UT Department of English: Medieval Interest Group

 

Field Exam Protocols, Reading Lists, Appendices, & Student Declaration Forms

 

Initially compiled: March 2009 [Birkholz]

Updated: __________ [--]

 

CONTENTS:

 

Part 1: Medieval Field Exam Protocols

 

Part 2. List of Core Medieval Primary Sources

 

Part 3. Supplemental/Medieval Subfield Lists

 

A. Anglo-Saxon/Old English

B. Lang-Ling/History of the English Language

C. Pedagogy & the Classical Tradition

D. Medieval Rhetoric & Poetics

E. Late Medieval Authors & Texts

F. Global Middle Ages/Comparative International Medieval Literatures

G. Romance, Epic, & Chronicle/Narrative Genres

H. Medieval Drama & Performance Cultures

I. Devotional Cultures/Religious Writing

J. Manuscript Culture/History of the Book

K. Geographies & Cartographies

 

Part 4. Student Forms

 

A. Student Declaration Form: Medieval Focus [template]

B. Student Declaration Form: Partial Medieval Focus [template]

 

Part 5. Appendices

 

A. List of Key Medieval Journals [forthcoming 2009-2010]

B. List of Publications by UT MIG Faculty [forthcoming 2009-2010]

UT Department of English: Medieval Interest Group

 

Field Exam Protocols, Reading Lists, Appendices, & Student Declaration Forms

 

 

Part 1: MEDIEVAL FIELD EXAM PROTOCOLS

 

1. In the Medieval Field Exam (MFE) students will be tested over four component lists, �together comprising approximately 60-80 texts,� according to GPC guidelines. In the spirit of GPC usage, �text� here may mean a complete literary work (or cultural document); a conglomerate of shorter works; a book of criticism or theory; a set of articles; or a very substantial single article. In some cases, students shall be responsible only for selected portions of an especially lengthy text or edited compilation of texts.

 

2. The first list shall be a diversified list of core primary sources (�core medieval list�), which shall comprise approximately 40% of each student�s individualized exam list—i.e., approximately 25-35 texts. Students are expected to work from the edition specified; some texts shall be encountered in translation.

 

3. The other three lists shall be selected from a standardized set of medieval subfield lists (�supplemental medieval lists�), each of which shall comprise approximately 20% of a given student�s individualized exam list—i.e., approximately 10-15 texts each—for a total of 60% of the MFE, i.e., approximately 30-45 texts.

 

4. Medieval Interest Group faculty shall together provide titles for the �core medieval list� upon which all students shall be tested. Substantial changes to this core list, subject to the approval of the MIG as a whole, may be made prior to the GPC�s annual distribution of Field Exam lists to incoming students. Minor changes to the core medieval list, also subject to approval by the MIG as a whole, may be made following distribution to students but prior to their exams, only with the consent of the students involved.

 

5. Medieval Interest Group faculty shall, individually or in subcommittees as appropriate, prepare and maintain the various �supplemental medieval lists� from which students are to select three choices. Normally, faculty members with expertise in a given subfield will be relied upon to select texts initially and to add, subtract, or replace these as they judge appropriate.

 

6. Supplemental lists may be comprised of primary medieval texts, secondary/critical texts, and theoretical texts in whatever combination is deemed appropriate by the sponsoring faculty member and/or subcommittee.

 

7. To begin with, a set of 11 supplemental medieval lists shall be offered. Subject to approval by the MIG as a whole, these lists may be replaced, supplemented, retired, combined, or otherwise altered, to better reflect the changing needs of students entering the field.

 

8. The following �supplemental medieval lists� shall be offered initially:

 

                  A. Anglo-Saxon/Old English

                  B. Lang-Ling/History of the English Language

                  C. Pedagogy & the Classical Tradition

                  D. Medieval Rhetoric & Poetics

                  E. Late Medieval Authors & Texts

                  F. Global Middle Ages/Comparative International Medieval Literatures

                  G. Romance, Epic, & Chronicle/Narrative Genres

                  H. Medieval Drama & Performance Cultures

                  I. Devotional Cultures/Religious Writing

                  J. Manuscript Culture/History of the Book

                  K. Geographies & Cartographies

 

 

9. Students who choose to work in two departmental fields at once, following GPC Field Exam protocols overall, will compose the medieval portion of their individualized exam lists under the guidance of some member of the MIG, in such a way as to represent the field adequately. Normally, this will mean the selection of at least one Supplemental Medieval List, together with some proportion of texts from the Core Medieval List. There must be at least one MIG faculty member on the examining panel of dual-field students who choose medieval as one of their specialties.

 

10. Students who choose to take either the standard (full) Medieval Field Exam or the Partial Medieval Field Exam (as in #9) must declare their intention to do so by the 12th class day of the semester in which they sit for the exam or, in the rare case of exams arranged over summer or winter break, by the end of the finals period of the preceding semester. This declaration of intent shall be signaled by completion and filing (with the acting MIG chair) of the MFE Student Declaration Form; later changes to a student�s Supplemental Field choices or (for a Partial Medieval Exam) to the agreed subset of titles drawn from the Core Medieval List may be made only with the consent of all MIG faculty examiners and, in any case, no later than one month prior to the date of the exam.

