LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS Medieval and Renaissance Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy *(Readings and Classe

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS Medieval and Renaissance Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy *(Readings and Classe

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS COURSE SYLLABUS FRENCH H295-033 MW 3:30-4:45, Spring 2021 Professor: Dr. Tomás Martin, Ph.D. Email: [email protected] Office Number: 311 Bobet Hall Office Phone: (504) 865-2690 Office Hours: According to current Loyola University regulations, all office hours are to be held remotely (Zoom, Skype, etc.) Please do not hesitate to make an appointment. Medieval and Renaissance Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy *(Readings and classes are in English)* Read the following information carefully to ensure your success in this course. You are expected to read and understand this syllabus in its entirety and complete all assignments as indicated. If you have any questions about the information on this syllabus, please ask me. Despite a first semester of COVID-era teaching and learning, faculty and students alike continue to adapt to our new academic and social realities. We are evolving as a community, but the difficulties remain quite real. Please remain in close contact with me and with your other faculty members; be certain to communicate any difficulties that you may be experiencing (academic or otherwise). Your faculty are one of many primary points of contact between you and all available resources of our University. Your academic and personal well-being are extremely important to me. In this syllabus, you will find important information on the following: 1. Course Description 4. Grading (*Self-Assessed) 7. Midterm Textual Analysis 2. Course Topics 5. Participation and Preparation 8. Creative Final Project 3. Required Materials 6. Reading Presentations, Notes, Quizzes 9. Course Calendar 1. COURSE DESCRIPTION The Crusades, the establishment of the eastern Crusader States, and the flow of merchants, pilgrims, and warriors from Western Europe encouraged a flow of Old French chivalric epic poetry and Arthurian romance into Italy and ultimately across the wider Mediterranean Basin. As a point of embarkation to the East, as well as its function as commercial and cultural intermediary between Western Europe and Byzantium, the Italian Veneto and surrounding city-states evolved into an important francophone literary center. Great patrician families such as the Visconti, the Este of Ferrara, and the Gonzaga of Mantua commissioned works in French that gradually incorporated Arthurian Romance into the epic chansons de geste (Songs of Deeds) which spoke of the historical Frankish emperor, Charlemagne, and of the fictional paladin, Roland. The end result of French Medieval Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy – Spring 2021 1 Carolingian epic blended with Arthurian romance in Italy was the fifteenth and sixteenth century Italian- language romance epic epitomized by Matteo Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato and Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso. 2. COURSE TOPICS Topics include: • Romanticized oppression: Chevalerie/knighthood in medieval literature • Understanding traditional binary mis-readings of Christianity and Islam in medieval literature • Postcolonialism and the Middle Ages • Women and agency in medieval literature • King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table • The Grail in medieval literature • Genres: Chanson de geste (epic poetry), Arthurian romance, the Italian romance epic • The Republic of Venice and medieval and Renaissance Italian city-states • Noble Italian families of the Middle Ages and Renaissance: The Gonzaga, Visconti, Este • Medieval Franco-Venetian language and Franco-Italian literature 3. REQUIRED MATERIALS Brault, Gerard, ed. The Song of Roland: An Analytical edition. 2 vols. Pennsylvania State University Press, 1978. *Volume II only – contains the English/French text. Chrétien de Troyes. Perceval or the Story of the Grail. Translated and edited by Nigel Bryant, D. S. Brewer, 2006. (Any edition of the Bryant translation published by Brewer will do; the paperback is inexpensive – not the hardcover) Texts in the original French: Students are required to read and wherever possible to produce assignments in the French in order to receive credit towards the French minor or major: Mela, Charles, ed. Le Conte du graal ou le roman de Perceval. Librairie Générale Française, 1990 ISBN-13: 978-2253053699 Short, Ian, ed. La Chanson de Roland. Librairie Générale Française, 1990. ISBN-13: 978-2253053415 4. GRADING (*SELF-ASSESSED; Cf. PROSPECTUS AND ACCOUNTABILITIES ON CANVAS) Grades in this course will be calculated according to the following grading scale: A = 94-100 B+ = less than 90 C+ = less than 80 D+ = less than 70 A- = less than 94 B = less than 88 C = less than 78 D = less than 68 B- = less than 84 C- = less than 74 F = less than 60 Your course grade is based on your performance in the following categories: ▪ Participation, preparation, and attendance 15% ▪ Reading presentations and discussion points 15% ▪ Reading quizzes/Class notes 10% ▪ Midterm textual analysis 30% ▪ Creative Final project 