Reading Schedule:
 

Week 1 (9/1/99):  Introduction and Overview of History of Early Britain;  Introduction to Comparative Mythology and Methods: The Battle for Britain  ("Introduction"--xerox);  The World of Myth ("Introduction"--3-8;  "The Creation"--13-42;  "The Flood"--43-62)

Week 2 (9/8/99):  Introduction to Comparative Mythology and Methods (cont.);  Introduction to Oral Culture and Narrative Techniques: The World of Myth ("Hero Myths"--217-310)

Week 3 (9/15/99):  Celtic Britain--The Old Irish Tradition: The Tain (1-253);  From Cuchulainn to Gawain ("Bricriu's Feast"--xerox); The Celtic World ("The Gods and the Supernatural"--465-488*electronic reserve*);  The Gods of Roman Britain ("The Celtic Gods"--51-66*electronic reserve*)

Week 4 (9/22/99):  Celtic Britain--The Medieval Welsh Tradition: The Mabinogion ("The Four Branches of the Mabinogi"--3-63); The Gods of the Celts ("War, Death and the Underworld"--103-137*electronic reserve*);  Celtic Religion in Roman Britain ("Celtic Religion, Beliefs, Practices and Organisation"--23-51*electronic reserve*)

Week 5 (9/29/99):  Roman Britain:  The World of Myth ("Myths of the Gods"--93-212);  Religion in Roman Britain ("The Romanisation of the Celtic Cults"--36-67*electronic reserve*);  Roman Britain ("The Gods:  Rituals of Life and Death"--103-131*electronic reserve*)

Week 6 (10/6/99):  Anglo-Saxon Britain--The Apocalyptic Tradition and the Cult of the Cross:  Anglo-Saxon Poetry ("The Ruthwell Cross Inscription"--4-5;  "The Dream of the Rood"--158-163;  "Elene"--164-197;  "Christ III"--228-248;  "Judgment Day II"--528-535); The World of Myth ("The Afterlife"--64-75;  "The Apocalypse"--76-89)

Week 7 (10/13/99):  Anglo-Saxon Britain--Saints' Lives, Types of Christ, and the Body as Window to the Soul:  Anglo-Saxon Poetry ("Andreas"--110-153;  "Guthlac B"--269-283;  "Juliana"--301-320); The Age of Bede (9-245)

Week 8 (10/20/99):  Viking Britain--from Lindisfarne through the Danelaw: A History of the Vikings (1-54;  204-240;  421-424); The Norse Myths (3-176);  The World of Myth ("Place and Object Myths"--315-348)

Week 9 (10/27/99):  Viking Britain--The Northern Isles: Orkneyinga Saga (23-224);  A History of the Vikings (78-140; 182-203)

Week 10 (11/3/99):  Beowulf and its Norse Analogues: Anglo-Saxon Poetry ("Beowulf"--408-494);  Grettissaga ("Grettir's Fight with Glam"--xerox);  The Battle for Britain ("The Descent into the Water-Troll's Cave"--xerox)

Week 11 (11/10/99):  Fertility, Sacrifice, and the Celtic Heritage of The Arthurian Romance:  Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (in entirety);  The Mabinogion ("Culhwch and Olwen"--80-113); The Battle for Britain ("Celtic Folklore Motifs in Medieval English Literature"--xerox)

Week 12 (11/17/99):   Missing Persons, Magic Dances, and the Celtic Vision of the Fairy World:  The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale (in entirety);  The Battle for Britain ("Sir Orfeo"--xerox)  and  ("The Fairy World in Medieval English Literature"--xerox)

Week 13 (11/24/99): Thanksgiving Break--NO SEMINAR

Week 14 (12/1/99):  Germanic Justice in the Age of Romance: The Battle for Britain ("Athelston"--xerox)

Week 15 (12/8/99):  Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Construction of British Identity--Mythic Traditions, Arthuriana, and the Notion of "History": History of the Kings of Britain (in entirety)

Assignment Schedule:
 

Regular Weekly Assignments

Individual (Literary) Projects

Group (Cultural Tour) Projects

Regular Weekly Assignments: There are a number of activities, in addition to your work on individual and group research projects, which you are expected to complete fully and thoughtfully each week:  1) You are expected to have completed the reading in advance of each week's class. 2) You should be prepared to participate regularly in discussion, especially when your comments and questions might be of value to the research of your peers. 3) You must attempt to be a knowledgeable (but tactful!) critic of your peers' work (see "Peer Review", below). 4) You must participate at least once weekly in the Battle for Britain Forum; such participation must include an insightful and informed discussion (250 or more words) of the issue of the week (a question or comment which I post on the forum page for that week), as well as at least two follow-ups (50 or more words each) to the discussion of your peers. Both your primary discussion and your follow-ups should show evidence that you have absorbed and digested the week's reading, as well as the class discussion. In a distance-learning environment such as ours, the Forum must take the place of casual out-of-class discussion and contact with your peers, and thus it takes on a special significance; please feel free to participate several times a week, and to post your own discussion-starting comments and questions. I will read your thoughts carefully and eagerly. You must complete your primary discussion of the issue of the week each week by Monday at midnight, and your follow-ups must be posted by Tuesday at midnight. 5) Finally, all of these requirements presuppose weekly attendance;  this course meets only once per week, and so anything less than perfect attendance will adversely affect your grade.

