Dr. M. Diane Krantz English 4620 344 Social Sciences Summer 2001 SS233 MW 5:30-8:00 Off. Hours: M,W 4-5 pm and by appointment Office Phone 626-6543 Web page: http://weber.edu/dkrantz dkrantz@weber.edu Required Text: The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 7th ed. Vol. 1Description: English 4620 is an introduction to the best works of Old, Middle and early Renaissance English Literature. We cover a variety of genres in order to appreciate the extraordinary diversity and richness of these periods. We consider medieval and early modern ideas about drama, the treatment of the hero and of good and evil, attitudes toward women, and other pertinent issues. Throughout the summer, we'll be reading with a consciousness of the historical continuity of the period, its connection with the artistic works of the later Renaissance, and its difference from and similarity to our own time.
Writing Requirements: Writing Requirements: Since this course is highly compressed, I am eliminating all of the writing assignments except for the the daily journal (35%) and the take-home part of the final exam (35%). You will receive this from me during the ninth week to prepare to hand in on the day of the final exam. At that time, you will take a short in-class exam (one hour) with objective questions on the readings you've done (15%).
Journal Assignment: (Easy A) You will submit journal entries on the reading at the beginning of each class for which the reading is due. These will be informal (handwritten on looseleaf), and on one side of a half sheet of looseleaf . Your grade for journaling begins as an A. You can only lower it by a) failing to hand entries in on the day they are due or b) by inappropriate responses (summary rather than interpreting or critiquing). One method that works well for the journal entry is to ask a question of the text and try to answer it. It may not be a factual question (EG. Who is the protagonist?) but must be an arguable, interpretive question (EG. How is this hero like modern heroes? Or why does the poet talk about free will in this part of the story?)
DISCUSSION REQUIREMENT (15%) (Another easy "A"!) Not only does your attendance contribute to the community we make in this class, your contribution to class discussion is crucial to helping others understand the texts in different ways and to clarifying your own position--ideas that will show up in your exam. I grade according to the number of times you attend class, working on the basis that you can't participate if you don't attend. Here's how it works: 0-2 absences = A; 3 absences = B+; 4 absences You are strongly advised to hoard your allowed absences. Journals will work the same way. 2 missing journal entries are also allowed!
THE INTERNET Besides the syllabus, a good
deal of material and supplemental information is available for this course
through my web page. Please check it regularly to obtain guidance with
the readings.
Below you will find a sample syllabus with readings I have used before. This will be replaced with the actual syllabus once I have your imput. When you suggest 5 readings, try to represent various time periods and genres as I have.
SYLLABUS (Instructor's)
Students with Disabilities: Any student requiring accommodations or services due to a disability must contact Services for Students with disabilities (SSD) in room 181 of the Student Service Center. SSD can also arrange to provide course materials (including this syllabus) in alternative formats if necessary.
Ethics: Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsification, accessing unauthorized course or test information, using unauthorized resources, or breaching copyright law. The penalty for such dishonesty will be an E in this course, and it may result in charges issued, hearings held, and/or sanctions imposed.
Readings are due on the day for which they are listed. You are expected to annotate and underline important passages in your book or on a photocopy and to produce at least half a looseleaf page of response each day of class.
Day 1
1. Intro to class. The Old
English Period and Language pp 1-22.
2. Anglo Saxon sounds and verse. Bede's Ecclesiastical History, including Caedmon's Hymn 23-25. "The Dream of the Rood," 26-28.
3. Beowulf. Introduction 29-39.
Day 2
Beowulf. 39-99.
Day 3
1. The Norman Invasion:
Culture and history of the high Middle Ages; The Miller's Prologue and
Tale 235-252. .
2. The Wife of Bath's Prologue
and Tale 253-281; "The Wife's Lament" 99-103
Day 4
1. The Nun's Priest's Tale
and Chaucer's Retraction. 296-313.
2. Langland's The Vision
of Piers Plowman 319-349.
Day 6
1. Rule for Anchoresses
153-55; Julian of Norwich 355-366. Margery Kempe 366-379.
2. Lludd and Lleuelys, 150-52; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 156-183.
3. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 184-210.
Day 7
2. Arthur's Dream, 122-24; Mallory's Morte Darthur 421-36.
3. Morte Darthur 437-439 ; The Myth of Arthur's Return 124-26
Day 8 Holiday
Day 9
1. The Second Shepherd's
Play, 391-419.
2. Everyman 445-468.
Day 10
Introduction to the Renaissance; 469-499
Day 11
1. Marlowe's Faustus
990-1023
2. More's Utopia and The History of Richard III. Pp503-525
Day 12
1. Castiglione's The
Courtier, pp 577-593; Nashe 1200-1207.
2. Marlowe's poetry 971-990. Raleigh
878-888, with special attention to 883-4.
Day 13
1. Wyatt 525-38; Surrey
569-77
2. Sidney 933-54; "The Defense of Poesy,"
3. Sidney's "Astrophil and
Stella" 909-911 / 916-932.and Calvin's "Institution of the Christian Religion"
pp 544-47
Day 14
1. Mary Herbert's poetry 957-964;
Whitney 606-614
2. Spencer's Faerie Queen pp622-724; Essay portion of final exam
Day 15
1. Spenser's Faerie Queen
pp724-863 and "Epithalamion"868-78
2. Shakespeare's poetry 1026-43, 1, 12, 18, 20, 73-4, 87, 97, 98, 116, 127, 129, 135, 138, 144
Day 16
1. Queen Elizabeth 593-600,
especially 594 and 596-7; Gascoigne 601-606; Southwell 956-7; Campion 1196-1200;
Lyly 906-09
2. Discussion about the final exam.
FINAL EXAM: Friday August 3, 5:30-6:30 or as mutually agreed on.