FALL 2003
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A study of the literature of the English Renaissance in the context of intellectual,
historical, and cultural developments in England and Europe. The course will
emphasize the study of Shakespeare as well as the perspectives and methodologies
of the New Historicism, Cultural Materialism, and Cultural Studies.
TEXTBOOKS
OTHER RESOURCES
Renaissance Society of America
Luminarium: Renaissance English Literature
Voice of the Shuttle: Web Pages for Research in the Humanities: http://vos.ucsb.edu
Newberry Library: Center for Renaissance Studies
Reinert Alumni Library: http://reinert.creighton.edu/
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES
1) Conference-Style Paper, Presentation, and Submission to a Professional
Conference (50%)
Students in this course will be required to write a 10-15 page paper offering
both personal analysis and research focused on any one aspect of English Renaissance
literature and/or culture. The paper should include close reading and analysis
of the text as well as discussion of relevant scholarship. All papers will be
expected to adopt/explore/acknowledge the methodologies of the New Historicism,
Cultural Materialism, or Cultural Studies (other contemporary methodologies
may also be acceptable provided the student can properly apply/related them
to the concerns and methods of the course). Papers must place the discussion
of the text or cultural artifacts under examination within an appropriate historical
context and must strive to explain the ways in which the text/object issues
from and participates in a specific historical/cultural discourse and its situations.
Students must observe the MLA guidelines in all their written work (consult,
for example, Joseph Gibaldi's MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers).
At the end of the term, each student will read/present her/his work to the class in a mini-conference setting involving the participants in the class. Presentations cannot exceed 20 minutes. Students are expected to present their work, answer questions, and critique each other's papers.
All papers must be submitted to an actual professional conference. Consult the websites listed above, in particular the Modern Language Association's publications (e.g. PMLA Jan/Mar/May/Oct issues) for listings of relevant upcoming conferences and related events.
2) In-Class Essay (40 %)
Students will write one in-class essay on a topic assigned by the instructor.
Essay exercises will ask students to read closely, analyze, and comment on a
particular passage from one a relevant text or other object and/or develop a
theme/issue related to the readings, lectures, or class discussions. Essays
will be graded primarily on the basis of their insight, relevance, clarity,
thoughtfulness, analytical depth, and engagement of the material under examination.
3) Participation, and Other Performance (10%)
In addition to other grades, the instructor will assess and grade each student's
overall accomplishment, development, and involvement in the course. This grade
will take into account aspects of a student's performance such as class participation,
preparation, contributions, effort, attentiveness, improvement, responsibility,
etc.
4) Other Policies
All aspects of the course will be graded on a 100-point scale where 90-100
= A, 80-89 = B, 70-79 = C, and 0-69 = F
Make-ups/extensions for a missed deadline will only be given in cases of documented serious illness or other valid, non-frivolous excuses such as documented participation in official University sports or academic/service events (it will be up to the instructors to determine and decide on the acceptability of an excuse).
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.
All students in the class are expected to observe the University's guidelines
on student conduct as described in Creighton University's Student Handbook (see
"Code of Conduct," and especially the section on "Academic Misconduct"
dealing with problems of plagiarism, cheating, etc.). All work submitted under
a student's name must be personal and original and must be created during and
for the specific purposes of the course. Cheating in exams, engaging in plagiarism,
misrepresentations of authorship, omission of credits or other acknowledgments
of outside sources (including other students' papers, fraternity/sorority files,
internet materials, books, periodical articles, and other printed or published
matter), as well as other forms of academic dishonesty 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, inattentiveness, or disruptive
behavior will adversely affect the class participation grade. Problematic behavior
of this sort can also result, at the discretion of the instructor and with the
advice of the Dean, in more severe penalties, including failing the entire course.
SCHEDULE
Mon Sep 08
Mon Sep 15
Mon Sep 22
Mon Sep 29
Mon Oct 06
Mon Oct 13
Mon Oct 20
Mon Oct 27
Mon Nov 03
Mon Nov 10
Mon Nov 17
Mon Nov 24
William Shakespeare, Othello
Mon Dec 08
Mon Dec 15