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How to find me outside of class:
Of course you can feel free to grab me after class with questions, comments, concerns, etc. My office is 101 Rice and my campus phone number is x8918. My official office hours are: MWF 2:00-3:00 and Tu 9:00-10:00 (and by appointment, if these hours don't work for you). I also have a "coffee hour" on Wednesday morning from 8:30-9:30 at the Foxgrape café (on College St.) for people who think it's too scary to come into the office, or for people who are sleepy and need some caffeine. By the way, if you're lucky I might just buy your coffee. You can also e-mail me: sarah.kelen@oberlin.edu.
Please feel free to come to see me even if you just have a little question, or if you are just thinking about something and want to run it by me, or you are having trouble with your paper, or whatever. Lots of people think that they can't come to office hours unless they are all done with their paper or know exactly what they want to say. That's ridiculous: my job is to help you figure these things out.
The work you will have to do in this class:
Obviously you will have to read the books, come to class, and discuss the readings intelligently. Participation and attendance will both be factored into your grade. And just so you know, showing up to class and then falling asleep counts as being absent. If you are absent a lot, it will affect your grade. If you oversleep once and miss class, don't worry about it, but if I notice that you are making a habit of missing this class, your grade will suffer. If you have a valid reason for missing class (religious observance, school-sponsored activity, illness, family emergency), please let me know.
You will also have to write 3 papers (about 5 pages) and 5 short assignments. The short assignments will only be about a page long, and they will be graded on a check minus, check, check plus scale. These are mostly to get feedback from you on the readings and to keep you thinking critically and writing in between the papers. This class also has a final; we will talk more about that when the time comes. The breakdown of your grade will go something like this: participation 10%, short assignments 10%, each paper 20%, final exam 20%. You must do all of the written work to pass this class (no matter what your grading option).
I want you to turn your work in on time. However, if for some reason you cannot get one of the papers in on time, you will be allowed a 24-hour grace period. Make sure you get the paper to me within this time (e-mail it to me, or drop it off in my box) and there will be no penalty. After 24 hours, your paper will be marked down one grade step for each successive day late. The grace period does not apply to the short assignments. Note: you can only exercise your grace period entitlement once during the semester.
Books:
The books for this course are available at the Co-op Bookstore, but I have had to change one of the course books, since one was out of stock at the publisher's: Brian Stone, ed., The Owl and the Nightingale, Cleanness, St. Erkenwald. We will read O&N and St. E. in photocopies, and Cleanness will be replaced by Pearl, which will come into the bookstore later in the semester.
Day by Day Schedule:
Wednesday, Sept. 2
Overview of Medieval English History and Culture
Friday, Sept. 4
- the ideology of "courtliness" and "courtesy"
- The Lais of Marie de France: Guigemar, Equitan, Le Fresne
Monday, Sept. 7
Labor Day: no class
Wednesday, Sept. 9
Lais: finish up "Guigemar," "Equitan," "Le Fresne."
Friday, Sept. 11
Mandeville, Travels
Monday, Sept. 14
- Mandeville, Travels
- short assignment #1 due
Wednesday, Sept. 16
- Wace, Roman de Brut [in Arthurian Chronicles]
Friday, Sept. 18
Roman de Brut
Monday, Sept. 21
Rosh Hashanah: no class
Wednesday, Sept. 23
Roman de Brut
Friday, Sept. 25
Layamon's Brut, selections TBA [in Arthurian Chronicles]
Monday, Sept. 28
- allegory and fable
- The Owl and the Nightingale [photocopy]
- short assignment #2 due
Wednesday, Sept. 30
Yom Kippur: no class
Friday, Oct. 2
The Owl and the Nightingale
Monday, Oct. 5
Pearl
Wednesday, Oct. 7
museum day
Friday, Oct. 9
Pearl
Monday, Oct. 12
Pearl
Wednesday, Oct. 14
St. Erkenwald [photocopy]
Friday, Oct. 16
- St. Erkenwald
- paper #1 due
Monday, Oct. 19-Friday, Oct. 23
Autumn Recess
Monday, Oct. 26
- another look at Arthur and the Round Table knights
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, fitt I
Wednesday, Oct. 28
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, fitt II
Friday, Oct. 30
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, fitt III
- short assignment #3 due
Monday, Nov. 2
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, fitt IV
Wednesday, Nov. 4
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, practice reading Middle English
Friday, Nov. 6
Marie de France, Lais continued (or rather revisited)
Monday, Nov. 9
Marie de France, Lais, continued (or rather revisited)
Wednesday, Nov. 11
Marie de France, Lais, continued (or rather revisited)
Friday, Nov. 13
- Geoffrey Chaucer, Parliament of Fowls [photocopy]
- paper #2 due
Monday, Nov. 16
- Parliament of Fowls
Wednesday, Nov. 18
- mysticism and affective piety
- museum day [this might move to F 11/20 or 11/13]
Friday, Nov. 20
Geoffrey Chaucer, ABC [photocopy]
Monday, Nov. 23
- Geoffrey Chaucer, ABC [photocopy]
- short assignment #4 due
Wednesday, Nov. 25
Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, Chapters 1-9
Friday, Nov. 27
Thanksgiving
Monday, Nov. 30
- Revelations, Chapters 10-41
Wednesday, Dec. 2
Revelations, Chapters 64-86
Friday, Dec. 4
The Book of Margery Kempe
Monday, Dec. 7
- travel in the medieval world
- review Mandeville & start The Book of Margery Kempe
- readings on pilgrimage, crusade, exploration in the Middle Ages [photocopy]
- paper #3 due
Wednesday, Dec. 9
The Book of Margery Kempe
Friday, Dec. 11
The Book of Margery Kempe
Monday, Dec. 14
- The Book of Margery Kempe
- short assignment #5 due
Saturday, Dec. 19
2:00 pm, final exam
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