Description:
Geoffrey Chaucer is one of the most important poets of English
literary history. This course will focus on some of his earliest
poems, the dream visions that explore the nature of fame and reputation,
the virtues of women, and especially the phenomenon of romantic
love. We will also read Chaucer's masterpiece, Troilus and
Criseyde, a poem on the joys and heartache of amorous love
set during the Trojan war. And we will read some of Chaucer's
lyric poetry about the social upheaval of the late fourteenth
century, a complaint to his wallet, and another on the topic of
how his secretary misrepresents the words of his poems. The texts
will be read against the social, historical, and political background
of the late Middle Ages in England. Requirements include a class
presentation, a short and a long paper.
Reading List:
Chaucer, Geoffrey. Dream Visions and Other Poems. Ed. Kathryn
Lynch. Norton Critical Editions. New York, London: W. W. Norton
& Company, 2007. [ISBN: 9780393925883]
Chaucer, Geoffrey. Troilus and Criseyde. Ed. Barry Windeatt.
Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth, England; New York: Penguin, 2004.
[ISBN: 9780140424218]
Kelly, Henry Ansgar. Chaucerian Tragedy. Chaucer Studies,
24. Woodbridge, Suffolk; Rochester, NY: D. S. Brewer, 1997. (library
reserve)
Steinberg, Glenn A. "Chaucer in the Field of Cultural Production:
Humanism, Dante, and the House of Fame." The Chaucer Review
35.2 (2000): 182-203. (library journal)
Windeatt, Barry. Troilus and Criseyde. Oxford Guides to
Chaucer. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992. (library reserve)
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 (not a nurse). You may
also expect brief quizzes on all reading assignments. Do not use
electronic equipment in the classroom to take notes. The final
grades for the course will be composed of individual performance
in six areas:
1) A Topic Description. All Topic Descriptions (1 page; typewritten;
double-spaced; with 1-inch margins, and your name the top of the
page; and carefully proofread) are due on Thursday, September
8. 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 (ca. 10-15 minutes) representing 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 of the topic or text on which your
paper and presentation are based, due on the date of the oral
report. Include the bibliography of the book(s) or article(s)
you are reviewing at the end of your review. The grade on the
critical book report will account for about 10 percent of the
final grade. To see an example of a well done review, click on
the following link: Sample
1.
4) Quizzes on each work to be read for the semester. The average
of all the quizzes will account for about 15 percent of the final
grade.
5) 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 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 after October
20 will be due on Thursday, October 13. 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.
To see examples of all that is required for a good paper, click
on the following links: Sample
1, Sample
2.
6) 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 30 percent of the final grade.
1. Th 8/18: Introduction; Chaucer's life
2. T 8/23: Introduction; Chaucer's life
3. Th 8/25: Middle English I; "Chaucer's Words to Adam,
His Own Scribe" (Lynch, 216-17); "The Complaint
of Chaucer to His Purse" (Lynch, 225-26)
4. T 8/30: Middle English II; "Truth" (Lynch,
219-20); "Gentilesse" (220-21)
5. Th 9/1: Middle English III; "Lack of Steadfastness"
(Lynch, 221-22)
6. T 9/6: Middle English IV; The Book of the Duchess;
from Charles Muscatine, Chaucer and the French Tradition
(Lynch, 307-25)
7. Th 9/8: Middle English V; The Book of the Duchess;
from Steven Kruger, "Medical and Moral Authority in the Late
Medieval Dream" (Lynch, 366-84); all
topic descriptions due today
8. T 9/13: Middle English VI; The Book of the Duchess;
report: _____________
9. Th 9/15: The Book of the Duchess; report: _____________
10. T 9/20: The House of Fame; from Ruth Evans,
"Chaucer in Cyberspace: Medieval Technologies of Memory and
the House of Fame," (Lynch, 229-31); report: _____________
11. Th 9/22: The House of Fame; Glenn A. Steinberg,
"Chaucer in the Field of Cultural Production: Humanism, Dante,
and the House of Fame" (library journal)
12. T 9/27: The House of Fame; report: _____________
13. Th 9/29: No Class: Rosh HaShanah
14. T 10/4: The House of Fame; report: _____________
15. Th 10/6: The Parliament of Fowls; from A. C.
Spearing, Medieval Dream-Poetry (Lynch, 325-35);
report: _____________
16. T 10/11: The Parliament of Fowls; report: _____________
17. Th 10/13: The Parliament of Fowls; report: _____________;
short paper for all reports to be held after October
20 due today
18. T 10/18: No Class
19. Th 10/20: The Legend of Good Women: Prologue;
Elaine Tuttle Hansen, "The Feminization of Men in Chaucer's
Legend of Good Women" (Lynch, 352-65); report: _____________
20. T 10/25: The Legend of Good Women: Cleopatra;
Thisbe; report: _____________
21. Th 10/27: The Legend of Good Women: Dido; Lucrece;
Richard Firth Green, "Chaucer's Victimized Women" (Lynch,
338-52); report: _____________
22. T 11/1: The Legend of Good Women: Ariadne; Philomela;
report: _____________
23. Th 11/3: The Legend of Good Women: Phyllis;
Hypermnestra; report: _____________
24. T 11/8: Troilus and Criseyde; from Barry Windeatt,
Troilus and Criseyde, pp. 267-98 (library reserve)
25. Th 11/10: Troilus and Criseyde; report: _____________
26. T 11/15: No Class
27. Th 11/17: Troilus and Criseyde; from Henry Ansgar
Kelly, Chaucerian Tragedy, pp. 92-148 (library reserve);
report: _____________
28. T 11/22: Troilus and Criseyde; report: _____________
Th 11/24: Thanksgiving Holiday
29. T 11/29: Troilus and Criseyde; report: _____________
30. Th 12/1: Troilus and Criseyde; report: _____________
31. T 12/6: Final Paper due today (with the copy of the
short paper you handed in to me earlier in the semester)
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY!
Plagiarism is generally defined as using another's words,
ideas, materials or work without acknowledging the source. You
are responsible for knowing how to use someone else's work how
to acknowledge that source properly. You can learn more about
this and other areas of academic integrity by going to:
http://provost.asu.edu/academicintegrity.
Plagiarizing, and any other form of dishonesty, will be dealt with severely.
You might want to read a recent article about plagiarism at US universities that recently appeared in The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp