ENG 350-A
Chaucer
Spring 2014 T-Th 4-5:15 Cushing-Martin 142
CRN: 40301
Prof. Peek
Office: Cushing-Martin 123
Phone: x1706
Email: wpeek@stonehill.edu
Office hours: Mondays 2-4 and other days/times by appt.
ERes password: Hath
Class blog: http://stonehillchaucer.blogspot.com
This class is 3 credits, which means that you are expected to put in 6-9 hours per week outside of class for preparation. I expect you to come to class with the readings completed, the accompanying glosses and notes read, notes to yourself scribbled in the margins, and armed with questions about the reading.
Texts:
In the Stonehill Bookstore:
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Riverside Chaucer. 3rd edition. ISBN: 0395290317
On Reserve:
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Riverside Chaucer. 3rd edition.
______. The Canterbury Tales. Ed. Peter Beidler. (Facing page trans of some tales)
Cooper, Helen. Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales.
Davis, Norman. A Chaucer Glossary.
______. The Canterbury Tales. Ed. Peter Beidler. (Facing page trans of some tales)
Cooper, Helen. Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales.
Davis, Norman. A Chaucer Glossary.
Recommended Sites for Grammar, Usage, Diction, and Punctuation:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ This site covers many areas of grammar and usage and has quick links to guidelines for APA and MLA formats.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED). In Reference and available online through MacPhaidin Library webpage, under “Electronic Resources.”
DAILY SCHEDULE:
Tuesday Jan 14
Introduction
Unit 1: Chaucerians do it with pronounced E's
Thursday Jan 16
Read for class:
1. Joan Acocella, "All England," The New Yorker, Dec. 21, 2009.
2. "Teach yourself to read Chaucer" lessons 1, 3-5 (skip #2)
3. Familiarize yourself with the chart on p. xxxii of The Riverside Chaucer (henceforth: RC)
3. Familiarize yourself with the chart on p. xxxii of The Riverside Chaucer (henceforth: RC)
Tuesday Jan 21
Read for class:
1. Recommended: "Chaucer's Life" RC xv-xxvi.
Note: Both contain short biographies of Chaucer. The first, recommended one offers more detail and minimal interpretation. The second, required, reading is more polemical and also offers very useful information about the context of Chaucer's life and works. If you choose to read both, I recommend reading the RC version first.
3. Recommended: "Teach yourself to read Chaucer," lessons 6 & 7 (and take the practice quizzes!)
Read IN class: from Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog, "Abbreviaciouns"
3. Recommended: "Teach yourself to read Chaucer," lessons 6 & 7 (and take the practice quizzes!)
Read IN class: from Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog, "Abbreviaciouns"
Study Question:
Lee Patterson ends his essay with the remark that "twentieth century Americans find [Chaucer's writings] to be politically congenial." Do you think there are congenial similarities between Chaucer's writings and our own age? What might they be?
Thursday Jan 23
Read for class:
1. The General Prologue (use the Explanatory Notes)
2. Rebecca Schuman "Alas, poor Shakespeare"
1. The General Prologue (use the Explanatory Notes)
2. Rebecca Schuman "Alas, poor Shakespeare"
Study Questions (prepare for discussion):
1. What, in your estimation, is the funniest joke in the GP?
2. The second funniest joke?
3. In Schuman's article she questions the supposed "timelessness" of Chaucer and other famous authors. What's at stake in this debate? Is it bad if we don't think of Chaucer as timeless?
Unit 2: Chaucer in society
1. What, in your estimation, is the funniest joke in the GP?
2. The second funniest joke?
3. In Schuman's article she questions the supposed "timelessness" of Chaucer and other famous authors. What's at stake in this debate? Is it bad if we don't think of Chaucer as timeless?
