Chaucer

TEXTBOOK:

• Larry D. Benson, et al., eds., The Riverside Chaucer (ISBN 0395290317).

RESERVE BOOKS:

• Literary Practice and Social Change in Britain, 1380-1539, ed. Lee Patterson (Berkeley:  U of California P, 1990),  PR275.S63 L5 1990,
• Chaucer, ed. Valerie Allen and Ares Axiotis (New York:  St. Martin’s, 1996), PR1924 .C38 1996,
• Masculinities in Chaucer, ed. Peter G. Beidler (Cambridge:  D. S. Brewer, 1998), PR1928.M45 M37 1998,
• Chaucer’s Sexual Poetics, by Carolyn Dinshaw (Madison:  U of Wisconsin P, 1989), PR1933.S35 D56 1989,
• Chaucer and the Politics of Discourse, by Michaela Paasche Grudin (Columbia:  U of South Carolina P, 1996),  PR1933.S73 G78 1996, and
• Closure in the Canterbury Tales, ed. David Raybin and Linda Tarte Holley (Kalamazoo:  Medieval Institute Publications, 2000), PR1868.P43 C57 2000.

COURSE DESCRIPTION.  In this course, we read the entire Canterbury Tales in its original Middle English. As we read each tale, we examine current scholarly discussion about it, reading criticism by some of the most interesting and influential Chaucer scholars of the last twenty years or so. Our goal in the course, besides the straightforward enjoyment of Chaucer’s wit and artistry, is to familiarize ourselves with (and to situate ourselves within) the existing critical dialogue about Chaucer’s tales. 

GOALS.  By the end of the course, you will

1. demonstrate an understanding of contemporary literary theories, especially as applied in the study of Chaucer,
2. demonstrate facility with critical practices in research and writing in the field of English (at an appropriate M.A. level), and
3. develop an enhanced instructional repertoire for secondary English teaching and/or develop an enhanced familiarity with foundational literary texts (i.e., Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales) as preparation for further study in a Ph.D. program.

The principal learning activity in the course will be reading – the reading both of Chaucer and of scholarship about Chaucer. Reading Chaucer will provide students with a foundation of knowledge about the Middle Ages, useful both to secondary English teachers (who may need to broaden their instructional repertoire in order to teach Chaucer and other medieval texts in their classrooms) and to prospective Ph.D. students (who need a broad base of knowledge in the foundational literary texts, such as The Canterbury Tales, in order to navigate their doctoral studies successfully).  In order to facilitate your learning from your reading, readings for class will be opened up through response papers and through participation in class discussion.  In addition, writing groups and conference papers will help to develop your skills in terms of critical practices in research and writing in the field of English.

REQUIREMENTS.  For this course, you must complete the following requirements:

1. participation in a writing group outside of class (worth 5% of your final grade),
2. 7 two-page response papers (altogether worth 20% of your final grade), and
3. 2 conference papers of 8-10 pages each (not including notes and bibliography), each on a topic of the student’s choice, okayed by the instructor, with appropriate research (the first worth 35% and the second worth 40% of your final grade).

Your two conference papers are an opportunity for you to show me what you’ve learned in class, applying what you’ve learned in a new context.  In each of your conference papers, you need to argue a clear, specific, original thesis, and you need to do so with professionalism appropriate to the discipline of English.  I expect you to enter into the critical conversation going on in scholarly articles and books on your topic, saying something worth saying while responding to what others have said before you.  Needless to say, professionalism in terms of standard punctuation, spelling, and grammar is also a must.

Your writing groups should form and begin meeting by the second or third week of class.  The groups will brainstorm ideas for your conference paper topics, and later, your group’s members will serve as peer reviewers of your conference paper drafts.  The groups should meet (in person or, if that’s not always possible, electronically) at least five times during the semester (although I encourage groups to meet even more often than that).  At least five times, each group should submit a brief report (via email to me) of what the group has been doing.  If a group would like me to come to one (or more) of its meetings to assist and give feedback on your work, I will graciously accept any invitations proffered.

