| Winter, 2006 | |
Dr. Debora B. Schwartz |
| Class meetings: TR 9-11, Rm. 34-228 | http://www.calpoly.edu/~dschwart | |
| Office: 47-35G, tel. 756-2636 | Main English Office: 756-2597 | |
| Office Hours: M 5:10-6:30, T/W 3:30-4:30, R 2:30-4:00, and by appt. | e-mail: dschwart@calpoly.edu |
Calendar, Winter, 2006
| Week | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Click on links on course calendar to obtain study guides for individual texts. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO READ ASSIGNMENTS WITHOUT READING THE STUDY GUIDES!! Study guides should be PRINTED OUT and read BEFORE you begin reading assignments; use them to guide your reading and keep them (along with printouts of any online readings and readings on e-reserve) in a binder which you should always bring with you to class.
In some cases, the calendar and/or study guides also include links to online readings which you must read prior to the class meeting for which they are assigned; PRINT OUT these online readings, put them in your binder (along with the study guides), and be sure to BRING THEM WITH YOU TO CLASS. NB: to access online readings on E-Reserve through Kennedy library, you will be prompted to enter your last name and the barcode from your PolyCard (a 9-digit number beginning 20150). You must PRINT OUT e-reserve readings (or photocopy them from hard copies also on reserve) and bring them with you to class.
Contrary to popular belief, most reputable electronic resources are NOT available for free over the Web to anyone; they are expensive, subscription-only resources which eat up an increasingly large bite of the Kennedy Library's Materials Acquisition budget each year -- so you owe it to yourselves to learn how to use them effectively. To access restricted resources from off campus, you will be prompted to log in (using your PolyCard barcode); log in at MyPolycat each time you visit the Kennedy Library site.
The PRACTICUM component of this class consists of hands-on practice, in groups, to master these basic tools of literary research. Five guided research assignments will introduce you to some important research tools, accessible online through the Kennedy Library, used to identify and obtain appropriate secondary sources (scholarly criticism) on a literary research topic. Research groups will be set up based on common blocks of free time to facilitate working together on assignments. Groups will submit completed assignments to a research archive (see homepage for details). Step-by-step instructions are linked to the class homepage and to column three of the Course Calendar.
The point of the guided research exercises is to familiarize you with the basic tools of literary research before you find yourself in an upper-division class where a significant portion of your course grade depends on a final research project. Please note that you will NOT actually write a research paper in this class! Instead, you will demonstrate that you know how to use these tools to identifyand get your hands on useful secondary sources on an assigned topic. You are welcome to come to me for help on the group research exercises (or ask for assistance at the reference desk in the library).
To minimize stress (and potential friction among group members), the group research exercises will have only a minimal impact on your final course grade (figured into the 10% of your final grade that is based on your class participation). But your individual mastery of the material the group exercises are designed to teach will have a significant impact on your course grade: first, the research component of the class typiclly accounts for 10% of exam points on both midterm and final (and will show up in some reading quiz questions as well). Second, your mastery of the research tools will be demonstrated through your individually completed Composite Bibliography, which itself counts for 10% of your course grade. This Composite Bibliography will be graded INDIVIDUALLY for ACCURACY and COMPLETENESS. CHECK YOUR MLA HANDBOOK for the correct format of each bibliographic citation (what information to include, in what order, correct use of capitalization, punctuation, underlining/italics, etc.) EVERY ERROR on the Composite Bibliography will lower that 10% of your course grade!!
| Topic | Readings | Guided Research Assignments | |
| Day 1 |
Backgrounds I: Medieval Textuality |
Class homepage
and this calendar.
Medieval textuality: Manuscript culture. IN CLASS: Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People and Caedmon's "Hymn" (NA 23-6). |
Contrary to popular belief, reputable scholarly
resources are NOT typically available for free over the Web to anyone.
