Admission requirements
Completion of Philology 2 or comparable course.
Description
This course elaborates on Philology 2. Students read, study, translate and discuss a number of literary and non-literary texts from early medieval England in combination with background literature. In doing so, students will acquire a deeper insight into a broad range of aspects of the Anglo-Saxon culture which has not yet, or only cursorily, been studied. Subject of discussion includes feuding and reconciliation, law codes, hero and/or saint, fact or propaganda, the material culture (archeology and paleography), orality and literacy. We will also pay attention to cultural productions of the Vikings (e.g., Old Norse sagas) as well as modern adaptations and appropriations of Old English literature (e.g., Beowulf movies and modern takes on Old English poetry). The course will include working with original materials as well as modern digital techniques to study the literature, language and culture of early medieval England as well as its reception in later periods.
Course objectives
At the end of the course, students will have:
thorough knowledge of the highlights of Old English literature (prose and poetry) and of the relevant cultural history of Anglo-Saxon England;
the ability to apply a range of methods of interpretation (e.g., source criticism; close reading; cultural contextualization) to Old English texts of various genres;
the ability to analyse an Old English text in order to formulate how this text deals with a particular theme or motif (e.g., heroism, gender roles, royal propaganda) and/or how this text relates to its historical-cultural context;
gained experience working with digital tools for the study of Old English in order to answer questions about the salience of certain cultural items as well as the relationship between language and culture. These digital tools include the Dictionary of Old English Corpus, the Thesaurus of Old English and digitized manuscripts;
developed skills to present information orally to peers in a variety of media (short show-and-tell presentations in class; poster; video assignment), using relevant visual support and convincing communication methods;
gained experience working as a group on the video assignment, reflecting on the process of collaboration and the roles in the group-project through a self-assesment form;
gained experience reflecting on and providing peer feedback on the video and poster assignments of fellow students;
proficiency in translating Old English at an advanced level
Successful completion of the course will enable the student to write a BA paper on an Old English subject and to follow a course in Old English at the MA level.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
A 2-hour written exam, with a translation, short open questions and an essay question
A group vlog / video assignment
A poster, consisting of a very short composition in Old English and translation aids
A research essay of 1,500-2,000 words
Attendance is compulsory. Missing more than two tutorials means that students will be excluded from the tutorials. Unauthorized absence also applies to being unprepared, not participating and/or not bringing the relevant course materials to class.
Weighing
A 2-hour written exam: 50%
Group vlog: 20%
Poster: 5%
Essay: 25%
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Resit
When the final grade is below 5.5, the exam will have to be retaken during the resit period. There are no resits for the group vlog, short composition and essay.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Baker, Peter (2012). Introduction to Old English. 3rd edn. Wiley-Blackwell.
Richard North & Joe Allard, eds. (2011). Beowulf and Other Stories: A New Introduction to Old English, Old Icelandic and Anglo-Norman Literatures. 2nd edn. Routledge.
Richard North, Joe Allard and Patricia Gillies, eds. (2011).Longman Anthology of Old English, Old Icelandic, and Anglo-Norman Literatures. Routledge.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of À la carte education (without taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of Contract teaching (with taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal
Remarks
Not applicable.