In the course of the term, you are required to write 7 short, informal response papers (about 2 pages each) on the critical readings – the scholarly articles – assigned for class.  You may choose on which days you want to submit a response paper, as long as by the end of the semester you have submitted 7.  I ask you to type your response papers (so that they are easier for me to read), but they need not be a perfect, polished product.  Rather, response papers should be just what their name says – a response.  You are to summarize the main point of one of the scholarly articles assigned for the day and respond to that main point in a critical but reflective fashion.  Don’t worry about typos or comma splices or organization.  Be as specific and focused as you can, getting down as much as you can, as quickly as you can.  Treat response papers more like a journal entry than like a formal paper.  I want an exploration – as detailed and specific as possible – of one of the scholarly essays assigned for the day.  You may not submit more than one response paper on a single day, nor may you submit a response paper for a day that you are absent from class – absolutely no exceptions.  I recommend that you use your response papers as a safe place to try out potential ideas for your conference papers.

ATTENDANCE.  Regular attendance is a virtual necessity for successful completion of this class.  Class discussion constitutes important, useful preparation for your graded work.  If you miss a class, you will essentially lose out on that day’s contribution to your preparation, since it is never really possible to reproduce or recapture the dynamics and flow of information for a missed class meeting (even if you get notes from someone).  If, however, you positively must miss a class, I expect you to find out what you missed and to come fully prepared – without excuses – to the next class meeting.  And please, don’t ask, “Did I miss anything?”  Check out Tom Wayman’s poem about that question.  For more on the College’s attendance policy, please go to http://www.tcnj.edu/~recreg/policies/attendance.html.

Academic Integrity.  Academic dishonesty is any attempt by a student to gain academic advantage through dishonest means, to submit, as his or her own, work which has not been done by him/her or to give improper aid to another student in the completion of an assignment. Such dishonesty would include, but is not limited to: submitting as his/her own a project, paper, report, test, or speech copied from, partially copied, or paraphrased from the work of another (whether the source is printed, under copyright, or in manuscript form). Credit must be given for words quoted or paraphrased. The rules apply to any academic dishonesty, whether the work is graded or ungraded, group or individual, written or oral.  TCNJ’s academic integrity policy is available on the web at http://www.tcnj.edu/~academic/policy/integrity.html.

OFFICE HOURS.  My office is Bliss 216, and my office hours this term are 2-4pm on Mondays and Thursdays.  If you cannot see me during these office hours, feel free as needed to call my office (771-2106) or to talk to me before or after class to arrange an appointment at another time.  You may also contact me by email (gsteinbe@tcnj.edu), or you may leave a message for me in my box at the English department offices in Bliss 124.  Email is generally the fastest way to contact me in an emergency.

I may, on occasion, want to e-mail everyone in class.  I generally only have access to your TCNJ e-mail addresses, however.  As a result, if you regularly use an e-mail address other than your TCNJ address, I recommend that you have mail from your TCNJ address forwarded to the address you use more regularly.  That way, if I e-mail your TCNJ address, my message will be forwarded to your other address automatically.  To forward mail from your TCNJ address, go to http://www.tcnj.edu/~helpdesk/Zimbra.htm and click “Forward Email.”  Follow the directions there to set up mail forwarding.

If you would like to send an e-mail message to one or more of your classmates, you can do so through SOCS.  To access SOCS, go to http://socs.tcnj.edu and, after you have logged in with your TCNJ e-mail username and password, choose this class from the list of your courses this semester.  Then, when our course page comes up, click the “Email” button.  From there, you can select individual e-mail addresses or the entire class and send a message to the address(es) you’ve selected.

Accommodations.  The College of New Jersey prohibits discrimination against any student on the basis of physical or mental disability or perceived disability.  The College will also provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations to enable students with disabilities to participate in the life of the campus community.  Individuals with disabilities are responsible for reporting and supplying documentation verifying their disability, and requests for accommodations must be initiated through the Office of Differing Abilities Services (Eickhoff Hall 159).  If you require special assistance, I will make every reasonable effort to accommodate your needs and to create an environment where your special abilities will be respected.  For more information, please go to http://www.tcnj.edu/~affirm/ada.html.

COURSE SCHEDULE.  This schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the professor.  Changes made after the beginning of the semester will be shown in red.

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