Chaucer: The Anxiety of Commerce

Description and Objectives:

Late medieval Europe and particularly England was undergoing a transition from a feudal economy in which all the wealth was in land held by a small minority and worked by the vast majority to a market economy in which commercial trade in goods and services generated much of the wealth. This transition and indeed commerce itself creates anxiety among all those involved in it. On the one hand, the transition moved wealth into the hands of those who previously had none of it, allowing for greater social mobility for perhaps the first time in Western society. On the other hand, markets are inherently unstable and, in the centuries before highway networks, universal policing, and insurance, long distance trade, hazardous. Geoffrey Chaucer himself was involved in this very commercial enterprise as he had the job of collecting the king’s tariff on the commodity that was creating the new wealth in the kingdom, wool. As with many of his contemporaries, Chaucer had serious misgivings about how the market was remaking his world. It is in his masterpiece, the Canterbury Tales and our principal text for the term, that Chaucer expresses his anxiety of commerce. Because all readings will be in Middle English, we will also be devoting significant time to gaining skill in the reading of Chaucer’s original language (which is not as frightening as it may sound).

Our objectives then will be:

Requirements:

The assignments will be as follows:

Quizzes: 10%

Opus Minor Essay (6-8 pages) 15%

Opus Major Essay (20 pages): 25%

Mid-Term Exam: 10%

Final Exam: 15%

Class Participation: 10%

Group Project 10%

Recitation: 5%

• There will be two essays: a brief one (Opus minor) and a research paper (Opus major). The Opus Minor is the rough draft of your Opus Major. In the Opus Minor, you will choose one tale or a pair of related tales and do a close reading. This reading should include a critical or theoretical methodology. After the Opus Minor is returned to you and as you are working on your Opus Major, we will meet one day in the library about researching Chaucerian questions. Please do your own work and consult with me at any time that you have questions regarding the paper. Familiarize yourself with the plagiarism and cheating policy in the Tiger Cub on-line.

• Group Presentation. By the second week of class, you will be asked to form groups of two or three and choose a tale that you will be presenting on. You are not to tell the story. Instead, you are to find some aspect of the tale that you will explain to the class. Your presentation can be analytical or creative. The entire group MUST meet with me at least TWO days before you present to discuss your project. If your group does not meet with me by the stipulated time, you will not be able to present on your assigned day. A new day will then be assigned and your group will be docked one letter grade. More details for this assignment will be forthcoming.

• Assignments are due in class on the day stipulated. As a rule, I do not like surprises in any form. Therefore, if you are planning to be unable to turn in an assignment on the day that it is due, you must ask me for an extension no later than the day before the assignment is due. Late work without prior allowance for an extension will be penalized half a letter grade per day. For instance, a paper which would have received a B would receive a B- if a day late, and a C if two days late, etc. You cannot pass the class unless you complete all assignments.

• Both Exams will be based upon readings, class lectures, discussions, and any additional presentations (films, transparencies, slides, etc.). Exams will be composed of several formats: identification, short answer, and essay. You are responsible for all material covered in class.

• Class Participation I define as actively engaging in meaningful contribution to class discussion. This class works best when many of us debate the issues raised in these works. The participation grade does not "work against" you. In other words, you will not be punished for not participating.

• We will be devoting a great deal of time reading Chaucer’s poetry in class and aloud. The better to learn Chaucer’s Middle English is to practice it. Part of how we will practice it will be reading aloud in class as well as having periodic language exercises and translation quizzes. A final requirement will be to memorize the opening 18 lines of the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales and recite them in my office. You will want to schedule an appointment to satisfy this requirement early in the term to derive maximum benefit of mastering pronunciation of Middle English as soon as you can. Imagine how impressive you will be at parties! The ultimate date to do your recitation will be Friday 15 February. No recitations will be accepted after this date.

• You cannot pass this course unless you complete all assignments.

• You are expected to attend class everyday and I will take attendance daily. Five unexcused absences could result in a failure due to absences. For further information on the general attendance policy consult the Tiger Cbu on-line.