Unit 2: Chaucer in society
Tuesday Jan 28
Read for class: The Miller's Tale
Write for class: : a Facebook profile for one of the pilgrims. You obviously can’t identify favorite films or television. But fill in as much info as you can glean from Chaucer and then make creative surmises about religious views, political views, favorite quotation, interested in…And fill in the “about you” section, trying to read carefully through and around the details that Chaucer provides. Make use of the “Explanatory Notes” in RC to help you.
Discussion Leader: Liza
Write for class: : a Facebook profile for one of the pilgrims. You obviously can’t identify favorite films or television. But fill in as much info as you can glean from Chaucer and then make creative surmises about religious views, political views, favorite quotation, interested in…And fill in the “about you” section, trying to read carefully through and around the details that Chaucer provides. Make use of the “Explanatory Notes” in RC to help you.
Discussion Leader: Liza
Thursday Jan 30
Read for class: The Reeve's Tale and The Cook's TaleStudy Questions to focus your reading: How do these tales continue or disrupt the themes of the Miller's Tale? How do they characterize urban life?
Review Academic Honesty policy
Hand out Editing Symbols
Translation Quiz #1
Discussion Leader: Leanne
Tuesday February 4
Read for class: Knight's Tale, Parts 1 & 2
Study Questions to focus your reading: 1. Consider the representations of Emily and Alisoun. Note details that distinguish them and consider as well how those details might serve different ideologies, perhaps rooted in class, about womanhood.
2. Think broadly about similarities (and differences) in plot structures and characters in the Knight's Tale and the Miller's Tale.
3. How does time function differently in the tales of the Knight, Miller, and Reeve?
4. How do appetites (desires) in these tales work with or against the civic order? Do the characters respond differently to those appetites in the different tales?
Write for class: a translation into Modern English of ll. 747-761 from the GP (stop before Harry begins speaking). You must use Ch’s meter (iambic pentameter), and have end rhyme in rhyming couplets. You may use the Chaucer Glossary (on reserve) and the online Middle English Dictionary--http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/med/--in researching the Middle English meanings.
In addition, write a short (1-2 page) discussion of the challenges you confronted, a defense of the choices you made, and any realizations you have the nature of translation.
Though this is a challenging assignment, please don’t look at other translations. You’ll be assessed on your short discussion rather than on the quality of the translation itself. We'll review alternate translations in class.
Thursday Feb 6
Read for class: Knight's Tale to end
Discussion Leader: Patrick
Discussion Leader: Patrick
Tuesday Feb 11
Thursday Feb 13
Read for class: The Parliament of Fowles--CLASS CANCELLED
Tuesday Feb 18
Since we missed class last Thursday, this Tuesday we will both finish discussion of PF and read the David Wallace article. BUT the New Pilgrim description is moved to Thursday. So, if you have questions about it, ask them on Tuesday.
David Wallace, "Chaucer and the Absent City" (handout)
Unit 3: Chaucer--"all womanis freend" Gavin Douglas, 1513
Thursday February 20
Read for class: the Franklin's Tale
Due in Class: New Pilgrim description. In your best faux-Middle English, write a description for a new estate, contemporary with our own time. You do need to use end rhyme and as close to Chaucer's meter as you can muster. Minimum length: 8 lines.
Do emulate the spelling, grammar, and syntax of ME to the best of your ability. Do also add a paragraph explaining what elements of Chaucer's descriptions you sought to imitate.
