State University of New York College at Cortland English Department ENG 431: Medieval English Literature: The Arthurian Tradition

Course Information Professor: Dr. Andrea R. Harbin Credit hours: 3 Office Phone: 607-753-2073 Semester: Spring 2011 Office: Old Mail 115 E Location: Old Main B17A Office Hours: T/Th 11:30-12:30, 2:30 -3:30 English Dept. Fax # 753-5978 or by appt. E-mail: [email protected]

Textbooks: Jeffrey Gantz, trans., The Mabinogion (Penguin) ISBN-13: 978-0140443226

Chretien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances, trans. William Kibler (Penguin) ISBN-13: 978- 0140445213

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, trans. Marie Boroff (Norton) ISBN-13: 978-0-393-93025- 2 Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, ed. Helen Cooper (Oxford Univ. Press) ISBN 13: 978-0192824202 History of the Kings of Britain. Geoffrey of Monmouth. Lewis Thorpe trans. (Penguin UP) ISBN-13: 978-0140441703 Lais of . Trans. Glyn S. Burgess, Keith Busby. ISBN-13: 978-0140447590

Catalog Description: Studies in the medieval tales of King Arthur and his knights with primary emphasis on the literature from British Isles and France. Notes: For non-majors, successful completion of a 200- level English course is prerequisite to all 300- and 400-level courses. For English and adolescence education majors, three credit hours in ENG 325, 326, 355 or 356 are prerequisite to 400-level literature courses. Specific prerequisites to professional writing courses are listed with catalog course descriptions. Successful completion of CPN 100 or CPN 102 is prerequisite to all courses in English. CPN 101 or CPN 103 may be taken concurrently with any 200-level literature course. For English and adolescence education majors, ENG 203 is prerequisite for 300-level literature courses. Course Attendance Policy: Attendance in this class is mandatory. Much of the work of the course is discussing the works we will be reading. Your in-class participation is a significant portion of your grade. Your final grade will be lowered one-third letter grade for every class hour missed beginning with the third class you miss. If you know that you will be absent for some good reason, let me know ahead of time so that we can make other arrangements. Students who miss more than six classes will automatically fail the course.

Evaluation of Student Performance: 1) Response Papers (10%): Response papers will be due occasionally throughout the semester and will explore one or more of the works that we’re discussing. These should be 1-2 pages in length and will not be graded. As long as the paper meets the assignment requirements and the student has made an honest effort to address the topic thoroughly, the paper will receive full credit. I will ask you to post so these responses as a part of a discussion on Blackboard.

2) Reading Group and Wiki (5%): This is a group project in which you will read, discuss, and review a modern Arthurian text for the class. You will present this book to the rest of the class using our class wiki at http://eng431.pbworks.com. 3) Paper (35%): The paper will explore some aspect of the Arthurian tradition. For this assignment you will need to research the cultural, historical and or critical traditions of Arthurian literature and use this research to support your analysis of the texts. You will have an opportunity to revise the paper based on my comments. Length: 8-10 pages. 4) Midterm (20%)The midterm will consist mainly of passages from the works we will be reading. You will need to identify the passage and discuss the thematic importance of the passage. It may also contain short IDs. 5) Final Exam (20%) The final exam will resemble the midterm. It may also have an essay portion. 6) Participation (10%) Class participation and discussion is an essential part of the course. To receive full credit for participation, you must do all readings and come prepared to discuss them. This means active participation in the class. Merely attending class will not give you participation credit.

Grade Weights:

• Class participation: 10% • Short writing assignments: 10% • Wiki 5% • Paper: 35% • Midterm Exam 20% • Final 20%

Course Goals and Objectives:

The primary goal of this course is to introduce students to the richness of the literature of the Middle Ages through examining Arthurian literature from a variety of periods and countries. We will be looking at the chronicle, heroic, and courtly traditions. We will also be discussing how and why it is that these stories were popular not during the Middle Ages but today as well.

