Class meets daily in KIN 211, 11 AM -- 1:40 PM. Be on time!
| Date | Prepare for Class | In-Class Activities & Assignments Due |
| May 15 | Purchase textbooks, Harty's Cinema Arthuriana 2nd ed (hereafter CA) and White's The Once and Future King. Get started on book I of White to discuss in class on Thursday. | Discuss the class and its requirements. Go over the historical background of Arthur. Watch and discuss Healy, The Legend of King Arthur in Literature and Popular Culture. Watch Freleng, Knighty-Knight, Bugs (1958) to use for class discussion tomorrow. |
| May 16 | CA: Harty, "Cinema Arthuriana: An Overview," and Raymond Thompson, "Conceptions of King Arthur in the Twentieth Century." | Discuss the historical Arthur and the 20th century. Discuss watching film to write about it. Discuss the Preview for Fuqua's King Arthur. |
| May 17 | Last Day to change S/U status for Maymester. Keep reading White. |
Watch and discuss
Fuqua,
King Arthur.
 |
| May 18 | CA : Helmut Nickel, Arms and Armor in Arthurian Films." Complete Book I of White ("The Sword in the Stone") by today. | Discuss Fuqua. Begin discussion of Arthurian fantasy. Discuss T. H. White and the Preview for Disney's The Sword in the Stone. |
| May 19 |
CA: Raymond Thompson,
"The Ironic Tradition in Four Arthurian Films" and Alice Grellner, "Two
Films That Sparkle: The Sword in the Stone and Camelot." Last Day to withdraw from a Maymester class. |
Watch and discuss
Disney, The Sword in the Stone.
 |
| May 22 | CA: Michael Torregrossa, "Will the 'Reel' Mordred Please Stand Up?" and start reading T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land to discuss on Wednesday. (Here's an alternate online edition of Eliot that is hyperlinked with notes.) |
Short paper 1 due. Discuss Disney. Arthur and major supporting players in the legend. Discuss the roles of Mordred, Morgan, and Merlin in the legend. Team preview of Excalibur due.
|
| May 23 | CA: Muriel Whitaker, "Fire Water Rock: Elements of Setting in John Boorman's Excalibur and Steve Barron's Merlin" and Barbara Miller, "'Cinemagicians': Movie Merlins of the 1980s and 1990s." If you have time, explore this excellent U of Idaho site about the legend of the Fisher King. |
Watch and discuss
Boorman,
Excalibur.
 Warning:
This film contains explicit nudity. |
| May 24 | CA: Norris Lacy, "Mythopoeia in Excalibur." | Discuss Boorman. Arthur and mythology. Team Preview of Fisher King due. Discuss The Wasteland. |
| May 25 | Robert J. Blanch, "The Fisher King in Gotham: New Age Spiritualism Meets the Grail Legend." |
Watch and discuss
Gilliam,
The Fisher King.
 Warning:
This film contains brief nudity. |
| May 26 | CA: Jacqueline de Weever, "Morgan and the Problem of Incest" | Discuss Gilliam. Discuss Arthur and feminism. Team preview of Mists of Avalon due. |
| May 29 | Maureen Fries, "How to Handle a Woman, or Morgan at the Movies". Start reading Malory to finish by June 1: Book 18, ch. 25; Book 19, Book 20, and Book 21. |
Short paper 2 due.
Watch
and discuss parts of
The Mists of Avalon.
 Warning:
This film contains explicit nudity. |
| May 30 | CA: David Day, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Madness with a Definite Method" and a selection from Thomas Berger's Arthur Rex. | Discuss Mists. Arthurian parody and Berger, selection from Arthur Rex. Preview of Monty Python and the Holy Grail due. |
| May 31 | CA: Donald Hoffman, "Not Dead Yet: Monty Python and the Holy Grail in the Twenty-first Century." Complete Book IV of White ("The candle in the Wind") by today. |
Discuss Malory and its reflection in
Book IV of White. Watch and discuss
Gilliam/Jones, Monty Python and
the Holy Grail.
 |
| June 1 | Oral presentations. Read Harty, "'Arthur? Arthur? Arthur?' Where Exactly Is the Cinematic Arthur To Be Found?" in preparation for final exam. | Oral presentations |
| June 2 |
Final Exam (open
book, open notes). Long
Critique due. Eat minstrels. Much rejoicing.
 |