 Prequisites: ENGL
430 is a senior-level English seminar. Enrollment is
limited to English majors and English Graduate Students.
English majors are normally expected to have completed ENGL 203,
the Medieval Core class, which is a prerequisite for
upper-division work in medieval literature. Please
be aware that all students enrolled in ENGL 430 are
assumed to have acquired a basic familiarity with
medieval literary practices and to have read some Chaucer
in their ENGL 203 class. ENGL 430 is designed to
build upon that knowledge and should not normally be
undertaken by English majors who have not yet completed
ENGL 203.  Course
Objectives:
In this seminar, we will use Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the major literary landmark of the English Middle Ages, as a vehicle to explore medieval literary production. Readings have been chosen as examples of the major literary genres practiced in the Middle Ages, to illustrate key themes, or to showcase Chaucer's literary talent, his innovation, and his considerable wit. Students will explore a topic in depth in a research paper. By the end of the quarter, you should feel confident of your ability to read Chaucer in Middle English. In addition, you will have gained an understanding of how medieval literature differs from modern literature (and from modern notions of what literature is): e.g. the distinction between a printed edition and a medieval manuscript; the different definitions of what constitutes a literary work in manuscript and print cultures; the tension between Latin and vernacular literatures; the emphasis on literature as an on-going process rather than an end product (and thus the inappropriateness of notions such as "originality" or "intellectual property" in the medieval context); the sort of decisions facing the editor of a medieval text (and in particular, those facing an editor of the Canterbury Tales). You will know something about Chaucer's life and about Middle English literature at the end of the fourteenth century. You will be able to identify and distinguish between the various genres read in class. Additionally, you will have experience using a number of electronic and print research tools to identify, locate and access useful research materials at Cal Poly, at other institutions, and on the Web, and you should know how to document these sources correctly in a research paper. You will be aware of some of the pitfalls and pleasures of doing research on the Web, and at Cal Poly. Overall goals: to convince you that medieval
literature in general, and Chaucer in particular, are
neither boring nor "too hard"; that this stuff is fun to
read; and that this is a book you'll want to keep at the
end of the quarter! You are expected to have an email account and to check it regularly. Important announcements will be sent over the class email alias. The class email alias is automatically generated using the email address of each enrolled student found in the Cal Poly Directory server. If your Cal Poly email account is NOT your preferred email address, you must
You are also also expected to collaborate with your classmates by submitting research progress reports and records of works ordered via LINK+ or ILL to the class research archive, located in a PolyLearn "Discussion Board." There will be separate forums for each author/text. Additionally, there will be a forum to list LINK+ Orders and an ILL Repository to which you will upload Interlibrary Loan articles you have received electronically. Your Research Progress Reports, postings to the LINK+ Orders forum, and upload(s) to the ILL Repository will factor into the participation component of your final course grade. EACH MISSING REPORT OR POSTING COUNTS AS AN UNEXCUSED ABSENCE.
Please note that only absences resulting from illness, a family emergency, or circumstances truly beyond your control count as excused. Absences taken for personal convenience are a matter of choice rather than necessity; they will be recorded as unexcused. Please note that deadlines for other courses, work conflicts and job interviews are NOT valid reasons for missing class. Exception: a graduating senior will be granted ONE excused absence for an out-of-town job interview. FOR ANY ABSENCE TO BE EXCUSED, YOU MUST SUBMIT A
SIGNED, WRITTEN NOTE with course number, date missed and
an explanation of the circumstances leading to your
absence. (An e-mail or a phone message will not
suffice; a written statement with your signature
is required for an absence to be excused.) EACH MISSING RESEARCH REPORT OR RESEARCH ARCHIVE UPLOAD/POSTING COUNTS AS AN UNEXCUSED ABSENCE.
