Introduction to British literature and culture before 1500. Students will read a wide variety of texts from this period while developing their broader knowledge of premodern literary cultures, including issues of mediaand materiality, medieval literary theory, and cultural contexts. Students will learn to read Middle English texts in the original language; texts from other languages (Old English, Latin, insular French) will be encountered in translation. Authors studied will include Chaucer, the Beowulf-poet, and Marie de France.
4
UnitsOptional
Grading1, 2, 3
PasstimeNone
Level LimitLetters and science
CollegeAmazing class for a medievalist. Learned a lot about Middle English and how to read/write it, but there's plenty of online resources for modern translations. I took the honours seminar as well and it was totally worth the extra time.
Very dry lectures that focus more on historical context without excessive close reading, odd for an English course. Reeve is MUCH better in a small class than in a large lecture. Can be pretty disorganized. Requires specific books (for good reason) that can really only be found from the bookstore, which was frustrating (and pricy).
Very disorganized, but sweet. I don't really know why he didn't provide a reading schedule for his class. It made it hard to figure out where to read for the next class. Class moved a bit slow at times. He was really nice though.
prof. reeve seems like a kind/passionate professor, but his lectures are rather boring :/. he does require attendance though for iclicker! be prepared to read a LOT of books and write a bunch. i dont recommend taking this class as a GE.
I think I just personally wasn't a fan of Reeve and it may have to do with just the class material in general. I chose the creative project as my midterm and the feedback was lowkey harsh. I ended up doing better on the second paper though. Just a lot to get through and he gets pissed if you don't pay attention during lectures.
Changed attendance from optional to mandatory mid-semester. Not a necessarily rude professor but by no means pleasant. Required specific ISBN for the 6 or so books we read. TA's do the heavy-lifting while he fantasizes about medieval history.