English 494 [82511] - Special Topics:

King Arthur and Arthurian Romance

Professor Richard Newhauser

Fall Semester, 2010; TTh 3:00 - 4:15 p.m., LL 148

Office: LL 226B; Telephone: 480-965-8139;
E-mail: Richard.Newhauser@asu.edu, Web site: http://www.public.asu.edu/~rnewhaus/

Office Hours: TTh 1:30 -3:00 p.m., and by appointment

 

Description:
The stories concerned with King Arthur and his knights have retained their fascination in western culture for over seven centuries. This course will address itself to the early formation of Arthurian narratives, their genres, and their sub-textual motives: from the treatment of Arthur as a Celtic hero in the Welsh Mabinogion to the pseudo-historical presentation of him as royalty in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain, from Arthur's use in the articulation of the chivalric code in Chrétien de Troyes' romances and the religious reconstitution of the Arthurian myth in The Quest for the Holy Grail to the use of Arthurian material as a vehicle of literary and social criticism (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) and of bourgeois self-fashioning (Malory's Le Morte Darthur).

 

Required Texts:

The Mabinogion, trans. Jeffrey Gantz (1976). Viking Penguin, ISBN-13: 9780140443226, Penguin Classics

The Quest of the Holy Grail,
trans. P.M. Matarasso (1969). Viking Penguin, ISBN-13: 9780140442205, Penguin Classics

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
trans. Brian Stone (1959). Viking Penguin, ISBN-13: 9780140440928, Penguin Classics

Béroul, The Romance of Tristan, trans. Alan S. Fredrick (1978). Viking Penguin, ISBN-13: 9780140442304, Penguin Classics

Chrétien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances, trans. William W. Kibler and Carleton W. Carroll (1991). Viking Penguin, ISBN-13: 9780140445213, Penguin Classics

Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain, trans. Michael A. Faletra (2008). Broadview Editions, ISBN-10: 1-55111-639-1

Sir Thomas Malory, Works, ed. Eugene Vinaver, 2nd ed. (1971). Oxford University Press, ISBN-10: 0-19-281217-3

Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival, trans. A.T. Hatto (1980). Viking Penguin, ISBN-13: 9780140443615, Penguin Classics

Pearsall, Derek. Arthurian Romance: A Short Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2003. ISBN-13: 9780631233206


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 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 September 7. 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 28 will be due on October 26. 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.

 

Syllabus
Fall Semester, 2010

1. (8/19): Introduction: The Historical Arthur

2. (8/24): Introduction: The Historical Arthur; Pearsall, pp. 1-6; from Gildas and Pseudo-Nennius (in Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History, Appendix A, pp. 218-38)
3. (8/26): The Arthur of Celtic Myth: from the Mabinogi: How Culhwch Won Olwen ________________________, ________________________

4. (8/31): The Arthur of Celtic Myth: from the Mabinogi: How Culhwch Won Olwen ________________________, ________________________
5. (9/2): The Arthur of Chronicle: from Malory, Works: "The Tale of the Noble King Arthur that was Emperor Himself through Dignity of his Hands"; Pearsall, pp. 83-89, 91-92 ________________________, ________________________

6. (9/7): The Arthur of Chronicle: from Malory, Works: "The Tale of the Noble King Arthur that was Emperor Himself through Dignity of his Hands" ________________________, ________________________; all Topic Descriptions due today
7. (9/9): Rosh haShanah: No class

8. (9/14): The Arthur of "History:" from Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain, books 8-11 (pp. 143-204); Pearsall, pp. 6-13 ________________________, ________________________
9. (9/16): The Arthur of "History:" from Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain, books 8-11 (pp. 143-204) ________________________, ________________________

10. (9/21): The Value System of Courtly Love: Béroul, The Romance of Tristan ________________________, ________________________
11. (9/23): The Value System of Courtly Love: Béroul, The Romance of Tristan ________________________, ________________________
12. (9/28): Arthurian Society in Romance I: The Value System of Chivalry: Chrétien de Troyes, Cligés; Pearsall, pp. 20-26, 31-32 ________________________, ________________________
13. (9/30): Arthurian Society in Romance I: The Value System of Chivalry: Chrétien de Troyes, Cligés ________________________, ________________________

14. (10/5): Arthurian Society in Romance II: The Hero as Knight and Lover: Chrétien de Troyes, Erec and Enid; Pearsall, pp. 30-31 ________________________, ________________________
15. (10/7): Arthurian Society in Romance II: The Hero as Knight and Lover: Chrétien de Troyes, Erec and Enid ________________________, ________________________

16. (10/12): Arthurian Society in Romance III: Chrétien de Troyes, The Knight of the Cart; Pearsall, pp. 26-29 ________________________, ________________________
17. (10/14): Arthurian Society in Romance III: Chrétien de Troyes, The Knight of the Cart ________________________, ________________________

18. (10/19): Religious Reconstitution: The Quest of the Holy Grail; Pearsall, pp. 43-48 ________________________, ________________________
19. (10/21): No class

20. (10/26): Religious Reconstitution: The Quest of the Holy Grail ________________________, ________________________; all short papers to be held after October 28 are due today
21. (10/28): Arthurian Additions: Fragmentation of the Hero, Secular and Religious Chivalry: Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival; Pearsall, pp. 50-59 ________________________, ________________________

22. (11/2): Arthurian Additions: Fragmentation of the Hero, Secular and Religious Chivalry: Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival ________________________, ________________________
23. (11/4): Arthurian Additions: Fragmentation of the Hero, Secular and Religious Chivalry: Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival ________________________, ________________________

24. (11/9): Camelot as Satire, Arthurian Romance as Erziehungsroman: Subjectivity in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Pearsall, pp. 75-82 ________________________, ________________________
(11/11): Veterans Day: No Class

25. (11/16): Camelot as Satire, Arthurian Romance as Erziehungsroman: Subjectivity in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ________________________, ________________________
26. (11/18): Camelot as Satire, Arthurian Romance as Erziehungsroman: Subjectivity in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ________________________, ________________________

27. (11/23): Arthur Among the Gentry: from Malory, Works: "The Most Piteous Tale of the Morte Arthur"; Pearsall, pp. 96-109 ________________________, ________________________
(11/25-26): Thanksgiving: No Class

28. (11/30) Arthur Among the Gentry: from Malory, Works: "The Most Piteous Tale of the Morte Arthur" ________________________, ________________________
29. (12/2) Arthur Among the Gentry: from Malory, Works: "The Most Piteous Tale of the Morte Arthur" ________________________, ________________________

30. (12/7): 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 dealth with severely.

You might want to read a recent article about plagiarism at US universities that appeared recently in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp.

 

 

 

 

 

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