They are found in expensive, subscription-only databases which take an
increasingly large bite out of the Kennedy Library's Materials Acquisition
budget each year -- so you owe it to yourselves to use them effectively!
To access restricted resources from off campus, you will be prompted to
log in (using your PolyCard barcode, the 14-digit number beginning 20150
on the front of your PolyCard); or you can log in at MyPolycat
each time you visit the Kennedy Library
site.
Please be aware that little if any material found using standard web search engines (Google, Lycos, etc.) is suitable for citation in a research paper. Relatively few reliable scholarly journals, ebooks or encylopedias are currently available free on the web (although many valid scholarly resources can be accessed through online subscription databases which that are part of the Kennedy Library collections, and which you will learn to use through Guided Research Exercises 4 (Using Full-Text Subscription Databases) and 5 (E-books in NetLibrary). You are strongly advised to consult Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools as you work on the Guided Research Assignments. |
| Day 2 |
|
W.
F. Bolton, "The Conditions of Literary Composition in Medieval England"
(click first link for study guide; click HERE
for reading on E-Reserve; print out and bring with you to class).
Background: "The Emergence of the English Language," NA A 21-3 (at back of paperback vol. 1a; xlix-li in hardback); NA 1-6 on the notion of the "Middle Ages" and on Anglo-Saxon England; NA 14, "Medieval English"; NA 19-20, "Old and Middle English Prosody"; Texts and Contexts timeline, NA 21-2. The Dream of the Rood (NA 26-28). Start Beowulf (read at least NA 29-46). |
BE SURE TO FILL OUT AND RETURN YOUR 1) First-Day Questionnaire;
2) Schedule of available time blocks (used to assign you to a Research
Group for completion of Guided Research Exercises). Failure to return
Schedule will result in your having to complete all research assignments
individually.
Explore ENGL 203 Home Page and assignments on this course Calendar. Today's research assignment prepares you for the practicum component of the class, the series of Guided Research Exercises which you will complete together with an assigned research group or individually, on your own time. RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT (do as much as you have time for; catch up over the week-end!): Read through Preliminaries 1: Types of Sources and Preliminaries II: Modes of Access on Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools and come to class able to list the 5 kinds of sources, how to find them, and the basic models for documenting them correctly. Be able to list the 4 modes of access for source materials. Know what "SFX" and "PolySearch"are (and their limitations). Finally, SKIM through MLA HB chapters 1 and 2 (so you'll know what's there), and read carefully the section on italics (underlining) and on the Titles of Works (in the chapter called the Mechanics of Writing -- you will need to be clear on this information to write the bibliographic citations starting with our next library meeting). |
Looking ahead: CLASS OPEN HOUSE at Dr. Schwartz's house will take place on SUNDAY, JANUARY 15.
| Topic | Reading | Research Assignment | |
| Day 1 |
|
Background: NA 1-6, 19, 29-32.