 

UT Department of English: Medieval Interest Group

 

Field Exam Protocols, Reading Lists, Appendices, & Student Declaration Forms

 

Part 2. LIST OF CORE PRIMARY SOURCES

 

*Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, tr. Watts

*The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, tr. Swanton

*Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, tr. Farmer & Sherley-Price

*Beowulf, tr. Liuzza

*Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain, tr. Thorpe

[*]Old and Middle English: An Anthology, ed. Treharne ([*]=some in translation):

Bede�s Life of Caedmon/Caedmon�s Hymn, Alfred�s Preface to Pastoral Care, The

Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Wife�s Lament, The Dream of the Rood, The Battle of

Maldon, Exeter Book Riddles, The Owl & the Nightingale, Ancrene Wisse, Aelfric�s

Lives [extract], Richard Rolle [extract]

*Geoffrey of Vinsauf, Poetria Nova, tr. Nims

*Gerald of Wales, The Journey Through Wales/The Description of Wales, tr. Thorpe; The

History & Topography of Ireland, tr. O�Meara

Political Songs of England from the Reign of John to That of Edward II, ed. Wright/Coss

The Harley Lyrics, ed. Brook

Middle English Verse Romances, ed. Sands:

Horn, Havelok, Athelstan, Orfeo, Launfal, The Wedding of Sir Gawain & Dame Ragnell

Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales, ed. Hahn

*The Book of John Mandeville, ed. Kohanski & Benson

The Alliterative Morte Arthure, ed. Hamel

The Middle English Breton Lays, ed. Laskaya & Salisbury

William Langland, The Vision of Piers Plowman: A Critical Edition of the B-Text, ed. Schmidt

Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, ed. Benson [The Riverside Chaucer]

Geoffrey Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde, ed. Benson

Geoffrey Chaucer, Short Poems, ed. Benson: Book of the Duchess; House of Fame;

Parliament of Fowls; Legend of Good Women; Adam Scriveyn; Complaint to His Purse

Sir Gawain & the Green Knight, ed. Tolkien & Gordon/Davis

Pearl, ed. Stanbury

*Christine de Pizan, Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan, tr. Blumenfeld-Kosinski & Brownlee

Thomas Hoccleve, Regiment of Princes, ed. Blyth; La Male Regle, ed. Ellis

John Gower, Confessio Amantis, ed. Peck

Robert Henryson, Testament of Cresseid, ed. Kindrick

John Lydgate, Troy Book: Selections, ed. Edwards

Julian of Norwich, The Shewings of Julian of Norwich, ed. Crampton

The Book of Margery Kempe, ed. Staley

Everyman and Mankind, ed. Bruster & Rasmussen

English Mystery Plays: A Selection, ed. Happe

Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, ed. Shepherd

The Paston Letters, ed. Davis

Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales, ed. Kelly

UT Department of English: Medieval Interest Group

 

Field Exam Protocols, Reading Lists, Appendices, & Student Declaration Forms

 

Part 3. SUPPLEMENTAL/MEDIEVAL SUBFIELD LISTS

 

A. Anglo-Saxon/Old English

B. Lang-Ling/History of the English Language

C. Pedagogy & the Classical Tradition

D. Medieval Rhetoric & Poetics

E. Late Medieval Authors & Texts

F. Global Middle Ages/Comparative International Medieval Literatures

G. Romance, Epic, & Chronicle/Narrative Genres

H. Medieval Drama & Performance Cultures

I. Devotional Cultures/Religious Writing

J. Manuscript Culture/History of the Book

K. Geographies & Cartographies

 

Included below are three sample Supplemental Lists (List A, List B, & List K). The other Supplemental Medieval Lists, which remain under construction, shall be made available by the 12th class day of the 2009 Fall Semester. Interested students may contact MIG Faculty regarding the expected contents of a given subfield list, but are encouraged to concentrate their energy and early efforts on the Core Medieval List. 

 

 

 

SAMPLE #1

Supplemental List A: Anglo-Saxon/Old English

 

Primary texts:

 

1. Klaeber�s Beowulf (4th edition), ed, Fulk, Bjork, & Niles (2008)

2. �lfric�s Catholic Homilies, ed. Pope (1967), Clemoes (1997), & Godden (2001)

[read all front matter and selections from first and second series]

3. Exeter Book Riddles, ed. Williamson (1977), Muir (1994)

4. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle [Dumville collaborative edition, MS. F], ed. Baker (2000)

5. Genesis A, ed. Doane (1978); The Saxon Genesis, ed. Doane (1994)

 

Secondary texts:

 

6. Campbell, Old English Grammar (1959)

7. Fulk & Cain, History of Old English Literature (2002)

8. Lass, Old English: A Historical Linguistic Companion (1994)

9. Mitchell, Old English Syntax [2 vols.] (1985)

10. Pulsiano & Treharne, eds., A Companion to Anglo-Saxon Literature (2001)

 

