Texts and Materials

*M. W. Labarge, A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life
*Hildegarde of Bingen, Selected Writings (Penguin, 2001).

*Margery Kempe, The Book of Margery Kempe (Norton, 2000)

*Hrotswitha of Gandersheim, Plays of Hrotswitha of Gandersheim (NYU Press or Bolchazy, 1979)

*Osbern Bokenham, Legends of Holy Women (Notre Dame, 1992)

*Julian of Norwich, Writings of Julian of Norwich (Brepols, 2006)

*Other online resources, as assigned
*The current MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or access to a comprehensive website that has the 2009 MLA style requirements

Syllabus Change Policy

This syllabus and calendar are likely to be revised as the semester goes on. Please check the date posted to know if you have the most recent version. The “official version” will be the most-current online version accessed through http://faculty.winthrop.edu/kosterj/engl622.htm.

Course Calendar

http://faculty.winthrop.edu/kosterj/engl622/calendar.htm

Course Requirements 

Grading Standards

Grading breakdown is A 94-100; A- 91-93; B+ 88-90; B  84-87; B- 81-83; C+ 78-80; C  74-77; F  0-73. Graduate students are not awarded semester grades below C; either you make at least a C as a final grade or you fail the course. All graded assignments MUST be turned in to pass the class; no exceptions! 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this semester, you should be able to

1. Locate, evaluate, and use appropriate scholarly resources to investigate questions relating to the subject matter
2. Present, critique, and defend arguments from a variety of critical and theoretical perspectives
3. Create, research, and articulate your own critical argument about some aspect of medieval women’s writing in an article-length manuscript

Final Examination

Our final examination is scheduled for Friday December 9 at 6:30 PM. Winthrop University policy states that travel or work schedules are not valid reasons for missing or rescheduling a final examination. We will discuss collectively what form we wish this examination to take and if we choose to hold a culminating activity that will effectively replace a comprehensive final examination.

Late Assignments

In a seminar it is essential that we all work together and (at least ideally) close to the same schedule. Unless there is a documented emergency, I will not accept late assignments (papers, drafts, abstracts, or class presentation handouts) because these disrupt the effective work of the seminar. Plan wisely and allow for emergencies.

Attendance

On-time, prepared attendance is expected. (Allow extra time to find parking, acquire caffeine, etc., so that you are ready to go when we start.) In a seminar, no "cuts" are allowed. Moreover, University policy is that students who miss more than 25% of classes must receive a grade of F. If you miss two or more classes, expect your final grade to be lowered at least a full letter grade, or more if absence/tardiness is an ongoing problem.

Intellectual Honesty Policy & Student Conduct Code   

If you weren't aware there was a Student Conduct Code, well, now you know, and you're all bound by it as Winthrop students. It states, “Responsibility for good conduct rests with students as adult individuals." The policy on student academic misconduct is outlined in the “Student Conduct Code Academic Misconduct Policy”  (http://www2.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/handbook/StudentHandbook.pdf).

 
Two kinds of intellectual honesty issues most frequently occur: plagiarism and cheating. Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s thoughts, words, ideas, or lines of argument in your own work without appropriate documentation (a parenthetical citation at the end of the source's use and a listing in "Works Cited")–whether you use that material in a quote, paraphrase, or summary. It is a theft of intellectual property and will not be tolerated, whether intentional or not. In this class, plagiarized material will receive, at minimum, a grade of '0' on the work submitted, and may lead to failure of the class or even more serious consequences, because plagiarism is also a violation of section V, "Academic Misconduct," under the Winthrop Student Conduct Code (http://www.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/ Judicial/judcode.htm). The English Department has prepared The Correct Use of Borrowed Information to explain plagiarism (see www.winthrop.edu/english/plagiarism.htm.)  Ignorance or failure to consult this material is no excuse. Neither is the argument that material in cyberspace “belongs to us all” and can be freely appropriated without appropriate citation.

Cheating occurs when you submit work for a grade that you did not complete yourself. It can involve anything from copying a classmate's assignment (or the assignment of a student who took the class previously) to copying answers from the Internet or books when you were supposed to do the work yourself. If I catch you cheating, you will fail the course.  Intellectual honesty is a subject on which I am "hard core," so please don't test my compassion (or my abilities to discover skullduggery). You will not enjoy the consequences. Moreover, please be aware that cheating will almost certainly end your graduate career and will certainly have an extremely negative effect on your ability to find employment. Really, it's not worth it. Just do the work.

