|
Joan of Arc E-mail Discussion Group |
English 346 & Women’s Studies 390 / Dr. Gail Orgelfinger / Fall 1999 Each generation, each new grouping of creative spirits, even each historian, poet or artist, if of an independent and original turn of mind, sees her in a different light. One might also say that each generation recreates Joan of Arc in its own image. She is immortal, because in each succeeding age she is born again, in a new guise. Charles Lightbody, The Judgements of Joan, 17-18. My interest in Joan of Arc developed very recently, in the fall of 1996, when I taught “The Literature of Chivalry.” I wanted to include some examples of women’s places in the chivalric ideal outside of their usual niche as love objects or captive maidens. In literature, I found Chrétien de Troyes’ most enterprising heroine, Énide, not only acting as squire to her husband Erèc, but also living the chivalric ideal more successfully than he. In history, however, only Joan of Arc actually led men into battle. The text I used that year, Joan of Arc in Her Own Words, brief excerpts of her responses at her trial, proved very popular among students because of its immediacy. And Joan’s age corresponded so closely to most college students’ that their empathy was fully engaged with her. As I read background materials for my classes on Joan, I found her astonishing life seemed to provide an occasion for exploring a number of my own interests in late medieval studies, historiography, and medievalism. I began to think that a course devoted to the literature and iconography associated with Joan of Arc across five centuries would provide not only an excellent grounding in late medieval cultural and literary history, but a fascinating interdisciplinary adventure as well. The bibliography of materials about Joan of Arc has long been out of hand, now numbering in the many thousands. My selection of texts for this course was partially pragmatic: So many of the interesting early materials are in Latin and French and unavailable or relatively inaccessible in translation. Even translations of Christine de Pisan’s Ditié de Jeanne d’Arc, significant because it was written by a woman and at the peak of Joan’s success, are available only in excerpts or out of print. For the rest, it seemed best to look at standard American and British authors who interested themselves in Joan’s story. Few people today read Shakespeare’s Henry VI plays, although opinion now tends towards accepting his authorship. And even Twain scholars are relatively unfamiliar with his fictionalized life of Joan. Because the stories of Joan have been political since day one, George Bernard Shaw’s play — or, rather, his Prologue — redefines a political context for us in the twentieth century. I chose Lillian Hellman’s adaptation of Jean Anouilh’s play because of some her own political concerns. Carolyn Gage’s radical lesbian perspective in The Second Coming of Joan of Arc might surprise you, but look carefully: Gender is an inseparable element of Joan’s story. Required Texts
On reserve I have resisted the temptation to place very many items on reserve; these are works that more than one or two people are likely to want to use. However, I have many books on Joan checked out; if you are looking for something that isn’t on the shelf or available through ILL, please ask me before you recall it. You will not be tested on reserve readings, but I strongly urge you to read at least some of them, as they will yield additional context for our readings and class discussions, and might stimulate some journal entries, workshop ideas, or project topics. Honors College students should consider these required readings and your journals should incorporate them. Books & Articles
Course Requirements & Grading*
Exam: The objective exam will occur early in the semester to be sure you understand the historical and cultural background thoroughly. This will enable us to move forward more confidently in evaluating the literary and film images of Joan and comparing them with the record. You will be responsible for videos shown in class as well as readings. Journal: Write a page or so on an assigned reading, recommended readings, outside extra readings, or films, for a minimum total of 10 entries, 10 pages. As the semester progresses, I will expect your journals to increase in specificity and analytical depth. At the beginning, I tolerate a certain amount of mere response and subjective interpretation. By the end of the semester, I hope to see you exploring some of the more complex issues raised by our study of Joan and her evolving image. Journals will be due every three weeks, with different groups handing them in alternately. Keep up with your journals and they will be a pleasure, not a burden. You should plan to submit three entries each time your journal is due; I will grade them as a set. Do not try to write them all at once; I will read no more than four at a time. Although I don’t grade journals in the same way as I do a formal paper, I expect you to present me with your best informal writing and provocative ideas. And proofread! I will mark down entries that are full of errors and unintelligible writing. If you need help generating ideas, please feel free to talk with me. Each of the following will be presented