FALL 2007
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A study of literature and art of the Renaissance in the context of intellectual,
historical, and cultural developments in England and Europe. The course highlights authors like Desiderius Erasmus, Niccolò Machiavelli, Sir Thomas More, William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser; painters like Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Hans Holbein the Younger, and Nicolas Poussin; and the methods of the New Historicism, Cultural Materialism, and Cultural Studies.
TEXTBOOKS
OTHER RESOURCES
Luminarium: Renaissance English Literature
Voice of the Shuttle: Renaissance and 17th Century English Literature Resources
Jack Lynch, Literary Resources: Renaissance
University of Washington Libraries Webliography: Medieval and Renaissance
Digital Librarian: Medieval and Renaissance, Best of the Web
Renaissance Art -- miscellaneous images
Selected Bibliography of Methods, Literary and Cultural Theory
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES
1) Conference-Style Term Paper and Presentation (one-third of the course grade)
Students in this course will be required to write a 10 page paper (plus notes and list of works cited) offering
both personal analysis and research focused on any one aspect of Renaissance
literature and/or art. The paper should include close reading and analysis
of a text or art work as well as consideration of relevant scholarship. All papers will be
expected to employ contemporary methodologies
such as New Historicism, Cultural Materialism, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies or other relevant areas. Papers must place the discussion
of the text or cultural artifacts 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, past and present.
Students must observe MLA or Chicago style guidelines in all their written work (i.e. consult The MLA Style Manual or The Chicago Manual of Style). An 1-2 page abstract/proposal describing the topic must be submitted to the instructor toward the middle of the semester (see schedule below for specific deadline).
At the end of the term, each student will read/present her/his work in a mini-conference involving all 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.
2) Response Essays (one-third of the course grade)
At least twice during the semester students will be asked to write short response essays (around 4-5 typewritten pages) commenting on the possible significance and implications of selected textual passages, images or other materials. Essays
will be graded on the basis of relevance, clarity, analytical depth, and insight into the material under examination.
3) Participation, and Other Performance (one-third of the course grade)
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
Grading: 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. For details, see "Grading Criteria for Graduate Students."
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.
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. All absences, regardless of the reason, are taken into account in the calculation of the attendance percentage.
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), inattentiveness, or disruptive behavior will 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.
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.
Special Needs or Accommodations: Any student requiring special arrangements or other accommodations, due to disabilities and or other special circumstances, is encouraged to request such arrangements from the instructor and the Office of Disability Accommodations.
SCHEDULE
Wed Aug 22
Wed Aug 29
Wed Sep 05
Wed Sep 12
Wed Sep 19
Wed Sep 26
Wed Oct 03
Wed Oct 10
Wed Oct 17
Wed Oct 24
Wed Oct 31
Wed Nov 07
Wed Nov 14
Wed Nov 21
Wed Nov 28
Wed Dec 05
Wed Dec 12
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Last modified: 10/11/2007
