Dr. Goldstein

ENGL 4610

Fall 2003

Group Presentations (5% of course grade)

Groups (these are based on a mixture of proximity and gender diversity; if anyone has serious issues with any of these groups, we can rearrange things, but I don’t want to take up class time!)

Group A, topic 6:  Jack J., Amanda S., Kyla F.

Group B, topic 5:  Jaakko K., Sharla W., Lauren V.

Group C, topic 3:  Sean C., John H., Angela B.

Group D, topic 1:  Nate S., Reneé R., Meg F.

Group E, topic 4:  Sarah G., Caroline C., Jackson F., Lee M.

Group F, topic 7:  Lydia W., Dick C., Tracy R., Ro G.

Group G, topic 8:  Troy T., Kristie W., Jared G.

Group H, topic 2:  John M., Lauren B., Maggie C., Latasha H.

Topics (assigned by lottery)

1.       What has recent scholarship concluded on the nature of early historical sources and the question of the historical existence of a “King Arthur”?

2.       What are some of the main archeological sites traditionally linked to Arthurian legend and on what basis?

3.       What do we know about Chrétien de Troyes’ specific court milieu?  (What patrons, authors, and works are associated with literary activity in late-twelfth-century Champagne?)

4.       What role was played by the Welsh and Bretons in transmitting Arthurian legend?

5.       What has recent scholarship concluded about the origin and development of the Grail (Graal) legends?

6.       What are some of the ways that Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur may be placed in the context of fifteenth-century English society?

7.       What are some of the high points in the development of major female characters in medieval Arthurian literature?

8.       What can the portrayal of Arthurian characters in medieval visual arts teach us about the diffusion and reception of the legends?

Schedule of Presentations

The first four presentations will take place during the week of October 20 (each of those groups should be prepared to present by that date); the last four presentations will take place during the week of November 3 (each of those groups should be prepared to present by that date).  (Note the revised dates.)

Assignment

Each group is responsible for meeting outside of class, getting organized, dividing its tasks, and working together.  Each group will present the results of its collective research in an oral presentation of between fifteen and twenty minutes (time strictly enforced).  A group may decide to have one person report its conclusions or work out another way of dividing the reporting.  The topics may require working with different kinds of sources and may suggest different ways of presenting material to the class; for example, presentations on visual arts or archeology will benefit from illustrations, whether low-tech photocopies distributed to everyone or the use of  multi-media resources (in consultation with me).  But each topic is meant to involve roughly the same amount of work for each individual student.  A good rough guide would be for each participant to master the equivalent of one 20-30 page scholarly essay, book chapter, or the equivalent amount of electronically disseminated material (this is only a rough guide, since some scholarly writing is denser or more difficult than others).  The presentation itself, though, should be a synthesis of the group’s collective research.  Instead of having each student take turns discussing a single secondary source, the group should plan in advance to bring together its findings in a synthesis.

Sources

In addition to using the books I have placed on three-day reserve and the materials linked to the class homepage, you should be aware that some topics will require you to use books or journals owned by the library (for example, I have not placed anything on reserve specifically on Chrétien de Troyes).  I am always happy to give advice on finding good sources: you may submit requests by e-mail or schedule a conference for this purpose.

Required Handout

Each group is responsible for making a one to two page handout to distribute to each member of the class (including me).   The handout must use the following format:

·         Upper-left corner: names of group members; also give course title.

·         First line: give the research question.

·         Section 1: give a complete bibliography of all your scholarly sources according to MLA style (see me or the English Center if you have questions).

·         Section 2:  in a brief paragraph, summarize your group’s conclusions and how you arrived at them.  For example, what contribution did each of your selected sources make to helping you answer your research question?

·         Section 3:  in one or two sentences, what is the nature of the evidence used in each of your sources?  For example, is the scholar a historian examining narrative sources?  Documentary sources?  An archeologist studying excavations of sites?  A literary scholar studying narrative sources?

·         Section 4: optional quotations (if any brief passages seem especially interesting or worthwhile, feel free to include them in the handout (give MLA-style parenthetical citations of  specific author and page numbers).

·         Section 5: optional illustrations (if your topic requires graphic illustrations, you may include a few in the handout).

Evaluation

I’ll write up a brief evaluative comment with grade after the presentation and give a copy to each student.  Since this is a group effort, I am assuming that the entire group will share the work and the same grade.  However, if one or more members of the group does not make a good faith effort to share the responsibilities, it would not be fair to give them the same grade.  I would prefer to rely on peer pressure rather than my intervention to make sure no one slacks off.  Of course, I must make allowances for university-certifiable excuses for not pulling your weight; for (horrible to imagine), an absence on the day your group is scheduled to present; or for (too terrible even to contemplate) an absence when you agreed to be the reporter.  But if you don’t do what is expected and have no legitimate excuse, I’ll have to fail you for this assignment, which represents 5% of the final grade.  If anyone has any concerns with matters of fairness or anything else, please let me know.

Dropping Out and Other Contingencies

If a student plans to drop the course or anticipates not completing the group assignment for any reason, out of courtesy to the other members of the group please let me know as soon as possible so that contingency plans may be made if necessary.