Finish reading Beowulf (NA 32-99). |
RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT: readings preparing
you for the practicum
component of the class. The research assignments for WEEK TWO consist
of the following:
1) REVIEW (or finish reading!) Preliminaries 1: Types of Sources and Preliminaries II: Modes of Access on Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools and come to class able to list the 5 kinds of sources, how to find them, and the basic models for documenting them correctly. Be able to list the 4 modes of access for source materials. Know what "SFX" and "PolySearch"are (and their limitations). Finally, SKIM through MLA HB chapters 1 and 2 (so you'll know what's there), and read carefully the section on italics (underlining) and on the Titles of Works (in the chapter called the Mechanics of Writing -- you will need to be clear on this information to write the bibliographic citations starting with our next library meeting). 2) The MLA Handbook is a REQUIRED TEXT for English Majors which you are expected to purchase by the time you enroll in your first Core class. The 6th edition (published 2003) was ordered as a required text for this class. In case any of you had previously purchased the 5th edition (1999), I am providing references to both editions, but because rules governing e.g. electronic sources change rapidly, we strongly advise that you upgrade to the 6th ed. The second research assignment for week 2 is to explore your MLA Handbook. Note in particular chapter 3 (in the 6th ed., 2003; or see ch. 2 in the 5th ed., 1999) on the "Mechanics of Writing," esp. review of basic punctuation rules, section 3.2 (in the 6th ed., 2003; or section 2.2 in the 5th ed., 1999); the rules for the use of underlining / italics in section 3.3 (in the 6th ed., 2003; or section 2.3 in the 5th ed., 1999); and the rules governing the use of underlining/italics vs. quotation marks in titles, section 3.6 (in the 6th ed., 2003; or section 2.6 in the 5th ed., 1999). Also note chapter 5 (in the 6th ed.; ch. 4 in 5th ed.) on proper documentation of sources (citation format) in a list of Works Cited; pay particular attention to the EXTENSIVE rules for citing books in section 5.6 (in the 6th ed; section 4.6 in the 5th ed.), periodical articles in section 5.7 (6th ed.; section 4.7 in 5th ed.) and essays in edited collections (what the MLA Bibliography calls "book articles") in section 5.6.7 (6th ed.; section 4.6.7 in 5th ed.). The third research assignment for week 2 is to read through the guidelines and requirements for the Composite Bibliography, so that you will know what material to begin gathering as you work on the Group Research Exercises starting week 3. |
| Day 2 |
|
Background: NA 7-9, 21.
"Translatio studii et imperii" (on line reading). BRING PRINT-OUT OR HANDOUT WITH YOU TO CLASS. Excerpts from Geoffrey of Monmouth and Wace (NA 115-122). BRING BOOK OR PHOTOCOPY OF THESE EIGHT PAGES WITH YOU TO CLASS. Dante's De Vulgari Eloquentia ("Of Literature in the Vernacular") (first link is study guide; click HERE for reading as e-reserve which you should PRINT OUT AND BRING WITH YOU TO CLASS). Medieval prologues: Marie de France, prologue and epilogue to the Fables and prologue to the Lais (previous links are to study guide; click HERE for readings as e-reserve which you should PRINT OUT AND BRING WITH YOU TO CLASS). Prologues to Chrétien de Troyes's Erec and Enide and Cligés (in Arthurian Romances, the first two paragraphs on pp. 37 and 123). BRING BOOK OR PHOTOCOPY OF THESE TWO PAGES WITH YOU TO CLASS. |
CLASS OPEN HOUSE at Dr. Schwartz's house on SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2:00-4:00 PM.
| Topic | Reading | Research Assignment | |
| Day 1 | Anglo-Norman Literature I | "Courtly
Love" (on-line reading).
Selections from Virgil's Aeneid and The Romance of Eneas (first link is study guide; click HERE for Aeneid and HERE for Romance of Eneas readings as e-reserves which you should PRINT OUT AND BRING WITH YOU TO CLASS). |
PRACTICUM: you will begin meeting
this week with your Research Group. Research Groups have been
established based upon the forms you submitted with your availability.
Ideally, Research Groups should meet in the Cal Poly library where reference
librarians are available as needed for assistance.