Project Descriptions:  You will participate in the construction of two projects as a part of this course;  the first will be an individual research project on a literary topic, and the second will be a collaborative small-group effort culminating in a "virtual tour" of an ancient British culture.

Group (Cultural Tour) Projects:  This project will involve the creation of an interactive virtual tour site by integrating panoramas, static images, site maps, and explanatory text. Each tour will combine a great deal (6000 words or so) of text about a given culture with multimedia components which will help to evoke a sense of some aspects of that culture.  Each student should be prepared to contribute about one quarter of the total work of a group project.  There will be four group projects: 1) Pre-historic and Celtic Britain; 2) Roman Britain; 3) Anglo-Saxon Britain; 4) Viking Britain.  Each project will be constructed in a series of steps.

The first step in constructing each tour will be the composition of 4-6 (500 word) Site and Topic Reports with (3-5 item) bibliographies.  Each student in a given group will be responsible for at least one such report, which will be due the week before that group gives its Preliminary Tour.  The list of suggested site and topic reports for each culture is available from the instructor.

The preliminary tour should consist of a Powerpoint slideshow comprised of 10-15 slides which combine bullet-outlines with relevant images.  This slideshow is meant as an introduction to the culture at hand, so you should concentrate on the dozen or so points, people, and places you feel are most representative of that time and civilization.  There is no need to use all of the text from your site and topic reports at this time;  this slideshow should simply be an interesting and informative overview which can be presented in 10 minutes or so.  Later in the term we will convert this slideshow into web format, and it will then serve as the introduction to and overview of your final virtual tour.  This being the case, it would be useful if you could note on relevant slides where later links might take one to panoramas associated with the material on those slides.  For example, a slide outlining Celtic fortifications might contain references to the Broch and Hillfort panoramas;  likewise, a slide discussing standing stones could mention the Ring of Brodgar and Stones of Stenness panoramas.  These links will not be live at the preliminary stage, of course, but putting in markers which later can be turned into links will give the rest of the class a much clearer vision of what your final tour might look like.

The final version of your virtual tour will combine images, panoramas, other effects you might choose to include, and +/-6000 words of text, of which your site and topic reports probably represent about one third;  the final tour must include 4-6 subsections (e.g. "Celtic Religious Life," "Roman Fortifications," "Anglo-Saxon Home Life," "The Vikings and Christianity");  strong research and writing are much more important than special effects, but each subsection must contain a minimum of 4 links and 4 static images.  Furthermore, you must link the relevant QTVR panoramas to your tour (with necessary explanotory text), and add one special effect (a film clip, an audio bite, a slideshow, etc.) of your group's choice.  Don't forget to use the slideshow from your preliminary tour as an introduction to your completed tour.  Check the assignment schedule for due dates for site and topic reports, preliminary tours, and completed tours.  Note that your preliminary and final tours will be subject to Peer Review.

Individual (Literary) Projects:

Utilizing the software template designed and developed for this purpose, each student must combine her or his traditional research essay text with pictures, sounds, maps, diagrams, etc., and build in links between pertinent references in that research project and those of the rest of the class members. This individual project will combine text of 1500-3000 words with static images and special effects;  the latter might include a slideshow, a film clip, or audio clips.

Your final project must include an introduction, a conclusion, and 3-6 other subsections (a TOTAL of 5-8 subsections).

Strong research and writing are much more important than special effects, but EACH SUBSECTION must contain a minimum
of 3 links and 3 static images (for a TOTAL of 15-24 links and 15-24 static images).

Each individual project must include AT LEAST one special effect (as defined above). Click Here for Suggested Topics.

Breakdown of Group and Individual Project Due Dates:

Week 2-Week 4 (9/8/99-9/22/99): Make Individual Appointment to Discuss Individual Research Topic with Instructor;  list of suggested Individual Projects available during Week 2.  List of suggested site and topic reports available during Week 2.

Week 3 (9/15/99):  Celtic site and topic reports due.

Week 4 (9/22/99): Individual Research Topic Chosen (ABSOLUTE DEADLINE).  Preliminary Celtic Britain Virtual Tour (5-10 minutes).  Roman site and topic reports due.

