ENGL 459: Modern Arthurian Literature
Dr. Debora B. Schwartz

Calendar, Spring 2006
 
 
Week  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

NOTE: some background readings are in .PDF files on Electronic Reserve through the Kennedy Library.  To view a file, click on the link; you will be prompted to type in your last name and library barcode (the 14-digit number beginning 20150 on the front of your PolyCard).  You can then download, read and/or print the file using Acrobat Reader.

Week 1    (March 27-29)
 
Topic and Readings Research Assignment 
(Electronic Databases and  Web-based Resources)
Day 1 Introduction to ENGL 459: course organization, requirements and expectations.

Overview of Readings (sign-up for research topics at our next class meeting).

Please read COMPLETELY through our class homepage, this calendar of assignments, and assigned background readings PRIOR TO OUR FIRST CLASS MEETING.

Also, because sign-ups for Oral Presentations will begin at our second class meeting, you are advised to read through the Oral Presentation Guidelines and have a look at the Schedule of Oral Presentations,

BACKGROUND READING ASSIGNMENT: The Arthurian Handbook CH 1-2 (on the historical development of Arthurian literature).  You are responsible for having familiarized yourself with the information found in these background readings prior to the midterm exam, although we will not spend time going over them in class, and they will not be a significant focus of the exam.

 In this class, you will hone your research skills using a number of electronic research tools accessible online through the Kennedy Library's subscription databases.  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).

Be aware that, with the exception of reputable scholarly work (e.g. unpublished conference papers, original or previously published essays, book chapters or journal articles) made available by an academic author, in an online scholarly journal, or on the website of a scholarly project, material found on the web is HIGHLY UNLIKELY to be suitable for citation in a research paper.  If you DO choose to use Web Search Engines for your research, be sure to consult Research Step 6: Finding and Evaluating Web-Based Resources for tips on how to evaluate the scholarly validity of a website or resource found online. (This optional assignment can be submitted for extra credit.)
Day 2 The Arthurian Handbook 137-8, 181-2.

The Once and Future King 9-209 (The Sword in the Stone).

If you have not already done so, be sure to read COMPLETELY through our class homepageand this calendar of assignments.   Also read through the Oral Presentation Guidelines, have a look at the Schedule of Oral Presentations, and consider which dates/topics you are most interested in (including some alternates). Sign-ups begin today in class!.

 First Research Assignment (to be completed before our class meeting):

Introduction to Kennedy Library Research Tools: Read through Preliminaries 1: Types of Sources and Preliminaries II: Modes of Access on Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools. When you come to class, you should

You are responsible for information covered in these research assignments, although we will not spend significant time talking about them in class meeting.

Week 2   (April 3-5)
 
Topic and Readings Research Assignment 
(Traditional and Web Resources)
Day 1 The Once and Future King 211-312 (The Queen of Air and Darkness). Research Assignment (to be completed before our class meeting):

SKIM your MLA Handbook chapters on Research and Writing, the Mechanics of Writing, and the Format of the Research Paper (so you'll know what's there), and read carefully the sections on italics vs. underliningand on the Titles of Works (in the chapter called the Mechanics of Writing). You will need to be clear about these rules in
order to write correct bibliographic citations. If you have questions, consult the Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research tools and/or ask Dr. Schwartz for help during an offie hour!  You need to know:

  • when to use italics/underlining and when to use quotation marks for titles (what sorts of work use each).
  • that you should never mix italics and underlining in the same document -- you must pick ONE and use it CONSISTENTLY. For work submitted to me, please use only UNDERLINING, not italics.
  • how to indicate a normally underlined (or italicized) title within another underlined (or italicized) title.
  • how to indicate a normally quotation-marked title (or a quotation) within another quotation-marked title.
  • that an underlined title remains underlined when it is incorporated into a quotation-marked title.

