College Writing Program
Reasoning & Writing in the College WRT 105
(formerly CAS 105)
Summer 2009
Getting (Neo)Medieval: Reading and Re-Writing the Past
Annie Heckel, Department of English
MWR 10:00 - 1:00 CRN 18488
In this class, students will hone skills of critical thought and academic writing while exploring modern conceptions of the Middle Ages. While reading and watching works such as Thomas Malory's Morte D'Arthur, the York cycle plays, and Brian Helgeland's A Knight's Tale, the class will consider questions such as: how do authors and creators of “medieval” worlds play with and play off truths and misconceptions about the Middle Ages? What might be their goals doing so? As we tackle these and similar questions, we'll use class discussions, student presentations, and both formal and informal writing to explore our thoughts on how the medieval period is reimagined by cultural creators and critics of later centuries. Students will have the opportunity to refine and revise the ideas presented in each of their formal papers (three 3-5 page essays and one 8-10 page research essay), which will undergo a sequence of peer feedback, self assessment, and instructor comment.
