Syllabus for Unit Plan for teaching if lit
Syllabus
Course Overview: This course will cover “Five British Authors” from the Anglo-Saxon times to
very close to the present times. Throughout the course, you will be asked to look at how
translation and interpretation affect the version of the texts they read and how you read them.
You will read texts that have been translated, texts that contain acts of translation and/or text
written by a translator.
This course will be driven by group work and class discussion. You will be responsible
for learning how to read critically how to find background context for the texts you will read.
There will be handouts and some presentations that will help you develop the skills you need to
accomplish those task. The class will be about you interacting with the text yourself and not just
absorbing whatever information the teacher tells you.
Objectives:
You will:

Begin to see that a translation is as much as response to a text as it is a reproduction.

Realize that stories change when they go from one culture to another.

Be aware of other types of translation that do not involve multiple languages.

See how translation affects the message the text delivers about women, humanity and
what is good versus what is bad.
You will achieve these goals by:
 Comparing multiple translations.
 Writing their own translations.
 Looking at how small sections of a text work together to create meaning.
 Finding acts of translation with the action of a play or novel.
Skills you will develop:

Ability to closely read a text.

Critical Reading and Thinking skills.

Note taking and annotating skills.

Researching skills.
Grading:
Participation and Quizzes: 25%
Web Quests: 20%
Homework Assignments: 15%
Unit Projects: 20%
Final Project: 20%
Participation: Class participation is essential to this course. It is very student driven. Most of the
in class time is taken up by group work and discussion. There is very little lecture so if you do
not come to class having done the reading and do not participate in these activities, the class
cannot work. Participation is more than just speaking. You have to clearly have done the reading
in order to participate and need to be actively engaging with the text and your fellow students to
get full credit for this.
Quizzes may be given randomly at any point in the semester. Their purpose is to make sure that
you are doing and understanding the reading. They will occur more frequently if I suspect people
are not doing the reading.
Web Quest: The Web Quests are where you will get a majority of your background information
about the texts you will read and the time period that they are set in. You will turn in a log after
you complete each section of the Web Quest. This will be graded on its completeness and the
amount of thought and effort that went into recording it. If you do not do the Web Quest it will
be difficult to complete the other assignments.
Homework: Completing the homework assignments is necessary in order for you to participate
in class. The notes you are asked to take while reading will be collected at the end of class so that
you may use them when working with your peers. However, if I am circulating the room and see
you doing your homework instead of discussing the text with your group you will get a zero for
participation and homework for that day.
Unit Projects: There will be a small creative project or critical paper at the end of each of the
five units. These projects give you a chance to showcase the skills and knowledge you have
gained throughout the semester. Each will be graded by its own relevant guidelines.
Final Project: At the end of this semester you will have the option of doing one long paper or
creative assignment. This will involve at least two of the texts you have read in this course and
must somehow be related to the idea of translation, interpretation or seeming. More details will
come around midterm.
Attendance: It is very important to attend class. Participation and group work make up a large
portion of in class time and your grade, and it is not fair to your group if you are supposed to be
working with them and do not show up. However illnesses do occur so you are allowed two
absences before they start to affect your grade. Any more than two absences and will result in
half a point deduction from your final grade. Any more than 6 absences and you will fail the
course.
Plagiarism: Will not be tolerated. Please refer to the university handbook for their policies on
plagiarism. Plagiarizing can have a range of consequences from failing the assignment to being
expelled from the University.
Texts:
Required Texts:
Donaldson, E. Talbot. Beowulf: A Prose Translation.
Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf: A Prose Translation
Chaucer, Geoffrey: Canterbury Tales
Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing
Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein
Texts Given Electronically or as Print Handouts:
“Riddle 47”
“The Wife’s Lament”
“We’ve Created a Monster: The Strange Case of Grendel’s Mother”
“The Structural Unity of Beowulf: The Problem of Grendel’s Mother”
Assorted Seamus Heaney Poems
Course Calendar:
Translations of Language and Form
Unit 1: Lost in Translation: Beowulf and other Old English texts
Week 1: Introduction to the Unit
Class 1: Riddles and Translation
 Go over syllabus
 Read and Discuss Riddle 47 in class
 Introduce Old English Period and Theories of Translation
 Introduce Web quest
Class 2: Works hoping the Wife’s Lament
Reading: “The Wife’s Lament”
 Homework 1.1 Due
 Web quest 1.1 due
 Context: Lords, Land and Marriage
 Workshop the Wife’s Lament
Week 2: Beowulf and Grendel
Class 3: Arrivals and Introductions
Reading Due: Group A: Donaldson page 6 -13 if Group B: Heaney lines 86-661
 Homework 1.2 due
 Web quest 1.2 due
 Context: Women and Religion
 In-class group work and discussion about the reading
Class 4: Beowulf and Grendel: Grappling in the Dark
Reading Due: Donaldson page 13-23 if you are in Group B or Heaney 662-1250 if you are in Group A
 Homework 1.3 Due
 Web quest part 3 due
 Mini lecture on the “Scop”
 Part 2 of in class Beowulf and Grendel group work and discussion
Week 3: Beowulf and Grendel’s Mother
Class 5: Grendel’s Mother: Warrior Queen or Swamp Monster?
Reading Due: Heaney lines 1251-1650 and Donaldson page 23-29
 Web Quest part 4 due
 Homework 1.4 due
 Literature workshop of Beowulf’s Battle with Grendel’s Mother
Class 6: Conversations
Reading Due:
Group A read Hennequin’s and Group B read Chance’s article.
Homework 5 due
 In-class debate about scholarly articles
Week 4 and 5: Adaptations as Translations
Class 7: Beowulf as a Graphic Text
Reading Due: Selections from Beowulf Graphic Novel
 Homework 1.5 due
 Group work and discussion on images of characters, textual and graphic elements, and on
what is lost and gained in these adaptations of Beowulf
Class 8: Beowulf and Film part 1
No Reading due. Work on Unit Final Project
 Screen selections of Beowulf Films
 In class writing and notetaking
Class 9: Beowulf and Film Part 2
No Reading due. Work on Unit Final Project
 Discuss the film adaptation in small groups and as a class
 Presentations on adaptations and transaltions
Class 10:Unit Final Project Due
 Present unit projects to the class