Thinking with the Medieval, Using the Modern: French 4410/7410 at Mizzou
We are going to experiment this semester. We'll read medieval literature with a slant towards the modern, paying attention to how the questions posed for medieval culture resonate with those we ask in modern media today. Our course will be organized by the questions medieval texts seem passionate about: gender and class dynamics; assumptions about nationalized or regionalized identities and what it means to travel, report, or dream about the ‘other’; religion, tolerance, and crusade/jihad; and law and privilege. I will supply the medieval readings, but it is up to you to post, comment, and write about modern positings and responses to these questions here on Medium. We will use this forum not only to come up with the questions medieval literature seems to be asking (part one of our daily work for class), but also to various modern mediums’ musings on these topics (part two of your work for this class).
These are intriguing times, ones in which calls for jihad have been launched by the entity known as ISIS (and their dependency on medieval religious philosophy debated here and here); issues of state vs. personal liberty hotly debated; race and identity a difficult discussion, especially in Missouri; and gender dynamics and political systems in a state of constant negotiation. The medieval period, we shall see, has much to say about how those negotiations should take place, and what they may look like. Through in-class discussions and through Medium itself, we will come to know and identify both medieval prejudices towards their sources, and modern attitudes coopting our readings of “truth” in today’s media.
Over the semester, we will create a set of curated discussions about how the medieval interfaces with the modern, identifying curious resonances and disparities through our discussions of both medieval texts and modern media. Our final "product" as a group — a more coherent essay on the resonances between medieval and modern — will thus depend on the quality of your musings and of our collective editing of our various discussions.
The Work (IN FRENCH):
This class will be challenging and intensive, and you will curate part of your experience yourself, leaving the inspiration and direction of your inquiries up to you. You will have three parts to each class preparation, and if you don't do them, be prepared for your discussions to suffer; you may find the class pointless, and you will not be able to take advantage of the creative and challenging insights of your peers.
- Read the medieval text assigned on the syllabus. Take notes, ask questions, identify both discomfort and joy you find in the text. Write down your medieval questions — not necessarily only the questions you have about the text, but also, and more importantly, the questions you think the text is asking. In your daily set of 3–5 questions, also provide at least one musing, a reflection, a thought process outlining an answer to your most interesting question (200 words). Email these rough thoughts to me(mooremegan@missouri.edu) by no later than 10am the day of class.
- What are the modern resonances with, concerns about, and responses to these stories? Read the modern articles posted to our Medium page to tackle this "response" section. Make comments on the article and on your peers' comments, brainstorm, and consider how today we interface with the questions of the medieval. Think of your questions: what does the one say about the other? What areas don't we care about today? What can we understand about the medieval by identifying trends in the present? Are the sources trustworthy ? what's the slant, what's at stake, why is this written? This part should be roughly 200 words.
- Classroom participation: Our classroom will be a place to test our ideas more broadly; as such, your participation and attendance are required. No late posts will be accepted without previously excused personal circumstances; showing up late or not participating in the discussion means that everybody gets less out of our classtime. As such, participation—both online and in the classroom—is extremely important.
- Graduate Students: Your main work will be to identify outside research that can help us think about the "big topics" assigned to each unit: jihad and crusade; gender and war; laughter and pain, etc. You will 1) establish a list of critical secondary work to help situate these questions in a larger theoretical/critical context, 2) reading a few of them to help mark your addition to the discussion. Finally, 3) you'll work with the undergraduates in groups to help curate our final product.
Getting Started:
Each of the units we work on will have its own working Medium page, where our classroom work will alternate between your my curated sources and those that you select yourselves. You'll be able to chime in with comments and post your questions about these texts and respond to the copy that I post there. Depending on the format of the day, I'll either be posting the selected articles from one of your classmates, or things I've curated myself. Either way, you'll be expected to comment along the way.
You'll need to set up a Medium account, preferably before the semester starts and certainly at the first day of class. See David Carr’s explanation of using Medium here, here, here, and, yes, here. See also his invitation — don’t raise your hand to participate in class, but jump in and get in on the conversation, as you do when you talk with friends about topics you’re passionate about, and as you will when you work professionally after university. Get in on the conversation!
GRADING:
Grades are established based on both the degree and quality of your participation in the course. Good discussion—written or oral—is more important than perfect discussion or perfect grammar. We are here to engage with each other and confront the questions of our texts. As such, grading is weighted this way:
- Written Content: Reflections on both the medieval and the modern, curated in your Medium site, due every class day by 9am. NO exceptions (if you didn't do it, you get an F for that day's assignment): 40% If I use your content—either your source, your musings on other's sources, or your own musings—for the day's discussion, you get an automatic "A" for that day.
