Department of comparative literature

C219/Section 1175: Romance and the Western Tradition L. Dahmen

Classics of World Romance

DEPARTMENT OF COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

SPRING 2000  INDIANA UNIVERSITY  COAS

Course Information

Instructor: Lynne Dahmen

Class meeting times: MWF 12:20-1:10 SE010 010

Office Hours: WF 11:00-12:15, Dept. of Comparative Literature Library

Contact: [e-mail]

Comp. Lit. Office: 9th Floor, Ballantine Hall, 855-7070

Course Description

This class will provide exposure to one of the most enduring genres/modes of literature, the romance. Cultures around the world have created literary masterpieces that explore 'love' and its relationship to larger societal concerns. The bulk of the reading for this course is composed of pre-Renaissance texts still read today in both Western and non-Western cultures. Through the analysis of enduring literary works we will explore both the forms and themes associated with this literary genre and examine specific issues such as love and society, love and religion, and love as religion. In addition, individual research projects will provide students with the opportunity to investigate the concept of romance in at least one contemporary media, which can be literary, musical, or cultural (such as self-help books, advertising, television, etc.).

Required Texts (available at IU Bookstore or T.I.S.)

Tristan and Iseult, Joseph Bedier

Layla and Majnun, Nizami

Parzival, Wolfram von Eschenbach

Tale of Genjii Lady Murasaki Shikibu

La Celestina, Fernando de Rojas

Course packet (available at Collegiate Copies on 3rd st.)

The course packet contains: "The Tale of Lancelot," by Mallory; "The Knight's Tale," by Chaucer; “The Tale of Aziz and Azizah,” Antar and Abla; various relevant articles.

Course Objectives

This class assumes an interest in the topic at hand and seeks to provide students with a clear understanding of the origins of the genre commonly known as romance and a grasp of the pervasiveness of the mode across time and cultures. There is also an emphasis on increasing the student's ability to write comparative essays and conduct outside research. By the end of this class a student should be able to:

• 
  Discuss basic terms and concepts associated with romance as a literary genre
  
• 
  Analyze a literary text from both thematic and formal perspectives
  
• 
  Conduct library research on a literary subject
  
• 
  Apply concepts discussed in class to new primary texts
  

Course Requirements

This class is designed to mix lecture with class discussions, presentations and group work. Success in this class requires regular and active participation as well as successful completion of all assigned papers and projects in a timely fashion.	Mini-themes (5 at 30 points)	150
	Research Project	150
	Quizzes, homework, class notes & projects	100
	Class Participation/Attendance	100
	TOTAL	500

Mini-themes: Each reading assignment will have a corresponding mini-theme assignment that will be a two to three page essay. There are eight works read in class, but each student is only required to write five mini-themes, so you can choose which ones you would like to write. The topics for these essays will vary in type. They are designed to increase your ability to write about literary topics and to demonstrate your understanding of primary and secondary reading material discussed in class. These papers must be typed and handed in on time. Late papers are down-graded one third of a grade for each day late, unless prior arrangements are made. Papers more than a week late will not be accepted.
Research Project: The research project is a semester long investigation that provides you with the opportunity to investigate a contemporary topic of your choice in light of class discussions and our readings. The larger project will be broken down into smaller parts throughout the semester and will culminate with presentations of your own research to the class.
Homework, Quizzes, Class Notes and Group Projects: From time to time short homework assignments will be given with the goal of guiding your own reading and increasing preparedness for class discussion. If there is a chronic lack of preparedness, quizzes may be given. Several times throughout the semester you will be asked to type and submit detailed class notes. These notes will be evaluated and corrected and then posted on the Oncourse system as a process of review and to provide an overview of material covered. The reasons for keeping a class notebook include: to provide detailed feedback to students concerning note-taking, to free students from feeling they must write down every word everyday, to check on comprehension of specific ideas and to correct any misunderstandings, to provide information for those who may have been absent on a given day. Some days there will also be group projects in class.
Class participation/ Attendance: Though there is no formal attendance policy (i.e., miss three times and you fail), class preparation and regular attendance is vital to the success of the class as a whole. Excessive absence obviously prevents active participation. Your in-class presentation, a ten-minute presentation on a specific topic to be chosen the first week of class, will account for part of this grade.
Oncourse: This class uses Oncourse, the on-line course environment currently available to all students. There will be a mandatory session on how to utilize the Oncourse system the first week of classes and students will thereafter be expected to be able to use the system to do the following: regularly check daily reading assignments, access topics for mini-themes and homework assignments; send and read class e-mail, send and receive attached documents, access grades. Exact reading assignments will be posted at least one week before they are due.

Schedule of Reading Assignments

DATE	Reading Assignments	Papers Due
1 (1/10-14)	M--Introduction; W-Essay on romance F--Oncourse training, IMU rm. 088	None
2 (1/17-21)	M--No class, MLK day; W, F--Tristan and Iseult	None
3 (1/28-1/28)	Tristan and Iseult, essay from reader	Paper #1 due 1/28
4 (1/31-2/4)	Layla and Majnun	Preliminary topic due 2/4
5 (2/7-2-11)	Layla and Majnun, “Aziz and Azizah”	Paper #2 due 2/11
6 (2/14-2/18)	Antar and Abla, essay from reader
7 (2/21-2/25)	Antar and Abla/ Parzival	Paper #3 due 2/25
8 (2/28-3/3)	Parzival, essay from reader	Bibliography for project due 3/3
9 (3/6-3/10)	Parzival	Paper # 4 due 3/10
(3/13-3/17)	SPRING BREAK (bring along Genji)
10 (3/20-3/24)	Tale of Genji, essay from reader	Paper #5 due 3/24
11 (3/27-3/31)	Tale of Genji	Outline for project due
12 (4/3-4/7)	Tale of Genji, Lancelot	Paper #6 due 4/7
13 (4/10-4/14)	Lancelot, "The Knight's Tale"	None
14 (4/17-4/21)	"The Knight's Tale," La Celestina	Paper #7 due 4/17
15 (4/24-4/28)	La Celestina	Paper # 8 due 4/28

** Research projects will be presented during the Final Exam period though they are due on April 28th. All specific reading assignments (pages, essays, etc., will be promptly available on Oncourse).

Potential topics for presentations:

1. 
   Background on 12^th c. French Romance, origins and forms (week 2)
   
2. 
   Love sickness, courtly love and lyric poetry (week 3)
   
3. 
   Nizami and his literary age (week 4)
   
4. 
   The persistence of the Leila and Majnun tale (week 5)
   
5. 
   Arabic popular literature, 1001 Nights and the tale of Antar and Abla (week 6)
   
6. 
   The myth of the holy grail, possible sources (week 8)
   
7. 
   The Heian period in Japanese literature (week 10)
   
8. 
   Literature and art in relation to the Genji legend (week 12)
   
9. 
   Survey of the love affair of Guinevere and Lancelot in literature (week 13)
   
10. 
    Introduction to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and “The Knight’s Tale” (week 14)
    
11. 
    Spanish literature and approaches to romance (week 15)
    

Potential topics for Research Projects:

1. 
   Illustrations of Arthurian legends in the 19^th c.
   
2. 
   Genji and contemporary Japanese culture
   
3. 
   Antar as a cult figure in the Arab world
   
4. 
   The language of romance in Internet dating
   
5. 
   Romance and modern advertising
   
6. 
   Medieval romance, modern film
   
7. 
   Ideal love in women’s magazines
   
8. 
   Genji and Japanese art