Comparative Literature 106: The Arthurian Legend
This course is designed to familiarize students with the legends about and surrounding King Arthur and the Round Table fellowship. Through a series of readings, students will survey the development of the legends of Arthur from their beginnings in early medieval Europe to their modern adaptations in many cultures around the world.
What will I learn in this course?
At the conclusion of this course, you should be able to:
- Increase your knowledge of the different traditions of Arthurian literature.
- Expand your international and intercultural skills, particularly your ability to perceive and describe different value systems and cultural expectations as you analyze how the stories of King Arthur and his court travel internationally, cross-culturally, and throughout time.
- Examine the development of “chivalry” and “courtly love” from the medieval Arthurian romance to the present.
- Develop your communication skills through reading and writing assignments and message board discussions.
- Expand your ability to gather, analyze and synthesize information from different sources.
- Develop teamwork skills through collaborative learning projects.
- Enjoy the richness and diversity of Arthurian legend!
This course meets the General Education Humanities (GH) requirements, the International Cultures (IL) requirements, and the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. See your advisor if you have questions about how this course can be used in your program of study.
Are there any prerequisites for this course?
There are no specific classes that you must take before taking Comparative Literature 106. This course is completely online. To take this course, you should feel comfortable navigating on the Internet. You must also be a motivated, organized student who feels confident about reading to learn and who is comfortable working independently.
I've never taken an online course before. What is it like?
By taking an online course, you can learn beyond the traditional borders of the classroom, and as part of a wider and more diverse audience. There are no preset meeting times, so this class will help those who are struggling with scheduling issues. We'll use Penn State's ANGEL system for CMLIT 106, and a combination of texts, online notes, Web links, video, audio, and images as our class "lectures." You will be able to communicate with the professor and your classmates through chat, e-mail, and thread discussions within ANGEL.
An online course is not easier than a traditional resident course! In fact, it takes a lot more self-discipline. You must be willing and able to commit the same amount of time as you would for attending class and studying for a traditional course. This means allowing an average of at least six hours per week for CMLIT 106. If you're wondering whether an online course is right for you, take this short survey to find out more about how online learning is different.
What are the technological requirements for this course?
This course is designed to work within the ANGEL technological requirements.
How is the course structured?
CMLIT 106 has 6 units of lessons. Each unit deals with specific aspects of the Arthurian legend, including themes such as the Holy Grail, and characters such as the various Knights of the Round Table, Merlin, and Guinevere. You'll be evaluated on your performance in the course based on short papers, essay examinations, reading quizzes, and contributions to message board discussions..
Where can I get more information?
For more information about CMLIT106 Online, see a recent course syllabus. To register, visit the Office of the University Registrar. At the beginning of each semester, all enrolled students should access CMLIT 106 at the site of Penn State's course management system, ANGEL.
According to early Arthurian literary texts, Stonehenge was brought from Ireland by King Arthur's wizard, Merlin.
"A certain writer emerged in my own lifetime who took it upon himself to expiate the tainted past of the British. Weaving ridiculous fabrications, he showed the impudent vanity of extolling this people to heights of prowess far exceeding those of the Macedonians and Romans. He is called Geoffrey and he takes Arthur as his second name after the Arthurian fables which, derived from the ancient fictions of the British and augmented with additions of his own, he conveyed through the highly-colored rhetoric of the Latin language and thereby clothed in the honorable name of history."
The twelfth-century skeptic, William of Newburgh, on the historical basis of King Arthur:
The (Holy) Grail was the invention of the French authors in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Always a topic of immense interest and mystery, the Holy Grail has been one of the most enduring metaphors of purity, valor, and occult knowledge in the Arthurian tradition. King Arthur's knights Perceval and Galahad are two of the most famous Grail knights, and movies such as Monty Python's Holy Grail and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade have adapted it and popularized it for modern audiences.