Jan
Stirm
Office Hours: MW 11-12, TR 3:15-4
English Renaissance
1500-1603
Office:
Hibbard 404; phone 715-836-3016
Fall 2000; MWF
9-9:50 HHH307
Email: JStirm@uwec.edu
We’ll start by
considering the difficult term “Renaissance” as a way of understanding
texts bound by class, gender, and educational limits, and reconsider the term
in light of other ways of talking about the period–political (Tudor),
religious (reformation), and linguistic (early modern)–seeking to understand
how our terminology informs our reading.
We’ll read texts traditionally associated with the English
Renaissance, including works by Ascham, Hooker, Spenser, Sidney, and Wyatt,
but also texts from competing positions–Locke (Anne, not John), Marlowe, and
Foxe–including voices not traditionally identified as belonging to “the
Renaissance.”
In addition to
the undergraduate requirements, graduate students will write a graduate level
research paper and may lead a discussion (especially based on a paper or other
reading).
Goals and
Philosophy: We read
literature for a lot of reasons, and in a lot of ways.
My goals for you in this class are to 1) gain familiarity with and
knowledge of a number of Renaissance texts, 2) learn about the historical
contexts for those texts and the conditions of their production, 3) foster a
basic understanding of the ways academics approach Renaissance and other
literature so that you can approach new texts on your own and use what
you’ve learned in this class in other classes or elsewhere, and 4) help you
gain an understanding of the stakes involved in taking a “Renaissance”
class.
Reading and
Notes:
We'll be doing a ton of reading; I usually figure about 3 hours of
outside work per hour of in-class work, but your time will probably vary.
You must keep up with the reading, attend class regularly and
participate in discussions. You
should also plan on seeing me in office hours to discuss your questions and
writing assignments. You
should take reading notes for every text we read, and you should read the
introductory material for each play. Try
to read where you have ready access to a decent dictionary; when you run
across a word you don't know (and which isn't glossed in the text), look it up
and write a short definition in the margin next to the word.
As I read, I make short notes about things that interest me, including
the page (or line numbers); I usually write down plot bits, moments of
repetition, and passages which seem important, as well as things I really just
like. When I finish a scene or
act, I write a short summary of the material, including a list of characters
with some identifying notes, the plot or argument, and any special action I
think is important. I also make a
special point of writing questions I have about the work.
This goes double when I read theory or criticism.
Quizzes:
We will have frequent, unannounced, short quizzes, usually during the first
day discussing a new text. The
quizzes will be open notes (closed book), so if you’ve read the text and
taken notes, you should find them VERY easy. Quizzes may not be made up (if
you have a serious illness, we will make special arrangements).
STC/BWWP
Exercise:
The class will
meet on 9/8 in the Library, where we will look at the Short Title Catalogue (STC),
computer resources (and then make a visit to the rare book room).
Once we have
finished our work, you will be asked to do the following exercise. Results are
to be written up and handed in by 9/15. Your work will be evaluated for its thoughtfulness and
completeness.
Exercise:
1.
Choose 4 random pages from the Pollard and Redgrave print edition of
the STC and examine the titles. Categorize
the works as best you can: politics, drama, government, religion, domestic,
self-help, agriculture, science, medicine, philosophy, poetry.
Compare your list with the texts included in the Norton Anthology.
Think about your list, and draw some conclusions.
2.
Use the Early English Books On Line and do an author search: Each
person will choose an author/text from the following list; look at the
information, and be sure to look at AT LEAST the first page or two of the
text:
Philip Sidney, (Astrophil
and Stella)
Christopher
Marlowe (Edward II)
Thomas Wyatt
(Psalms)
Robert Greene
(Discovery of Cozenage)
Walter Raleigh
(Guiana)
Everyone
should ALSO look at this text:
John Skelton (Elynour
Rummin aka The tunning of Elinor Rumming)
1. Use the
author/title/subject search for this text, and write down all information
about title, date, place of publication for each edition.
2. Write your
observations about the centrality/marginality of this work to the author's
other publications.
3. Subject Search:
Each person will choose a subject from the following list: Elizabeth I,
courtesy, education, anatomy, marriage, America, death, sermons (or choose
your own, with my permission).
Look up your
subject in the author/title/subject search and pick five interesting works on
your subject: write down the full information.
Comment briefly on what you can tell about your subject just from the
titles, authors, and dates of the works.
4. Use
the Brown Women Writers Project site to look up one of the following texts.
Jane Anger Her
Protection for Women, 1589
The First
Examination of Anne Askew, 1546
An Apology or
Answer in Defence of the Church of England, 1564
Bacon, Ann (Cooke), trans. (from John Jewel)
The Tilbury
speech (Aske's version), 1588
Elizabeth I
The Doleful Lay
of the Fair Clorinda, 1595
Sidney, Mary, Countess of Pembroke
Glance through
the text and comment briefly about it. You
might want to compare this project’s appearance with that of the EEBOL
resources. Think about which
resources will be useful for different projects.
Due 9/14
Book Review:
Choose a book from the course calendar and write a well-considered,
fair review of it. You will find
it very helpful to read the book more than once, and to look at book reviews
in Shakespeare Quarterly or Studies in English Literature in
order to have models for your work.
The due date
for this assignment will vary according to the book you choose.
This means that you can choose your book based on your interests or in
order to make your schedule as workable as possible. (I have copies of many of these books which you may
borrow–so long as you promise to return it in good condition. If you borrow a book from me, you must return it to me when
you turn in your review.)
One of the goals
for this assignment is that you become familiar with reading academic writing
(in part so you can use it as a model for your own writing).
In addition, reading the reviews of your peers will help you get ideas
about books which might be useful in writing your research paper (see below).
As you write your review, keep in mind that one goal is to communicate
with your peers about how this book may be useful for them.
I will hand out copies of your review to the class asap after I receive
it.