HOMEWORK: Prior to meeting with your Research Group, 1) read carefully through the profile of Polycat on Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools. Be sure you are clear about what it is, what it contains, when (and why) to use it, its strengths and its limitations. 2) follow the link to review the detailed instructions for for the first group research assignment: Research Step 1: Kennedy Library Collections via Polycat. You will follow these directions to learn how to locate secondary sources on your topic (i.e. studies ABOUT your author, topic or work, not the text itself) in the Kennedy Library collections. The directions will also guide your research group though submitting the first TWO RESEARCH REPORTS to the class research archive, 1) "Searching Polycat" and 2) "Kennedy Library Results." Reminder: the class research archive is located in a Blackboard "Discussion Board." To access Blackboard, log in at MyCalpoly, go to "Blackboard Access" and select "ENGL 203" from the classes you are taking. If you are not immediately taken to the "Discussion Board," click on "Discussion Board" at left and find your name on the "forum" for your research group. LOOKING AHEAD 1: As you work on this week's group research project, review the guidelines for the individual Composite Bibliography so you know what you will need to turn in and can begin selecting your individual secondary sources and assembling a file of the required print-outs. LOOKING AHEAD 2: If you have not already done so, you should choose a topic and begin thinking about the Introductory Paragraph Exercise, due day 1 of week 5. |
| Day 2 | Anglo-Norman Literature II |
Marie de France, Lais: "Lanval," NA 126-140; "Guigemar" and "Chevrefoil" (first link is study guide; click HERE for readings as e-reserves which you should PRINT OUT AND BRING WITH YOU TO CLASS). Background lecture: the Tristan romances. |
| Topic | Reading | Research Assignment | |
| Day 1 | Arthurian Romance I | Background: review Translatio
and Courtly
Love, and read about the Tristan
Romances; review NA 7-9 on the Anglo-Norman period.
Chretien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances: Introduction (1-22) and The Knight of the Cart (Lancelot) (207-294). |
HOMEWORK: Prior to meeting with
your Research Group, 1) read carefully through the description
of LINK+ and its profile
on Dr.
Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools. Be sure you
are clear about what it is, what can be borrowed from it, when (and why)
to use it, its strengths and its limitations.
2) follow the link to review the detailed instructions for for the second group research assignment: Research Step 2: Using LINK+. You will follow these directions to learn how to locate and order additional secondary sources on your topic (i.e. studies ABOUT your author, topic or work, not the text itself) from the collections of the cooperating libraries in the LINK+ consortium (but you will NOT actually PLACE an order, unless you actually intend to read the book for your own pleasure!). The directions will also guide you though submitting your next TWO RESEARCH REPORTS to the class research archive: 1) LINK+ Search Results"; and 2)"LINK+ Item Citation." Reminder: the class research archive is located in a Blackboard "Discussion Board." To access Blackboard, log in at MyCalpoly, go to "Blackboard Access" and select "ENGL 203" from the classes you are taking. NOTE: LINK+ can be used to order books only -- not journal articles. It is fast -- books ordered through LINK+ typically arrive within 2-3 days. LOOKING AHEAD 1: As you work on this week's group research project, review the guidelines for the individual Composite Bibliography so you know what you will need to turn in and can begin selecting your individual secondary sources and assembling a file of the required print-outs. LOOKING AHEAD 2: Remember that your Introductory Paragraph Exercise is due day 1 of week 5 and that your Midterm Exam is day 2 of week 5. |
| Day 2 | Arthurian Romance II | Background: Review Courtly
Love and Translatio
and NA 19-20 (on Middle English Prosody). Read about the Middle English
notions of trouthe
and gentilesse, as well as information on the Alliterative
Revival. Read NA 10-12 ("The Fourteenth Century") and 156-8 (headnote
on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight).
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, NA 158-210. |
Week 5 (January 31-February
2)
| Topic | Reading | Research Assignment | |
| Day 1 |
|
Complete discussion of SGGK.
Background: Review Translatio; read NA 12-14 ("The Fifteenth Century") and headnote to Malory (NA 419-21). Malory, selections from Morte Darthur, NA 421-39. |
Introductory Paragraph Exercise due. |
| Day 2 |
|
|
| Topic | Reading | Research Assignment | |
| Day 1 | Chaucer's Canterbury Tales I:
The General Prologue |
The General
Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.
Print out the General Prologue study guide and use it to help you understand
the GP and the various background and contextual readings listed below.
(Note that the study guide links below take you to specific sections of
the General Prologue study guide; you do not need to print them separately.)
