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. Toilus 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. 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 February 10.
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. 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. The grade on the critical book report will account for
about 10 percent of the final grade.
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 April 2nd
will be due on March 31st. The short paper will serve as
the basis for your term paper. The grade on the short paper will
account for about 15 percent of the final grade.
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 35 percent of the final grade.
1. T 1/20: Introduction; Chaucer's life
2. Th 1/22: No Class
3. T 1/27: 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. Th 1/29: Middle English II; "Truth" (Lynch,
219-20); "Gentilesse" (220-21)
5. T 2/3: Middle English III; "Lack of Steadfastness"
(Lynch, 221-22)
6. Th 2/5: Middle English IV; The Book of the Duchess;
from Charles Muscatine, Chaucer and the French Tradition
(Lynch, 307-25)
7. T 2/10: 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. Th 2/12: Middle English VI; The Book of the Duchess;
report: _____________
9. T 2/17: The Book of the Duchess; report: _____________
10. Th 2/19: The House of Fame; from Ruth Evans,
"Chaucer in Cyberspace: Medieval Technologies of Memory and
the House of Fame," (Lynch, 229-31); report: _____________
11. T 2/24: The House of Fame; Glenn A. Steinberg,
"Chaucer in the Field of Cultural Production: Humanism, Dante,
and the House of Fame" (library journal)
12. Th 2/26: The House of Fame; report: _____________
13. T 3/3: The House of Fame; report: _____________
14. Th 3/5: No Class
(3/8-15, No class: Spring Break)
15. T 3/17: The Parliament of Fowls; from A.
C. Spearing, Medieval Dream-Poetry (Lynch, 325-35);
report: _____________
16. Th 3/19: The Parliament of Fowls; report: _____________
17. T 3/24: The Parliament of Fowls; report:
_____________
18. Th 3/26: No Class
19. T 3/31: The Legend of Good Women: Prologue;
Elaine Tuttle Hansen, "The Feminization of Men in Chaucer's
Legend of Good Women" (Lynch, 352-65); short paper
for all reports to be held after April 2nd due today
20. Th 4/2: The Legend of Good Women: Cleopatra;
Thisbe; report: _____________
21. T 4/7: The Legend of Good Women: Dido; Lucrece;
Richard Firth Green, "Chaucer's Victimized Women" (Lynch,
338-52)
22. Th 4/9: The Legend of Good Women: Ariadne; Philomela;
report: _____________
23. T 4/14: The Legend of Good Women: Phyllis;
Hypermnestra; report: _____________
24. Th 4/16: Troilus and Criseyde; from Barry Windeatt,
Troilus and Criseyde, pp. 267-98 (library reserve)
25. T 4/21: Troilus and Criseyde; report: _____________
26. Th 4/23: Troilus and Criseyde; from Henry Ansgar
Kelly, Chaucerian Tragedy, pp. 92-148 (library reserve);
report: _____________
27. T 4/28: Troilus and Criseyde; report: _____________
28. Th 4/30: Troilus and Criseyde; report: _____________
29. T 5/5: 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 this
definition at:
http://www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/studentlife/judicial/academic_integrity.htm#definitions
Academic dishonesty, including inappropriate collaboration, will not be tolerated. There are severe sanctions for cheating, plagiarizing, and any other form of dishonesty.