SPRING 2006
ENG 701: SEMINAR IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
Old English Language and Literature

• Professor: Fidel Fajardo-Acosta
• Course: ENG 701: Seminar in Medieval Literature: Old English Language and Literature, CRN 11937
• Class Time: Wednesdays 3:00-5:30 PM
• Classroom: Business Administration Building (BA) Room 217
• Course Dates: Wednesday, January 11-Wednesday, May 3, 2006
• Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 2:00-3:00 and by appointment (notice that posted office hours are subject to cancellation without previous notice, call to be sure)
• Office: Hitchcock Communication Arts Building (CA) Room 304 A
• Office Telephone: (402) 280-2522
• E-mail: fajardo@creighton.edu
• Home Page: http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/english/fajardo/

A study of the language and literature of the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) period (A.D. 449-1066). Course work will deal with reading, translation and interpretation of Anglo-Saxon prose and poetry; consideration of cultural and historical backgrounds; as well as study of the grammar of Old English. Readings will include texts such as The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, The Wanderer, The Dream of the Rood, The Battle of Maldon, and Beowulf.

TEXTBOOKS (Available at Creighton Bookstore):

Bruce Mitchell & Fred C. Robinson, A Guide to Old English, 6th ed., (Blackwell Publishers, 2001) ISBN 0631226362

Nicholas Howe, ed., E. Talbot Donaldson, trans., Beowulf : A Prose Translation, (Norton, 2002) ISBN: 0393974065

John Richard Clark Hall, Herbert D. Meritt, A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4th reprint edition, (University of Toronto Press, 1984) ISBN: 0802065481

Kevin Crossley-Holland, The Anglo-Saxon World: An Anthology, (Oxford University Press, 1999) ISBN: 0192835475

Some Useful Web Sites:

• The Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies (see Old English section):
  http://labyrinth.georgetown.edu/
  
  
• Peter Baker's Old English at the University of Virginia:
  http://www.engl.virginia.edu/OE/
  
  
• Cathy Ball, Georgetown University Old English Pages: http://www.georgetown.edu/cball/oe/old_english.html
  
  
• The Englisc List: A Forum for Composition in Old English (featuring a discussion list and some amusing links): http://www.georgetown.edu/cball/englisc/index.html
  
  
• Instant Old English: A few useful and colorful expressions, http://www.georgetown.edu/cball/englisc/instant-oe.html
  
  
• The Skipper's Word List: Modern English to Old English lexicon, http://www.mun.ca/Ansaxdat/vocab/wordlist.html
  
  
• Resources for the Study of Beowulf (and more), University of Nevada, Reno:
  http://www.library.unr.edu/subjects/guides/beowulf.html
  

• Beowulf in Hypertext
  http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~beowulf/
  
  
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
  http://omacl.org/Anglo/
  
  
• Voice of the Shuttle: Medieval Literature (Old and Middle English)( bibliographical references and other resources): http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=2740

Other recommended materials available at the Reinert Alumni Library include the following:

• A Companion to Anglo-Saxon Literature (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001), edited by Phillip Pulsiano and Elaine Treharne
• The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature, edited by Malcolm Godden and Michael Lapidge (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991)
• A New Critical History of Old English Literature, Stanley B. Greenfield and Daniel G. Calder, (New York : New York University Press, 1986).
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, ed. Dorothy Whitelock, David Douglas, and Susie Tucker (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1965)
• The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records : A Collective Edition, edited by George Philip Krapp and Elliott Van Dobbie, (New York : Columbia University Press, 1931-1953). Six volumes:
  • Vol. 1: The Junius Manuscript
  • Vol. 2: The Vercelli Book
  • Vol. 3: The Exeter Book
  • Vol. 4: Beowulf and Judith
  • Vol. 5: Paris Psalter and Boethius
  • Vol. 6: Anglo-Saxon Minor Poems
• Beowulf scholarship : An Annotated Bibliography (New York: Garland, 1980) Douglas D. Short
  