1) "The Field of Folk" episode from William Langland's Piers Plowman (text found NA 317-22). 1) The General Prologue: read the FULL TEXT in your modern English translation (Penguin Classics The Canterbury Tales, pp. 3-26; or The Portable Chaucer, pp. 53-75). You must ALSO read through the following Middle English passages as found in the Norton Anthology, pp. 215-235: the opening (lines 1-42) and the portraits of the Knight, Squire, Prioress, Monk, Friar, Clerk, Parson, Plowman and Pardoner, lines 43-100, 118-271, 287-310, 479-543, 671-716. For help on the language, consult one of the linked websites and/or NA 15-18. |
In class this week,
you will sign up for an individual 10-minute meeting with Dr. Schwartz
to get back your Introductory Paragraph exercise and discuss revisions
you will need to make before expanding it into a 3-4-page paper (due, along
with your original, marked up intro paragraph, no later than day 1 of week
10).
HOMEWORK: Prior to meeting with your Research Group, 1) read carefully through the profile of the MLA Bibliography on Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools . Be sure you are clear about what it is, when (and why) to use it, its strengths and its limitations. Read information on SFX and its limitations. (Remember: the MLA Bibliography is NOT itself a mode of access for secondary sources. . .) Review information on ILL (Interlibrary Loan) as a mode of access distinct from LINK+. 2) follow the link to review the detailed instructions for Research Step 3: Using the MLA Bibliography to Identify Additional Sources on Your Topic (and then figuring out how to access them!) By following these directions, you will learn to use the MLA Bibliography to identify additional secondary sources that are not easily unnearthed using Polycat or Link+, and which may or may not be available in hardcopy or electronic format within the collections of the Kennedy Library. You will also learn to use Interlibrary Loan to access articles and books which are not available at Cal Poly (or through LINK+) -- but again, you will NOT actually PLACE an order, unless you actually intend to read the article or essay for your own pleasure! The directions will also guide you through submitting your next THREE RESEARCH REPORTS for the class research archive: 1) "MLA search results"; 2) "ILL journal article"; and 3) either "LINK+ Edited Essay" OR "ILL Edited Essay," depending on which mode of access you would use to obtain the edited essay (or "book article") you have selected. Reminder: the class research archive is located in a Blackboard "Discussion Board." To access Blackboard, log in at MyCalpoly, go to "Blackboard Access" and select "ENGL 203" from the classes you are taking. REMEMBER: LINK+ can be used to order books only -- not journal articles. It is fast -- books ordered through LINK+ typically arrive within 2-3 days -- so always go FIRST to LINK+ (rather than ILL) if the resource you are looking for is an essay in an edited collection or a single-author book; but you should go directly to ILL if you are looking for a journal article which is not available through the Kennedy Library collections in either hard copy or electronic format. LOOKING AHEAD 1: As you work on this week's group research project, review the guidelines for the individual Composite Bibliography so you know what you will need to turn in and can begin selecting your individual secondary sources and assembling a file of the required print-outs. LOOKING AHEAD 2: unlike the other research exercises, the Getty Database Assignment is a written assignment which must be submitted in hard copy at the class meeting devoted to medieval lyrics (day 1 of week 8) for credit. You and your research group will search the Getty Museum database for images of an assigned topic and submit a written report of your findings, including a printout of ONE image. OPTIONAL: for individual extra credit, you may search on your own (not as a group) for images of the same topic assigned to your gourp in another museum's database, and submit a written report of your findings, including the URL of the site accessed and a printout of ONE image. If you wish to do this extra credit assignment, you MUST contact me in advance to receive a specific site to search. (NOTE: the EC assignment is not worth a specific number of points or percentage of your final grade; instead, doing a good job on it earns you discretionary points, which will bump you up if you end up with a borderline grade at the end of the quarter, or might add a bit to your lowest quiz score.) |
| Day 2 |
The General Prologue, continued; The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale |
AS NEEDED: Continued discussion of the General Prologue
and the close of the Canterbury Tales, as well as of the contextual
readings (selections from the Romance of the Rose and from Piers
Plowman) assigned for the last class.
