*HONS+390+syllabus

Robert C. Figueira Fall 2017 Carnell Learning Center 368 phones: 864-388-8218 (o); 864-229-6391 (h) e-mail: figueira@lander.edu webpage: http://figueira.wikispaces.com office hours: MWF 10:15-11:30AM

HONS 390 MEDIEVAL MENTALITIES

I.__Required Course readings__: a. Andreas Capellanus, //The Art of Courtly Love// b. Chrétien de Troyes, //Erec and Enide// c. //The Nibelungenlied// d. Gottfried von Strassburg, //Tristan// e. Dante Alighieri, //Inferno// f. Giovanni Boccaccio, //The Decameron//

Readings b.-f. are available for purchase at the University Bookstore. Any other editions of these readings are acceptable, so long as the instructor is consulted regarding page assignments.

II. __Course objectives and content__:

This course, a comparative and interdisciplinary study of trends in intellectual history and in literature during the High Middle Ages, will focus especially on characteristic genres (treatise, epic, romance, and //novella//) and their modes of expression and/or analysis (heroic, courtly, scholastic, scriptural, naturalistic). The pervasive trend toward secularism in both literature and intellectual life will be articulated and evaluated.

This upper-level course in medieval and proto-renaissance European culture and history will enable students to master factual information, to analyze literary sources and compose polished short prose assignments on critical questions.

III. __Course requirements, formal activities, and evaluation methods__: The responsibilities of students in this course are:

a) Regular attendance at class meetings; __it is the responsibility of each student to attend__. The instructor will monitor attendance, and students shall be held responsible for any announcements made and information imparted during class meetings. Please consult p. 19-20 of the //Lander University Student Handbook 2017-2018// and p. 54 of the //Lander University Catalog 2017-2018// regarding official university policy on class attendance. __Students who miss 20% of class meetings for whatever reason will receive a grade penalty up to and including “FA”__. __Habitual tardiness is not acceptable and will be counted proportionately as attendance absences__. b) Regular and frequent participation in classroom discussions. __It is expected that students bring to each class meeting the appropriate reading assignment; failure to do so will put students at a disadvantage when their participation in class is evaluated__. c) Completion of five essays (5-7 double-spaced typewritten pages each) on a topic given in advance by the instructor and handed in __at the beginning__ of the appropriate class meeting; the deadline will be announced __at least__ one week in advance. A student who __without prior excuse__ does not submit an essay on or before the appointed date will receive a grade penalty on this assignment (one-half letter grade assessed for each subsequent late class meeting day).

__The course shall meet in seminar format__. Participation in classroom discussions shall count 50% of final grade and the mini-essays 50% of the final grade (i.e., 10% each). The instructor reserves the right to assign to individual students specific responsibility for discussion of portions of the reading assignments; he also reserves the right to quiz at any class meeting where the level of student discussion is unsatisfactory (on such occasions the quiz grade would be considered demonstration of discussion participation).

It is expected that all students abide by the rules of academic honesty detailed on pp. 7-11 of the //Lander University Student Handbook 2017-2018// and p. 45 of the //Lander University Catalog 2016-2017//.

Audio recording of class meetings is prohibited without the explicit permission of the instructor. Use of all tobacco products is prohibited during all class meetings. Use of cellular phones, PDAs, and similar electronic media devices is prohibited during all class meetings. __Use of computers is permitted, with one exception, during class meetings, but their use is limited to note-taking and accessing those websites that the instructor is using in instruction during that class meeting__. Use of computers is prohibited, however, during examinations. The foregoing paragraph is not intended to negate the reasonable accommodations accorded by federal law to students with documented physical or learning disabilities.

Student athletes whose coaches request the completion of progress reports by the instructor must, __on each occasion__, inform the instructor __at least twenty-four hours__ in advance of this need and provide the required forms and waiver agreements. As far as he is able, the instructor voluntarily will provide reasonable accommodation to such requests.

On rare occasions extremely inclement weather might discourage road travel to and from the Greenwood campus in order to attend a class meeting. I encourage you __not to risk__ your safety in such cases of bad weather. You are also responsible for your learning in this course, and thus I am confident that you will treat such occasions in a responsible manner. Whenever Lander classes are cancelled due to inclement weather, the University will inform local public communications media. The easiest way to determine whether class meetings have been cancelled is to access Lander’s automated telephone system at 864-388-8000; any cancellation message will be announced first on the system.

Grading scale - all mini-essays will receive a precise numerical grade, percentage based; the operative scale for these and for the course as a whole is thus: "A" = 90% and above, "B" = 80-89%, "C" = 70-79%, "D" = 60-69%, "F" = 59% and below.