SAMPLE #2

Supplemental List B: Lang-Ling/History of the English Language

 

Primary Texts:

 

1. Hall, Selections from Early Middle English, 1130-1250 [2 vols.] (1920)

 

Secondary Texts:

 

2. Hogg & Denison, eds., A History of the English Language (2006)

3. Jordan, Handbook of Middle English Grammar, tr. Crook (1974)

4. van Kemenade and Los, eds., The Handbook of the History of English (2006)

5. Mincova, Alliteration and Sound Change in Early English (2003)

6. Moss�, Handbook of Middle English, tr. Walker (1952)

7. Mustanoja, Middle English Syntax (1960)

8. McIntosh, Samuels, & Benskin, eds., A Linguistic Atlas of Late Middle English (1986)

                  [read Introduction]

9. Mugglestone, ed., Oxford History of the English Language (2006)

10. Prokosch, Comparative Germanic Grammar (1939)

11. Smith, An Historical Study of English (1996)

 

SAMPLE #3

Supplemental List K: Geographies & Cartographies

 

Primary Texts:

 

1. Crone, ed., Early Maps of the British Isles AD 1000-AD 1579 (1961)

2. Babington, ed., Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden, with Trevisa�s Translation (1865/1886)

[read Trevisa�s translation of Book I & �Dialogue Between A Lord & A Clerk�]

3. Chandler, ed., John Leland�s Itinerary (1993) [selections]

4. Parsons, ed., The Map of Britain circa AD 1360 Known as the Gough Map (1958)

5. Westrem, ed., The Hereford Map: A Transcription and Translation (2001)

 

Secondary Texts:

 

6. Anderson, Imagined Communities (1983)

7. Hanna, London Literature, 1300-1380 (2005)

8. Harley & Woodward, eds., The History of Cartography Volume I (1987)

9. Harley, The New Nature of Maps (2001)

10. Higgins, Writing East: The �Travels� of Sir John Mandeville (1997)

11. Howe, Writing the Map of Anglo-Saxon England: Essays in Cultural Geography (2007)

12. Lefebvre, The Production of Space, tr. Nicholson-Smith (1991)

13. Lozovsky, �The Earth is Our Book�: Geographical Knowledge in the Latin West (2000)

14. Lynch, ed., Chaucer�s Cultural Geography (2002)

15. Scase, ed., Essays in Manuscript Geography (2007)

 

UT Department of English: Medieval Interest Group

 

Field Exam Protocols, Reading Lists, Student Forms, and Appendices

 

 

Part Four: STUDENT FORMS

 

4.A Student Declaration Form: Medieval Focus [template]

 

Student Name:                                    _____________________________________

 

Date of Entry into UT English Grad Program:                ___________________

 

Date of Filing:                                                                                          ___________________

 

Anticipated Date of Field Exam (month/year):                ___________________

 

Proposed Faculty Examiners (name/signature):              _________________   ________________

                  (must include at least 2 MIG faculty)

                                                                                                                              _________________   ________________

 

                                                                                                                              _________________   ________________

 

Selected Medieval Subfield Lists:

                                                      (provide letter & title, e.g., �A: Anglo-Saxon/Old English�)

                                                                       

                                                                        Supplemental List 1      _______________________________              

                                                                       

Supplemental List 2      _______________________________

 

                                                                        Supplemental List 3      _______________________________              

 

Actual Date & Result of Exam:                                 ________________                        ______________

 

 

UT Department of English: Medieval Interest Group

 

Field Exam Protocols, Reading Lists, Student Forms, and Appendices

 

 

Part 4: STUDENT FORMS

 

4.B Student Declaration Form: Partial Medieval Focus [template]

 

Student Name:                                    _____________________________________

 

Date of Entry into UT English Grad Program:                ___________________

 

Proposed Field Exam Areas:   Medieval and __________________ (i.e., what other Interest Group?)

 

Date of Filing:                                                                                          ___________________

 

Anticipated Date of Field Exam (month/year):                ___________________

 

Proposed MIG Examiners (name/signature):                    _________________   ________________

(must include at least one MIG faculty)

                                                                                                                              _________________   ________________

 

Proposed Other Examiners (name/signature):                  _________________   ________________

                  (must include at least one outside faculty)

                                                                                                                              _________________   ________________

 

 

Selected Medieval Subfield List(s):

                                                      (provide letter & title, e.g., �A: Anglo-Saxon/Old English�)

                                                                       

                                                                        Supplemental List 1      _______________________________              

                                                                        Supplemental List 2      _______________________________

 

A final, signed & dated list of core medieval texts—i.e., those that have been drawn from the Medieval Core List, as selected by student, in consultation with a sponsoring MIG faculty member—must be filed along with this form.

 

Has such a list been attached? _______ (check if yes)

 

 

Actual Date & Result of Exam:                                 ________________                        ______________