocumented library research, including WWW and Internet sources, will not be tolerated. Disciplinary action can range from failure of the assignment in question to failure in the course. See the Student Code of Conduct for details.

The course is strictly graded from A to F (A = 93-100, B = 85-92, C = 77-84, D = 70-76, E = 69 or below) according to the UAA descriptions (A = "comprehensive mastery," B = "high level of performance," C = "satisfactory level of performance," D = "lowest passing grade," and F = "failure"). The grading emphasis in the course balances analysis and synthesis with objective testing, and I have weighted the grades accordingly:

• Response Papers (4 papers @ 8% each) 40%
• Seminar Paper 50%
• Class Participation/Primary & Secondary Response 10%