New Reading: Chaucer's Canterbury Tales II:
The Wife
of Bath's Prologue and Tale. Print
out the Wife of Bath study guide and use it to help you understand the
Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale and the various background and contextual
readings listed below. (Note that most links below take you to specific
sections of the Wife of Bath study guide; you do not need to print them
separately.)
You must ALSO read through the following Middle English passages as found in the Norton Anthology (pp. 253-81): WBP lines 1-29, 121-140, 486-96, 672-729, 794-834; also WBT lines 863-918, 989-1182, 1225-1270. For help on the language, consult one of the linked websites and/or NA 15-18. |
| Topic | Reading | Research Assignment | |
| Day 1 |
|
AS NEEDED: Continued discussion of Chaucerian readings
assigned
last week (the Wife
of Bath's Prologue and Tale and/or the close of the Canterbury
Tales) as well as any contextual readings assigned last
week but not yet fully discussed (e.g. selections from the Romance
of the Rose and/or from Piers Plowman).
ALSO RECOMMENDED (OPTIONAL READING): Selections
from The
Book of Margery Kempe (NA 13, 366-79) -- an interesting real-life
counterpart to Chaucer's Alison of Bath (and to Christine de Pizan!)
NEW REQUIRED READINGS: Christine de Pizan 1: biographical and literary texts. Print out the study guide and use it to help you understand the selections from Christine de Pizan's works and the background and contextual readings listed below (including additional a third set of selections from the Romance of the Rose). Note that links below take you to specific sections of the Christine de Pizan 1 study guide (you do not need to print them separately). Contexts: Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun's Romance of the Rose, Selections 3 (first link is study guide; click HERE for readings as e-reserves which you should PRINT OUT AND BRING WITH YOU TO CLASS). Background: Introduction, The Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan (xi-xvi). Christine de Pizan selections (all readings are from The Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan, ed./tr. Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski and Kevin Brownlee):
Symbolic autobiography. On becoming a woman writer and on defending women from clerical misogyny ( i.e. books written about BAD women): The Book of the City of Ladies (116-37; 147-9). |
REQUIRED ASSIGNMENT: the Getty
Database Assignment MUST BE SUBMITTED IN HARD COPY FOR CREDIT
AT
THE FIRST
CLASS MEETING OF WEEK 8.
This week, you and your research group should prepare that written assignment. Follow link for instructions, which will require that you and your group search for images on an assigned topic and submit to me in class a written HARD COPY report of your findings, including a printout of ONE image. Each research group should research the topic with the same NUMBER as the FORUM NUMBER to which you submit your research reports. OPTIONAL: for individual extra credit, you may search on your own (not as a group) for images of the same topic assigned to your gourp in another museum's database, and submit a written report of your findings, including the URL of the site accessed and a printout of ONE image. If you wish to do this extra credit assignment, you MUST contact me in advance to receive a specific site to search. (NOTE: the EC assignment is not worth a specific number of points or percentage of your final grade; instead, doing a good job on it earns you discretionary points, which will bump you up if you end up with a borderline grade at the end of the quarter, or might add a bit to your lowest quiz score.) * - * - * LOOKING AHEAD: If you have not already begun to work seriously on your Composite Bibliography, get on it!! Remember that this assignment counts for 10-15% of your final course grade (depending on the grading option which you elect). If you try to throw it together at the last minute, you are likely to receive no credit for this assignment (the penalties for errors and omissions add up fast!) Also, keep in mind that your expanded 3-4 page
essay (worth 20-25% of your final course grade (depending on the grading
option which you elect) will be due, along with the original, marked
up introductory paragraph, by FRIDAY OF WEEK 9.
|
| Day 2 | Devotional Literature I | IF NEEDED: Continued discussion of Christine
de Pizan 1: biographical and literary texts. NOTE: Christine
readings which we do not have time to discuss fully will be returned to
at our final class meeting, devoted to Christine
de Pizan II: new readings from The Letter from Othea (29-33
& 40-41) and The Path of Long Study (59-87) , Christine's amazing
translatio
of Dante's
Commedia.