Your Responsibilities to the class: • Come to class. If you miss class because of a serious illness, you should bring a note from the doctor or health center. Missing class to catch planes, go to weddings, etc. will not be excused. • Come on time. For the class to function, all members must be present. Late arrival disrupts the work of the class. • Turn in assignments on time. All assignments will be due at the beginning of class on the day that they are due.

o Late policy: Late papers will be dropped a half letter grade per class period late unless you have arranged an extension with me before the due date. Extensions will only be given in extreme cases of illness (with a doctor’s note) or other emergencies, but you need to communicate with me in advance. Papers that are more than one week late will not be accepted. If in doubt, come talk to me. • Participate in class discussions. This class depends on the intellectual interaction of its members. Because of this, class discussion is worth a full 10% of your grade. Just showing up will not get you points here. You must contribute to the intellectual work of

the class by reading and thinking about the texts and contributing those thoughts to the greater discussion. • Read everything. You will be responsible for everything on the syllabus, both in class discussions and in the exams. You should have read the assignment before coming to class on the day the work is listed on the schedule. • Don’t plagiarize.

Academic Integrity:

Class discussions are intended to stimulate thinking and writing collaboratively, but your essays, weekly papers and exams must represent your own work. Please review the academic integrity policy. When in doubt, cite. I encourage you to use the Academic Support and Achievement Program (ASAP) and any other kind of feedback on drafts you can get. I am required to report any instances of cheating or plagiarism in my classes, no exceptions.

Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions or factual information from another person without giving that person credit. Writers give credit through accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or endnotes; a simple listing of books and articles at the end of a document is not sufficient. Plagiarism is the equivalent of intellectual theft and cannot be tolerated in an academic setting."

Further information on academic integrity can be found in the College Handbook at: http://www.cortland.edu/handbook/hb08_10/part3.html#Anchor-CHAPTER-55306

Blackboard: We have a Blackboard course set up for this class, and I will post the syllabus and all assignments on it. If you lose an assignment, please check there first.

Class Schedule Date Reading Assignment Due 1-25 Introduction to the course Historical Geoffrey of Monmouth: Parts 4, 5 & Response on Blackboard Discussion 1-27 Arthur? 6 (p. 149-211) Board Geoffrey of Monmouth: Part 7 (p. 2-1 212-262) The Welsh The Mabinogian: Owein, or The Response on Blackboard Discussion 2-3 Tradition Countess of the Fountain Board 2-8 The Mabinogian: Culwch and Olwen Response on Blackboard Discussion 2-10 The Mabinogian: Gereint and Enid Board The French Chrétien de Troyes: Eric and Enid (p. Response on Blackboard Discussion 2-15 Tradition 37-79) Board Chrétien de Troyes: Eric and Enid (p. 2-17 80-122) Chrétien de Troyes: Cligés (p. 123- Response on Blackboard Discussion 2-22 154) Board Chrétien de Troyes: Cligés (p. 155- 2-24 205) Marie de France: "Guigemar" and Response on Blackboard Discussion 3-1 "Equitan" Board Marie de France: "Bisclavret" and 3-3 "Lanval" Response on Blackboard Discussion 3-8 Malory: Uther to Arthur (p. 3-81) Board 3-10 Malory (p. 82-168) 3-15 Spring Break The English 3-22 Tradition Midterm Exam Response on Blackboard Discussion 3-24 Malory: The Grail Quest (p. 310-356) Board 3-29 Malory: The Grail Quest (p. 357-402) Response on Blackboard Discussion 3-31 Monty Python's The Holy Grail Board 4-5 Monty Python's The Holy Grail Malory: Lancelot and Guenivere (p. Response on Blackboard Discussion 4-7 403-468) Board Malory: The Death of Arthur (p. 468- 4-12 527)

4-14 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Draft of Paper Due on Blackboard Response on Blackboard Discussion 4-19 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Board : Thomas of Britain (on Blackboard) and Marie de France: 4-21 "" Dame Ragnell and the Saga of the 4-26 Mantel 4-28 Shrek Wiki due 5-3 Shrek 5-5 TBA 5-10 Review and Wrap-up Paper Due 5-13 Final exam 10:30-12:30