Class Code of Studie for English 649A:

19th-Century Medievalism

We the Nights of the Seminar Table (the NST) come together for the study of Nineteenth-Century Medievalism on the following principles:

1. It will be expected that we will buy the assigned editions of works, although alternate editions of the poetry (with line numbers) is acceptable.

2. It will be expected that we come prepared to discuss assigned material in each class (25% of the grade is dedicated to class participation). Any member that comes unprepared will be locked in the Dungeon of Desponde. If you are uncomfortable speaking in class, know that I will also consider postings to the listserv as class participation. (The listserv address is SEMATA-L@vm.cc.purdue.edu)

3. The final paper will be a well-researched, well-proofed, professional piece of work of either conference length (20-25 minutes/ 10-12 pages) or of article submission length (20-30 pages). The professor will address the merits of each paper as either a conference talk or an article. (50% of grade.)

4. We will seek to explore 19th-century medievalism as colleagues--discussing, debating, but ultimately respecting each other's voices and ideas.

5. Each student will make two presentations in the class on some medievalist phenomenon, either that which we are reading in class for that day or some other phenomenon (see examples below). These should be treated as small conference papers (no longer than ten to fifteen minutes) and should be designed to spark discussion. As such, they should not only present material but analyze it, thus suggesting possible explanations for the phenomenon. It is suggested that such presentations be geared towards the final paper. In this way, students can begin to receive feed-back from colleagues in the class. A typed version of these talks (with bibliography) must be presented to me at the end of each presentation. (25% of grade.)

POSSIBLE PRESENTATION TOPICS
Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry The Kelmscott Press A. W. N. Pugin (architect) Florence Henderson's Illustrations for Idylls
The Eglinton Tournament William Morris' designs and furniture Walter Crane (painter) Eleanor Brickdale's Illustrations for Idylls
The Young England Movement William Morris and Co. Stained Glass John William Waterhouse (painter) Gustave Doré's Illustrations for Idylls
Kenelm Henry Digby's The Broadstone of Honour Matthew Arnold's Medievalism D. G. Rossetti as painter Julia Margaret Cameron's Photos for Idylls
Strawberry Hill, Twickenham Robert Southey's Medievalism William Dyce (painter) Aubrey Beardsley's Illustrations for Le Morte D'Arthur--at the Newberry
Joan of Arc in the Nineteenth Century Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Edward Burne-Jones (painter) Henry Gilbert's King Arthur's Knights: The Tales Retold for Boys and Girls (1911)--at the Newberry
chivalry in the nineteenth century Charles Algernon Swinburne Daniel Maclise (painter) The Book of British Ballads (1842)--at Newberry
Prince Albert as King Arthur The Moxon Tennyson--at Newberry Arthur Hughes (painter) Andrew Lang's The Book of Romance (1902)--at Newberry
Malory's Reception in the 19th Century Tennyson's The Princess William Cobbett (political activist) Alfred Pollard's Romance of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table (1917)--at Newberry
The Oxford Murals Project Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Medievalism Ford Madox Brown (painter) Late-Victorian Gothic
Medievalism and the Lower Classes Medievalism and the Oxford Movement Henry Wallis (painter) The Penny Dreadfuls
Medievalism and the Middle Classes Medievalism and Queen Victoria William Holman Hunt (painter) Contemporary Medievalism (Braveheart, etc.)
Medievalism and the Upper Classes Medievalism and Aestheticism John Everett Millais (painter) Katie Trumpener's Bardic Nationalism
  Medievalism and the Decadent Movement   Antony Harrison (contemporary critic)

 

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