Medieval Cultures

HUMANITIES 2023/4023: Medieval Cultures

            Fall 2012

Professor: Lynn Hoggard                                                                                           Office: Bea Wood 201    

Office Hours: 2-4:30 T;1:15-3:45 R                                                                           Telephone: 397-4145

E-mail: lynn.hoggard@mwsu.edu                                                                               Class: 11-12:15 TR

Overall Course Goals and Objectives: This course gives you the chance to learn about major achievements in literature, music, art, architecture, theater, dance, and philosophy as they occur in Byzantine, Islamic, European, Indian, Asian, and North and South American medieval cultures. The goal of the course is to develop your ability to analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and think creatively about complex cultural information while improving your thinking and writing skills. Ultimately, the course will help you develop into a more fully formed human being and a more informed citizen of the world.

      Required textbook: Benton, et al., Arts and Culture: An Introduction to the Humanities, Vol. 1, 3^rd Ed.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

Week One

             28 Aug.: Introduction to Course

Chapter Six: Islamic Civilization

             30 Aug.: Islamic Civilization (Religion; Islam, the Ottoman Empire, and Europe; Cross Currents):           pp. 234-240; Reading: The Quran: pp. 252-253

Week Two

              4 Sept.: Philosophy; Math, Science, and Scholarship; CriticalThinking; Islamic Art and    Architecture; Then and Now: pp. 240-246

              6 Sept.: Cross Currents; Literature, Music; Connections; Cultural Impact: pp. 247-250; Readings:           pp. 253-257

Week Three

Chapter Seven: Indian Civilization

   11 Sept.: The Vedic Period (Hinduism, Literature: The Hindu Classics; Connections): pp. 258-264;

                        Readings: from “The Bhagavad Gita,” pp. 278-281; from The Ramayana, pp. 283-285

         13 Sept.: The Maurya Period (Buddhism; Maurya Art), Mauryan to Bactrian to Kushan: pp. 265-269;             Readings: Buddhist Sermons, pp. 281-283

Week Four

          18 Sept.: The Gupta Era (Gupta Art; The Jataka and The Pancatantra); The Hindu Dynasties (The             Hindu Temple; Sculpture): pp. 285-293

          20 Sept.: Exam #1: Islamic and Indian Civilizations

Week Five

Chapter Eight: Early Chinese Civilization

            25 Sept.: The Early Dynasties (The Shang and Zhou Dynasties); Chinese Philosophy (Confucianism,             Taoism): pp. 294-300; Readings: “The Book of Songs”; Confucius; The Tao Te Ching: pp.             310-313

(Choice for 4023 Oral Presentation topic due; please submit in a short statement)

27 Sept.: Empire: The Qin and Han Dynasties; The Six Dynasties, Then & Now; The Tang Dynasty:        pp. 300-302; Readings: Tao Qian; Wang-Wei; Li Bai; Du Fu: pp. 313-316

(Choice for 4023 Research Topic due; please submit topic choice in short statement)

Week Six

            2 Oct.: The Song Dynasty (Connections, Critical Thinking, Cross Currents, Cultural Impact): pp. 302-309; Reading: Li Ch’ing-Chao: pp. 316-317

Chapter Nine: Early Japanese Civilization

            4 Oct.: Japan Before the Twelfth Century (Prehistoric Japan, Religion, Courtly Japan: Asuka and             Nara Periods; The Heian Period; Connections: pp. 318-326

Week Seven

            9  Oct.: Readings:  Kakinomoto No Hitomaro; Ono No Komachi; Sei Shonagan, excerpt from The             Pillow Book; Murasaki Shikibu, excerpt from The Tale of Genji: pp. 330-337

          11 Oct.: Warrior Japan: The Kamakura Period, Later Warrior Japan: The Ashikaga Period, Cross     Curents, Then & Now, Cultural Impact, Critical Thinking, Key Terms: pp. 326-329

Week Eight

Chapter Ten: Early Civilizations of the Americas and Africa

16 Oct.: Mesoamerica (The Olmecs, Teotihuacan, Critical Thinking, Then & Now, Connections,

                        Mayan Culture, The Toltecs and Aztecs): pp. 338-349; Readings: Selected Mesoamerican             Poems and Songs: pp. 364

            18 Oct: The Cultures of Peru (The Moche, The Inca, Connections): pp. 349-353; Readings: Pablo

Neruda, from “The Heights of Machu Picchu”; Popol Vuh: pp. 365-368; North America (The Northwest Coast, The Southwest, Cross Currents, The Moundbuilders, The Buffalo Hunters): pp. 353-355

Week Nine

23 Oct.: Africa (The Physical Environment, Early African Cultures and Innovations, Early African

            Political and Religious Culture, Regional Developments in Africa Before 1800, Africa and                       The Transatlantic Slave Trade, Cultural Impact, Key Terms): pp. 355-363; Reading: excerpt                      from The Epic of Son-Jara; excerpt from Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali: pp. 368-371       

25 Oct.: Exam Exam #2: Early Civilizations in China, Japan, Africa, and the Americas

Week Ten

Chapter Eleven: The Early Middle Ages and the Romanesque

            30 Oct.: Early Medieval Culture (The Merging of Christian and Celto-Germanic Traditions,

            Charlemagne and the Carolingian Era, Monasticism, Cross Currents, Connections): pp. 372-                      381; Readings: excerpt from Beowulf, excerpt from The Song of Roland: pp. 394-399

            1 Nov.: Romanesque Culture (The Feudal Monarchs, Romanesque Architecture, Cross Currents,

                        Sculpture): pp. 381-387

Week Eleven

            6 Nov.: Romanesque Culture (Decorative Arts, The Chivalric Tradition in Literature, Critical

Thinking, Then & Now, Music, Cultural Impact, Key Terms): pp. 387-393; Readings: Medieval Lyrics by William of Aquitaine, Beatrice of Dia, Arnaut Daniel, Bertran de Born: pp. 400-403

