“A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark.”
(Dante, 1100’s)
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Humanities 117 / Winter 2015 / WWCC / Mon.-Fri., 11:30am-12:20pm / Rm. 109
Instructor: Ms. Denise Ortiz, M.A. English/Rhetoric (WSU); Grad. Cert. Women & Gender
Studies (U. of Colorado-Boulder); doctoral student, Servant-Leadership Studies (Gonzaga U.).
Email: denise.ortiz@wwcc.edu. Office: 1st Floor Main Bldg., Rm. 11. Office Phone: 509527-4333. Office Hours: 2:00-4:00pm Mon.-Thurs. or by appointment.
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Beyond Knights & Ladies:
The Medieval Era in Art, Literature, & Music
Course Description & Expected Outcomes:
What do the terms “medieval” and “renaissance” mean? And how are they connected to our lives
today? By the end of this course, you will be able to recognize and comprehend the
characteristics of the Medieval and Renaissance Eras and to confidently think, talk, and write
about them! The student should be able to evaluate the momentous transition(s) from Medieval
to Renaissance culture through themes of change such as religious schism and reform (values
and spirituality), family and social structures (social and political systems), the plague
(medicine), the Little Ice Age (environment), and the birth of print culture (technology). In
addition we will practice translating, interpreting, and critiquing culturally and linguistically
diverse works in literature, philosophy, and visual and performing arts so that we may connect
Medieval and Renaissance insights to western culture today—How did these eras in Europe
shape the values of modern Americans?
Required Texts:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Chwast, Seymour. (Adapt.). (2010). Dante’s Divine Comedy. NY: Bloomsbury.
Herrin, J. (2000). A Medieval Miscellany. Studio Publishers.
Macaulay, D. (1973). Cathedral, The Story of Its Construction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Macaulay, D. (1977). Castle. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Other Required Materials: 1) paper (notebook/journal) for in-class note-taking and short
weekly writing exercises.
Schedule & Attendance: Nothing is set in stone. We will decide due dates by consensus, by
what works best for all of us. However ATTENDANCE IS KEY since lessons learned in class
contribute noticeably to better final projects. You may have 5 days of non-attendance to use as
you choose without penalty. For Course Calendar, please see the following page.
Grading: A total 4 journal entries or short responses of 1 page each (due about every other
week) are worth 25% of the grade altogether, plus 4 short projects: 1 musical instrument review,
1 art critique, 1 literary mini-essay, and 1 handmade book; the four projects together are worth
75% of the final grade. ONE short in-class response is DUE every other FRIDAY (journal
writings = Participation Points).
Special Notes:
< Quality will always be more important than quantity.
> All FINAL papers typed and spell-checked please.
< All paper grades can be changed upon improvement through multiple revisions.
> Class readings will include articles, books, audio essays, and video documentaries.
Plagiarism (presenting someone else’s writing as your own) will result in disciplinary action
which may include an “F” grade on the assignment, an “F” grade for the course, or suspension
from the college.
Disabilities: If you have a documented disability, please notify the instructor and Claudia Angus
at the Disability Support Office. All course materials and methods can be adapted to meet the
needs of a physical, medical, or learning disability.
Content WARNING: Since this is a college/adult level course, you can expect mature
discussion of a vast variety of subjects, and because literature deals with all facets of human life,
there may be texts that some readers find objectionable, e.g. those including obscenity,
pornographic detail, strong religious or anti-religious sentiment, etc. Let’s work together to meet
this challenge, and to allow even that which shocks us -- to enlarge our understanding of the
wider world.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
(Leonardo Da Vinci, 1452-1519)
COURSE CALENDAR:
Due dates are adaptable to class need and consensus.
Holidays & Days When Class Does Not Meet:
~Jan. 19, Monday, Martin Luther King Day
~Feb. 16, Friday, Professional Development Day
~Feb. 25, Monday, Advising Day
WEEKS 1-2
-Project #1,
Art or Architecture Short Paper
-Revisions
-Project #2,
Musical Instrument Presentation
-Revisions
-Catch Up!!!!!
-Revisions
-Project #3,
Literary Interpretation
-Revisions
-Project #4,
Handmade Book
-1 journal entry
WEEKS 3-4
-1 journal entry
WEEKS 5-6
-1 journal entry
WEEKS 7-8
-1 journal entry
WEEKS 9-10
-1 journal entry
WEEK 11/ FINALS WEEK
March 18-20 (Weds. – Fri.)
DUE: Any missing assignments and final revisions by 5:00pm Friday, March 20.
Gil-galad
By J.R.R. Tolkien
Gil-galad was an elvin king.
Of him the harpers sadly sing:
The last whose realm was fair and free
Between the mountains and the sea.
His sword was long, his lance was keen.
His shining helm afar was seen.
The countless stars of heaven’s field
Were mirrored in his silver shield.
But long ago he rode away,
And where he dwelleth none can say.
For into darkness fell his star;
In Mordor, where the shadows are.
FROM: PoemHunter.com, 2004
COURSE BIBLIOGRAPHY -- Humanities II
PRINT SOURCES & WORKS CONSULTED
Aldington, R. (Trans.). (1949). The DECAMERON of Boccaccio. Garden City, NY: Garden City
Books.