    • how to handle punctuation (or subtitles) within the title of a work.  (There are specific rules you must follow; do not simply copy the formatting found on the title page of the work in question, or you are likely to lose points for incorrect formatting of your bibliographic citations.)
2) If you have not already signed up for an Oral Presentation date, check the Schedule of Oral Presentations and decide which of the remaining dates/topics you are most interested in (including some alternates!); sign-ups will continue in class today!
Day 2 The Once and Future King 313-514 (The Ill-Made Knight). Homework:  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 Polycat contains, when (and why) to use it, its strengths and its limitations. Then, click on the link for detailed instructions for your first research assignment: Research Step 1: Kennedy Library via Polycat.  ASK DR. SCHWARTZ IN CLASS if you have any questions on what you need to do.

By following the directions in Research Step 1: Kennedy Library via Polycat, you should be able to find some  useful secondary sources -- which are studies ABOUT your author, topic or work, not an edition or translation of the text itself  -- in the Kennedy Library collections.

The directions will also guide you through submitting your first two research reports to the class research archive, "Searching Polycat" and "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 459" from the classes you are taking; then click on "Discussion Board" and enter the "forum" for the topic you researching.  (I will create a separate "forum" for each reading.) 

Week 3    (April 10-12)
 
Topic and Readings Research Assignment 
(Traditional and Web Resources)
Day 1 The Once and Future King 515-639 (The Candle in the Wind).

PRESENTATIONS (up to two) on The Once and Future King: 

  • Jennifer DeWinter (Sr. Project)
  •  
 		 Homework:  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. Then, click on the link for detailed instructions for the second research assignment: Research Step 2: Using LINK+.  ASK DR. SCHWARTZ IN CLASS if you have any questions on what you need to do.

By following the directions in Research Step 2: Using LINK+, you will learn how to use LINK+ to order additional secondary sources from cooperating libraries.  LINK+ can be used to order books only -- not journal articles.  It is fast -- books ordered through LINK+ typically arrive within 2-3 days. 

The directions will also guide you though submitting your next two research reports to the class research archive, "LINK+ Search Results" and "LINK+ Orders 1." 
Day 2 Adaptations/Continuations of T. H. White:  1) Lerner and Loewe's musical Camelot; 2) Disney's animated The Sword in the Stone; 3) T. H. White's own The Book of Merlyn (posthumously published conclusion to The Once and Future King).

Remember that the films The Sword in the Stone (79 min.) and Camelot (180 min.) MUST BE SCREENED BEFORE CLASS TIME!! 

Group screenings will be scheduled in room 202 of the library, or see on your own (at the library), or rent it and see it at home.  I encourage you to patronize Insomniac, SLO's fabulous independent video store (2161A Broad, between South and Branch; tel. 545-8866), or Cal Poly Insomniac in the University Union. 

Group screenings in Library 202 will take place at the following dates and times: 

Camelot: Sunday 4/9, 2-5:30 PM. 
Sword in the Stone: Monday 4/10, 11 AM-1 PM

Assigned readings:  The Arthurian Handbook 257-64; and two handouts: Alice Grellner's "Two Films that Sparkle: The Sword in the Stone and Camelot" (from Cinema Arthuriana, ed. Kevin J. Harty [New York: Garland, 1991], pp. 71-81); and Elisabeth Brewer's analysis of T. H. White's The Book of Merlyn (from her T.H. White's The Once and Future King [Cambridge, UK: D. S. Brewer; New York: Boydell and Brewer, 1993], pp. 150-164).

PRESENTATIONS (up to two): 

  • Disney's The Sword in the Stone: 
  • the musical Camelot: 
  • T. H. White's The Book of Merlyn: The Unpublished Conclusion to The Once And Future King: Janice Edman
 Homework: 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+. Then, click on the link for detailed instructions for the third research assignment: Research Step 3: Using the MLA Bibliography to Identify Additional Sources on Your Topic (and then figure out how to access them!).  COME TO AN OFFICE HOUR  if you have questions about what you need to do.

By following the detailed instructions on Research Step 3: Using the MLA Bibliography to Identify Additional Sources on Your Topic (and then figure out how to access them!), you will learn to use the MLA Bibliography to identify additional secondary sources on your topic and Interlibrary Loan to access articles and books which are not available at Cal Poly or through LINK+. The directions will also help you prepare your next research reports for the class research archive, "MLA Search Results" and "ILL Orders" (as well as "LINK+ Orders 2" if applicable).