NEW READINGS: Medieval Lyrics: NA 349-50 (headnote), 353-4 and online readings. Opening of the biblical (Old Testament) Song of Songs
(first link is study guide; click HERE
for reading as e-reserve which you should PRINT OUT AND BRING WITH
YOU TO CLASS); also, several of St. Bernard
of Clairvaux's Sermons on the Song of Songs (first link is study
guide; click click HERE
for reading as e-reserve which you should PRINT OUT AND BRING WITH
YOU TO CLASS). Review Translatio.
|
| Topic | Reading | Research Assignment
(Traditional and Web Resources) |
|
| Day 1 | Devotional Literature II |
As needed: continued discussion of medieval lyrics. New Readings: Background, NA 12-14, 379-80 and
391-2. The
Second Shepherd's Play, NA 392-419.
|
REQUIRED ASSIGNMENT: the Getty
Database Assignment MUST BE SUBMITTED IN HARD COPY FOR CREDIT
AT
THIS CLASS MEETING. Follow link
for instructions, which will require that you search for images on an assigned
topic and submit a written report of your findings, including a printout
of ONE image.
* -- * -- * NEW RESEARCH EXERCISE FOR WEEK 8: HOMEWORK: Prior to meeting with your Research Group, 1) read about electronic modes of access and the profiles of the four full-text journal databases we will be using on Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools. Be clear about what each database includes, what to use them for, and their advantages and disadvantages. Carefully review the information on SFX and on Polysearch (and their limitations). Know what must be added to a bibliographic citation of a journal article accessed electronically through a subscription database. 2) follow the link to review the detailed instructions for Research Step 4: Using Kennedy Library Subscription Databases to Acces Full-Text Journal Articles. This exercise will guide you as you learn to search for full-text journal articles on your topic in four of Cal Poly's subscription journal databases. The directions will also guide you through submitting your next four research reports for the class research archive: "Muse Results," "EAI Results," ASE Results" and "JSTOR Results." NOTE: EACH MEMBER OF YOUR RESEARCH GROUP SHOULD PREPARE AND SUBMIT AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOUR REPORTS. REMEMBER: The electronic journal databases are expensive, subscription-only resources that ARE part of the Kennedy Library's collections; they offer electronic access to a number of journals, to some of which (but not all of which) we may also have print subscriptions. When you search POLYCAT by JOURNAL TITLE, entries should cover Kennedy Library holdings for that journal in BOTH print and electronic formats, but be aware that the Polycat entry may be complete since journals are constantly being added to or dropped from individual databases. (This is why the MLA Bibliography assignment directed you to check for journal titles in Serials Solutions as well as in Polycat prior to placing an ILL order for a journal article). NOTE: When you have a bibligraphic citation for an article, Citation Linker is a quick and easy way to check simultaneously in several (but not all) of the Kennedy Library's subscription databases for electronic access to the article in question. But keep in mind that like other SFX resources, Citation Linker is not foolproof; it may tell you no electronic access is available when a journal is in fact found in a subscription database which Citation Linker cannot check. |
| Day 2 |
(the Vita Nuova ) |
As needed: continued discussion of the Second
Shepherds' Play.
New Readings: in The Portable Dante, Introduction (ix-xxxvi); selections from the Vita Nuova (pp. 589-649). Backgrounds to the Commedia: read the information on the Epic genre and on "epic conventions" in your copy of Abrams's Glossary of Literary Terms (a required book for the Core sequence that was available for purchase with the other course materials for this class). Print out and bring to class Canto 1 of Dante's Inferno in original Italian (on e-reserve); refer to it to understand what is meant by "terza rima" (see Introduction, xxxi). |
| Topic | Reading | Research Assignment
(Traditional and Web Resources) |
|
| Day 1 | Dante, cont.: the Divine Comedy
(Inferno) |
As needed: continued discussion of the Vita
Nuova.