30% Medieval Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy – Spring 2021 2 5. PARTICIPATION AND PREPARATION To help gauge your progress, you can earn up to five points per class for the following essential components: Participation: This course is highly collaborative. You are expected to read any assigned items or posted materials, as well as complete all assigned homework. Proper preparation and participation in class is crucial for accomplishing the shared academic and intellectual goals of the entire class. Attendance: Class attendance is mandatory. It is your responsibility to let me know in advance if you expect to miss a class or if you have a specific need to attend a class meeting online instead of in-person (does not apply to students enrolled online only). Since class meetings will be recorded, you can still watch any class that you miss. This second semester of COVID-era learning will require a great deal of flexibility and communication. Please be certain to communicate information about absences or particular needs in terms of flexibility. The more information that you communicate, the more equipped I am to help you during the semester. Electronic devices: Unless permitted or instructed during in-person sessions, all electronic devices (including laptops, cellphones, smartwatches, etc.) must be kept in your backpack, pocket, etc. and must be silenced (not on vibrate mode) during the entire class period. Students should be prepared to take notes by hand. During all class meetings, I ask that you courteously refrain from texting, messaging, etc. Please do not leave the room either in order to do so. Repeated disregard for other students’ ability to focus on our collaboration may have an adverse effect on your participation grade. We have little “face-time.” Let’s make the most of it. 6. READING PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSION PROMPTS; CLASS NOTES; QUIZZES Reading presentations: Students will take turns presenting the reading(s) for each class meeting. The presentation may take the form of an interpretation, close reading, or explanation of a complicated secondary source. The class needs and materials will determine the form of the assignment. Students will also be responsible for generating discussion prompts to accompany the reading(s). In essence, you will be helping one another learn. Class notes: In a fixed rotation, students will present their notes from the immediate prior class. The notes are to be presented both in class and posted to Canvas. Again, you will be helping one another learn. Reading quizzes: Brief, occasional quizzes will be given. They will test basic reading knowledge of passages to be covered in class. 7. MIDTERM TEXTUAL ANALYSIS: Taking the form of an essay exam, students will be presented with either a brief text or a thesis statement. Then, within the class period, students will formulate an argument or position in response. They will defend their response in a way that demonstrates their mastery of the subject matter and the critical skills they are developing in the seminar. 8. CREATIVE FINAL PROJECT: In consultation with the professor, students will construct their own synthesis of the Song of Roland narrative and the Perceval narrative (Quest for the Holy Grail). While this work is creative in nature, formal critical and historical elements will figure prominently. Thus, the final project is a hybrid of formal analysis, artistic license, and creative writing. Medieval Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy – Spring 2021 3 9. COURSE CALENDAR: FRENCH H295, SPRING 2021 January: 20 Course introduction/Syllabus 25 Song of Roland: Discussion; Menocal “A Brief History…”; Kinoshita “Introduction” 27 Roland Laisses 1-54 [Prospectus due] February: 1 Roland Laisses 55-113 3 Roland Laisses 114-159 8 Roland – Activity 10 Roland Laisses 160-200 15 Lundi Gras 17 Ash Wednesday Roland Laisses 201-251 22 Roland Laisses 252-291 24 Franco-Venetian Language and Literature: Venice 4 Chanson de Roland and Perceval March: 1 Medieval Literature in Pop Culture [Midterm Accountability due] 3 Chrétien de Troyes and Perceval: Discussion 8 Perceval “Prologue” to page 7 10 Perceval pp. 7-16 15 Perceval pp. 16-27 17 Perceval pp. 27-30 22 Perceval – Activity 24 Perceval pp. 30-37 29 Perceval pp. 37-42 31 Perceval pp. 42-49 April: 5 Perceval pp. 49-57 7 Perceval – Activity Medieval Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy – Spring 2021 4 12 Perceval pp. 57-63 14 “Rest Day (2)” – University Holiday 19 Perceval pp. 63-71 21 Perceval pp. 71-78 26 Italian Romance Epic: Orlando innamorato and Orlando furioso (extracts) 28 Italian Romance Epic: Orlando innamorato and Orlando furioso (extracts) May: 3 Medieval Literature in Pop Culture 5 Last Day of Class/Course Conclusion [Final Accountability due] Creative Final Project: Due Wednesday, 12 May by 5:00PM *This syllabus is subject to change; students will be notified in advance of any changes. Medieval Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy – Spring 2021 5 Bibliography Allen, Graham. Intertextuality. Routledge, 2000. Auerbach, Erich. Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature. Trans. Willard R. Trask, Princeton University Press, 1953. Bermel, Albert. Farce: A History from Aristophanes to Woody Allen.

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