Week 4    (April 17-19)
 
Topic and Readings Research Assignment 
(Traditional and Web Resources)
Day 1 John Steinbeck, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, vi-xiv (Author's Dedication and Introduction); 77-96 ("The Wedding of King Arthur"); 207-293 ("The Noble Tale of Sir Lancelot of the Lake"); Writer's Block (Appendix: 296-364).

Other readings: The Arthurian Handbook 128-33, 137-8, 171-5; Dante, Inferno, Canto V: Paola and Francesca (click link to access reading on e-reserve).

PRESENTATIONS (up to two): 

  • Fatal Kisse(r)s (modern): Steinbeck's writer's block:   Mistie Smith
  • fatal kisses (medieval): Dante's Inferno V (Paolo and Francesca) and the kiss in medieval manuscript illumination.
 Homework: Read about electronic modes of access and the profiles of the four Kennedy Library subscription journal databases we will use to look for full-text, electronically accessed journal articles 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 read information on SFX and on Polysearch (and their limitations).    Know what to add to the citation of a journal article citation accessed electronically  through a subscription database. Then, click on the link for detailed instructions for the fourth research assignment: Research Step 4: Using Full-Text Subscription Databases in the Kennedy Library Collections.  COME TO AN OFFICE HOUR if you have questions about what you need to do.

The detailed instructions in Research Step 4: Using Full-Text Subscription Databases in the Kennedy Library Collections will help you learn to search for full-text journal articles on your topic in four of Cal Poly's subscription databases. 

The directions will also help you prepare your next four research reports for the class research archive: "Muse Results," "EAI Results," ASE Results" and "JSTOR Results."
Day 2 "Victorian" Sensibilities:  Tennyson and the Pre-Raphaelites; Jerry Zucker's film First Knight. 

Remember that First Knight (134 min.) MUST BE SCREENED BEFORE CLASS TIME!! 

Group screenings will be scheduled in room 202 of the library, or see on your own (at the library), or rent it and see it at home.  I encourage you to patronize Insomniac, SLO's fabulous independent video store (2161A Broad, between South and Branch; tel. 545-8866), or Cal Poly Insomniac in the University Union.

Group screenings will take place at the following dates and times: 
M 4/17 11 AM - 2 PM and T 4/18 11 AM-2 PM 

Readings: The Arthurian Handbook 157-64, 217-48; Tennyson's The Idylls of the King 19-20 ("Dedication"; also online); 301-2 ("To the Queen"; also online); 21-35 ("The Coming of Arthur"; also online); 168-205 ("Lancelot and Elaine"; also online); Tennyson, "The Lady of Shalott" (1833 and 1842 versions) (online reading: PRINT AND BRING TO CLASS!!); essay by Jacqueline Jenkins, "The Aging of the King: Arthur and America in First Knight" (in King Arthur's Modern Return, ed. Debra N. Mancoff [New York: Garland, 1998], pp. 199-212). 

PRESENTATIONS (up to two): 

  • Tennyson's Idylls of the King (may include relevant Pre-Raphaelite illustrations):
  • Tennyson/relevant illustrations 2: Amanda Staller
  • First Knight: Alex Gammelgard
 1)Homework: Review information on electronic modes of access and read carefully through the profile of NetLibrary on Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools.  Be clear about what it is, when and how to use it, its strengths and its limitations.  Know what to add to the bibliographic citation of an ebook accessed through a subscription database like NetLibrary. Then, click on the link for detailed instructions for the fourth research assignment: Research Step 5: Searching the E-books in NetLibrary.  COME TO AN OFFICE HOUR if you have questions about what you need to do..

The detailed instructions in Research Step 5: Searching the E-books in NetLibrary will guide you as you learn to search directly in the ebooks found in NetLibrary, another of Cal Poly's subscription databases. The directions will also help you prepare your next research report for the class research archive, "NetLibraryResults."

Week 5    (April 24-26)
 
Topic and Readings Research Assignment 
(Traditional and Web Resources)
Day 1 Visions of Guinevere:  The Idylls of the King 248-68 ("The Last Tournament"; also online); 269-87 ("Guinevere"; also online); 288-300 ("The Passing of Arthur"; also online); Tennyson, "Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevere: A Fragment" (1842; online reading: PRINT AND BRING TO CLASS!); William Morris, "The Defence of Guenevere" (online reading: PRINT AND BRING TO CLASS!). 