Remember: reading a modern translation is NOT cheating -- that's why a translation is a required text for this class! You are advised to BEGIN with the translation and refer back to it as you read the Middle English. But if you ONLY read the translation, you will not do well in ENGL 430. Any quizzes and passages on both midterm exams are based on the original Middle English text as printed in the Riverside Chaucer. You must refer to that edition (not to a translation) in class discussion, in your oral presentation, and in your research paper. Be prepared to DISCUSS readings in class. Note that the
length and difficulty of assignments vary, so look ahead
in the reading list when you are planning your
time. All students will be required
to READ ALOUD IN CLASS, with reasonably correct Middle
English pronunciation and inflection, the first 42 lines
of the General Prologue AND a total of at least 20 lines
of their own choosing from another tale (as part of
their Oral Presentation). Readings
will be graded pass/fail. Only non-performance will earn
an F (averaged into the Participation
component of your final grade), but quality of reading
will be recorded as a "+" or "-" used to help decide
borderline grades at the end of term. Particularly
energetic or enthusiastic recitation earns applause,
smiles, good will -- perhaps even cookies?
Graded Work:
BUT. . . if I perceive that students are NOT doing the readings -- or appear to be reading ONLY the modern English translation -- I reserve the right to BEGIN class with an unannounced READING QUIZ. Quizzes will consist of two parts: factual questions based on assigned background readings (e.g. biographical information on Chaucer; important concepts and terms presented in background readings or associated with primary readings -- genres of tales, sources of tales, dates of tales if known, the fragments of the CT, the "marriage group," the "Bradshaw shift," etc.). There may also be IDs of key characters or terms found in primary readings. Part two will consist of passage IDs from the assigned primary reading(s), including brief translations of selected Middle English lines. If we end up having reading quizzes, there will be some element of choice in each section; you will have the opportunity to answer extra questions for additional points; and your quiz average (after dropping the lowest score) will be factored into your in-class work grade. Should I end up reinstituting reading quizzes in ENGL 430 this quarter, please be aware of the following:
 MIDTERM 1 AND MIDTERM 2 EXAMS: in
class on T 5/5/15 and R 6/4/15. Closed book. The objective
exam will consist of sombe combination of the following
types of questions: multiple choice, matching and/or
T/F factual questions (based on required background
readings and lectures), item IDs, passage IDs, and
translations of selected Middle English lines in the
passage ID section. Additionally, the first midterm
exam (but not the second) will include an essay.
RESEARCH
EXERCISES and REPORTS to the CLASS
RESEARCH ARCHIVE: Initial Research
Meeting: All students must meet with me by
the end of week 3 of the quarter -- after having
read through the text they will be presenting in class!
-- to discuss possible angles for the research
presentation and report any problems they are having
with the first few research assignments. NOTE to the research-challenged or easily intimidated: even if you have no prior experience using Kennedy Library research tools, following the instructions in the research tool pointers is simply not that difficult. (You are all English majors and presumably know how to read!) Failure to submit research reports to the archive would be a truly unnecessary way to lose points in this class. If you are worried about the research component of this seminar:
Each presenter will prepare and distribute an ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY of at least five secondary sources dealing with the primary reading. Entries should be alphabetized as on a List of Works Cited and should begin with full citations in correct bibliographic format (see Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Research Tools) followed by an indication of the mode used to access the work and a brief summary of the primary thrust of the article or essay (not a critique of it). Among the five items on the Bibliography, you should include at least one of each of the following types of resources: journal articles, essays in edited book collections, and single-author books; also, you must include items obtained using each of the following modes of access: an item found in hard copy in Cal Poly's print collections (state "Cal Poly" and give call number in parentheses at end of the bibliographic citation); an item ordered through LINK+; an item ordered through ILL (state mode of access in parentheses at end of citation); and an item accessed electronically from a subscription database in the Kennedy Library's collections (full-text journal article or e-book). The Annotated Bibliography will be graded for complete and correct bibliographic references (formatted according to MLA guidelines for a List of Works Cited entry); for the distribution of items over the required types of resources and modes of access; and for the expression and quality of the summary. See the Oral Presentation Guidelines for more detailed information. Your Oral Presentation and Annotated Bibliography will count as part of your in-class work grade. Please note: you will need to start researching your topic immediately in order to obtain required materials through LINK+ and Interlibrary Loan. All students should meet with Prof. Schwartz (and with joint presenters, if applicable) by the end of the third week of class to discuss the focus of their presentations.