New Reading: Inferno, cantos 1-34 (pp. 3-191). |
HOMEWORK: Prior to meeting with
your Research Group, 1) review the information on electronic
modes of access and read through the profile of Netlibrary
on Dr.
Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools. Be clear
about what Netlibrary
is and how to use it. Know what must be added to the bibliographic
citation for a single-author
book or to the citation for an essay
in an edited book collection when the source has been accessed
electronically through a subscription
database, i.e. Netlibrary.
2) follow the link to review the detailed instructions for Research Step 5: Searching the E-Books Available through Netlibrary. This exercise will guide you as you experiment with finding material relevant to your topic in Netlibrary, Cal Poly's subscription database of E-books. The directions will also guide you through submitting your final research report for the class research archive: "NetLibrary Results." NOTE: By the end of the quarter, each group member should have prepared and submitted at least one report on an electronically accessed subscription database (i.e. one of the four full-text journal databases from Research Exercise Step 4, and/or Netlibrary). This means that if any group member did NOT submit one of the reports on the four electronically accessed subscription databases, s/he should be responsible for submitting the NetLibrary report to the archive. REMEMBER: Like the electronic journal databases, NetLibrary is an expensive, subscription-only resource that IS part of the Kennedy Library's collections; the ebooks found in NetLibrary are listed in Polycat along with any print copies that may be part of the library's holdings. -- * -- * -- Expanded Paper due (turn in along with original, marked up Introductory Paragraph exercise to me in class this week, or turn it in by FRIDAY 3/3 at 4 PM at the latest. Any essay that is not submitted by Friday 3/3 will incur a late penalty that will increase for every day it is late. Please note that I CANNOT ACCESS ATTACHMENTS; if you choose to turn in your essay on Friday, you will need to hand it to me in person (I am likely to be in my office on Friday aftternoon) OR put it in my MAILBOX IN THE MAIN ENGLISH OFFICE. Do NOT leave it pinned to my bulletin board or slip it under my door!! |
| Day 2 | Dante, cont.: the Divine Comedy (Purgatorio) | As needed: continued discussion of the Inferno.
New Reading: From Purgatorio: cantos 1-2, 6, 8, 17, 21-22, 27-33 (pp. 195-206, 311-316, 346-87) |
| Topic | Reading | Research Assignment
(Traditional and Web Resources) |
|
| Day 1 |
|
As needed: continued discussion of the Purgatorio.
New Reading: Paradiso: cantos 1-3, 10, 15-17, 22-23, 25-28, 30-33. |
Last day to submit group research reports to the
class research archive, as well as any hard copy print-outs required
along with those reports.
Looking ahead: individual Composite Bibliography due at our next (and final) class meeting. |
| Day 2 |
|
As needed: continued discussion of Paradiso.
New Reading: Christine de Pizan II: selections from The Letter from Othea (29-33 & 40-41) and The Path of Long Study (59-87). Review of previously assigned readings:
|
Turn in Composite
Bibliography of citations for your group's assigned primary
source and for a set of secondary sources on that topic which you have
found using the tools covered in the five group research assignments. Citations
should be alphabetized and presented in the appropriate formats for a list
of Works Cited entry (consult your MLA Handbook!). As
necessary, add or substitute items so that your composite Bibliography
1) does NOT include the same secondary sources used by other members of
your research group; and 2) DOES include each of the required types
of sources and modes
of access.
Your grade will be reduced for:
|
There will be a three-hour, closed-book Final Exam on Thursday, March 16, from 10:10 AM - 1 PM.
Contents of this and linked pages Copyright Debora B. Schwartz, 1999-2006