• Students who need special accommodations in class, as provided for by the American Disabilities Act, should arrange a confidential meeting with the instructor during office hours the first week of classes - or as soon as possible if accommodations are needed immediately. You must bring a copy of your Accommodation Memo and an Instructor Verification Form to the meeting. If you do not have these forms but need accommodations, make an appointment with the Program for Students with Disabilities, 1228 Haley Center, 844-2096.

• The expected grading scale will be as follows:

A 93 and above

A- 90-92

B+ 87-89

B 84-86

B- 80-83

C+ 77-79

C 74-76

C- 70-73

D 60-69

F 59 and below

•E-mail is probably the most efficient way to get in touch with me. While I will endeavor to respond to your e-mail as soon as I can, I do not get e-mail at home. So, if you post me over the weekend, I will not get to your message until Monday morning. When posting me, please make clear on the subject line the topic of the e-mail. Check your Auburn e-mail regularly because this address is the way that I will contact you.

Required Texts:

The Complete Canterbury Tales, Larry Benson, ed. (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2000).

Schedule of Readings: The following is a tentative schedule of readings. I reserve the right to augment the reading assignment should we require more or less time with a specific work. Therefore, you should bring your syllabus to class everyday.

W 1/16 Physician’s Tale

F 1/18 General Prologue (lines 1-42).

M 1/21 Martin Luther King Holiday–No Class

W 1/23 General Prologue (lines 43-117).

F 1/25 General Prologue (lines 118-284).

M 1/28 General Prologue (lines 285-622).

W 1/30 General Prologue (lines 623-858).

F 2/1 General Prologue

M 2/4 Knight’s Tale (lines 859-1354).

W 2/6 Knight’s Tale (lines 1355-1880).

F 2/8 Knight’s Tale (lines 1881-2482).

M 2/11 Knight’s Tale (lines 2483-3108).

W 2/13 Miller’s Prologue & Tale

F 2/15 Reeve’s Prologue & Tale

M 2/18 Cook’s Prologue & Tale Review Last Day to Schedule General Prologue Recitation

W 2/20 Mid-Term Exam

F 2/22 Introduction to the Man of Law’s Tale, Man of Law’s Tale (lines 134-875).

M 2/25 Man of Law’s Tale (lines 876-1162) & Epilogue to the Man of Law’s Tale.

W 2/27 Wife of Bath’s Prologue (lines 1-450). Mid Term Last Day to Withdraw from Class without a grade assigned

F 3/1 Wife of Bath’s Prologue (lines 451-856). Opus Minor Due

M 3/4 Wife of Bath’s Tale.

W 3/6 Friar’s Prologue & Tale.

F 3/8 Summoner’s Prologue & Tale.

M 3/11-F 3/15 SPRING BREAK–No Class

M 3/18 Chaucerian Research

W 3/20 Clerk’s Prologue & Tale (lines 1-609).

F 3/22 Clerk’s Tale (lines 610-1212G).

M 3/25 Merchant’s Prologue & Tale & Epilogue.

W 3/27 Introduction & Squire’s Tale.

F 3/29 Franklin’s Prologue & Tale

M 4/1 Introduction to the Pardoner’s Tale, Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale.

W 4/3 Shipman’s Tale.

F 4/5 Prioress’s Prologue & Tale.

M 4/8 Prologue to Sir Thopas & Tale of Sir Thopas.

W 4/10 Monk’s Prologue & Tale

F 4/12 Prologue to the Nun’s Priest’s Tale, Tale, & Epilogue.

M 4/15 Second Nun’s Prologue & Tale.

W 4/17 Prologue to the Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale.

F 4/19 Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale (lines 720-971). Opus Major Due.

M 4/22 Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale (lines 972-1481).

W 4/24 Manciple’s Prologue & Tale

F 4/26 Prologue to the Parson’s Tale. Chaucer’s Retraction & Review.

Final Exam: Wednesday 1 May 8 -10:30 am

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