PRESENTATIONS (up to two): Visions of Guinevere in 

  • the Idylls of the King (as assigned):
  • William Morris's "Defence of Guenevere": Brittany Wiley
  • Pre-Raphaelite paintings and/or illustrations, with emphasis on connections to themes and/or imagery in assigned readings:  Laurel Penrose
 1)Click on the link and follow the guidelines to begin work on the Prospectus and Working Bibliography for your Research Paper, due at our first class meeting of week 7 (MONDAY, MAY 8). Note 1: the Prospectus is normally an ungraded exercise allowing me to provide feedback that will help you write a stronger final research paper.  But if no prospectus is submitted (or if it does not follow assignment guidelines), it will count for 10% of the final course grade. 
Remember, I will use your Paper Prospectus and Working Bibliography to help me grade the "Paper Preview" section on the midterm!

2) Click on the link for instructions for an OPTIONAL research assignment (which may be completed for Extra Credit): Research Step 6: Finding and Evaluating Web-Based Resources.
Day 2 The Idylls of the King 206-230, "The Holy Grail" (also available online); other selected Grail texts (online readings: PRINT OUT AND BRING TO CLASS!): Tennyson, "Sir Galahad" (1834); James Russell Lowell, "The Vision of Sir Launfaul" (1838); William Morris, "Sir Galahad: A Christmas Mystery" and "The Chapel in Lyoness" (both 1858); Eugene Field, "The Vision of the Grail" (1905); Sophie Jewett, "The Dwarf's Quest: A Ballad" (1905).

Other reading: The Arthurian Handbook 248-254 (on Wagner's Parsifal).

PRESENTATIONS (up to two): Visions of the Grail: 


Continue work on paper prospectus (due on MONDAY, MAY 8).

Week 6    (May 1-3)
 
Topic and Readings Research Assignment 
(Traditional and Web Resources)
Day 1 Steinbeck, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights 3-47 ("Merlin"); 99-123 ("The Death of Merlin"); Tennyson, The Idylls of the King 142-67, "Merlin and Vivien" (also available online); other selected online readings (PRINT OUT AND BRING TO CLASS!): Robert Buchanan, "Merlin's Tomb" (1859); Tennyson, "Merlin and the Gleam" (1889); Wildfrid Scawen Blunt, "To Nimue" (1914); Thomas de Beverley, "The Story of Nimue" (1925).  OPTIONAL:  check out Howard Pyle's reworking of the story for children (1903).

Steinbeck, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights 109-123 ("Morgan le Fay").  OPTIONAL: explore the Morgan links at the Camelot Project. 

PRESENTATIONS (up to two): 

  • Magic and Seduction: the Femme Fatale in assigned readings 1: Chris Schaffnit (esp. on Tennyson and 19th-century Merlins) 
  • Magic and Seduction: the Femme Fatale in assigned readings 2: 
  • Illustrating the Femme Fatale (with emphasis on connections between images selected for presentation and imagery and/or themes found in assigned readings): 
 

Continue work on paper prospectus (due MONDAY, MAY 8).

Begin Review for midterm exam.
Day 2  Victorian Poets Catch-up Day. Continue review for midterm exam and put final touches on paper prospectus (due MONDAY, MAY 8).

Week 7    (May 8-10)
 
Topic and Readings Research Assignment 
(Traditional and Web Resources)
Day 1 Discussion of the film Excalibur (141 min.), WHICH MUST BE SCREENED BY CLASS TIME!! 

Group screenings will be scheduled in the library, or see on your own (at the library), or rent it and see it at home.  I encourage you to patronize Insomniac, SLO's fabulous independent video store (2161A Broad, between South and Branch; tel. 545-8866), or Cal Poly Insomniac in the University Union.

Group screenings will take place at the following date and time: Sunday, May 7, 2-5 PM

Essay by Norris J. Lacy, "Mythopoeia in Excalibur" (click link for essay in .PDF file on e-reserve; or, copy from hard copy on course reserve for ENGL 459:  Cinema Arthuriana, ed. Kevin J. Harty [New York: Garland, 1991], pp. 121-134). 

