FR 1083 Spring 2016 French Humanist Writers of the Renaissance: Sixteenth Century Dr. Petrosky Office: 223D Biddle Hall Office Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday: 9:30-10:45, and by Appt. E-Mail: dpetros@pitt.edu Phone Number: (814) 269-7153
REQUIRED MATERIALS François Rabelais: Gargantua and Pantagruel. Trans. and ed. M. A. Screech. Penguin Books 2006. The Complete Essays of Montaigne. Trans. and ed. Donald M. Frame. Stanford University Press. 1976. CLASSROOM APPROACH AND POLICIES Objectives: The readings in this course are designed to help you become acquainted with the English translations of a small selection of sixteenth century French prose. While plot summary is important, what matters most is your reading of the texts and how well you support your interpretation with specific examples found in the text! The course is designed to continue to develop your ability to analyze and synthesize literary works. This is what is meant by the term close reading. The relationship between a text and its reader is at once personal and scholarly. You will learn to recognize and appreciate the works in their historical, intellectual, and literary contexts, considering various critical approaches and scholarship. You will also be given a cursory introduction to XVI th century French history, art, architecture, philosophy and society. This course is designed to help you learn to read and analyze critical scholarship, while at the same time learning to incorporate it into your work. Class activity: will be comprised of three elements: 1. Close readings of the literary texts in relation to context and ideas 2. Some limited lecture time on various topics related to Renaissance France 3. Group discussions. This course presupposes that you will have thoroughly prepared yourselves to be able to meaningfully participate during each class. Written questions regarding a reading assignment will be, periodically, distributed. You are expected to answer all of these questions before coming to class. I would like to remind students attending that, in the interest of a more enjoyable and productive class, the standards of classroom etiquette and decorum are to be maintained. To that end, the use of cellphones or unapproved electronic equipment (ipods, laptops, pagers, etc.) is not permitted during class. They must be turned off or silenced, and stored out of view. Any violations detected during exams will result at least in a grade of "F'. Attendance: Class attendance is recommended. However, excessive absences or regular tardiness will lower your final grade. If you are habitually tardy (more than five minutes late), at least four times, it will result in an absence being added to your total. You are allowed three absences this semester. This does not include exam days If you miss more than three classes for ANY reason other than extenuating circumstances (see below), your final grade average will be lowered by 2 points (out of 100) for every class you miss (up to a maximum of 10 points). You must completely prepared before the beginning of class. Any written assignments not completed on time will earn zero ( 0 ) credit. There will be no extensions of deadlines except for extenuating circumstances. If you have an emergency, leading to extenuating circumstances, it is your responsibility to convey that information through the Student Affairs Office, which will corroborate the legitimacy of your absence. UNIVERSITY POLICIES Students with disabilities. Those who may be requesting academic accommodations for this course should notify the course instructor and the Office of Health and Wellness Services, G-10 Student Union Building 814 269-7119, as early as possible in the term. The Coordinator of Disability Services will verify the disability
and determine reasonable accommodations for the course. For other services, contact the Academic Success Center in G-16 Owen Library 814 269-7998. Please feel free to speak with me regarding these policies and services. PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY. As stated in the Guidelines on Academic Integrity published by the University of Pittsburgh and effective at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, it is unethical to present as one's own work the ideas, representations, or words of another, or to permit another to present one's own work without customary and proper acknowledgement of sources. You are plagiarizing when you use ideas about something from another source without acknowledging they are not your own. GRADE INFORMATION Four Section Exams: You will have four in-class exams during the semester. They will consist of small essay questions about the texts and broader thematic questions about