First page of Beowulf in Cotton Vitellius A.xv

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1 1 Minot State University Division of Arts and Social Sciences English 251 (6351): British Literature Part I Tuesday and Thursday 9:30-10:45 Hartnett Hall East, Room 303 First page of Beowulf in Cotton Vitellius A.xv 1

2 2 Professor: Robert E. Kibler, Ph.D.Office: 229 Hartnett W Hours: T/Th 12:15-2, Wednesdays 9:00-12:00 (carrel), and by appt. Phones: w) h) (between 6 am and 10 pm) Robert.kibler@minotstateu.edu Website for syllabus and all materials: Required texts: M.H. Abrams, Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1, 8 th Edition (bookstore) Chretien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances (bookstore) Simon Armitage, trans. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Courtly Love, Machiavelli, Middle English Lyrics, Old English Poem (kibler class website) Course Overview: English 251 begins the survey of British Literature. We first enter the early medieval world of warriors, black monks, and fiendish creatures. It is a world governed by the kind of grim stoicism that comes from the short and brutal life of nomads, living by the sword and surrounded by mystery. Bye and bye, the warriors either kill themselves off, or largely settle down, making ties to the land, to Christianity, to commerce, and thus for a short while, all seems sort of right in the world. But then comes the bubonic plaque, darkening the earthly horizon with the death of perhaps 50% of all those souls living in England. Culture naturally shifts away from an increasing emphasis on the temporal to one absorbed in spiritual abstraction. Pilgrims wear hair shirts, and beat their backs with whips to show that they disdain their flesh, wanting only an unearthly existence. But hold on! What happens next, do you think? A glorious rebound from religiosity to the secular splendor of the English Renaissance, fraught with Machiavellians, courtly lovers, and ship s cargoes full of gold, bound from the New World. Swashbucklers, merchants, and courtly lovers are everywhere, and the world seems everyone s oyster once again. And of course, the pendulum swings from the colorful and secular to the colorless and spiritual in the 17 th century, dominated by the fight of the Puritans against color, light, fun. They even close the London theaters, and working for their idea of God, hope to make their way to Rome, spilling papist blood all of the way from far off Lincolnshire to the Papal See. Such an irrational period naturally gives way to the practical, witty, and civic minded world of the 18 th century, where English 251 ends, and 252 generally begins. In short, in English 251 we take a tour of the trials and tribulations of the specifically English version of the human spirit for a few centuries, and through doing so, will have means sufficient to compare and contrast the dispositions of those spirits from the past to those of our own, here now, in Minot, 2011, caught as we are in our own swings of the pendulum. English 251 also fulfills one of Minot State University s General Education Requirements in Humanities, and is designed to help students 1) acquire fundamental knowledge of British history, culture, and literature, 2) engage such history, culture, and literature from both an aesthetic and a critical perspective, and 3) prepare for advanced upper-level study in English and Humanities. Students should expect a moderately heavy amount of reading, and to regularly participate in class discussions. Course Specifics: Reading quizzes, translation, performance, class participation: 25% Exam #1 25% Exam# 2 25% Exam #3 25% *English 251runs as an enquiry-based classroom. We mostly discover the meaning of what we read through discussing it. I personally have a certain amount of factual material to deliver to you basic critical and historical understandings of the worlds, the authors, the works we inhabit, but by and 2

3 3 large, we are learning to use this literary material as a means toward an end, as a way to seek and clarify human truths, and what they mean to us and to others. Very different from lecture. Very different from the kinds of classrooms governed by paradigms, praxis, and rote learning. Rather, we are on a path of discovery, so do not expect me exclusively to tell you what you need to know. Instead, plan to share with us what you have found, so that we all help shape it and have it. *Additionally, there is an ungraded take-home examination that is necessary to satisfy General Education assessment requirements. We will fit it in either during the term, or perhaps, if the majority would have it, along with the final examination. Class Participation: Class participation is so important to what we do in English literature that I am tracking it. Each time a person contributes to the class discussion by asking a question or asserting a point, I will put a mark in the gradebook for class participation. Roughly speaking, if you ask a question, expect ¼ credit point for participation, and if you contribute thoughtfully to classroom dialogue, expect ½ point, and if you do so substantially, through well reasoned and supported assertion, one full credit point. For all of us, there will be some days when our biorhythms will not cooperate. Mine too. I think everyone should feel comfortable not commenting on any particular day. Just avoid making a habit of it. Note on Academic Expectations at the University: According to the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (DPI), in their report to the state legislature, North Dakota sends a high number of students from High School to University. At the same time, however, according to the report, only 1 in 4 students come to the university with the skills necessary to succeed academically. This is in keeping with the national average, but it is a deplorable average. Underprepared students arriving at university from high school is a very serious problem, and there are doubtless many causes for it that will need to be addressed over many years by many people. At the same time, here we are, now, and you are trying to make your way. What to do? Too often, with many under prepared students in a class, the overall level of academic instruction falters. But I have taught at seven different universities in three states, so know the expectations that you as a young professional must meet, and very much intend to offer you a course as rigorous as are others like it elsewhere in the country, and am committed to helping those of you who are willing to help yourselves succeed here. The course will be tough for many of you unused to long hours of study and rigorous inclass note taking, but let me assure you, if you do well in this class, you can do well in any like class offered anywhere else in the country. Just remember, it is supposed to be tough. Otherwise, why would you be here? Attendance: We will spend much of our class time identifying and discussing the critical issues and conclusions found in our readings. As a result, it is essential for you to come to class. I reserve the right to lower your course grade by one letter grade for every third absence. Also keep in mind that we will have very simple reading quizzes almost every meeting, and under no circumstances can these be made up later. Plagiarism: Plagiarism means using the words, phrases, or ideas of others as if they were your own. Please do not plagiarize. It is the high crime of the professional world, and getting caught plagiarizing leads to very serious consequences. If you are unsure concerning whether or not you are crossing the line in your 3

