The
Gothic Spirit
HRS / LIBA 234 Spring
Semester 2004 T
5:30-8:20 pm, SQU 450
Candace Gregory Office: TAH 3059
Email: cgregory@csus.edu Tel# 278-3824
Webpage: http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gregoryc/ Office
Hrs:
MTW 10-11 am
and
by appointment.
Required Texts:
D. E. Luscombe, Medieval
Thought
Umberto Eco, Art and Beauty in
the Middle Ages
Otto Georg von Simson, Gothic
Cathedral
Albert Seay, Music in the
Medieval World
Dante / trans. John Ciardi: Inferno,
Purgatorio, and Paradiso
Course Description and Goals:
The Gothic Spirit. Arts and ideas of the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries in Western Europe, structured according to the principle
of the "reconciliation of opposites." The Gothic period sees such
opposites as faith and reason, vertical and horizontal (in architecture),
counterpoint brought into harmony (in music). The period culminates in Dante's
masterpiece the Divine Comedy, which exhibits the reconciliation of opposites
in such sets as female/male, faith/reason, human/divine, beauty/horror, and
chaos/harmony. Cross-listed as LIBA 234; only one may be counted for credit. 3
units.
Requirements:
This is a discussion seminar. As graduate students you are expected to come to each class
having read the assigned material and prepared to discuss it. Readings are
assigned daily and are to be done BEFORE you come to class. All work is due on the assigned date;
NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED.
There will be two oral reports. The first is scheduled for the first month of class on a
philosopher assigned to you by me (a presentation of 10 minutes in which you
give a very brief biography of the philosopher, a summary of his major ideas,
and turn in a bibliographic list of major works by that philosopher (you may
also include, in a separate section, works about him). The second oral report will be a 10-15
minute presentation on an article (assigned by me) about some aspect of the Commedia; this will be due throughout the Dante readings.
Most of your grade is based on a 15-20 page research paper on a topic of your
choosing, due at the end of the semester.
Mid-semester each student will present (5 mins) on their topic and turn
in a working bibliography.
Attendance:
Attendance is mandatory and will be checked daily. You are allowed to miss Two classes over the course of the semester. Each
subsequent absence will result in a loss of FIVE points from your final grade. If you miss more than four classes, you
will receive an F for the course.
Naturally, there are sometimes extenuating circumstances. Each student must see me personally (or
via email) if that is the situation.
Tardy:
Tardiness will not be tolerated. You are allowed to be tardy three (which is defined as
arriving after the class roll has been called); after three, you will lose five
points from your final exam grade for each subsequent tardy. More than five tardies will result in
an F for the course. If you are
late to class, or must leave class early, please be as quiet and unobtrusive as
possible.
Final Grade Components:
50% Research
Paper (10-12 pps, double spaced, typed), including bibliography
15% Oral
Report on Philosopher
15% Oral
Report on Dante
20% Overall
Class Participation
Grading Scale:
A- 90-92 C- 70-72
B+ 88-89 D+ 68-69
B 83-87 D 63-67
B- 80-82 D- 60-62
C+ 78-79 F 59
and below
Cell Phones:
Please turn off all cell phones or beepers before class
begins. If your cell phone rings
in class, you will be asked to leave and will be counted absent for that dayıs
class.
Integrity and Scholarship:
DO NOT CHEAT!
If you are caught cheating on a writing assignment, test, the final
exam, or a daily quiz, or any other assigned work, you will receive an F for
the course. You are held
accountable for all university guidelines in regard to plagiarism and cheating.
Plagiarism:
³Plagiarismthe use of anotherıs personıs ideas or wording
without giving proper creditresults from the failure to document fully and
accurately. Ideas and expressions
of them are considered to belong to the individual who first puts them
forward. Therefore, when you
incorporate ideas or phrasing from any other author in your paper, whether you
quote them directly or indirectly, you need to be honest and complete about
indicating the source to avoid plagiarism. Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism can bring
serious consequences, both academic, in the form of failure or expulsion, and
legal, in the form of lawsuits.
Plagiarism is a violation of the ethics of the academic community.² William G. Campbell, Stephen V. Ballou,
and Carole Slade, Form and Style:
Thesis, Reports, Term Papers, 6th
edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1982), p. 52. For more
information on plagiarism, and how to avoid it, go to:
http://www.Indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html
This syllabus can
and may be changed at any time.
Live in fear.
Week 2: 3 February Philosophical
Background:
Plato, Aristotle,
Augustine, and Boethius
Read Luscombe,
Chaps. 1 and 2
Read
Luscombe, Chaps. 3-5
Read
Eco, Chaps. I VI
Paper
Topics Due
Read
Eco, Chaps. VII - XI
Read: von Simson, Chapters 1-4 and 7
Read
Seay
Presentation
of topics / Working Bibliography due
Week 12: 13
April Dante: Purgatorio, Cantos I -XVII
Week 13: 20 April Dante: Purgatorio, Cantos XVIII-XXXIV
Week 14: 27 April Dante: Paradiso, Cantos I-XVII
Papers Due