Tuesday Feb 25
Read for class: The Merchant's Tale
Discussion Leader: Mark
Translation Quiz #2
Discussion Leader: Mark
Translation Quiz #2
Thursday Feb 27
Read for class: The Man of Law's Tale
Discussion Leader: Prithak
Discussion Leader: Prithak
Tuesday March 4
Read for class: The Clerk's Tale
Discussion Leader: Kennedy
Discussion Leader: Kennedy
Thursday Mar 6
Read for class: The Prioress's TaleDiscussion Leader: Erin
SPRING BREAK
Unit 4: New Interpretive Approaches to Chaucer
Tuesday Mar 18
Select topics from The Handbook of Middle English Studies
Thursday Mar 20
Read for class: The Wife of Bath's Prologue
Discussion Leader: Emma
Discussion Leader: Emma
Tuesday Mar 25
Presentations on new approaches: Erin, Emma, Liza, Brittany, Mark
Thursday Mar 27
Robert Darnton lecture
Tuesday Apr 1
Presentations on new approaches: Kennedy, Eve, Prithak, Patrick, Leanne
Thursday Apr 3
Prof out sick
Tuesday Apr 8
Prithak's presentation
Prithak's presentation
Read for class: The Wife of Bath's Tale
Discuss editing and divide up editorial jobs
Thursday Apr 10
Write for class: Paper based on presentation and reading of one of Chaucer's works
Read for class: Michael Livingston,
"A Medievalist's Life: Editing, Part 1--Is it English?"
"A Medievalist's Life: Editing, Part 2--Is it God or not?"
"A Medievalist's Life: Editing, Part 1--Is it English?"
"A Medievalist's Life: Editing, Part 2--Is it God or not?"
Tuesday April 15
Work on edition--perhaps in library. Bring laptops if you can!
Paper on New Approaches due
Paper on New Approaches due
Thursday Apr 17 EASTER BREAK
Tuesday April 22 is a Monday EASTER BREAK
Thursday Apr 24
Read for class: The Physician's Tale & The Second Nun's Tale
Discussion Leaders: Eve (Physician) & Brittany (Second Nun)
Tuesday Apr 29
Work on editing project
Thursday May 1--Last Day of Class
Upload our edition and celebrate
Upload our edition and celebrate
PROCEDURAL MATTERS AND POLICIES:
Assignments and Grades:
Translation Quizzes: 2 x 5% each
Participation (includes FB profile, new pilgrim description, passage translation): 15%
Work as discussion leader: 15%
New approach paper: 25%
Essay on editing: 20%
Final Exam: 15%
Participation (includes FB profile, new pilgrim description, passage translation): 15%
Work as discussion leader: 15%
New approach paper: 25%
Essay on editing: 20%
Final Exam: 15%
Papers and Quizzes:
Format:
1) Format your papers with 1" margins on all sides, double-spaced, and fonts no larger than 12 point (scaled roughly to Times New Roman size). Cover sheets are a waste of paper, but a thoughtful title is always appreciated.
2) It is not necessary to provide a “Works Cited” page for assigned readings. If you use materials not explicitly assigned in class, cite them using MLA Style (the basics of which: parenthetical references with a Works Cited page). When in doubt, refer to owl.english.purdue.edu.
General Policies:
1) The grade on late papers and assignments will drop 10 points per calendar day that the paper is late. A paper is considered late if it is turned in after the end of class on the day it is due.
2) If illness prevents you from turning a paper in on time, email me as soon as possible, and we’ll make appropriate arrangements. If you have a computer draft of a paper, you may email that to me on the due date.
3) You must complete all of the assignments to pass the class (even if they are turned in so late that they cannot receive a passing grade).
4) If you are absent on the day of a quiz, it is your responsibility to speak with me about re-taking the quiz within 3 days of the original quiz. Please note that the make-up quiz will be more challenging than the original quiz.
Procedures:
I encourage you to bring rough drafts to my office hours for discussion. Sometimes we can have even more productive meetings if several class members come at the initial stage of thesis development. I cannot read emailed drafts unless I specifically ask for them.
Grading Guidelines: I give out numerical rather than alphabetical grades. The scale is:
97 = A+
93 = A
90 = A-
87 = B+
83 = B
80 = B-
77 = C+
73 = C
70 = C-
67 = D+
63 = D
60 = D-
59 & below = F
F = You fail to turn in the paper, or your paper lacks a thesis, or you have no arguments or evidence in defense of your thesis. Simply completing the work does not guarantee a passing grade.
