LITEN 107 Chaucer: The
MWF 11:00-11:50 HSS 1128A
Professor Lisa Lampert-Weissig;
LIT 347; (858) 822-0204. Office hours: M: 1:15-2:15; W: 1-3
Course Description: In this course we
will read a large portion of Chaucer=s The Canterbury Tales. The course will attempt to
situate Chaucer=s work within historical, cultural and literary contexts, with
special attention paid to issues of gender and sexuality and how they inflect
Chaucer=s poetics and politics.
Course Objectives: In this course you will learn how to read Middle English
in Chaucer=s
Text:
Geoffrey Chaucer, The
Course Requirements:
Middle English Reading Session: Pass/Fail
Thinksheets: 20%
Quizzes: 20%
Essay: 20% (6-7 pp.)
Class Participation: 10%
Final Exam: 30% (ID terms/short answer/essays)
Middle English Reading Session: In order to PASS
this class you must meet with me and satisfy me that you have some facility in
Middle English. This will consist of
reading some passages (approx. 10 lines) out loud. One will be prepared and one chosen by me
during the appt. The reading is not
graded. I don=t expect perfection, but I do expect evidence that you have
been working with the language and can read aloud and translate with the
facility necessary to do the course assignments. If necessary, I will ask you to repeat this
session until I=m satisfied that you will be able to do the reading for the
course. Recordings of Chaucer in Middle
English are available in two ways. There
are digital recordings online: http://darp.ucsd.edu and there
are also tapes on reserve in the Music Listening Room at Geisel Library. And, of course, I=m happy to help you with your Middle English reading or any
additional questionsBjust come to office hours or make an appt.
The reading sessions will be made by appt. It is your responsibility to make your appt.
on time. If you fail to be punctual or you fail to show up you will be wasting
my time as well as that of your classmates.
Consequently, you=ll
be lowering your course participation grade.
Any resulting make-up will have to be made during my regular office
hours, i.e. no more appts.
Quizzes: These quizzes
are designed to test translation ability and reading comprehension. There are three quizzes built into the
syllabus (see schedule for dates). I
reserve the right to give pop quizzes if I feel they are necessary to help us
with readings/discussions.
Attendance: Attendance
is expected. Poor attendance can lower
your grade.
Deadlines: I consider
being able to meet a deadline to be an important part of written assignments. For that reason, and in the interest of
fairness to students who do meet deadlines, the consequences of submitting late
work are severe. Exact instructions
regarding papers and deadlines will be detailed on the paper topic handout, but
late papers will lose at least one full grade per day late and may not receive
comments. Papers left in my mailbox or
at my office door are left at the student’s own risk and students are responsible
for making frequent computer backups as they write the paper. Only documented
legitimate medical or personal emergencies will excuse late work. If an
emergency arises, you must let me know as soon as possible and I will do my
best to accommodate your needs. It is your
responsibility to keep me informed, and, indeed, I can=t help you if I don=t know that there is a problem.
Think Sheets: Think sheets are response papers designed to stimulate
discussion and help students engage with the works we are reading. During class
I will ask a question or assign a topic for the thinksheet.
Unless otherwise noted there will be a thinksheet due
for every class, although this schedule will be modified during week five.
If you miss the thinksheet topic,
it is your responsibility to contact a classmate to find out what you
missed. Given course size I cannot
promise that I will be able to send you this assignment myself, so please use
our phone list. Unless otherwise
specified, the thinksheets will usually be about 3/4
to 1 double-spaced typed page. Thinksheets must be typed.
Emailed thinksheets are not
acceptable.
I have really been impressed with the thinksheets
that students write, and, after an entire semester, they add up to quite a bit
of writing. In recognition of this, when you enroll in this class you start out
with an AA@ on your thinksheets. I will comment on your thinksheets
and try to give you feedback to what you have written, but I won=t grade the thinksheets in the
same rigorous way in which I will evaluate your formal paper. If your thinksheets
show effort and engagement with the assignment, you will maintain the AA@ that you will have earned by working on these thinksheets throughout the semester.
