COURSE COVERAGE: This course will cover—in the original language—medieval English lyrics, legends, romance, drama, allegorical verse, fabliaux, and chronicles. In addition to the works themselves, relevant background material will also be covered.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The course will have three main objectives: 1) to learn to pronounce and understand Middle English with a reasonable degree of accuracy and ease; 2) to gain a basic acquaintance with the background material and with some of the fundamental scholarly concerns connected with Middle English literature; 3) to examine and discuss the selected readings as works of literature and as sources of insight and enjoyment.

COURSE GRADES: Course grades will be based on the following work:

 

Midterm Examination	25%
Research Paper	25%
Final Examination	30%
Classwork Grade	20%

The two examinations, part objective and part essay, will cover both the reading assignments and the class material (lectures, discussions, handouts). The objective questions will test your knowledge of relevant factual information. The essay questions will test such things as your ability to evaluate literature, to respond to a specific questions and support general statements with relevant material, and to demonstrate good writing ability. The research paper will be approximately five to eight pages double-spaced and will be on some topic related to one of the works covered in the course. The classwork grade will include class participation, reading ability (including pronunciation and translation), and anything else not covered in the other categories.

ATTENDANCE: Regular attendance is expected. Repeated absences, whether excused or unexcused, will be detrimental to your classwork grade, as could repeated late arrivals or early departures.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: If you need accommodation due to a disability, please make an appointment to see me, and bring a statement from Disability Support Services (410-704-2638) authorizing your accommodation.

CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM: All work done in this course must be your work only. Cheating and/or plagiarism could result in an "F" for the course. For details see the Student Academic Integrity Policy.

NOTE: This course may be repeated only once without permission of the Academic Standards Committee.