Reading Journals:
Students are required to keep journals based on the readings for class, information in the videos and CD-Roms, as well as for Internet projects. You should keep a separate notebook for your reading journals. You should start a new page for each entry and put the date at the top.

You are to bring these journals to each class session, since the questions and reactions you raise will form the basis for the discussion in class. If it is discovered that students are not keeping journals, and therefore not keeping up with the readings, the journals will be collected and noted in grading procedures. Doing your journals and keeping up with all work does not earn you any extra credit, not doing your work or keeping up will lower your grade, however.

What sort of information am I looking for in your reading journals? Each entry should contain a list of questions which reflect your responses/reactions to the reading assignments. You are to bring your journal to class and be prepared to talk about your questions, since they will be an important part of our class discussions. In fact, they will form the basis of our in-class discussions, since the questions that students have often indicate the important issues of interpretation and understanding literary texts. The questions you ask should be those worth talking about; questions of interpretation and understanding (not "information" or yes/no questions). We will go over some sample questions together in class when we begin our first text. One useful item that you can include is "spot quotes" (see "Tips for Reading") that help you get to the core of some of the texts.

The purpose of this exercise is to encourage you to become engaged, active readers--not passive recipients of information, rehashing plot summaries in over-generalized terms. Over the course of the semester, I will expect to see development and growth in the types of questions you ask, since you will become more experienced in how to read these texts and interpret them.

You can see from these instructions that it is extremely important for you to keep up with the readings and with the journal entries. You neither contribute to the class nor do yourself much good if you come to class without having read the assignment or written out your questions.

The Discussion Board:
A separate (and private) website has been created for this course. It is our class Discussion Board. Instructions for using it will be given in class and in the lab during the first weeks of the course.

This is the place where you can ask questions of each other and of me; bring up topics that we don't cover in class.

Multi-Media Materials:
Texts are not only words written on a page. We can use the word "text" to refer to a wide variety of materials in different media--and in this course, this is precisely what we do. The videos, CD-Roms, Internet resources, etc. that you will begin to familiarize yourselves with this semester fall into this second category of "text" and will help you to visualize more clearly (and study at your own pace, according to your own background) the periods under discussion in this class. No literary text is produced in a vacuum, and the supplementary materials will help you to get a better understanding of medieval culture and its value systems. The vast time period--more than 1000 years--known as the Middle Ages (the "middle" between what and what, for instance?) introduced the Arthurian Legends into Western literature. These legends did not simply spring up, ex nihilo, and it is important to study this literature within the context of art, history, and daily life.

The multiple media you will have at your disposal this semester will put you in closer touch and give you a very vivid visual picture of this complex, rich and exciting culture. In addition, by learning to manipulate some of the computerized materials, you will gain valuable experience in the technology which will shape your careers in the 21st century.

Below is a list of some of the materials available. The Assistants in the lab (2S-114) will be able to help you find more materials--both in the lab and in cyberspace. One of the uses you will be making of the class Discussion Board this semester will be to react to the video and CD-Rom materials you will be consulting.

I've indicated below where the materials are to be found on campus. This is a starting point. In some instances, there is printed material that goes along with the AV or computer materials. Study it! This should be an enjoyable experience for you and you will find that many of your pre-conceived notions about the Middle Ages may not be as air-tight as you first thought.

In addition to videos that you can borrow from me, there are some located in the Modern Languages Media Center (2S-114). You will need to bring your ID card. By going to the lab website (http://www.ml.csi.cuny.edu/lab/?group=frn) you can click on the Media Catalogue and search for items relevant to the Middle Ages. 

A reminder as well about videos available on You Tube, where you can search on the following terms:

Star Wars:  The Legacy Revealed
The Mythology of Star Wars
Star Wars Begins:  The Complete Documentary
King Arthur Documentary (in 5 parts)
Knights of Camelot (in 3 parts)