Algeo, J., and Pyles, T. (2010). The origins and development of the English language (6th ed.).
Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
Barber, R. (Trans.). (1992). Bestiary, MS Bodley 746. Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press.
Bartlett, R. (Ed.). (2001). Medieval panorama. London, UK: Thames and Hudson Ltd.
Bevington, D. (Ed.). (1975). Medieval drama. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Buchner, A. (1961). Musical instruments through the ages. (Urwin, I., Trans.). London: Spring
Books.
Capellanus, Andreas. (1969). The art of courtly love [1174]. J.J. Parry (Trans.). NY: W.W.
Norton & Co.
Chappell, W., and Bringhurst, R. (2000). A Short History of the Printed Word. Vancouver,
British Columbia: Harley & Marks Publishers.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. (1987). The Riverside Chaucer. (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin
Company. [F.N. Robinson, Ed.].
Childress, D. (2008). Johannes Gutenberg and the printing press. Minneapolis, MN: TwentyFirst Century Books.
Chwast, Seymour. (Adapt.). (2010). Dante’s Divine Comedy. NY: Bloomsbury. 128 pp.
Herrin, Judith. (2000). A Medieval Miscellany. Studio Publishers. ISBN: 10-0670893773
Hollander, J., and Kermode, F. (Eds.). (1973). The literature of Renaissance England [The
Oxford anthology of English literature]. NY & London: Oxford University Press.
Hughes, M.Y. (Ed.). John Milton, Complete poems and major prose. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs
-Merrill Educational Publishers.
Kendall, A. (1972). The world of musical instruments. London: Hamlyn.
Kleiner, F.S. (2009). Gardner’s art through the ages, A global history. (13th Ed.). Australia:
Thomson Wadsworth.
Langland, William. (1370.2006). Piers plowman, The Donaldson translation, Middle English
Text, Sources and backgrounds, Criticism. Robertson, E., and Shepherd, S.H.A. (Eds.).
New York and London: W.W. Norton & Co. [A Norton Critical Edition].
Macaulay, David. (1973). Cathedral, The Story of Its Construction. Boston, MA: Houghton
Mifflin Co.
Macaulay, David. (1977). Castle. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Montagu, J. (1976). The world of medieval and Renaissance musical instruments. Woodstock,
NY: The Overlook Press.
More, Thomas. (1997). Utopia [1516]. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc.
Morison, T. (Trans.). (1949). The portable Chaucer. NY: The Viking Press.
Munrow, D. (1976). Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. London: Oxford UP.
New World Encyclopedia. The Seven Deadly Sins. Retrieved Sept. 4, 2013 from
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org
Scholastic Voyages of Discovery. (1995). The history of making books. NY: Scholastic Inc.
Schulz, H.C. (Ed.). (1966). The Ellesmere Manuscript of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. San
Marino, CA: Huntington Library.
Shakespeare, William. The Riverside Shakespeare. (1974). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. [G.
Blakemore Evans, Ed.].
Stallworthy, J. (Ed.). The Penguin book of love poetry. New York and Middlesex, UK: Penguin.
Strickland, C. (1992). The annotated Mona Lisa, A crash course in art history from prehistoric
to Post-Modern. Kansas City, MO: Andrews and McMeel, A John Boswell Assoc. Book.
Tuchman, B. (1978). “This is the end of the world”: The Black Death. In A distant mirror, The
calamitous 14th century (pp. 92-125). NY: Ballantine Books.
Tyson, L. (1998/2006). Critical theory today, A user-friendly guide. NY: Routledge/Garland.
Wilson, K.M. (Ed.). (1984). Medieval women writers. Athens, GA: The Univ. Georgia Press.
Wood, M. (1987). In search of the Dark Ages. New York & Oxford, UK: Facts on File Pubs.
Wood, M. (1986). Domesday, A search for the roots of England. New York & Oxford, England:
Facts on File.
Wright, D. (Ed.). (1964). Geoffrey Chaucer, the Canterbury Tales, A prose version in modern
English. NY: Random House/Vintage Books.
MOVIES, DVDs, & MUSIC CDs
Baba [B. Brinkman]. (2004). The RAP Canterbury Tales. www.babasword.com Poetry/CD.
Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos. (1994). CHANT. Angel Records.
BerylProductions. The Wife of Bath’s Tale, Animated. Retrieved Sept. 6m 2013 from YouTube
and S4C/BBC/HBO. (6 mins.)
Brinkman, Baba. The Pardoner’s Tale Animated. Retrieved Sept. 6, 2013 from YouTube/
www.babasword.com (7.08 mins.)
Cantiga. (1995). Once Upon a Time, Music of Innocence and Enchantment. Berkeley, MI:
Nightwatch Recording.
Scott, Walter. (1997). Ivanhoe, Classic Literary Films Collection. Dir. Stuart Orme. BBC
Worldwide Americas Inc., and A&E Television Networks. Novel/DVD.
Shakespeare, William. (1990). Hamlet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Warner Brothers. Play/DVD.
St. George’s Canzona. (1985). Medieval Songs and Dances (Dir. John Sothcott). London: CRD
Records Ltd.
The New World Renaissance Band. (1993). Where Beauty Moves and Wit Delights. Berkeley,
MI: Nightwatch Recording. CD.