The Kankedort Page Daniel T. Kline, Dept. of English, U of Alaska Anchorage Chaucer Pedagogy | Electronic Canterbury Tales | Kankedort Page But now to yow, ye loveres that ben here, / Was Troilus nought in a kankedort, . . . ? / Troilus and Criseyde 2: 1751-52

English 315: Survey of Medieval Literature

1. Description 4. Goals and Objectives 7. Grades 2. Process 5. Texts 8. Reading and Class Schedule 3. Key Questions 6. Requirements and Policies

Description

Eng. 315, Survey of Medieval Literature, is a necessarily selective survey of writing from across Europe from the 4^th to the 15^th centuries, with some emphasis on writing in Middle English. The course is roughly chronological and highlights a variety of medieval genres, including heroic and epic literature; romance; Arthurian lore; the lai; fabliau and burlesque literature; varieties of drama; and didactic, religious, and political literature. This approach should present both the depth and breadth of literary production in Europe during the middle ages.

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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 historical context.

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Key Questions

In addition to examining the literature in formalistic terms (themes, symbols, images, etc.), we will also find ourselves returning to key questions of literary interpretation throughout the course, including:

1. 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 writers experiment with that construct?
2. 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? 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?
3. How does the writer see h/h text in context of h/h culture? What in the culture is the author, criticizing, justifying, exploring, analyzing, satirizing, and/or subverting?
4. What is reading, and what happens when we read? What do we attend to or ignore in our readings? 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?
5. 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.

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Goals/Objectives

Our overall (and modest) goal for the course will be to achieve both an understanding and appreciation of approximately 1300 years of European literature. 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 writing in Europe from Late Antiquity to the Reformation.
2. Familiar with the cultural and historical contexts of this literature.
3. Proficient in the basic vocabulary of literary formalism (New Criticism).
4. Able to explore and articulate the connections between this literature and our present historical, cultural, and personal situation(s).
5. Able to develop and write brief, well-developed, and tightly focused literary analyses using research.

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.

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Texts

• Alighieri, Dante.  The Divine Comedy.  Trans. C. H. Sisson.  Oxford:  OUP, 1993.

• Hrotsvit of Gandersheim.  A Florilegium of Her Works. Ed. Katharina Wilson.  Cambridge: 

•       DS Brewer, 1998.

• The Lais of Marie de France.  Trans. Robert Hanning and Joan Ferrante.  Grand Rapids: 

•       Baker, 1978. 

• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.  Ed. and trans. James Winny.  Peterborough, Ont.: 

•       Broadview, 1992.

• The Song of Roland.  Trans. Robert Harrison.  New York:  Mentor, 1970.

• Troyes, Chretien de.  Arthurian Romances.  Trans. William W. Kilber.  Oxford:  OUP, 1991.

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Requirements and Policies

Thorough reading, class participation, a group project, 1 test (a cumulative final), 4 brief response papers (2 pgs max), participation in an email discussion forum, and one literary analysis paper (5-8 pgs) are required in Eng. 315. I also expect you to come to class regularly and to keep up with the reading assignments. We will also engage in an email discussion forum with a History of the Middle Ages class, headed by Dr. Linda McMillin, Susquehanna University, in Pennsylvania.

1. 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; you will persevere. In addition, you should also read the editor's notes to each text, author, or historical period for each assignment.
   
2. Discussion Starters: As part of your classroom work, you will serve as "primary" respondent for one class period and the "secondary" respondent for another. As the Primary Respondent, you will be responsible for a 2-3 (typed) page write-up which presents relevant historical, cultural, or textual information from the introductory material; summarizes the day's selection; offers 3-5 questions, concerns, or statements to initiate discussion; and points to 2-3 specific passages for the class to examine. As the Secondary Respondent, you are responsible for a 1 page summary (1-2 paragraphs, typed) of key questions and issues for the text under discussion. In both cases, you will need to reproduce copies for the entire class.
   
