The First Crusade: Setting. Armies and territories.
Pope Urban II. Combatants. Causes.
Sylvester: 12 Jan.
2
Peasants' Revolt:
Background; setting. Major causes and players. King Richard's role in the revolt. Walter Tyler.
Santos: 14 Jan.
3
Canterbury Cathedral: Construction.
Denomination. Architecture and design in Medieval Period. Arches, vaults,
statuary, and stained glass. Feeling closer to God.
Savage/Thompson: 14 Jan.
4
Pilgrimage: When
practiced? Which religions? Pilgrims.
Cooper: 19 Jan.
5
Medieval Orders and Estates: What
are the estates; who are members? What does this tell us of the society?
Murphy: 08 Jan.
6
Magna Carta: When
concluded? How many articles? Articles 38, 39 and 40.
Velasquez: 22 Jan.
7
God's Truce: Author
of the truce. Conditions. Who benefits?
Kollore: 21 Jan.
8
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles: Summary,
analysis, author sketch. Give examples from the text.
9
The Venerable Bede:
Cong: 21 Jan.
10
Le Morte d'Arthur: Why
a French title? Summary, analysis, review.
Peoples: 15 Jan.
11
Song of Roland:
Summary analysis and review
Chanoui: 22 Jan.
12
Alfred the Great
Carr: 19 Jan.
13
Main dialects of English before
the Norman Invasion
Guzman: 11 Jan.
14
Knights and Knighthood:
Codes of Honor. What is a good knight?
Frank: 19 Jan.
15
Norman Invasion
16
John Wycliffe (1330-1384)
Who is he? What is his most noticeable accomplishment? Why is that
accomplishment important to students of the English language?
Walters: 15 Jan.
17
Feudal System What
is it? How is it organized?
Wizzard: 08 Jan.
18
Women in Medieval Society
Reeves: 15 Jan.
19
The Medieval Clergy Who
were powerful clerics? What powers did the Church have? What is the
role of the medieval church?
20
Chaucer as Love Poet: Chaucer's
work pre-Canterbury Tales. Review The Parliament of Fowlws,
The book of the Duchess, Troilus and Cryseyde, and The Legend of Good
Women.
21
Dante's Divine Comedy and
the Canterbary Tales - a literary analysis
22
Medieval Society: Entertainment,
hobbies, art, and literature
23
Medieval Music
24
Witchcraft in the Medieveal
Period
Contreras: 21 Jan.
25
The Ellesmere Manuscript
Ortiz: 21 Jan.
26
Medieval Connections to
Modern Traditions and Language.
27
Legende of Goode Wimmen,
1368, 1395
28
Medicine in the Middle Ages - common diseases and treatments
29
Book of the Duchess
30
Social Ideals and Living
Conditions in the Medieval Period
31
Medieval Games
Harmon: 11 Jan.
32
Medieval Cuisine.
Bishop: 11 Jan.
33
Suggest a
topic that will lend meaning to our study of the Canterbury
Tales, the author, and the society, language and culture of
Medieval England and English.
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Research outside the text of the Cantery Tales will answer
some of the questions raised during our reading about the world Chaucer
introduces to us through his motley characters. What human rights
lessons can we learn from the period he characterizes for us? Was
Chaucer aware that he was chronicling a bickering, infighting collection
of people of varying "stations" in a society on the verge
of collapse? Why was French the preferred language when Chaucer wrote,
and why did he choose to write in English? Was there enmity between
the character of the Knight and the Monk, and if so, why would Chaucer
show that to us? What else did Chaucer write?
Select your topic. Send an email to ilovelit@aol.com
in which you indicate your first three research interests from the
list above. If you can't email me, give me your preferences in class.
I will post the assignments on this page as I receive them.
Research one subject: Select a person, document or event that interests
you, or even one that puts you off. You may find useful information
on the on-line
Norton Anthology of English Literature (NAEL) Web site, on academic
Chaucer Web sites, in the library, or in your history books. Prepare
a two-page double-spaced information paper, a bibliography, and index
cards to be used during your presentation. Your thesis should be
clear, and you must limit the breadth of your topic because your
lecture should be of five minutes' duration.
Before teaching your subject to our class, you must teach it to
someone who is unfamiliar with our studies and/or your research findings.
You should use any method of teaching that you believe will most
effectively convey your ideas to the class (and to your initial subject)
such as group tasks, writing assignments, role playing, or other
activities. Write a description of the one-on-one guerrilla teaching
activity: did it work? Were you able to explain your topic within
the time alloted to your satisfaction? Did you require more time?
Were you successful in explaining the topic to your student? Do you
believe that you understand the topic you researched better and as
a result of your having taught someone else your findings? Do you
understand the Canterbury Tales better as a result?
Present your research to the class. Email
an MLA-style works cited page (in correct format) and the description
of your initial guerrilla teaching experience to ilovelit@aol.com.
MLA style guides can be found at http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/mla.html.
What is "guerrilla teaching" you may ask? One teacher
who uses the technique, Dan Lloyd, says, "I've long been aware
that the best way to learn a subject is to teach it to someone else."
Another teacher, who shall remain nameless, believes that voices
in the classroom should be diverse, heard often, and assist collaborative
learning, which can be genuine learning.
