English 2011                  English I

 

In this course we will study a selection of masterpieces from the Middle Ages.  Through these works we will observe how individuals learn to live with their God, their neighbors, and themselves as well as how women and the lower classes gain new importance.  Though many works will be read in translation, during the course the student will learn to read Middle English.

 

GOALS:   to introduce you to masterpieces of literature of this period

                to give you some acquaintance with Middle English

                to sharpen your skills in reading closely, analytically, and imaginatively

 

 

TEXTS:  Please use only these editions, which await you in the College bookstore.

 

     Beowulf, trans. Burton Raffel

              Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, trans. Marie Borroff*

              Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte D'Arthur (Penguin: 2 vols.)

              William Langland, Piers the Plowman (Penguin)

              Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, ed. Donald  Howard           

              Medieval and Tudor Drama, ed. John Gassner

 

*Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, however, is available there only in a few used copies.  You can probably borrow a copy from any English major who has taken English II, since this translation of SGGK is in the Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol. 1, required for that course.  You will also find a copy of this anthology on reserve.

 

 

ASSIGNMENTS:   Writing assignments will be electronically posted on Blackboard, which is the program we will use for group discussion outside of class as well as for turning in most class preparation exercises.  If you have misplaced your syllabus, you will find a copy of the syllabus there, under Course Information. On the night before each class, early enough to leave time for writing a short preparation exercise, check Blackboard’s Assignment section to see what work is due. If you have missed class or a class has to be cancelled, you will find information there about any adjustments to the syllabus.  Absence is no excuse for not knowing the assignment.  Please observe the deadlines for electronic submissions carefully:  I often shape class according to what I see when I skim the preparation exercises.  Late contributions to the Discussion Board are no more helpful to your learning  than are hasty, thoughtless ones.

 

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STANDARDS:  I expect you to read the assigned material before class.  What I look for from you is not plot summary or paraphrase, but evidence that you have thought about what you have read and written.  An essay that makes no clear point or contains many writing problems strongly suggests that the writer has not given it much thought--a writer who is not clear about what he is trying to say to the reader seldom conveys it clearly.

 

 

GRADES:  The work for the course will be weighted thus:

 

            15%  class discussion, including Malory presentation

            15%  class preparation exercises and quizzes

            15%  Malory project written work

   15%  Chaucer working paper

            40%  final exam

         

If the average of these grades is borderline, whether the student gets the higher or lower grade depends upon attendance, contribution to class discussion, and whether written work came in on time.

 

 

ATTENDANCE is necessary because your active participation in class discussion is part of the learning experience for us all.  More than three unexcused absences will lower your semester grade, so do not cut except for emergencies--you cannot make up missed in-class work.  Whether written work is due in class or on the computer, please meet the deadline.  Place your out-of-class written work for the day on the teacher’s desk as you enter; work for class will not be accepted after discussion of it has begun.  Each lateness of more than 10 minutes will count as half an absence, so come prepared and on time.

 

 

OFFICE HOURS:

Tuesday   11:00 to 12:00, 1:45 to 2:45
Thursday   4:30 to   5:30
 Friday    11:00 to 12:00, 1:45 to 2:45, 3:00 to 4:00 (by appointment only)

 

and by appointment.  My office is Dammann 4.  If you need to call me, my home number is 694-5787; my office number, 323-5106 if you are calling from outside the college--my voicemail inside the college is extension 5106.  If you change your phone number or e-mail address during the semester, please let me know how to reach you.  Feel free to come talk to me about this course, the English major, or any of your other concerns and interests.  I enjoy talking to students!