Junior Colloquy
Chaucer's
ENG 390 – Fall 2004
steve phelan
TEXTS:
Chaucer:
The
Chaucer: The Wife of
Kolve and Olson: The Norton Critical Edition of The
optional: Coghill's verse translation of The Canterbury Tales (Penguin paperback)
SEMINAR
FORMAT:
This
course is presented as a seminar, i.e. students are expected to contribute a
major portion of the materials for discussion through their own careful reading
of the tales, imaginative re-creations of the stories, reports of background
reading, and diverse critical approaches. At the beginning of the discussion
of each tale, you should be prepared to make some contribution.
MAJOR
PROJECT:
The
mind works in mysterious ways and can conjure up all kinds of creative and
analytical riches, even while we sleep! The major project in this course is
designed to trick the mind into such revelations. Each student will choose a
single tale to study and to re-create. You may begin with either the analytical
paper (including research and bibliography) or the creative re-writing of the
tale. The first part of your project is due in week eight and the second in
week fifteen. I will be glad to help you with either phase and you will be
allowed to revise both parts up until the final deadline (November 30).
The quality of the integration between the two halves of the project will be a
major factor in the final grade of the project.
PILGRIMAGE:
In
the last week of classes we will have an evening of "pub-crawling"
and story-telling where each student will have an opportunity to tell her/his
own tale in a format arranged by the host. The best tale told on the
pilgrimage, as determined entirely by the votes of the pilgrims, will
automatically receive an A.
CRITICAL
PERSPECTIVES:
At
the outset, students will be given an overview of the major critical
perspectives operative in literary studies and applicable to the Middle English
period. Each student will adopt a single Chaucer critic for the term, reading
that critic's views on each tale as we go along, and providing a report on the
theoretical position(s) the critic takes toward the CT as a whole. Reports will
be spread out over weeks four through seven and should be accompanied by a
handout and/or outline.
For
those who like to get involved in chat-rooms, try listserv@listserv.uic.edu;
and for a variety of on-line bibliographies, see www.geoffreychaucer.org/bibliography/.. This is also one way to define and research material for
the paper. Other Chaucer tools available in Olin will be featured each week in
class.
It
is assumed that the paper will represent a theorized position taken by the
student on the selected tale. Toward the
end of the term, the class will identify three theoretical issues for the final
examination and the test responses should, we hope, demonstrate an elementary
comprehension of the practical applications of literary theory to a reading of
the CT.
ATTENDANCE:
Less
than 90% attendance is grounds for failure. Kindly let me know (preferably in
advance) if you are unable to attend.
GRADE
FORMULA:
major
project: 50% (20% paper, 20% tale
version, 10% the happy union)
participation: 40% (10% for the report(s) on the critic,
30% class discussion)
final exam: 10%.
CONFERENCES
AND INFORMATION:
Please
come and see me. For office hours and
class schedule, consult my web site.. Make
appointments after class, by phone, or through email. On my web site, in
addition to this syllabus, you may find a wealth of information about the basic
concepts of my courses, my own critical perspectives, and my criteria for
grading papers.
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Steve Phelan, Professor of English, Carnegie Hall 103 Phone and voicemail: -2409 (office) or 644-9025 (evenings 7:30-9:00) Email: phelan@rollins.edu --- Campus Mail: 2662 Website: http://fox.rollins.edu/~phelan |
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Week |
Date |
Reading Assignments and Classroom Activities |
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Hurricane adjusted with a
cushion at the end for other adjustments! |
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FRAGMENT I |
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1) |
Aug. 25 |
Introduction
of the pilgrims to each other and the course |
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2) |
Aug. 30 |
General
Prologue - come as a pilgrim |
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Sept. 1 |
Introducing
more pilgrims. How
does the General Prologue reveal Chaucer's purposes? |
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3) |
Sept. 6 |
Labor
Day: we honor the demise of feudalism and slavery, no class |
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S. 8 |
Knight's
Tale, part I. Courtly Question: who has the better fate? |
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4) |
S. 13 |
Knight's
Tale parts II and III (summary) and part IV |
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S. 15 |
Miller's
Tale: How does it "quyte" the Knight? |
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5) |
S. 20 |
Reeve's
Tale and Boccaccio's Version (Kolve
p. 307) |
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FRAGMENT II |
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S. 22 |
Man
of Law's Tale: Chaucer and Free Will |
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FRAGMENT III |
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6) |
S. 27 |
Wife
of |
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S. 29 |
Gower's
Version (Kolve p. 359) and other analogues of
Gawain |
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Beidler: pp. 94-114 An introduction to critical
perspectives in Chaucer |
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7) |
Oct. 4 |
Friar's
and Summoner's Tales |
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FRAGMENT IV |
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O. 6 |
Clerk's
Tale |
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Fall
BREAK! (isn’t the pilgrimage eternal?) |
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8) |
O. 11 |
Merchant's
Tale |
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O. 13 |
Squire's
Tale (incomplete) |
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O. 15 |
Friday: first part of project due in my office by
4:00pm |
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FRAGMENT V |
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9) |
O. 18 |
Which
character shows the most “fredam”? |
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O. 20 |
Summary
Debate on the Marriage Group: What is Chaucer's Position? With which pilgrim
or story does he seem to side? How do the critics stand? |
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FRAGMENT VI |
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10) |
O. 25 |
Physician's
Tale |
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O. 27 |
Pardoner's
Tale How
would you cast the three rioters? |
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FRAGMENT VII |
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11) |
Nov. 1 |
Shipman's
Tale |
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N. 3 |
Prioresse's Tale |
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12) |
N. 8 |
Chaucer's
Tales: Sir Thopas (interrupted) and Melibee (summary presented in class) |
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N. 10 |
Monk's
Tale (selections) |
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Nun's
Priest's Tale |
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FRAGMENT VIII |
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13) |
N. 15 |
Second
Nun's Tale |
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Canon
Yeoman's Tale |
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FRAGMENT IX |
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N. 17 |
Manciple's Tale
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FRAGMENT X |
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Parson's
Tale with Chaucer's Retraction |
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14) |
N. 22 |
Workshop
for final drafts of the projects. |
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N. 24 |
Deo Gratias. No Class. |
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15) |
Nov. 30 |
No class. Complete project
due at 2:00 pm (in my office envelopes): please hand in revised first part,
completed second part, and all other research materials and drafts that show
how hard you worked. |
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Dec. 1 |
Preparation
of final examination questions on critical perspectives |
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16) |
Dec. 6 |
No
class in lieu of the following |
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TBA |
Pilgrimage:
a pub-crawling and storytelling evening |
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17) |
Dec. 13 |
FINAL
EXAM: Monday 2:00-4:00 pm. |
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