Week 5 (9/29/99): Individual Project Bibliography Assembled and Annotated (1 or 2 Sentence Annotations).  Preliminary Roman Britain Virtual Tour (5-10 minutes).

Week 6 (10/6/99): Individual Project Divided into 5-8 Sub-Topics (Introduction, Conclusion, 3-5 Main Research Areas). Sign Up for Individual Presentation Dates-- 3-4 slots per week for Weeks 8-14 .  Anglo-Saxon site and topic reports due.

Week 7 (10/13/99):  An Image and an Abstract for Introduction, Conclusion, and Each Sub-Topic (Total 5-8 Images & 5-8 Abstracts:  Abstracts = 1-2 sentences) Plugged into Student Project Template--this work should form the basis of your Powerpoint Presentation of your Individual Project.  Preliminary Anglo-Saxon Britain Virtual Tour (5-10 minutes).

Week 8-Week 14 (10/20/99-12/8/99): Individual Demonstrations of Work-in-Progress:  Powerpoint Presentations--3-4 presentations per week, 3-5 minutes per presentation.  (Make Individual Appointments to Discuss Progress with Instructor and/or with Technical Assistant AT LEAST One Week Prior to Presentation.).

Week 8 (10/20/99):  Viking site and topic reports due.  FIRST EXAM DUE BY FRIDAY AT NOON.

Week 9 (10/27/99):  Preliminary Viking Britain Virtual Tour (5-10 minutes).

Week 11 (11/10/99):  Finished Celtic Britain Virtual Tour (10-20 minutes).

Week 12 (11/17/99):  Finished Roman Britain Virtual Tour (10-20 minutes).

Week 13 (12/1/99):  Finished Anglo-Saxon Britain Virtual Tour (10-20 minutes).

Week 14 (12/8/99):  Finished Viking Britain Virtual Tour (10-20 minutes).

FINISHED INDIVIDUAL PROJECT DUE FINALS WEEK: Individual Projects Completed and Posted to Course Web pages no later than NOON on MONDAY, December 13th.  REMINDER:  Each Individual Project should have a Minimum of 3 Links per Sub-Topic, 3 Static Images per Sub-Topic, and at least 1 Special Effect (Movie Clip, Powerpoint Slideshow, etc.)

SECOND EXAM DUE DURING FINALS PERIOD.

Course Overview:
 

Some of the materials which you will assemble for this course will be similar to those with which you previously have worked; your research for this course will require wide reading, the gathering of sources and the compilation of bibliographies, the analysis and synthesis of information, and the composition of cogent and persuasive arguments. Your presentation of your research for this course also will be unique in a number of ways;  it will be interactive and will employ multimedia technology, and it will be in the public domain. This last point is particularly important for a number of reasons, not least because it requires us to consider carefully our use of copyrighted material. Because the work for this course is to be unique and complex in some ways, we will proceed in a number of stages, and it is important that you do not fall behind; it is therefore imperative that you read the project schedules carefully. Finally, it is the nature of the Information Age that things sometimes go wrong; prepare for such a contingency by saving your work.

Saying that a project is interactive means that there are links which allow the reader to choose to move from one section of that project to another section, or between that project and another project; one might also include images, sounds, and moving pictures which the reader can choose to access or ignore. "Interactive" means that the reader has a range of choices and the power to act upon them. The benefit of this technology is that it allows one to make a document user-friendly, as I have attempted to make this document. Note that the menus and links within the document you are reading allow you to choose what you would like to look at, and to ignore the rest. Think about the principle of user-friendliness when you are constructing your own links.

The fruits of your research for this course will be presented utilizing multimedia technology; in other words, your work will combine the traditional text essay with pictures, sounds, moving images, slideshows, etc. You will be required to include a minimum number of such items (see research project due dates), but I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to have fun with the technology and to learn how to use it to best advantage. We have a technical assistant who will arrange tutorials to help you to master the necessary technologies.  Remember, however, that the primary purpose of this aspect of the course is to give you the opportunity to learn to present good research in an extremely useful and attractive format, NOT to display the bells and whistles of the software. Keep this axiom in mind when you are deciding which effects to use and which to leave out.  It is my sincere hope that at the end of the semester you will leave this course with a broad knowledge of the impact of myth upon Medieval British literature, in-depth expertise in a specific area of that impact, well-developed technological skills, and a permanent public research document which illustrates all three areas of mastery. Potential employers in a number of fields might be interested both in your research skills and in your technical ability, and you well might direct them to these web pages.

