Description:
The ideal of society in the Middle Ages can be defined by the
theory of the three estates, a model in which the aristocracy,
the members of the church, and the peasantry each fulfill a mutually
satisfying function. In England by the mid-fourteenth century,
however, this ideal was little more than a literary commonplace,
unable to express a social reality that was shaped by the loss
of population in the Black Plague, a changing economic situation
and the effects of the Peasants' Revolt, and the development of
radical theologies that challenged the Church's hegemony on dogma.
The literature of late-medieval England articulated its critique
of those in positions of power using the language of politics
and theology, but above all a moral idiom. This ethical discourse
can be found in allegories, lyrics, and Lollard sermons and treatises
that will serve as the corpus of our readings for the semester
to help us understand the connection between sin, dissent, heresy,
and social revolt in late-medieval England.
Required Texts:
Langland, William. The Vision of Piers Plowman: A New Translation
of the B-Text. Trans. A. V. C. Schmidt. Oxford World's Classics.
New ed. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. [ISBN:
0192836463]
Medieval English Political Writings. Ed. James M. Dean. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan University - Medieval Institute Publications, 1996. [ISBN: 1879288648]
Selections from English Wycliffite Writings. Ed. Anne Hudson. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. [ISBN: 0802080456]
Works on Reserve:
Alford, John A. "The Design of the Poem." In A
Companion to Piers Plowman. Ed. John A. Alford, 29-65. Berkeley,
etc.: Univ. of California Press, 1988. [Hayden: PR2015.C65 1988]
Hilton, Rodney. Bond Men Made Free. Medieval Peasant Movements
and the English Rising of 1381. London: Temple Smith, 1973.
[Hayden: DA235.H49 1973]
Mann, Jill. Chaucer and Medieval Estates Satire. The Literature
of Social Classes and the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.
Cambridge, Engl.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1973. [Hayden: PR1868.P9
M3]
Morrall, John B. Political Thought in Medieval Times. London,
1958; reprint Toronto, etc.: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1980. [West:
JA82.M6 1980]
Scase, Wendy. "Piers Plowman" and the New Anticlericalism.
Cambridge, Engl.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1989. [Hayden: PR2017.A55S33
1989]
Szittya, Penn R. The Antifraternal Tradition in Medieval Literature.
Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1986. [Hayden: PR317.F75S9 1986]
Yunck, John A. "Satire." In A Companion to Piers
Plowman. Ed. John A. Alford, 135-54. Berkeley, etc.: Univ.
of California Press, 1988. [Hayden: PR2015.C65 1988]
Zeeman, Nicolette. Piers Plowman and the Medieval Discourse
of Desire. Cambridge, Engl.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006.
[Hayden: PR2017.D45Z44 2006]
Requirements:
Students will be responsible for the content not only of the reading
assignments, but also of our discussions in class. Regular attendance
and participation in the discussions of all texts (not just the
text[s] that you are researching for the semester) are prerequisites
for passing the course. The door to the classroom will remain
open for five minutes after the scheduled time for the class to
begin; after that point the door will be closed. If you are late
and see that the door has been closed, you have already been marked
absent for that day - do not come into the classroom. Two unexcused
absences are permissible without any effect on your grade, but
three unexcused absences or more will adversely affect the final
grade for the course. Absences due to a medical condition must
be excused by a statement signed by the physician in charge of
the treatment. You may also expect brief quizzes on all reading
assignments. Do not use any electronic equipment in the classroom
to record the discussion or take notes. The final grades for the
course will be composed of individual performance in five
areas:
1) A Topic Description. All Topic Descriptions (1 page; typed or printed in no larger than size 12 font; double-spaced; with 1-inch margins, and your name at the top of the page; and carefully proofread) are due on February 9. The grade on the Topic Description will account for about 10 percent of your final grade. Two or three students may wish to work together on a series of oral presentations of related topics or literary texts and/or intellectual documents to be held at successive class meetings.
2) An oral presentation. The presentation (ca. 15 minutes) represents the fruits of your initial research on a topic which will either be assigned to you or which you will choose yourself after consultation with me. You must meet with me during my office hours (or make an appointment) to discuss your topic. The presentation should be open-ended and should encourage questions from the rest of the class. The grade on the presentation will account for about 15 percent of the final grade.
3) A brief critical book report (2-3 pages; typed or printed in no larger than size 12 font; double-spaced; with 1-inch margins, page numbers, and your name on every page; and carefully proofread) of one or two major studies (secondary literature) of the topic or text on which your report is based, due on the date of the oral report. The grade on the critical book report will account for about 15 percent of the final grade.
4) A short paper (5-10 pages; typed or printed in no larger than size 12 font; double-spaced; with 1-inch margins, page numbers, and your name on every page; and carefully proofread) to be handed in one week before the oral presentation. The paper will include an annotated bibliography of 3-5 items of secondary research (not primary texts) which you will have read in preparation for giving the report and writing the paper (for all questions of documentation and references, follow the guidelines available at: http://www.public.asu.edu/~dedalus/guidetostyle/index.html). The short paper for all reports to be held on or after March 23 will be due on March 11. The short paper will serve as the basis for your term paper. The grade on the short paper will account for about 20 percent of the final grade.