Chapter Twelve: The Gothic and Later Middle Ages

            8 Nov.: The Gothic Era (Paris in the Later Middle Ages, Then & Now, Gothic Architecture,             Connections), Gothic Architecture Outside France: pp. 404-418

Week Twelve

13 Nov.: Sculpture, Painting and Decorative Arts, Cross Currents, Scholasticism, Connections,    

                Literature, Critical Thinking, Music: pp. 418-430

            15 Nov.: Readings: St. Francis of Assisi, “The Canticle of the Creatures”; St. Thomas Aquinas,       

                           excerpt from the Summa Theologica; from Dante’s Divine Comedy: pp. 440-447

Week Thirteen;           

            20 Nov.: Exam #3: The Early Middle Ages, the Romanesque, and the Gothic

(Thanksgiving Break Begins Wednesday, 21 November)

Week Fourteen

            27 Nov.: Medieval Calamities (The Black Death, The Hundred Years’ War); Toward the Renaissance

                        Naturalism in Art, Realism in Literature, Secular Song, Cultural Impact, Key Terms): pp. 430-      439 (4023 Research Papers due)

            29 Nov.: Readings: Boccaccio, excerpt from The Decameron: pp. 447-449; Christine de Pizan,     excerpt from The Book of the City of Ladies:  pp. 459-461

Week Fifteen

            4 Dec:  Reading: Chaucer, excerpt from The Canterbury Tales: pp. 449-454

            6 Dec: Reading: Chaucer, excerpt from The Canterbury Tales: pp. 454-459           

  Conclusion of Course

FINAL ASSESSMENT: Tuesday, 11 December 2012: A carefully reasoned self-assessment paper (explained fully in a separate handout during the final week of the semester) is prepared ahead of time, outside of class, typed, and turned in Dec. 11 between 1 and 3 p.m. to Bea Wood 201.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

            A.Tests. As the course outline indicates, there will be three exams during the semester. Each will cover material in the units indicated, using objective questions to measure the student’s knowledge of cultural material (50%) and a major essay topic to allow the student to show mastery of content and the ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information (50 %). The final exam for the course will be an individual self-assessment by the student evaluating progress and development throughout the semester.

B. Daily Reading and other Assignments: For almost every class there will be pages to read, and for each of these readings there will be a brief activity to complete that will further prepare the student for class activities. (Assignment sheets will be handed out for each of the testing units throughout the semester.) Some readings will be accompanied by short reading quizzes, some by a brief, typewritten paragraph, and some by other activities. Reading quizzes cannot be taken early or made up, but other assignments may be turned in early for full credit or late for partial credit. Reading quiz grades count for 10% of the grade for 2023 students and 7% for 4023 students.

      For the paragraph assignments, a thoughtful answer of about 100-200 words based on the reading is required. These are due on the date noted on the assignment sheet and will be stamped on that date in class. A portfolio of these assignments will be turned in periodically for evaluation. If assignments are not ready during the class for which they are assigned, they may be completed late (without being stamped) for partial credit. Late paragraphs may be added to the portfolio when submitted for evaluation. Portfolio grades count for 10% of the semester grade for 2023 students and 7% for 4023 students. Plagiarism on a written assignment equals an “F” for that assignment.

C. Attendance. A large part of the value of this class comes from regular attendance and participation in class activities (6% of grade is based on discussion participation). Since this class is values-based as well as information-based, the student should aim for more than simply mastering information. Much of the class activity will be geared toward alerting the student to the nature and extent of human values that accompany cultural achievement. Therefore, regular attendance is important and expected. A record of attendance at each class meeting will be kept. Although no specific penalty will be assigned for absences, excessive absences (more than three, excused or not) will definitely have a negative impact on the final semester grade and may be grounds for a student being dropped from the class. Students who arrive consistently late will receive a grade deduction caused by their consistent interruption of the class.

D. 4023 Requirements: Students in HUMN 4023 will prepare and submit a 10-page, typed research paper on a topic within the course’s medieval time frame and approved of by the professor (topic choices must be submitted in writing no later than Sept. 27). The paper must show independent research and give evidence of an ability to synthesize information. Modern Language Association (MLA) style should be used for documentation. These papers should be turned in by Nov. 27.

             Students in HUMN 4023 will also present to the class an eight-to-ten-minute oral report on an agreed-upon topic following consultation with the professor. Topic choices should be submitted in writing to the professor no later than Sept. 25 (the professor will then assign a presentation date in consultation with the student). A written outline of the report and a bibliography of at least three sources, using MLA (Modern Language Association) style must be turned in to the professor on the day of the report.

E. Semester Grade:

            2023: 3 tests@ 18% each (54%); portfolio (10%); quizzes (10%) final assessment (20%); participation in class and group discussion @ 6%

             4023: 3 tests@ 15% each (45%); portfolio (7); quizzes (7%); oral presentation (8%); research paper (10%); participation in class and group discussion @ 6%; final assessment (17%)

            Remember that a grade of “A” means a student’s work is excellent, a “B” means it’s good, a “C” means it’s satisfactory, a “D” means it’s poor, and an “F” means it’s unsatisfactory.

F. Office Hours/Meeting: (Office/contact information is to be found at the top of page one.) My office hours are 2-4:30 T and 1:15-3:45 on R, and I am not usually in the office MWF. If you cannot come to the office at any of the scheduled times, let’s try to make an appointment that fits your needs. E-mailing me is more reliable than telephone voice mail, but if you do leave a voice mail, be sure to give your name and a number where you can be reached.

MAY YOUR WORK THIS SEMESTER BE YOUR VERY BEST!