Turnitin.com

All graded final versions of written work for this class (original content) must be submitted to www.turnitin.com if the assignment specifies it or it will not be graded. I will provide you with the Course ID and password by e-mail. Tutorials for using turnitin.com are available at http://www.winthrop.edu/dacus/About/
studentTIIinstructions.htm. Each assignment will specify when and how the materials need to be uploaded to turnitin.com. Student tutorials for using turnitin.com are available at http://www.winthrop.edu/dacus/About/
studentTIIinstructions.htm. If you need help with your Turnitin account, please contact the Reference Desk at Dacus Library.

Duplicate Submission of Work

You may not submit materials for a grade in this class that already have been (or will be) submitted for a grade in another course, unless you obtain the explicit written permission of me and the other instructor involved in advance. This is to conform to the Student Code of Conduct, §V, which states: "Academic misconduct includes but is not limited to … presenting the same or substantially the same papers or projects in two or more courses without the explicit permission of the professors involved." (Student Code of Conduct §V: http://www.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/Judicial/judcode.htm) Work submitted to this class that has also been submitted to another class (at Winthrop or any other institution) will receive a grade of zero unless you have received that prior permission.

Students with Disabilities

 If you have a disability and need accommodations, please contact Gena Smith, Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities, at 323-3290 (or ext. 3290 from campus), as soon as possible. Once you have your professor notification letter, please notify me so that I am aware of your accommodations well before the first assignment affected by your situation is due. It is important to do this as soon as possible, even before the class starts if you can.

Safe Zones Policy

This classroom and its online extensions are places where you will be treated with respect as a human being – regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, political beliefs, age, or ability. Additionally, diversity of thought is appreciated and encouraged, provided you can agree to disagree. I expect that ALL students consider the classroom a safe environment and will do all in their power to make our learning environment a place of intellectual respect and safety.

Instructor Accessibility

You can expect me to be available as a resource from which to draw and to obtain feedback. I am very responsive to email questions as long as I know who the email is from and have all information necessary to provide a complete answer. Please be sure to “sign” your emails as oftentimes email names are confusing at best (e.g., brownb1@winthrop.edu could be Bob Brown or Beth Brown). Please make sure to speak slowly and comprehensibly if leaving a voicemail so that I can decipher the name, message, and return phone number as well. My office number is a landline; you cannot leave texts on it.

What you cannot expect of me is to be available 24/7. While I do check my email and voicemail regularly, including weekends (if I am in town), I do not necessarily check them more than once a day or late in the evenings. Therefore, if you procrastinate on an assignment, you may not have the information you need to complete the assignment appropriately. Please plan your time accordingly to maximize the probability that you will receive a response in time for it to be useful.

Additional Expectations

1. You are expected to purchase the texts and bring them to class as assigned. If you do not choose to purchase them from the Bookworm, please check the ISBNs for the texts so that you can get the right editions wherever you choose to shop.
2. All written work must conform to 2009 MLA style. See Harris’ Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Composition, current ed., or the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed., if you have any questions.
3. Cell phones and pagers must be turned off (not just silenced) during class. If yours goes off during class, you will be counted absent for the day; repeat violations will earn more severe penalties. Same goes for texting--don't do it in class unless you wish me to become wonderly wroth. If you wish to take notes on your laptops, the wifi switch must be in the off position—no Farmville during class….

Course Goals (Graduate)

 Content Knowledge. Work done in this seminar will allow the student to demonstrate knowledge of:

*major periods in the history of English, American, and world literature in terms of cultural contexts, language, and subject matter
*professional standards of grammar, mechanics, and usage accepted in the scholarly community
*standard reference tools, methods, and forms of documentation used in scholarly research
*the English language, including its structure, grammar, vocabulary, and historical development

Skills in Analysis, Writing, and Communication. The student will:
*present the findings of research and critical analysis
*demonstrate the correct use of standard reference tools, the proper handling of primary and secondary sources, and proper documentation of all sources
*write research papers and critical analyses on appropriate topics from language, literature, or pedagogy
*demonstrate a publishable level of critical, creative, or pedagogical materials
*sustain a high standard of written expression in lengthy critical or creative works (including but not limited to theses)
*demonstrate synthesizing skills through seminar participation and presentation of a critical paper