This seems a good opportunity to discuss the public nature of these web pages. Access to the work from this course will not be limited to the instructor, to our class, or even to Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall. By saying that our work will be in the public domain I mean that the work that you do for this class, probably unlike most research you have done before, will be available for any and all (with access to the internet) who would like to peruse it. This includes your family and friends, total strangers, experts in the field, school kids interested in what you can teach them, etc. This need not cause you undue anxiety, as it is unlikely that millions of people are anxiously awaiting the publication of our humble web pages; still, it is best to keep this fact in mind when you are crediting sources, when you are considering how clear your logic is, when you are gauging the persuasiveness of your argument, and when you are proofreading syntax and grammar. Your course work will remain public for a number of reasons, including your ability to include your efforts herein in your professional "electronic portfolio", should you choose to do so. It is first and foremost a public document, however, so that it may be used as a teaching and reference tool. This project will be referenced, built upon, and emulated by future courses, at Gettysburg and at other institutions. It may be substantially modified. I will present demonstrations of the project, in whatever form is most expedient, at professional conferences in the US and in Europe, and I will use it in some of my future courses; other professors may, as well. Please be aware that, while (unless you should specifically request in writing to be anonymous) you will always be credited individually and by name for your specific contributions to the project, by participating in this course you grant ownership and copyright of all materials posted to this page to Gettysburg College. These materials will not be sold for profit, however, which brings me to a discussion of copyright and academic fair use.

Our discussion of the public nature of this document brings up a crucial legal and ethical issue concerning copyrighted material. While copyright law regarding electronic resources is still open to interpretation, it is strict and likely to become more so. Academic users of such resources are accorded a certain amount of latitude, but only so long as they conform strictly to the tenets of academic fair use. For the purposes of this course we define "fair use" thusly: no borrowed copyright material will be used for profit, and all borrowed copyright material will be credited to the copyright source; finally, all copyright material is borrowed only to further scholarly and educational purposes. In practical terms this means the following: you may ONLY use material which comes from identifiable copyright sources, and you MUST fully credit each and every bit of borrowed material. The first part of this rule may seem odd to you, but the reasons for it will become clear. To be specific, you must credit ideas and direct citations from texts as you have been taught, and as you have in other papers. Conform to MLA parenthetical documentation guidelines. You may scan in images from books, and you may capture digitally video clips from movies, crediting them as you will be shown; it's basically the same as books and articles. You may also use audio material from copyright sources, crediting appropriately. You may not, however, borrow images, animation, sound bites, or any other materials from webpages; you may choose to use webpages to learn about books, movies, etc., but do not capture material directly from them. The reason is that the rights to images, sound bites, etc. belong to someone just as much as a passage from a text belongs to the copyright holder. The problem with webpages is that often people shamelessly steal such items without crediting them. In the case of personal homepages this is unlikely to cause much notice; the case of institutionally sanctioned educational pages is much different. To reiterate: use ONLY material from copyright sources, and credit it appropriately. A breach of this policy could possibly result in legal action. Furthermore, any act of omission concerning the full acknowledgement of all sources of concepts, texts, sounds, images, moving images, animation of any sort, or indeed any material borrowed from from any source (copyrighted or not) could very likely constitute a breach of the Gettysburg College Honor Code. It is always safer to over-cite than to under-cite. Give others credit for their work.

Your construction of a bibliography will be your first task after you have chosen your individual topic;  group projects will also require this step. Both types of  bibliographies should be a minimum of 5-10 items long, should not include encyclopedia entries, and should be recent (i.e. each item should be no more than twenty-five years old).  All electronic resources must be from full-text journals or specialized databases;  these should be cleared with me in advance.  Your documentation techniques and bibliographies should conform to MLA guidelines.

We will proceed with all of the work for this course in stages (see project due dates). If you fall behind you may have trouble catching up, and you also may inconvenience your classmates. We have quite a bit to do this term, but it should be fun and interesting as well as hard work. The schedule should be manageable if you keep up with the weekly work and reading, and take your individual and group projects one step at a time. To that end, begin thinking right away about possible topics for your individual research, and e-mail me or come to see me about this as soon as possible. Also try to get some of the heavy reading for the middle of the term out of the way now, while you still have a bit of time on your hands. It is a requirement of the course that you complete all scheduled assignments, including the interim portions.

Because of the inherent risks involved in working with electronic media, it is imperative that you save your work constantly. I recommend that you dedicate a zip disk for this purpose, but also be sure to back up your work on another disk, or a harddrive, or preferably both. Save every time you work, the more often the better.

Course Evaluation:

Preparation & Participation: 10%
Electronic Forum: 10%
Group Presentation & Project: 20%
Individual Presentation: 10%
Individual Project: 20%
2 Exams: 30%

            *ALL ASPECTS of this course must be completed in order to pass the course,
                             regardless of the overall percentage earned.*

Peer Review of Group Projects:

Post your peer critiques to: ENG-319-A@gettysburg.edu

Link to Battle for Britain FORUM available through CNAV.