The instructor uses Blackboard __only__ to report midterm grades and __not__ for email or any other communication. Students wishing to email the instructor should carefully note his address above and use instead their internet email capability outside of Blackboard. Students should also __regularly__ check their official Lander email addresses for communications from the instructor. Finally, students should consult the instructor’s webpage (http://figueira.wikispaces.com) for a copy of their syllabus and other study materials.

If you have now or develop during this semester a physical or a learning disability and you want me to make reasonable accommodations according to federal law, you must contact the Lander University Student Wellness Center (Genesis Building, phone: 864-388-8885, email: studentwellness@lander.edu) and provide that office with appropriate documentation unless you have done so in the past. Once that office is aware of your disability, it will inform all of your instructors each semester that you attend Lander University unless you ask in writing that this not be done. Students receiving special accommodations for scheduling formal academic exercises must consult the instructor and the Academic Success Center (864-388-8317) on each occasion where special accommodations are sought and at least forty-eight hours before each exercise.

IV. __Teaching strategies used__:

The class will meet in seminar format whereby oral participation in discussions will alternate with question-and-answer by instructor and students. Discussion themes will be built around the general topic posed in the mini-essay questions. After class meetings students will reflect upon their corrected and graded mini-essays. The mini-essays will permit students to pose questions, synthesize data, display general knowledge gained (from readings, discussions, and mini-essays), and express concepts and analysis in clear prose.

V. __Class topics__:

1. The Courtly Love Tradition I (Andreas Capellanus, //The Art of Courtly Love//; excerpts)

2. The Courtly Love Tradition II (Chrétien De Troyes, //Erec and Enide//, pp. 1-234)

3. Germanic Epic in an Age of Transition (//Nibelungenlied//; pp. 13-291)

4. Courtly Romance and Its Inner Tensions (//Tristan//; entire - both Gottfried’s and Thomas’ versions, pp. 40-370)

5. Scholastic Poetic Synthesis (Dante, //Inferno//; pp. 65-387)

6. Secularism and Naturalism (Boccaccio, //Decameron//; in Penguin second edition: pp. 1-48, 189-283, 301-12, 393-99, 432-43, 484-550, 551-85, 610-63, 668-82, 695-701, 795-802; if in another edition: preface; first day, stories 1-4; third day, stories 1-10; fourth day, story 2; fifth day, stories 4 and 10; seventh day, stories 1-10; eighth day, stories 1-6, 8-10; ninth day, stories 1-3, 5-6, 10; tenth day, conclusion __after__ story 10, author’s epilogue)

For background reading throughout the semester one may consult: Robert S. Hoyt and Stanley Chodorow, //Europe in the Middle Ages// - on closed library reserve

VI. __Mini-Essay questions__: To be posted on webpage (see above) or distributed to students.

GUIDELINES FOR MINI-ESSAYS

1. There is no need for a separate title page; simply type single-spaced at the top left of first page:

[your name] Medieval Mentalities – HONS 390 [essay #] [date]

2. Do not retype the essay question verbatim as part of your essay.

3. The essay is to be typed, doubled-spaced, on a typewriter, word-processor, or computer (printer with a dark ribbon). Use 12-point type (preferably Times New Roman).

4. Print early drafts as you work; in case of machine failure or similar disaster, you can at least prove to me that you tried to complete the essay on time.

5. The essay will be graded on content (does it answer the question?), sufficient length; style; mechanics of grammar, syntax, orthography.

6. Type-in corrections wherever possible; use correction fluid; avoid penned-in corrections.

7. No bibliography is needed.

8. No formal footnoting/endnoting is required; instead, any reference to the assigned text for a quotation or for evidence or for your own statements should be supported by a note in the essay text written within parentheses __inside__ the following punctuation: (p./pp. x).

9. Direct quotation from the assigned text should occur infrequently, if at all.

10. For your own protection, photocopy your essay before submission.

NOTICE It is the policy of Lander University to prohibit illegal discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, pregnancy, religion, sex, veteran’s status, and genetic information in regard to the administration of all campus programs, services, and activities including athletics, admission, employment, and or sponsored activities and programs as included in Title VII and Title IX. Students who believe they have been harassed, discriminated against, or involved in sexual violence should contact the Vice President of Student Affairs/Deputy Title IX Coordinator (864-388-8293) or Director of Human Resources/Title IX Coordinator (864-388-8053) for information about campus resources and support services, including confidential counseling services. Faculty are legally obligated to share information with the University’s Title IX coordinator in certain situations to help ensure that the student’s safety and welfare is being addressed, consistent with the requirements of the law. These disclosures include but are not limited to reports of sexual assault, relational/domestic violence, and stalking. Please refer to LanderUniversity’s site for contact information and further details. []