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ENGL-040-01 Gateway: Med &/or Ren Lit/Cult
Faculty:
FALL 2010 & SPRING 2011
ENGL 040-01 PROFESSOR MICHAEL COLLINS The course will begin by proposing that a profound change in the way men and women saw the world took place in Western Europe between 1200 and 1600. After illustrating and analyzing that change through the developments in the art of the period, the course will go on to examine how popular entertainment (ballads and theatre) in England (roughly between 1450 and 1600) reflected it and responded to it. Students will be asked to read Everyman and the Second Shepherds’ Play, a selection of popular ballads, and plays by Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. They will also be asked to rehearse and perform some scenes from these plays and to attend a play by Shakespeare in production during the semester in Washington. A lab fee for the course will cover the cost of the ticket. Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Sections:
ENGL-040-02 Gateway: Med &/or Ren Lit/Cult
Hailey, Carter
FALL 2010
Prof. Sarah McNamer This course seeks to introduce students to the vibrant, polylingual literary culture of medieval England from the eighth century to the eve of the Renaissance. Beginning with Beowulf (in the wonderful translation by Seamus Heaney), we will read both canonical and noncanonical texts, situating them in the various social, intellectual, visual and performance contexts that can restore for us a sense of their original meanings and functions. Genres will range from the familiar to the strange: we will encounter elegiac poetry, chivalric romances, a prose rhapsody, a travel narrative, miracles of the Virgin, love lyrics, a gynecological treatise, riddles, mystery plays, revelations from God, a beast fable, a bawdy fabliau and a sobering sermon on the Seven Deadly Sins. English writings will be our focus, but we will also sample (in translation) some of the abundant Latin and French texts which circulated in medieval England, in part as a reminder of the prestige these languages enjoyed and the lowly status of English during much of this period. Indeed the politics of language use will be one of our abiding concerns, as will more general questions surrounding textual production and cultural authority. Virtually all readings will be in modern English translation; we will, however, read some Old and Middle English aloud in order to experience something of the weight and music of English in its earliest days. SPRING 2011 PROFESSOR CARTER HAILEY ENGL 040.02 Shakespeare in Love: The Course The 1998 Oscar-winning film Shakespeare in Love is of course a romantic fantasy, frequently and self-consciously anachronistic in depicting an Elizabethan theatrical milieu which is filled with the same sorts of ego-driven actors, beef-witted producers, and petty rivalries which have become clichés of the modern entertainment industry. Many of the characters are, however, historical figures, including the impresario Philip Henslowe; the actors Ned Allyn, Richard Burbage, and Will Kempe, and the playwrights Christopher Marlowe and John Webster. Despite its fictionality, Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard’s witty screenplay is all the more enjoyable when one comes to it with a knowledge of Elizabethan theatrical history: simply put, the more you know, the more you get their jokes. We will begin the course by viewing the film and reading its screenplay. For historical background and contextual material we’ll be using The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare: An Introduction with Documents in tandem with the reading of poetry and playtexts. We’ll explore the Shakespeare/Marlowe rivalry through their competing erotic epillia (“little epics”) Venus and Adonis and Hero and Leander and Marlowe’s first theatrical hit Tamburlaine. We’ll then consider Two Gentlemen of Verona, which in the film represents Shakespeare’s pre-1595 dramaturgy, and will provide a useful contrast to Twelfth Night the work inspired by Will’s love interest at the end of the film. Since the film centers on Shakespeare’s creation of Romeo and Juliet, we’ll read that play along with its actual source, Arthur Brooke’s narrative poem Romeus and Juliet. We’ll also read Titus Andronicus (creepy little John Webster’s favorite play), along with one of Webster’s plays, The White Devil. We’ll spend significant time learning about some of the ‘tools of the trade’ for writing critically about literature, including the use of online resources. Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
ENGL-040-03 Gateway: Med&/orRen Lit&Cult
Faculty:
FALL 2010