AHow do I know my thinksheets are
up to par?@: If I determine
that your thinksheets do not show the kind of effort
that I expect or if there seem to be other problems, I will inform you in my
comments on the thinksheet and ask you to meet with
me to discuss improvement. It is your
responsibility to come to office hours or otherwise arrange to meet with me and
discuss this in order to maintain full credit.
AWhat if I miss a thinksheet?@: You are allowed to
miss three thinksheets for whatever
reason. Beyond that, only documented
medical excuses or documented personal emergencies will excuse a late thinksheet. It is
your responsibility to inform me about such emergencies as soon as it is
possible for you to do so. If you do
not contact me in a timely fashion, it may not be possible to make up the
work. Thinksheets
are due at the beginning of class. Without a documented excuse, late thinksheets will not be accepted and will be deducted from
your thinksheet grade at the end of the
semester. I will keep track of your thinksheets in my grade roster, but mistakes can happenByou should hold onto to all of the Agraded@ thinksheets
until the final as well.
Vacation plans and extracurricular activities are never an
excuse for missed or late work.
AWhat is late work?@: Sometimes there=s just something that keeps a person from getting to class
on time. What I want to avoid is
disruptions to the class by habitual late entrances and the Aabuse of the system@ of thinksheets. If I think you are having a problem with
getting the thinksheets in on time, I will inform you
promptly and we will discuss how you can avoid losing full credit for your work
and attendance. It will be your responsibility to follow up on meeting with me
about this.
Tentative Schedule of
It is expected that you will consult the notes for the
text. I may assign supplemental secondary readings as needed throughout the
semester.
Reading assignments may be moved or modified depending on
the pace of the course.
Week One:
Mon., April 2: General Prologue.
Wed., April 4: General Prologue. Thinksheet
One Due: Trans. lines. 118-126 of GP.
Fri., April 6: The Knight=s Tale Book I (Quiz
One) Thinksheet
Assignment for today: Translate KT: 1220-1226
Week Two:
Mon., April 9: The Knight=s Tale. Books II and
III
Wed., April 11: The Knight=s Tale Book IV (Quiz
Two) Thinksheet: Translate lines 2987-2993
of the KT.
Fri., April 13: The Miller’s Tale. Thinksheet: See
Study questions handout.
Week Three:
We will not meet this week and there are no thinksheets due. Use
this week to get ahead on the reading and to practice reading Middle English
aloud. During week four the individual Middle English reading sessions will
begin. Please consult the sign-up
schedule. Time missed this week will be
made up by these (required) individual sessions and our extra (optional) review
session.
Week Four:
Mon., April 23: The Man of Law=s Introduction, Prologue,
Tale and Epilogue
Wed., April 25: The Man of Law=s Introduction, Prologue,
Tale and Epilogue
Fri., April 27: The
Wife of
Week Five:
Mon., April 30: The Wife of
Wed., May 2: The Wife of
Fri., May 4: The
Friar=s Prologue and Tale
Week Six:
Mon., May 7: The Summoner=s Tale Prologue and Tale
Wed., May 9: The Clerk=s Prologue and Tale
Fri., May 11: The Clerk=s Prologue and Tale
Week Seven:
Mon., May 14: The
Wed., May 16: The
Merchant=s Prologue, Tale
and Epilogue
Fri., May 18: The Pardoner=s Introduction, Prologue and Tale
Week Eight:
Mon., May 21: The Pardoner=s Introduction, Prologue and Tale
Wed., May 23: The Shipman=s Tale.
Fri., May 25: The Prioress=s Prologue and Tale
Week Nine:
Mon. May 28:
Memorial Day
Wed. May 30: The
Prioress=s Prologue and Tale
Fri: June 1: The Second Nun=s Prologue and Tale
Week Ten:
Mon., June 4: The Nun=s Priest=s Prologue, Tale,
and Epilogue. Final papers due at the beginning of class.
Wed., June 6: The
Parson=s Prologue and Tale
(selections), the Topas-Melibee
link and Chaucer=s “Retraction.”
I will be holding a question and answer review session for
the final exam on Thur. June 7 from 5-6 p.m. (Or a
little longer, if necessary. Room location and final details TBA). No new material will be presented at this
session, so it is optional, but encouraged.
Fri., June 8: More time for Review.
Final exam: Monday, June 11, 11:30 – 2:30 in our classroom.