Dr. Laurel Amtower
Office Phone: 594-1517
e-mail: lamtower@mail.sdsu.edu

Required Texts:

The Canterbury Tales (ed. Benson)
Troilus and Criseyde (ed. Shoaf)

coursepack (Cal Copies)

optional translations:

The Canterbury Tales (ed. Wright)
Troilus and Criseyde: A New Translation (ed. Windeatt)

Course Requirements:

Grades:

Bluebook Exams 100 points each
Annotated Bibliography 50
Term Paper 150
Participation/discussion/quizzes 50

Exams:

The exams will include multiple choice items, short answers, and longer essay questions, and will include all the material covered in the reading assignments (including the introduction to the books) and class lectures. Questions will range from the historical to the literary; you will be expected to know familiar with the main characters of each work, as well as its major themes, issues and concerns. You may also be asked to identify major passages and to comment upon them. Essay questions will generally require a passage analysis, asking you to not only explain what's going on in the passage, but also to show its relevance to the larger work, its significance to the larger contextual themes and issues at work in the text, etc. Exams may not be made up, unless advance notice and an acceptable, documented excuse are provided.

Bring 8 ½ by 11 bluebooks to class on day of exams.

Annotated Bibliography:

Annotated bibliographies include a brief description of the contents of a book or article, as well as a complete bibliographic reference, so that you can recall the thesis or methodology of the work, or so another researcher can decide whether s/he wishes to read it. Your bibliography should contain a minimum of five sources (essays, articles, or chapters from books). Ideally these bibliographies should be unified in their subject matter and should pertain to the thesis of your final research paper (for example, if you were writing on "Troilus's Masculinity," you would want all your bibliographic items to be on works about Troilus and Criseyde). However, the contents of the bibliography will be left entirely to your own discretion.

All items in the annotated bibliography should include a bibliographic citation, a thesis, the critical bias of the work, and its usefulness for this course and/or your research paper.

Term Paper:

An extended critical analysis (10-15 pages) of some issue or theme in a single work or group of works pertaining to the class will be due at the end of the semester. The paper should make use of the appropriate background sources. Papers should be typed, double-spaced, and should follow the MLA in format (that is, with parenthetical citations and a separate bibliography). Papers will be due during the last week of class; however, I will be happy to look over drafts should you wish to submit them well in advance of the final due date.

Participation and Class Discussion:

Please read all materials to be covered that day in class in advance, and be ready to discuss core problems or issues relevant to the materials assigned. In addition: I will count any of the following disruptive behaviors as an ABSENCE: wandering in and out of the classroom; leaving early; sleeping or working on materials other than those assigned for class. These behaviors affect my teaching performance and distract your classmates. If you don't plan on attending and participating, don't come at all.

Late Work:

Late work will be penalized a grade per day, with the sole exception of a documented doctor's excuse that I find acceptable (i.e. emergencies only; colds don't count). Computer and/or printer problems will not serve as an excuse. Please save your files frequently and make back up copies.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is using another person's words or ideas and passing them off as your own. It does not matter if that person's work is published or not. Every idea and phrase that is not your own–including those you find on the internet or in your roommate's paper for another class–MUST be cited as belonging to its original author. A useful document on working with sources and avoiding plagiarism may be found on my website under "Study Aids."

Plagiarism is treated as a serious offense at SDSU. The punishment for plagiarism in this class is immediate failure of the assignment and/or class and disciplinary action by the Office of Judicial Affairs. I check every student paper I receive for plagiarism and for accurate use of sources. Please be exceedingly meticulous in your documentation.

SCHEDULE:

Week 1: (1/22)
T: Introduction to Middle English and Chaucer's world.
Th: Canterbury Tales General Prologue; "A Mirror to Ignorant Men and Lollardist Treatise," Gower, from Vox Clamantis (coursepack)

Week 2: (1/29)
T: General Prologue, cont.
Th: Knight's Prologue and Tale I; Supplementary readings on the Knight's Tale [Machaut, "Capture of Alexandria," Wyclif, and Clanvowe in coursepack]

Week 3: (2/5)
T: The Knight's Tale II and III
Th: The Knight's Tale IV; Boethius, selections from Consolation of Philosophy (coursepack)

Week 4: (2/12)
T: The Miller's Prologue and Tale, Reeve's Prologue and Tale
Th: Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale; anti-feminist treatises (coursepack)

Week 5: (2/19)
T: Wife of Bath cont.
Th: Midterm I

Week 6: (2/26)
T: The Friar's Prologue and Tale; Summoner's Prologue and Tale
Th: The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale; Augustine, On Christian Doctrine (coursepack)

Week 7: (3/5)
T: The Clerk's Prologue and Tale
Th: The Merchant's Prologue and Tale

Week 8: (3/12)
T: The Squire's Prologue; Franklin's Prologue and Tale; "The Rules of Love" (coursepack)
Th: Franklin's Tale, cont. The Tale of Sir Thopas; The Tale of Melibee (skim)

Week 9: (3/19)
T: Prioress's Prologue and Tale.
Th: The Nun's Priest's Prologue and Tale; Macrobius and Boethius (coursepack)

Week 10: (3/26)
T: Parson's Prologue and section on "luxurie" from Tale; Chaucer's Retraction
Th: Midterm II

Spring Break 4/1 -4/5

Week 11: (4/9 )
T: library tour
Th: The Book of the Duchess.

Week 12: (4/16)
T: Book of the Duchess; House of Fame, book I
Th: House of Fame II and III.

Week 13: (4/23)
T: Annotated Bibliography due.
Th: Troilus and Criseyde, I

Week 14: (4/30
T: Troilus and Criseyde, II and III
Th: Troilus and Criseyde, IV and V

Week 15: (5/7)
T: Paper due. Troilus and Criseyde, IV and V
Th: study day