Course Procedures, an Introduction

Greetings,

As the faculty mentor for this distance learning course, Romance in the Western Middle Ages, I welcome you. There are a number of  texts assigned for this course (listed on the course syllabus below), which I hope will provide you with a fertile reading and thinking experience. Besides reading, we will also be doing a lot of writing. There will be frequent group postings, as well as individual postings at various intervals, and there will be a number of formal writing assignments, virtually all of them essay in format. It is important to stress at the outset of this course that the course will be very demanding, and, further, given its "distance" and "asynchronous" nature, this course may not be right for you; distance learning is not for everyone. In fact, you would be wise to take a quiz that will help you determine if you are right for this course; to do so click here. Please seriously and soberly consider if you are ready to be self-directed in carrying out a number of sometimes complicated tasks, and, also, if you are ready to do a lot of reading and writing. This on-line course will require more time, and more intense participation, than a face-to-face course.

We will be conducting our group discussions on the WebCT 4.0 conferencing system, so you will need to have a WebCT account and also to be enrolled in this class’s "conference." You MUST have a WebCT account, and must use it for class conferencing, in order to receive credit for this course. To get this account, go to http://webct.njit.edu and follow the instructions you will find there. If that isn't working for you then phone 973-596-2900 or try obtaining directions from NJIT's Computing Services website: http://ist.njit.edu. As a last resort, you may be able to get technical help by writing to webct.admin@njit.edu. Once you have the account—or if you already have the account—please contact me through the WebCT (or Moodle, if we switch to that) e-mail and provide me with an e-mail address where if necessary you can be contacted other than through the WebCT (or Moodle) environment; I may have occasion, if for some reason Web CT (or Moodle) were not working, to write to you at your NJIT eddress, via Highlander Pipeline, so make sure to check that eddress regularly or else to have your mail forwarded from there to an eddress you use often.

After you have accomplished what is specified above, and once you have read over the materials waiting for you at the course site (the greater portion of which is not redundant relative to the message you are reading now), please then send a message to the class conference to introduce yourself, in the Discussions section of the class conference and in the subsection designated "Introducing Ourselves."  During the term of this course, you will need to log on to the Web CT conferencing system.  You should sign into our on-line conference discussions at least twice a day and respond to the comments and questions that I and/or your classmates have posted. It is STRONGLY recommended that you learn the Web CT system thoroughly right away; you may wish to begin your learning process by following the links listed under “Need Help?” at the main Web CT website. There is also Web CT's  "e-Learning Hub" (on the navigation bar); you should definitely take at least a bit of time to browse there. And, again, please make sure to peruse all of the materials awaiting you at the course homepage, such as can be found in, for example, the course Syllabus, Calendar and Discussions.

I look forward to getting to know you, to our exchanges, and otherwise to our sharing of our reading experiences that I think you will find enriching and enlightening.

Yours cordially,

Burt Kimmelman

This course will examine major literary works of Western medieval romance, and will consider the medieval concept of romance as it is embedded in notions of chivalry, adventure, philosophy, class, as well as a feudal economic and political systems. Works will be compared with each other and will be read in the contexts of both their own times and the present.

Capellanus, Andreas. The Art of Courtly Love. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. Troilus and Criseyde. Tr. Barry Windeatt. New York: Oxford UP, 1998.

Chrétien de Troyes. Ywain: The Knight of the Lion (Yvain, Le Chevalier au Lion). Waveland Press, 1992.

De Lorris, Guillaume, and Jean De Meun. The Romance of the Rose. Trans. Frances Horgan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Marie de France. The Lais of Marie De France. Trans. Glyn S. Burgess, and Keith Busby. New York: Penguin, 1999.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, and Pearl. Tr. Marie Borroff. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001.

Troubadour, Trouvére, Dolce Stil Nuovo, and Minnesinger Lyrics (required poems are specified here and below in the syllabus):

Glossary of Terms

Other Online Literary Resources

See also:
Humanities Resources Links (http://web.njit.edu/~kimmelma/humanities.htm).
Writing Guides Links (http://web.njit.edu/~kimmelma/writing.html).
Documentation Guides Links (http://web.njit.edu/~kimmelma/documentation.html).
Annotated Bibliography Sample
Abbreviations for Marking Papers

* Final examination, comprehensive, essay in format.