them, as well as an excerpt from the text that will have to be critically analyzed. Each exam will cover only material studied since the previous one. The final examination will be comprehensive, covering material read during the entire semester. I neither curve class grades nor offer any extra credit assignments. The material for the exams will be divided thus: First Exam: Gargantua and Pantagruel Second Exam: Montaigne's Essays Third Exam: Montaigne's Essays Quizzes: There will be at least four quizzes on the course material and on content of the readings. They make be in the form of either a short-answer quiz, an analysis of a passage, or a truefalse quiz. There will be 2 or 3 Roundtables that will each count as a quiz. Comprehensive Final Exam Covering all of the literature and any relevant criticism covered in the course during the semester. The section of the Course Introduction (e.g. General Background on 16 th Century Art, Literature, and History, as well as Humanism,) will not be included in the Final Course Exam Home work, Participation and Preparation: As stated above in the section on class activity, you will be evaluated on an individual basis. Being prepared for class, and willingly and relevantly participating on a regular basis, are the easiest ways to earn a high grade for this category. Effort, attitude, and individual improvement will also effect your grade in a positive way. Needless to say, a grade of 0 will be given on any days you are absent. However, I do drop your three lowest participation grades. Attendance: See above in the section titled Classroom Approach
Course Grading: - Attendance and Participation: (10%) - Homework and Preparation: (15%) - Quizzes: (20 %) - Three Section Exams: (35%) - Comprehensive Course Final Exam: (20 %) Time and Date of the Comprehensive Final Exam: Friday, April 29th from 10:30 until 12:30 Course Calendar The following abbreviations will be used when refering to the Epic Poems in our course: G Gargantua P Pantagruel M Montaigne's Essays Janvier 6 Presentation of the course followed by an overview of the European Renaissance 8 Overview of XV th and XVI th Century Western Europe: History, Art, Literature, and Society 11. Overview of XV th and XVI th Century Western Europe: History, Art, Literature, and Society 13. Humanism, Philosophy and Religion in the XVth and XVIth Century Europe 15. Humanism, Philosophy and Religion in the XVth and XVIth Century Europe 18 Roundtable: Humanism, Philosophy and Religion: XVth and XVIth Century (Quiz #1) 20 Rabelais Prologues, Origins and Birth P pages 9-26 and G pages 203-208 chapters 1, 3-6 22. Rabelais Prologues, Origins and Birth P pages 9-26 and G pages 203-208 chapters 1, 3-6 25. Infancy and Childhood: P pages 27-33 and G chapters 7-10, 12
27. (Quiz #2) Followed by Medieval education and the Faculty of Theology in Paris (Sorbonne) 29. Satire of Faculty of Theology in Paris (Sorbonne). P Chapters 6, 7, 9, 9 bis, 13, and G 13-19 Février 1 Satire of Faculty of Theology in Paris (Sorbonne). P Chapters 6, 7, 9, 9 bis, 13, and G 13-19 3. The Monarchy and the State: Education of a Christian Humanist (or a Prince) Part II Erasmus, Machiavelli and Ronsard 5. Education of a Christian Humanist (or a Prince) Part II: The curriculum: P 8 and G 20-22 8. Education of a Christian Humanist (or a Prince) Part II: The curriculum: P 8 and G 20-22 10. Education of a Christian Humanist (or a Prince): Part III Rabelais and War 12. Monasticism in the XVI th Century: Rabelais' Satire of Monasticism I: G 25 and 36-44 15 Monasticism in the XVI th Century: Rabelais' Satire of Monasticism I: G 25 and 36-44 17 (Quiz 3) Rabelais and Utopia in literature: Abbey of Thélème G 50-56. Thomas More 19 Rabelais and Utopia in literature: Abbey of Thélème G 50-56 22 Rabelais' Satire of Monasticism III: Abbey of Thélème G 50-56 24 Rabelais and the Carnavalesque and the Grotesque 26 Exam I on Pantagruel and Gargantua 29 Philosophical currents in Montaigne Mars 2. Introduction to Michel de Montaigne and the Essays. Stoical I: 2,19,27,32 4. Roundtable Vacances de printemps: Mars 5-13 14 Stoical I: 2,19,27,32
16 Stoical I: 41,42,47, and II: 1 18 Stoical II: 20 21 Introduction to Skepticism 23 Skeptical II: 12 (Selections) 25 Skeptical II: 12 (Selections) 28 Skeptical II: 12 (Selections) 30 Exam II: Stoical and Skeptical Periods Avril 1. Epicurean I: 26 (pages 106-119) 4. Epicurean I: 26 (pages 119-131) 6. Epicurean III: 2 8. Epicurean III: 13 (815-824 quote by Virgil) 11. Epicurean III: 13 (824-841 "To live, my Lucilius, is to fight [Seneca]) 13. Epicurean III: 13 (841-857) 15. Montaigne: Review 18. Exam II: The Essays 20 Discussion of the Course Final Exam 22. 25 Finals week begins. The semester ends on Friday April 30 th