Chaucer and His Age
LINKS TO STUDY QUESTIONS
General Prologue , Knight's Tale , Miller's Tale ,  Wife of Bath's Tale , Clerk's Tale ,  Franklin's Tale , Pardoner's Tale ,  Nun's Priest's Tale , Chaucer's Retractions
The Book of the Duchess , The Parliament of Fowls
Course Links to assignments: response papers , literary analysis , Chaucer reading reflection , research groups

Links to writing guidelines: Thesis Development Workshop, Writing Checklists
Dr.Margaret Hostetler    Spring 2008
Meeting Times: TTR 9:40-11:10     Room: Clow 231           
Office: Radford 221    Office Phone: 424-7281    email: hostetle@uwosh.edu
Office Hours: M&W 1-2, Tues. 2-3, and by appointment
English Dept. website: www.english.uwosh.edu
Class website: www.english.uwosh.edu/hostetler/Eng346sp08syl.html

Required Texts (purchase at the U Bookstore):
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer, Norton Critical Edition

Required Texts (electronic reserve at the Library)
Book of the Duchess
Parliament of Fowles
Chaucer: Sources and Backgrounds, ed. Robert P. Miller:
Miller pp. 41-65 (Everyone--for the Book of the Duchess and Parliament of Fowles)
Miller pp. 66-76 (for the Nun’s Priest Group)
Miller pp. 215-230 (for the Pardoner’s Group)
Miller pp. 275-288 (for the Miller’s Group)
Miller pp. 322-343 (for the Knight’s Group)
Miller pp. 168-183 (for the Franklin’s Group)

Reserve Texts (On Reserve at Library)
The Riverside Chaucer
Paul Strohm, Social Chaucer

Course Description/ Goals of Class
Welcome to English 346: Chaucer and His Age. This class has four aims:
1) to introduce you to Chaucer in Middle English, with emphasis on learning to read and understand one of Chaucer’s major works in ME
2) to see Chaucer’s poetry in its literary, social and historical context
3) to foster understanding of the extraordinary complexity of these works and to prompt you to respond with critical subtlety in your written essays
4) to sample reception of Chaucer’s works over time and to consider Chaucer’s place in the 21st  century

The Value of a Liberal Arts Education
This class also contributes to your liberal arts education. The liberal arts, which originated in Greece, were also the foundation of education in medieval Europe. These arts were originally grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, harmony or music (really algebra), and astronomy (really calculus). It was assumed in Plato’s academy and in the medieval university that before one could go on to any specific study such as philosophy, law, or theology, one had to understand some basics of mathematics and language and analytical thought. Although a liberal arts curriculum today includes a wide range of general education courses, the main idea, stated best by Isocrates (a 4th century BC orator), is still to make students eumathesteroi (better learners).1 Academic communities today define better learners as those who can understand complex, unfamiliar material quickly and respond to it in clear, well-reasoned writing; those who can apply their learning to diverse situations; those who can think analytically as well as creatively; and those who can act ethically and self-reflectively. This course serves these goals by asking you to be critical thinkers, to consider Chaucer's work from a variety of perspectives, to interrogate complex cultural ideals as they change over time, to express your views in clear persuasive writing, to treat your sources ethically, and to apply your experiences analyzing literature from your other English classes to your observations of Chaucer.

Course Requirements (see below for graduate requirements):
Assignments:
Reading quizzes
3 Response Papers (2-3 pages)
1 Group Explication of contextual documents (2-3 pages)
Literary Analysis (7 pages) Due at Midterm
Essay on Reading Chaucer (4-5 pages)
    
Participation:
Discussion and attendance
Outside reading
Memorization of the first 18 lines of the General Prologue
Participation in group work
Grade Breakdown:

Literary analysis 25%
Response papers 30% (3 at 10%)
Essay on Reading Chaucer 15%
Quizzes and summary of contextual documents 15%
In-class work: (Participation/Group presentations/
Group work/ memorization/ discussion) 15%
   
Note on Grading: All assignments will be given a grade based on a 100 point scale. I divide that scale as follows: 93-100 A/ 92-89 AB/88-83 B/ 82-79 BC/ 78-73 C/ 72-69 CD/ 68-60 D/ 59- F. Any assignments weighted together will be averaged (quizzes for instance). Be aware also that an A grade reflects superior mastery of the material and is reserved for assignments that demonstrate complex thought and argument, synthesis of independent research, and careful and precise writing. Despite grade inflation, a C grade reflects quite adequate understanding of the material and should not be viewed as a terrible grade.

Research Group Responsibilities
Each group will be responsible for presenting an overview of the contextual material provided in the Norton Critical Edition on a specific tale. Much of this material deals with Chaucer’s sources or literary influences. The group should give a brief summary of what the documents are and then explain why the texts are important for our understanding of Chaucer’s poem, highlighting any interesting interpretive issues. The group will then turn in a 2-3 page summary of their presentation. Please note that this group paper will receive a group grade (everyone in the group will get the same grade). Feel free to divide up the work however you choose.  