- Spoken Content: Communicating in class. NOT just showing up, but engaging with the content of the day. Daily grades will be assigned based on how much you engage: 30%
- Curating Discussions: Pick a day in which you'll be the curator of our discussions, both online and in class. In your presentation, start by identifying the main questions you see in one of our medieval texts, how you got to those ideas through specific passages, and pair those passages with modern responses/resonances you curate from the web: what articles or topics do they resonate with today? The online component of your presentation will consist of emailing me these 2–3 sources by 10am the day before class. The in-class portion will consist of a presentation where you explain your passages and the modern texts they resonate with: what are the questions these pairings leave us with? Then come up with 5 questions we can discuss together as a class. Planning and thinking hard about the core issues at stake will help you ask the best questions. 15%
- Contribution to the final web product: 5%
We follow standard Mizzou grading curves, and respect all Mizzou statements about plagiarism, respectfulness of others’ opinions, and accommodating students with disabilities.
Personal Standards (borrowed from David Carr)
Don’t raise your hand in class. This isn’t Montessori, I expect people to speak up when they like, but don’t speak over anyone. Respect the opinions of others.
This is an intense discussion of both medieval and modern worldviews. If you don’t show up for class, you will flounder. If you show up late or unprepared, you will stick out in unpleasant ways. If you aren’t putting effort into your work, I may suggest that you might be more comfortable elsewhere.
If you text or email during class, I will ignore you as you ignore me. It won’t go well.
I expect you to behave as an adult and will treat you like one. I don’t want to parent you — I want to teach you.
Excuses: Don’t make them — they won’t work. Stories are supposed to be on the page, and while a spoken-word performance might explain everything, it will excuse nothing. The assignments for each week are due by start of class without exception unless specific arrangements have made based on an exceptional circumstance.
If you truly have a personal or family emergency, your welfare comes first. But nothing short of that will have any traction with me.
If you are having trouble understanding expectations or assignments or instruction, please speak up. I care a lot about not leaving anybody behind.
Programme et Hyperliens aux Textes et Discussions:
Date — Sujet—Précisions
8/25 Introductions ; l’emploi de Medium ; introduction au moyen âge
8/27 Ancien français : plusieurs langues diverses ; parchemin et histoire du livre
I: Jihad et Croisade: Conflit religieux à l'époque moderne
9/1 Littérature épique : La Chanson de Roland
9/3 La Chanson de Roland
9/8 La Chanson de Roland
9/10 Jihad, croisade, conflit religieux à l’époque moderne
II: Amour et prouesse: le genre dans un moment de guerre
9/15 Roman médiéval : Chrétien de Troyes, Yvain
9/17 Roman médiéval : Chrétien de Troyes, Yvain
9/22 Roman médiéval : Yvain
9/24 Ecriture Féminine : Marie de France, Lais
9/29 Ecriture Féminine : Marie de France, Lais
10/1 PROF MOORE at Conference
10/6 Ecriture Féminine : Marie de France, Lais
Le soi et l'autre: la race et l'identité
10/8 Littérature d’encontre : Aucassin et Nicolette
10/13 Littérature d’encontre : Aucassin et Nicolette
10/15 Littérature d’encontre : Aucassin et Nicolette
10/20 Imagination, mapping, the « other »
Le rire: l'humeur et le grotesque
10/22 Littérature populaire/grotesque : les Fabliaux
10/27 Littérature populaire/grotesque : les Fabliaux
10/29 Le plaisir du rire : La Farce de Maître Pierre Pathelin
11/3 Le plaisir du rire : La Farce de Maître Pierre Pathelin
L'amour et la chanson: Comment chanter ses inquiétudes?
11/10 La poésie des Troubadours : La poésie occitane des hommes
11/12 La poésie occitane des femmes
11/17 La poésie occitane des femmes
11/19 Discussion du projet final: comment diviser la discussion; quelles parties vous aimeriez gérir, etc.
12/1 La Pastourelle : Adam de la Halle, Le Jeu de Robin et Marion
12/3 La Pastourelle : Adam de la Halle, Le Jeu de Robin et Marion
12/7 Favorite Discussions….What have we learned ? Utility of Medium ? Utility of the Present ?
12/10 Presentation of final project/Evaluations