3.   Group Presentation:  The class will be broken up into groups (1) to introduce a text during the term and (2) to generate two email questions during two different weeks in the term.  For the group presentation, the group will formulate an agenda for the class and will meet with me one week prior to the presentation for feedback.  The presentation should set the historical background, summarize the author's biography, identify key literary themes, and notice the relation of this text to other texts/themes.  Handouts, visual aids, and creative risks are welcome.  See the reading schedule for due dates; we will sign up for groups in class.
   
4. Email Discussion Forum:  We will be collaborating with Dr. Linda McMillin's Medieval History 330 course (Susquenhanna University, PA) through a web-based email discussion forum (point your web browser to <http://www.susqu.edu/discuss/> to click on the medieval discussion forum.  That will take you to a login page where you'll enter your user name and password (which I will provide for you).  That will then give you access to the threaded discussion where you can post your questions and responses.  I'll have a separate handout for the technical details, but here's the general scoop: Each week, 4-6 questions will be posted from the instructors or student groups at Susquehanna and UAA. Up to 6 students can answer each question for credit (after 6 responses have been posted to a question, you'll need to find another question to answer).  You can only be in the first 6 respondents for one question per week (though feel free to add your 2 cents to any thread after 4 others have responded!).  You can at any time respond to any of the threads after you have responded to one of the week's questions. Responses must be at least a paragraph in length, written in clear prose, and signed. Responses can address the question for the week or react to other responses. Responses will be graded as  0, 1, or 2 (0 = no response or response in poorly written and/or does connect to the discussion, 1 = response is adequately written and connects to the discussion, 2 = response is adequately written, connects to the discussion, and incorporates reading from the week).  For our purposes a week will be defined as midnight Sunday to midnight the following Sunday.    
   
5. Tests: You will have a midterm based on the Email Discussion Forum and cumulative final emphasizing your ability to think across the semester. The tests may combine both objective questions over content (names, dates, identifying texts and key ideas) and essay responses over literary interpretation (meanings of particular texts, connections between authors, themes, symbols, etc.). We will decide the format together as a class. I don’t give make-ups for major tests and I sometimes give quizzes.
   
6. Response Papers: You will write a brief critical response (1-1/2 to 2 typed pages; no more than 2 pages) to specific questions throughout the term (4 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).
   
7. 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.
   
8. 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.
   

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Grades

The course is strictly graded from A to F (A = 93-100, B = 85-92, C = 77-84, D = 70-76, F = 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 grades are weighted as follows:

One final word: If your have a question at any point in the term, ask me or set up an appointment. If you have a problem that prevents your progress in the course, don't suffer in silence. Let me know before it gets unmanageable and we'll work something out.

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Tentative Schedule, English 315/Kline (Fall 1999)

Response Paper 1:  Drawing upon our discussion of Bové, choose a saint's life show how the saint's life functions as "discourse" for a particular community or audience.  Due Tuesday, 9/15.

Response Paper 2:  Using the medieval idea of "pilgrimage" as a starting point, compare and contrast Dante's Inferno with The Song of Roland.  Due Tuesday, 9/29.

Response Paper 3:  Write a lai patterned after Marie de France, but particularize your lai to an Alaskan setting, with Alaskan references and situations.  Be creative!  Due Tuesday, 11/3.

Response Paper 4:  Using Chretien de Troyes as an example, identify one (or several closely related) the characteristics of the courtly aesthetic, and, if significant, briefly indicate how those conventions have changed in Malory.  A good way to approach this assignment is to compare and contrast parallel episodes of "The Knight of the Cart" in both Chretien and Malory.  Due Tuesday, 11/29

The better papers will:  (1) Be organized around a specific thesis and clearly and logically structured; (2) Address very specific passages and cite specific texts (by page and/or line number); (3) Refer to key points of class discussion; (4) Be 2-3 typed double-spaced pages in the MLA format (no more than 4 pages).

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