PROFESSOR SARAH MCNAMER ENGL 040.03 This course seeks to introduce students to the vibrant, polylingual literary culture of medieval England from the eighth century to the eve of the Renaissance. Beginning with Beowulf (in the wonderful translation by Seamus Heaney), we will read both canonical and noncanonical texts, situating them in the various social, intellectual, visual and performance contexts that can restore for us a sense of their original meanings and functions. Genres will range from the familiar to the strange: we will encounter elegiac poetry, chivalric romances, a prose rhapsody, a travel narrative, miracles of the Virgin, love lyrics, a gynecological treatise, riddles, mystery plays, revelations from God, a beast fable, a bawdy fabliau and a sobering sermon on the Seven Deadly Sins. English writings will be our focus, but we will also sample (in translation) some of the abundant Latin and French texts which circulated in medieval England, in part as a reminder of the prestige these languages enjoyed and the lowly status of English during much of this period. Indeed the politics of language use will be one of our abiding concerns, as will more general questions surrounding textual production and cultural authority. Virtually all readings will be in modern English translation; we will, however, read some Old and Middle English aloud in order to experience something of the weight and music of English in its earliest days. SPRING 2011 PROFESSOR MARY JANE BARNETT ENGL 040.03 Playing with the Reader in Early Modern Texts Text not only is, it does—it speaks itself, but it also sets out to act on us. In this medieval and Renaissance Gateway course we will keep an eye on the strategies through which early modern texts seek to engage their readers. What are the games that they play? What do they want from us? And what, for contemporary readers were the consequences of this engagement? Since this course is intended as a gateway to the major as well as an introduction to the English literature of the early modern period, it will include some readings in theory, including brief selections from Richard Lanham, Stephen Greenblatt, and Carole Neely. Otherwise, the primary readings will be largely canonical. We will read, for instance, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”; a selection from The Book of Margery Kempe; Chaucer’s “Wife of Bath”; Sir Thomas More’s Utopia; pieces from Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier; a few sonnets by Wyatt, Surrey, and Shakespeare; and two Shakespearian plays, probably Richard III and Othello. But we will also be looking at some non-print material such as portraits of Queen Elizabeth. Students will be asked to write four short response papers of approximately two pages and one term paper of six-to-eight pages. There will be two, possibly three short tests but probably no final exam. Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
ENGL-040-04 Gateway: Med&/orRen Lit&Cult
Fall for 2010-2011
Faculty:
Women and the Market in Early Modern England How did an emerging capitalist economy affect women in 16th and 17th century England? In a time of imperial expansion, global trade, and rapid urbanization, gender roles necessarily shifted as women entered the merchant class and became more than just commodities to be traded between men. Drawing upon cultural artifacts such as maps, visual representations, and household objects, this course examines the conflicts raised by women's increasing agency within the marital, literary, theatrical, commercial, and political economies. Through a close analysis of plays by Shakespeare and other male playwrights as well as poetry and prose by women, we will explore diverse representations of gender to ask how women's voices can acquire value in a patriarchal society. Critical essays, short journal entries, and active participation are required. Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
ENGL-040-05 Gateway: Med&/orRen Lit&Cult
Fall for 2010-2011
Faculty:
FALL 2010
PROFESSOR MIMI YIU ENGL 040.05 Women and the Market in Early Modern England How did an emerging capitalist economy affect women in 16th and 17th century England? In a time of imperial expansion, global trade, and rapid urbanization, gender roles necessarily shifted as women entered the merchant class and became more than just commodities to be traded between men. Drawing upon cultural artifacts such as maps, visual representations, and household objects, this course examines the conflicts raised by women's increasing agency within the marital, literary, theatrical, commercial, and political economies. Through a close analysis of plays by Shakespeare and other male playwrights as well as poetry and prose by women, we will explore diverse representations of gender to ask how women's voices can acquire value in a patriarchal society. Critical essays, short journal entries, and active participation are required. Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
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