5) A term paper (15-20 pages; typed or printed in no larger than size 12 font; double-spaced; with 1-inch margins, page numbers, and your name on every page; and carefully proofread) in which all of your research on the topic, and all of your own brilliance, are formulated carefully and in the scope which the subject demands. Term papers must be turned in to me - together with the copy of the short paper you handed in to me and which I returned to you with my comments - at the latest on the last day of class. I will not be able to complete your grade for the course (you will receive an Incomplete) unless I receive both papers at the end of the semester. The grade on the term paper will account for about 40 percent of the final grade.
1. T 1/19: Introduction
2. Th 1/21: Middle English 1; The Seven Deadly Sins; "The
Letter of John Ball" (Dean, 136)
3. T 1/26: Middle English 2; Medieval Politics 1: Ideals; Morrall,
Political Thought in Medieval Times, 9-11, 81-118
(reserve)
4. Th 1/28: Middle English 3; Medieval Politics 2: Hierocracy
to The Great Schism; Anticlericalism: From The Lanterne
of Light (Dean, 31-41, 75-91); report: _____________
5. T 2/2: Middle English 4; Anticlericalism: Prologue to the
Wycliffite Bible, chapts. 12 and 13 (Dean, 60-68); Scase, "Piers
Plowman" and the New Anticlericalism, 1-14 (reserve);
report: _____________
6. Th 2/4: Middle English 5; Antifraternalism: "Preste, ne
monke, ne yit chanoun" (Dean, 47-52); report: _____________
7. T 2/9: Middle English 6: Antifraternalism: "Thou that
sellest the worde of God" (Dean, 55); "Allas, what schul
we freris do" (Dean, 56-57); Szittya, The Antifraternal
Tradition in Medieval Literature, 183-230 (reserve); report:
_____________; all topic descriptions due today
8. Th 2/11: No Class
9. T 2/16: Antifraternalism: "Of thes frer mynours"
(Dean, 53-54); "Freers, freers, wo ye be" (Dean, 58-59);
report: _____________; report: _____________
10. Th 2/18: The Evils of Money: "Sir Penny" (Dean,
179-88, 217-21); report: _____________; "Beati qui esuriunt"
(Dean, 189-92); Yunck, "Satire," 135-54 (reserve); report:
_____________; report: _____________
11. T 2/23: The Evils of Money: "The Simonie" (Dean,
193-212); report: _____________; report: _____________
12. Th 2/25: No Class
13. T 3/2: The Evils of Money: "London Lickpenny"
(Dean, 222-25); report: _____________; The Peasants' Revolt: "On
the times" (Dean, 140-46); Hilton, Bond Men Made Free,
137-64 (reserve); report: _____________; report: _____________
14. Th 3/4: The Peasants' Revolt: "Tax has tenet us alle"
(Dean, 147-49); report: _____________; "There is a busch
that is forgrowe" (150-52); report: _____________
15. T 3/9: The Peasants' Revolt: "Truthe, reste, and pes"
(Dean, 153-58); report: _____________; Addresses of the Commons
(Dean, 137-39); report: _____________
16. Th 3/11: Lollards: Sixteen points on which the bishops accuse
Lollards (Hudson, 19-24); report: _____________; short paper
for all reports to be held on or after March 23 due today
(3/14-3/21, No class: Spring Break)
17. T 3/23: Lollards: Prologue to the Wycliffite Bible, chapt.
15 (Hudson, 67-72); report: _____________
18. Th 3/25: Lollards: Epistola Sathanae ad Cleros
(Hudson, 89-93); report: _____________; Miracle Plays (Hudson,
97-104); report: _____________
19. T 3/30: Lollards: Church and state (Hudson, 131-34); report:
_____________; The function of the secular ruler (Hudson, 127-31);
report: _____________
20. Th 4/1: No Class: Chaucer Celebration
21. T 4/6: The Poor: Chaucer's Plowman (Dean, 258) and Parson
(text to be supplied); Mann, Chaucer and Medieval Estates
Satire, 55-74 (reserve); report: _____________; report:
_____________
22. Th 4/8: The Poor: "God spede the plough" (Dean,
254-56); report: _____________; "I-blessyd be Cristes sonde"
(Dean, 257-58); report: _____________; report: _____________
23. T 4/13: The Poor: "Song of the Husbandman" (Dean,
251-53); report: _____________; report: _____________
24. Th 4/15: Piers Plowman (Prologue-Passus IV);
Alford, "The Design of the Poem," 29-65 (on reserve);
report: _____________; report: _____________
25. T 4/20: Piers Plowman (Passus V-VII); report:
_____________; report: _____________
26. Th 4/22: Piers Plowman (Passus VIII-X); Zeeman,
Piers Plowman and the Medieval Discourse of Desire,
201-44 (reserve); report: _____________; report: _____________
27. T 4/27: Piers Plowman (Passus XI-XV); report:
_____________; report: _____________
28. Th 4/29: Piers Plowman (Passus XVI-XVII); report:
_____________; report: _____________; Piers Plowman
(Passus XVIII-XX); report: _____________
29. T 5/4: Final Paper due today (with the copy of the short paper you handed in to me earlier in the semester)
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY!
In the "Student Academic Integrity Policy" manual, ASU
defines "'Plagiarism" [as] using another's words, ideas,
materials or work without properly acknowledging and documenting
the source. Students are responsible for knowing the rules governing
the use of another's work or materials and for acknowledging and
documenting the source appropriately." You can find more
information on plagiarism at:
http://provost.asu.edu/academicintegrity
Academic dishonesty, including inappropriate collaboration, will not be tolerated. There are severe sanctions for cheating, plagiarizing and any other form of dishonesty.