• Beowulf scholarship : An Annotated Bibliography, 1979-1990 (New York: Garland, 1993), Robert J. Hasenfratz
  

In addition to the Hall & Meritt dictionary that you will purchase for this class, you may also find useful the following dictionaries in the Reference Collection at the Reinert Alumni Library:

• A Short Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon Poetry : In a Normalized Early Orthography, Jess B. Bessinger (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1960), REINERT/ALUM REFERENCE PE279 .B4
• An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Based on the Manuscript Collections of Late Joseph Bosworth, edited and enlarged by T. Northcote Toller (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1898). REINERT/ALUM REFERENCE PE279 .B5 1898
• Supplement to An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary : Based on the Manuscript Collections of Bosworth, by T. Northcote Toller (London ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1973). REINERT/ALUM REFERENCE PE279 .B5 Suppl.
  
  

1) Two Exams (50%)

Both exams will feature exercises in translation, textual commentary, and interpretation, as well as questions on Anglo Saxon history, culture, and language.

2) Term Project and Presentation (25%)

Students will design and pursue a project (analytical/research paper, creative writing, web site, etc.) related to any aspect of the course materials. All projects must be presented to the class. Projects may be papers (10-15 pp., including analysis and research, MLA format) dealing with any features of the language, literature, or culture of the Anglo-Saxon period (quotations from Old English texts must be in the original language and accompanied by appropriate translations). Other projects may include creative writing and art work (painting, music, sculpture, film, etc.) clearly inspired by and relevant to the subject matter of the course. ALL PROJECTS MUST INVOLVE AND INCORPORATE A SUBSTANTIAL MEASURE OF RESEARCH OF PRIMARY (TEXTUAL) AND SECONDARY (SCHOLARLY) SOURCES (BIBLIOGRAPHY IS REQUIRED REGARDLESS OF THE TYPE OF PROJECT) AS WELL AS DIRECT ENGAGEMENT OF THE ANGLO-SAXON LANGUAGE. In general, students are encouraged to choose materials and media which are interesting and stimulating and should not feel limited to traditional academic topics or techniques. All projects must be approved by the instructor in advance (see schedule below for project proposal deadline).

3) Participation, Involvement, and Other Performance (25%)

Students will also be graded according to preparation, participation, accomplishment, development, and involvement in the course.

4) Other Policies

Grading: All performance will be graded on a 0-100 point scale where 0-59 = F, 60-69 = D, 70-79 = C, 80-89 = B, and 90-100 = A.

Deadlines: Make-ups/extensions for a missed deadline will only be given in cases of documented serious illness or other valid, non-frivolous excuse such as documented participation in official University academic, service or sports events (it will be up to the instructor to determine and decide on the acceptability of an excuse). Otherwise, students must meet all deadlines specified in the syllabus.

Academic Honesty and Class Conduct Policy: All students in the class are expected to observe the University's guidelines on student conduct as described in the Code of Conduct and Creighton University's Student Handbook (especially the section on "Academic Honesty Policy" dealing with problems of plagiarism, cheating, etc.). All work turned in for credit in this course must be personal and original, produced during the course of the semester and for the specific purposes and according to the guidelines of the given assignments. Any misrepresentations, concealments, or distortions of source, origin, collaboration or authorship of such materials will be considered forms of academic dishonesty and will result in failing the given assignment or, at the discretion of the instructor, the entire course. Problems such as repeated lateness arriving to class (or departing early), inatentiveness, or disruptive behavior may adversely affect attendance and/or the class participation grade. Seriously disruptive behavior can also result, at the discretion of the instructor, in more severe penalties, including failing the entire course.

Attendance Policy: An attendance measurement will be calculated equal to the percentage of total class time attended. The course grade may not exceed that percentage (i.e. if a student attended only 75% of the total class time, the course grade may not be higher than 75 or C). Notice also that, at the discretion of the instructor, any student missing more than 30% of the total class time may fail the course.