Participation in Discussion
Participation in class discussion is vital to your success in this course. Simply showing up and listening is not enough. It is also not enough just to talk a lot. Your contributions to class discussion should show that you have read the material and have thought about it, that you are actively trying to make meaningful connections between readings, lectures and discussions. Your comments, questions and presentations need to show that you are putting the maximum effort into understanding the material. An “A” in participation will be given to those whose comments consistently show a concern for the complexity and sophistication of Chaucer’s poetry as well as an increasing knowledge of the general themes he investigates and the critical conversations surrounding his work.

Memorization
Everyone is required to memorize the first 18 lines of the General Prologue in Middle English pronunciation. I will put a tape on reserve in the English Dept. that can be checked out for individual practice. I will allow recitation either in front of the class or privately to me in my office. Everyone will get two chances. Memorization will be graded as follows: Good pronunciation, little hesitation, no memorization errors 100 A/ less good pronunciation, little hesitation, one error 90 AB/ less good pronunciation, hesitation and a few errors 75 C/ Multiple errors or unable to finish 50 F. Try to get this requirement out of the way early in the semester.
    
Attendance/Late work policy:
If you have a family or medical emergency, please get in touch with me as soon as possible so we can come to some arrangement about making up work. I do accept late work, but it will be penalized by a grade for each day late (an A paper a day late will be an AB, etc.). Attendance is mandatory, and any unexcused absences will count against your participation grade. If you have 6 unexcused absences, you will fail the course.  

Format of all papers:
All papers should be typed or computer printed, double-spaced and either paper clipped or stapled. No binders, no folded corners, no need for a cover sheet or title page though a title is required. Please do not bend the pages of any work you turn in. Further details on each specific paper will be forthcoming. Use MLA citation form for all secondary sources. Link to A Writer's Reference guide to citation styles.

Plagiarism: When you put your name on your papers, you are saying that all the words and ideas in that paper are yours unless you specifically cite your sources. You need to acknowledge when you are using the ideas or words of others.

Turnitin: UW Oshkosh is now using Turnitin, which is a service that allows professors to submit student papers electronically to look for plagiarism. Although I do not use this software regularly in my classes, I reserve the right to use it if I suspect plagiarism.

Eng. 546/ Graduate Credit
To get graduate credit for this course, you must complete all the work required for the 300-level with the following additions and variations. Instead of a 5-8 page literary analysis, you will write a 15 page literary analysis which should make use of extensive secondary research. You will also produce an annotated bibliography to accompany this analysis paper and give a brief oral presentation of your project. In addition your contributions to the class discussion should reflect the more extensive and critical nature of your research into the readings.

Graduate Grade Breakdown:
Literary analysis 30%
Annotated Bibliography 10%
Response papers 30% (3 at 10%)
Essay on Chaucer criticism 10%
Quizzes and summary of contextual documents 10%
In-class work: (Participation/Group presentations/
Group work/ memorization/ discussion) 10%

Reading Schedule
Readings listed before the slash (/) are for Tuesday. Those after the slash (/) are for Thursday. Please be prepared to discuss the readings on the days they are listed. This schedule is a bit flexible. If we decide to spend more time on one thing we should be able to. You must keep up with the readings—feel free to read ahead too, but take careful notes on whatever you read ahead.  CT=Canterbury Tales. Readings in parentheses are optional if we have time.

Week 1 (Feb 5, 7) Introduction to the course and Chaucer’s language/ General Prologue
Week 2 (Feb 12, 14) finish General Prologue/ start Knight's Tale (parts 1&2)
Week 3 (Feb 19, 21) finish Knight’s Tale (parts 3&4)/ start Miller's Prologue
Week 4 (Feb 26, 28) Miller’s Tale/ finish Miller and start Wife of Bath's Prologue First Response Paper Due
Week 5 (Mar 4, 6) finish Wife of Bath’s Prologue/ start Wife of Bath's Tale
Week 6 (Mar 11, 13) finish Wife of Bath’s Tale/ Clerk's Prologue & Tale
Week 7 (Mar 18, 20) finish Clerk’s Prologue & Tale/Franklin's Prologue & Tale Second Response Paper Due
Week 8 (Mar 25, 27) Spring break
Week 9 (April 1, 3) Pardoner’s Prologue & Tale/ finish Pardoner’s Prologue & Tale
Week 10 (Apr 8, 10) Nun’s Priest’s Prologue & Tale/ finish Nun’s Priest’s Prologue & Tale
Week 11 (Apr 15, 17) Manciple's Tale peer workshop on Chaucer paper /Finish Manciple's Tale and Retractions Thesis approval form due
Week 12 (Apr 22, 24) Peer workshop on Chaucer paper/ Book of the Duchess (ereserve) Literary Analysis Due
Week 13 (Apr 29, May 1) finish Book of the Duchess / Parliament of Fowles
Week 14 (May 6, 8) Finish Parliament of Fowles / Burrow's essay "'Alterity' and Middle English Literature" (JSTOR) Third Response Paper Due
Week 15 (May 13, 15) Lerer's introduction to Chaucer and His Readers (ereserve)/ Essay on Reading Chaucer due


1. Information on history of the liberal arts taken from David Mulroy's The War Against Grammar (Heinemann, 2003)
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