Start reading Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon!! 

PRESENTATIONS (up to two) on Boorman's film Excalibur :

  • depiction of Morgan:  Cara Guernsey
  • treatment of the Grail:
  • other (to be decided in consultation with Dr. Schwartz):
 Paper Prospectus due.

IN CLASS: Sign up for conference weeks 7 or 8 to discuss your research prospectus.

Continue review for midterm exam.

Work on Research paper.

 
Day 2 The Mists of Avalon ix-xi; 1-231 (Mistress of Magic). Other required reading:  Marion Zimmer Bradley, "My Search for Morgaine le Fay" (click link for essay in .PDF file on e-reserve).

PRESENTATIONS (up to two ONLY if all 4 books have at least one presenter):

  •  Morgan Leckie
  •  
 Continue review for midterm exam.

Work on Research paper.

Week 8    (May 15-17)
 
Topic and Readings Research Assignment
(Traditional and Web Resources)
Day 1 MIDTERM EXAM Work on Research paper.
Day 2 The Mists of Avalon 235-447 (The High Queen). PRESENTATIONS (up to two ONLY if all 4 books have at least one presenter):
  • Meg Alcock
  •  
 Work on Research paper.

Week 9    (May 22-24)
 
Topic and Readings Research Assignment 
(Traditional and Web Resources)
Day 1 The Mists of Avalon 453-651 (The King Stag). PRESENTATIONS (up to two ONLY if all 4 books have at least one presenter):
  •   Ellen Jewell (Sr. Project)
  •  
 Continue work on Research paper.
Day 2 The Mists of Avalon 655-876 (The Prisoner in the Oak). PRESENTATIONS (up to two ONLY if all 4 books have at least one presenter):
  •   Ruth Osorio
  •  
 Continue work on Research paper. 

Week 10    (May 29-31)
 
Topic and Readings Research Assignment 
(Traditional and Web Resources)
Day 1 NO CLASS MEETING -- HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!! Continue work on Research paper. 
Day 2 Discussion of the film Monty Python's Holy Grail (90 mins.), WHICH MUST BE SCREENED BY CLASS TIME!! 

Group screenings will be scheduled in room 202 of the library, or see on your own (at the library), or rent it and see it at home.  I encourage you to patronize Insomniac, SLO's fabulous independent video store (2161A Broad, between South and Branch; tel. 545-8866), or Cal Poly Insomniac in the University Union.

Group screenings will take place at the following dates and times: Tuesday, 5/30, 11 AM- 1 PM.

Optional:  peruse Steinbeck, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights 127-203 ("Gawain, Ewain and Marhalt") for a taste of the type of interlaced chivalric adventures found in Malory and parodied by Monty Python.

Review Tennyson, The Idylls of the King 206-230 ("The Holy Grail," revisited).

Essays by Mark Burde ("Monty Python's Medieval Masterpiece," in The Arthurian Yearbook 3 [1993]: 3-20) and David D. Day ("Monty Python and the Medieval Other," in Cinema Arthuriana, ed. Kevin J. Harty [New York: Garland, 1991], pp. 83-92).  Click links for essays in .PDF files on e-reserve; or, make a copy from books on course reserve for ENGL 459.

PRESENTATION: Monty Python's Holy Grail:

  • Ryan Evans
  •  
 Continue work on Research paper. 

In lieu of a written final exam, all students will participate in a Final Oral Exercise:  a brief summary of his/her final research paper, presented to the other members of the seminar.  If possible, this (required) final oral exercise will be scheduled in conjunction with an (optional) class dinner, at Dr. Schwartz's home, on the week-end prior to or no later than Tuesday of exam week (June 3-6).  If no common evening time can be found, the final oral exercise will take place on campus at our regularly scheduled exam time: Monday, June 5, from 7:10-10:00 AM(!).

Unless an extension has been arranged in advance, Research Papers are due, along with the original marked up prospectus, at the time of the final oral exercise.

Contents of this and all linked pages Copyright Debora B. Schwartz, 1999-2006