4 4 writing, please see me and I can help you recognize what is acceptable usage of other s work, and what is not. In any case, as a general rule, when in doubt, cite the source. Cultural Coupons: There are many important cultural and intellectual events that occur on campus throughout the term. I think that these events are so important to your experience and growth as a university student that I am willing to provide you incentive to attend them. Attend 10 agreed-upon MSU events, get me to sign the coupons--then sign them yourself--and I will bump your grade by one letter for the term. Cultural Coupons attached. Syllabus ***keep in mind that this syllabus is a rough map of where we hope to go this term and when. As a rough map, it is subject to change, and we will likely change it as the need arises. Bring this syllabus with you to class so that you can record the changes as they are likely to happen. ***please also note that we will try to stress a skill of the week, a certain way of treating literature in order to make sense of it. We will examine style, themes, memorize bits, perform bits, read for plot, tropes and figures, meter, genre, imagery, all within the framework of sacred rites, ceremonies, beliefs, and literary theories. Week 1 August Skill: Reading for Style Course intro Beowulf Intro Read Beowulf Week 2 August 30-September 1 Skill: Reading for language Read Beowulf Read and translate The Wife s Lament from the Old English in groups. Week 3 Sept 6-8 Skill: Literary Presentation (translation) Translation workshop: Wife s Lament Introduction of Chaucer and the Middyl Middle Ages Week 4 Sept Skill: Reading With and Against Genre Read: Miller s Prologue and Tale, Pardoner s Prologue and Tale Week 5 Sept 20 [class cancelled Sept 22] Skill: Reading for Theme Read: The Knight of the Cart Week 6 Sept Skill: Reading for Theme Read: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Week 7 Oct 4-6 Skill: Preparing for Exams Construction of Exam Questions and Exam Prep Exam #1: The Middle Ages 4

5 5 Week 8 Oct Introduction to the Renaissance as Emergent from the Black Death of 1348 Skill: Reading for Form, Tropes, Figures of Speech Read: Sonnets by Spenser, Sidney, Wyatt, and Shakespeare Read: John Lyly s Euphues (packet) Week 9 Oct Skill: Reading through a Feminist and an Ideological Lens Read: Renaissance Women in Power: Mary I, Lady Jane Grey, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Jane Anger. Week 10 Oct Skill: Reading With and Against Ideology Read the Protestants and Catholics: Bits of Foxe s Book of Martyrs (packet), Anne Askew, Jean Calvin, contra Moore, Ascham, Hoby, and Tyndale and Geneva Bibles Week 11 November 1-3 Skill: Reading for Image and Metaphor Read: Marlowe s Hero and Leander, and The Flea by John Donne Week 12 Nov 8-10 Skill: Creating and Responding to Essay Examination Questions Exam #2: Renaissance Week 13 Nov Introduction 17 th Century Puritanism, Root and Branch Read: John Milton s Paradise Lost, Books Week 14 Nov 22, class cancelled for Thanksgiving on 24 Nov. Read Milton s Lycidas and Areopagitica Week 15 November 29-December 1 Skill: Reading Social Satire and Plotting Read: Alexander Pope s Rape of the Lock and Swift s Modest Proposal. Week 16 December 6-8 Collaborative Literary Activity Exam Questions for Comprehensive Final Exam Final Exam to be held on December, at, in 330 Hartnett Hall. 5