The Prospectus must include a working title
which clearly identifies work(s) discussed as well as
topic of your paper; a fully articulated statement
of the claims you intend to support in your paper
(not just a statement of general topic); a tentative paragraph
outline of paper (with paragraphs corresponding
to the steps in your argument); and a working
bibliography of at least eight sources
(alphabetized and in correct MLA bibliographic format,
but without annotations). RESEARCH PAPER: 12-15 pp. long, using at least 6 secondary sources. Final paper may be connected to oral presentation. Due on last day of class or via email attachment (.doc or .docx file) no later than midngiht on Sunday 6/7/15. Worth 30% of final course grade (except as noted above). FINAL ORAL EXERCISE: a SHORT oral report of your
research findings at either the scheduled Final time,
Thursday 6/11/15 from 4:10-7:00 PM, or on a
mutually agreeable evening earlier in the exam
week. Ideally, this Final Oral Exercise will
take place at Dr. Schwartz’s home prior to a festive
celebratory meal.
NOTE: your
attendance is required ONLY for the oral
presentations; optional festivities will begin
immediately after the last short presentation. While the presentation will be ungraded, failure
to complete the Final Oral Exercise will result in a
grade of "F" being averaged into the 30% of your
course grade which is based upon the two Midterm Exams.
Extra Credit is available for reciting from memory (rather than reading aloud) the required Canterbury Tales passages in a reasonable approximation of Middle English. You may do so either during a class meeting or at our final class dinner.
OH MY GOSH . . . CAN I HANDLE THIS SEMINAR?? Sure you can -- if you keep up with the readings and don't put off starting your research! But DON'T assume that the class will "take care of itself." If you have a heavy course- and/or work-load, please be sure to budget time for this class . . . Finally. . . remember that I LOVE teaching this stuff, and I'm told that my enthusisam makes my classes more fun! And WHAT ABOUT THOSE TWO-HOUR BLOCKS? Rest assured, we'll take a break each day. Feel free to bring along a caffeinated (or non-caffeinated) drink -- whatever it takes to keep you alert through two hours. If there is sufficient interest, rotating cookie duty will be arranged! WELCOME, AND ENJOY!!!
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PLEASE
NOTE that the on-line syllabus (not
any print-out you may make) is
authoritative. Assignments may be
modified in the course of the quarter.
Check the on-line syllabus regularly (before
each class) to ensure that you are completing
the correct assignment. It is accessible at http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl430/430syllS12.html
Each student starts out with a 4.0 for
attendance. This component of your final grade
drops by .3 for the first UNEXCUSED absence; the
penalty increases by .1 for each subsequent unexcused
absence (from A [4.0] to A- [3.7] to B+ [3.3], to B-
[2.8], etc.). Additionally, it drops .1 for the first
EXCUSED absence (4.0 to 3.9) and .2 for the second
excused absence (3.9 to 3.7). Excused
absences in excess of two (a full week, 10% of
the class) count the same as unexcused absences.
Readings are to be completed BEFORE coming
to class on the date assigned. You are expected as a
matter of course to read the introductory Explanatory
Notes for each reading (found in the Appendices
of the Riverside Chaucer), as well as the
footnotes in the text, assigned pages in the general
introduction, and any assigned online readings
or handouts. You should be aware of, and
consult as needed, the more detailed explanatory notes
(listed by line number in Appendix 1) and should
consult the textual notes for your tale (found in Appendix
2) when preparing your class presentation and
writing your research paper. Be sure to read the
background material FIRST -- it provides a context
within which the primary readings will be more
meaningful. 
You will be responsible for ALL
the assigned readings, whether fully discussed in class
or not, as well as for the additional background
material presented in lectures, 
In
400-level classes, I assume a certain level of
commitment from my students, since no one is required to
take a given seminar. For this reason, I typically
do not use reading quizzes in a seminar.
The one exception has been this Chaucer seminar, where I
have in the past used reading quizzes to keep tabs on
students' progress in mastering Chaucer's
language. This quarter, I have decided to try an
experiment: I will dispense with the reading
quizzes, and instead begin class with oral discussion of
the material that might have been on a quiz, and group
translation of a passage from the assigned
reading. 
Individual
research meetings (supplemented as appropriate by my
pages with Research Tool Pointers) will help you
begin your research for your 
This initial meeting must take
place by the end of week 3 at the latest! Failure
to do so will cause an "F" to be averaged into the Oral
Presentation component of your final course grade. 