* Three papers, the first of about three hundred words, consisting of an Annotated Bibliography (see below^) of at least three secondary sources you plan to consult as part of your research project, presented in proper MLA format (see writing and documentation guidelines above, listed with the course readings), one of which must be a hard-copy source (for the purposes of this assignment encyclopedias, dictionaries, and textbooks will not be considered as counting toward the requisite minimum number of secondary sources, although they can be used in your term paper project); the second of about three hundred words, which will take the form of a Term Paper Announcement (see below^^) consisting of a Working Title, a one-sentence Thesis Statement, a one-paragraph Description of your future paper’s Writing Strategy, and a Bibliography (not annotated) of at least three secondary sources, one of which must be a hard-copy source; the third of fifteen hundred to two thousand words, which will be a researched, fully-documented, original and critical, discursive, polemical and otherwise argumentative essay that must include at least some detailed literary analysis (see below^^^), along with a bibliography of all sources (the bibliography should not be considered part of your word count).  The term paper topic is open (although the topic must have something to do with medieval romance) but must be approved ahead of time by the instructor. The fourth paper is a reflective three hundred-word statement discussing what you have learned about the Western Middle Ages that you did not know before taking this course.

N.B.: Research Term Paper assignments can only be credited when they are submitted in order (e.g., the Term Paper Announcement will not be read if it hasn't been preceded by the Annotated Bibliography, and, likewise, the Term Paper will not be read unless it is preceded by the Term Paper Prospectus, which will have to have been preceded by the Term Paper Announcement, etc.).

N.B.: All papers  must be word processed, double-spaced with one inch margins, spell-checked, and to the best of one's ability grammar-checked.  If on occasion use is made of the ideas or words of someone else in one's writing, then the source(s) of those ideas and/or words must be cited; that is, when appropriate, papers must be fully documented  in MLA format (you must cite sources--using footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical documentation, which include specific page numbers keyed to particular passages in your text, and complete bibliographical information).  PAPERS NOT MEETING ALL OF THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL NOT BE READ AND WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT. Papers must be submitted to me via WebCT mail only, as attachments, using a proper indentifying subject line. You should not send more than one assignment per mail message.

* Conference postings of various kinds both as individual and as a member of a group (this will require daily participation).

N.B.: Failure to participate in class discussions at a minimally acceptable level will result in disqualification of end-of-term assignments such as the term paper and final exam; such disqualification must inevitably spell failure in the course. Failure to turn in the final exam will result in the various papers that are part of the term paper project being disqualified.

^Annotated Bibliography, click here: Sample Annotated Bibliography (and cf. Documentation Guides).
^^Term Paper Announcement:
Consists of 1) a descriptive paper title, 2) a one-sentence thesis statement that includes the point of your argument, the breadth of that argument, and the argument’s significant concepts and details, 3) a one-paragraph description of the writing or argumentative strategy to be employed in your paper, 4) a bibliography  of all sources both primary and secondary in MLA format and alphabetized. For the purposes of this assignment, use must be made of at least three secondary research sources (one of them hard copy) excluding textbooks, encyclopedias and dictionaries.
^^^Term Paper:
Consists of: 1) a descriptive paper title, 2) a full-length essay, 3) a bibliography in MLA format and alphabetized. For the purposes of this assignment, use must be made of at least three secondary research sources (one of them hard copy) excluding textbooks, encyclopedias and dictionaries.
N.B.: While one resesarch paper source must be hard copy--and there is no substitute for physically going to a library to do research--a downloaded article from one of the NJIT Library's databases can be considered as a hard copy source (it is best to check with the instructor about the suitability of such an article).

1: Introducing ourselves and general introduction to the course.
2: Background readings on the Middle Ages (Online Literary Resources); The Art of Courtly Love  Introduction and
     pp. 27-36, 68-83, 107-41, 151-212.
3: Lyrics of the Troubadours, Trouvères, Minnesänger, and Dolce Stil Novisti
    (click here: http://web.njit.edu/~kimmelma/hss403romanceDLLoveLyrics.html).
4: Ywain, pp. v-113. Annotated Bibliography due.
5: The Lais of Marie De France, Introduction and pp. 41-126. Term Paper Announcment due.
6: The Romance of the Rose, Introduction, pp. ix-xxii; pp. 3-58 (ll. 1-3815), pp. 134-38 (ll. 8697-8963), pp. 259-335 (ll. 16707-21780).
7. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Introduction and Parts 1-4.
8. Troilus and Criseyde, Introduction and Books 1-5.
9. Research Term Paper, Reflective Paper on the Middle Ages, Final Examination due.

Annotated Bibliography, 5%
Term Paper Announcement, 10%
End of Term Paper, 20%
Final Examination, 35%
Course Participation (Group and Individual), 30%
 
 

ABBREVIATIONS FOR MARKING PAPERS

Key: Abbreviation - Meaning

Background for Doing Literary Analysis and Explanations for Doing Group Work (text and links)

Writing Assignments (descriptions and helpful links)

Introduction to the Course

Courtly Love Lyrics

Using the Student Presentation Tool

The Art of Courtly Love

Courtly Love Lyrics Help

Ywain

The Lais of Marie De France

The Romance of the Rose

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Troilus and Criseyde