in a separate assignment sheet: Oral Presentations/Panel: You may work with up to 3 other people (or alone) to lead part of a class (up to 30 minutes) on the scheduled readings; a text we are not all reading; or on a more general topic. Or you may wish to present a topic or slide show, lecture on some aspect of late medieval life and culture. This need not be literary-based; you may have a special interest in art history or music, and design a presentation accordingly. You should prepare a one- or two-page handout, which may be an outline / bibliography / summary of your work (individual group members must generate different and separately-created handouts). You should propose your topic and group members quite early so that I can fit them into the schedule at the most appropriate point, starting in the fifth week of the semester. First come, first served in terms of topic and schedule. Workshops: On four specified days, you will work in groups on an assigned task or reading, and report back to the class on some aspect of a text or texts, so that we can cover more material. You will always be given a task to complete, and will hand in an evaluation and analysis at the next class session to be graded. I am open to suggestions for workshop tasks and topics. Written Project: You will write a substantial paper exploring some aspect of Joan’s image — this may arise out of a journal entry or your class presentation or any outside reading. Be ready to propose your topic shortly before mid-semester so we can set up planning conferences. Listserv: Everyone must sign up by the end of the first full week of classes (September 9) to our class discussion list. This is an opportunity for us to share new insights and discoveries in a forum that accommodates our scattered, off-campus lives. I will use the list to post any changes to our schedule of readings, announcements, study questions, and, in rare instances, cancellations. I have created it as a closed list; that means only class members and perhaps a few others, with my permission, can post. It is a non-moderated list, which means that I do not check posts first. The usual etiquette rules apply: say what you have to say clearly; respond politely, even if you disagree; no personal comments; take off-topic discussions off the list; one warning and you're unsubscribed by me. To subscribe, send mail from the address you wish to use to majordomo@lists.umbc.edu. Leave the subject line blank. Your message should read only subscribe engl346-joan. You will receive a message confirming your subscription shortly. (I need to "ok" all subscriptions, so it won't be automatic and instantaneous. And if you e-mail under a pseudonym, please let me know what it is before you try to subscribe so I can recognize you.) To send a message, send a regular e-mail to engl346-joan@lists.umbc.edu. You will receive all messages (including your own) in your e-mailbox. Web-based Resources: Point your browser, and discover the wacky world of Joan of Arc in cyberspace. There are hundreds of “Joan of Arc” sites on the Internet and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. You are as likely to come up with sites on the music group as reliable information about our subject. I have not myself even begun to sift through the hundreds of sites I’ve uncovered looking for ways Joan’s image is used, but here is a short list of useful sites, several with links to good visuals. Share your own explorations with the class through the list-serv; you may wish to devote one substantial journal entry to a discussion of your cyber-search for images of Joan. The starting point for medieval literature and culture is http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/ A commercial site with many links to articles, original documents in translation, and images is http://historymedren.miningco.com/msubjoan.htm For understanding Catholic doctrine: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/misc/mosaic/common/omega/Web/People/spok/catholic.html. Brief biographies of Joan and the saints are available in the Catholic Encyclopedia, both in the Reference section of the library, and online via UMBC’s library web catalog. It is appropriate that one of your journal entries may discuss Joan of Arc sites. You should also post interesting discoveries to the list serv. Schedule of Topics & Readings: Included are set dates for graded exercises, which I will try not change. However, we may shift some of the readings about; come to class and read the list-serv for announcements of changes. I expect you will have completed the assigned text for the week in time for the first day's discussion. As time permits, I will post study and discussion questions on the list-serv. Bring your own thoughts and questions to class. NB: Journals are always due on Thursday, to be returned the following Tuesday. Weeks 1-2 (September 2, 7, 9)
Week 3 (September 14, 16 [workshop])
Week 4 (September 21, 23)
Week 5 (September 28, 30)
Week 6 (October 5 [exam], 7)
Week 7 (October 12 , 14)
Week 8 (October 19, 21)
Week 9 (October 26, 28 [workshop])
Week 10 (November 2, 4)
Week 11 (November 9, 11 [workshop])
Week 12 (November 16, 18)
Week 13 (November 23)
Week 14 (November 30, December 2 [workshop])
Week 15 (December 7, 9)
Week 16 (December 14)
|