ENG 2020 - MAJR ENGLISH AUTHORS I:MEDIEVAL ANDRENASANCE

credits: 3.0
The broader objective of the course is to provide a general background in British literature of the Medieval (700-1500) and the Renaissance (1500-1660) periods. More specifically, the course will develop the contrast between two ways of looking at the world: the Medieval perspective, with its preoccupation with the traditional order of the feudal system and the pre-Reformation church and its emphasis on the superiority of the world to come over this one; and the Renaissance perspective, with its increasing preoccupation with the secular world, with reason and science, with new ideas, and with the capabilities of the individual. Most of the literature studied will be narrative and lyric poetry, though attention will be paid to medieval morality plays and Jacobean drama and to early British prose forms. Works will be studied against an historical, political, philosophical, and social background that both influenced and was influenced by the writers it produced. Readings will include selections from Medievals such as the Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight poets, the various writers of medieval romance and Arthurian legend, and Chaucer; as well as from Renaissance authors such as the early English sonneteers (including Shakespeare), Donne, Jonson, Milton, and the Devotional and Cavalier poets. Works by other writers will be sampled as well, and a wide variety of writers from the poets will be available as topics for paper-writing. Objectives: A) Become familiar with the historical, social, cultural, and aesthetic circumstances that produced the literature of the British Medieval and Renaissance periods, B) Learn to distinguish the key features of the works of some twenty or so representative writers from the two periods, C) Improve their skills at critical reading and analysis, and 4) improve their skills at the writing of critical essays. Method of Evaluation: Final grades for this course will reflect the following components and percentages: a mid-term examination (20%) and a final examination (20%) on materials dealt with in class, two critical essays (three to four pages, typed) on works not studied extensively in class (20% each), and regular reading quizzes and/or written reports (20%). Missed quizzes may not be made up; the lowest quiz score will be dropped. Attendance is also viewed as a requirement. Plainly put, your final grade will be lowered steadily at the instructor’s discretion after the fifth missed class. Students who miss class on eight or more occasions should withdraw from the course as they will otherwise receive a final grade of F. Nor should attendance be construed as mere bodily presence; students should come to class prepared, awake, attentive, and willing to contribute where appropriate. Sleeping, chatting, and all other forms of boorish behavior are, needless to say, unacceptable. Meets *WEP Distribution Requirements.