Email Communication: The University considers a student's Creighton email address the official means of communication with faculty and administrators. All students are responsible for checking their email messages as they might contain important and time-sensitive information relevant to the course, including notifications on changes to reading and other assignments, deadlines, class cancellations or reschedulings, etc. A student who prefers to receive email at a different address must inform the instructor.

Students must make sure to complete the reading by the date indicated. Class work will involve discussion of Anglo-Saxon literature, language, history, and culture, as well as in-class reading and translation of original texts. It is important that students prepare at home by reading the original text and correspoding translations, consulting dictionaries, and taking notes. Students will be called on during class to read out loud, translate selected portions of the texts, and answer questions on their grammatical and other features.

Wed Jan 11

• The History, Culture and Language of the Anglo-Saxons
  • Chronological Outline of Prehistoric, Celtic, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon England
  • Indo-European and Germanic Languages
  • Outline of the Anglo-Saxon Language

Wed Jan 18

• The History, Culture and Language of the Anglo-Saxons:
  • Chronological Outline of Prehistoric, Celtic, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon England
  • Indo-European and Germanic Languages
  • Outline of the Anglo-Saxon Language
• Reading:
  • Robert C. Hughes, "The Origins of Old English to 800 A.D." and E. Talbot Donaldson's "Old English Prosody and Caedmon's Hymn" in Howe's Beowulf pp. 61-67, and 67-69.
  • Sections "Some Significant Dates," "History," and "Literature" in "An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon Studies" (Ch. 6 of Guide to Old English).

Wed Jan 25

• Reading from Guide to Old English (ATTENTION: do not be too concerned with the technical details of this reading but only with the practical aspects of the word forms and paradigms that you can consult while you try to translate):
  • Ch. 1 "Preliminary Remarks on the Language"
  • Ch. 2 "Orthography and Pronunciation"
  • Ch. 3 "Inflexions" (browse sections on Pronouns, Nouns, Adjectives and Verbs)
  • See "Practice Sentences" in Part II of the Guide
• Translate:
  • "The Fall of Man" (from Genesis 3) lines 1-16 (look up the words in the glossary and try to keep track of parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc)

Wed Feb 01

• Read: "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" in Crossley-Holland Anthology.
• Translate: "Selections from Anglo Saxon Chronicle" in Guide to Old English (translate as much of the text as you can and be ready to answer questions on the specific grammatical forms and functions of each word). You can find a translation of the specific passages at: http://omacl.org/Anglo/part3.html

Wed Feb 08

• Translate: "Selections from Anglo Saxon Chronicle," Guide to Old English.

Wed Feb 15

• Read: "The Elegies" in Crossley-Holland Anthology
• Translate: "The Wanderer," Guide to Old English,

Wed Feb 22

• Translate: "The Wanderer," Guide to Old English.

Wed Mar 01

• EXAM

Wed Mar 08

• SPRING BREAK

Wed Mar 15

• Read: "Christian Poems" in Crossley-Holland Anthology.
• Translate: "The Dream of the Rood," Guide to Old English.
• TERM PROJECT PROPOSAL DUE (email to fajardo@creighton.edu a brief description of intended project including subject, main ideas and media to be used)

Wed Mar 22

• Translate: "The Dream of the Rood," Guide to Old English.

Wed Mar 29

• Read: "Heroic Poems" in Crossley-Holland Anthology.
• Translate: "The Battle of Maldon." Guide to Old English.

Wed Apr 05

• Translate: "The Battle of Maldon." Guide to Old English.

Wed Apr 12

• Read: E. Talbot Donaldson's translation of Beowulf in Howe's Beowulf: A Prose Translation.
• Translate: "Beowulf's Fight with Grendel," Guide to Old English.

Wed Apr 19

• Translate: "Beowulf's Fight with Grendel," Guide to Old English.

Wed Apr 26

• EXAM

Thu May 03

• STUDENT PROJECT PRESENTATIONS. Projects in final form are due on this date.

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Last updated: 01/10/2006