D = A thesis with some supporting arguments and examples/quotations. A “D” signifies serious problems with the organization of the argument (weak topic sentences, unconvincing examples, no transitions between ideas) and/or with expression (diction, wordiness, poor grammar, mechanical errors, lack of necessary specifics).
C = A clear thesis, with some convincing supporting arguments with examples/quotations. Some acknowledgment of relevant objections, if appropriate. A “C” indicates that there are problems with organization and/or developments of the thesis, although the writing may be clear and the argument convincing.
B = A clear thesis, with fully developed and convincing supporting arguments. Appropriate and helpful examples/quotations. Careful attention to details of expression, whether verbal or visual. Sensitivity to the subtleties of the text. You demonstrate that you are a careful reader as well as a competent writer. Consideration and refutation of relevant objections, if appropriate. Free of mechanical errors.
A = Everything required for a B, plus significant, original thought. The thesis and analysis in an “A” paper are sophisticated, complex, subtle. In particular, the work with quotations closely reads and builds on the ideas in the quotations.
Attendance Policy:
Attend every class. We have a lot of ground to cover in a very short amount of time. If you become ill during the semester, send me an email immediately. Please find a friendly face in class to take notes for you and to collect or turn in any handouts or assignments that are due.
If you encounter circumstances that make it difficult to abide by this policy, come and talk to me. An excessive number of absences will have a deleterious effect on your final grade. It is necessary, though not sufficient, that you attend at least 75% of the classes for a passing grade; this means you can that 7 is the maximum number of courses that you can miss, for any reason.
English Department Policy on Plagiarism
In support of Stonehill College's Academic Integrity Policy, the English Department requires that its faculty notify the Director of Academic Services about every student who has plagiarized or violated the Academic Honor Code in any manner. All members of the College community have the responsibility to be familiar with and to follow the College's policy on academic integrity. Since the actions that constitute violation of the policy are covered in many places, including The Hill Book and in presentations at orientation, pleading ignorance will not work. If you have questions about what constitutes a violation of the code or how to incorporate outside sources in your work, please consult with your professor before you turn in your assignment.
Academic Integrity:
My expectation is that you will adhere to the Academic Honor Code and Academic Integrity Policy, which can be accessed in the Academic Policies section of the 2013 – 2014 Hill Book.
(From the The Hill Book): Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to the following actions:
1. Presenting another's work as if it were one's own;
2. Failing to acknowledge or document a source even if the action is unintended (i.e., plagiarism);
[N. B. This can take various forms: 1) using the writer's exact words; 2) paraphrasing the argument without crediting the author; 3) providing a paraphrase that is too close to the original—even if you cite the author; 4) even following the general outline or drift of the argument without indicating the source of the idea];
3. Giving or receiving, or attempting to give or receive, unauthorized assistance or information in an assignment or examination
4. Fabricating data;
5. Submitting the same assignment in two or more courses without prior permission of the respective instructors;
6. Having another person write a paper or sit for an examination;
7. Unauthorized use or electronic devices to complete work; or
8. Furnishing false information, including lying or fabricating excuses, for incomplete work.
Because we have reviewed in class what constitutes academic honesty, we will not consider ignorance of the rules to be a valid excuse. A violation of Stonehill’s Academic Integrity Policy will result in a failing grade for the course.
When in doubt, always verify with me if something is being done properly or is allowable in this class rather than simply make an assumption based on the fact that it was or is currently allowable in another class.
Students with documented disabilities: Stonehill College is committed to providing all students equal access to learning opportunities. The Office of Disability Services works with students who have disabilities to provide and/or arrange reasonable accommodations.
Students registered with the Office of Disability Services are encouraged to self-advocate and contact their professors as soon as possible, preferably prior to the start of the semester, to inform them of the accommodations for which they qualify.
Students are responsible for providing their professors with an accommodations verification letter from the Office of Disability Services and discussing their needs with them.
Students who have, or think they may have, a disability are invited to contact the Office of Disability Services for a confidential appointment at (508) 565-1306 or ods@stonehill.edu.
