European Literature I

Course code: LIT 221

Semester and year: Fall 2025

Day and time: Mondays 15:00-17:45

Instructor: Andrew L. Giarelli, Ph.D.

Instructor contact: andrew.giarelli@aauni.edu

Consultation hours: Tuesdays on MS-Teams 12:00-14:00 (I can sometimes meet other days/times online or in Cafe des Taxis by appointment)

 

Credits US/ECTS	3/6	Level	Intermediate
Length	15 weeks	Pre-requisite	LIT 200
Contact hours	42 hours	Course type	Bachelor Required/Elective

1.   Course Description

This course introduces students to a wide range of European prose, poetry, and drama from the medieval period through the 18^th century. Emphasis is on close reading of texts and their placement in the context of the development of early modern European culture. All texts are translated into English.

2. Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

●       Prove that they have done the assigned readings.

●       Demonstrate comprehension and clear understanding of important movements, periods and authors across the range of European literature from 1200-1800.

●       Demonstrate understanding and analysis of literature via close reading of texts, attuning themselves to nuances of meaning.

●       Demonstrate an ability to place in context the great works of literature from cultures other than their own, enriching their own perspectives.

3. Reading Material

Required: All required readings are available on NEO.

●       Blackburn, Paul. Proensa: An Anthology of Troubador Poetry. New York Review Books, 1978.

●       Cervantes, Miguel de. Don Quixote. Translated by John Rutherford. Penguin Classics, 2003.

●       Columbia University, Digital Dante. 2014. https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/

●       Dante, The Divine Comedy. 1: Inferno. Digital Dante. Columbia University Libraries, 2014-20. https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/

●       Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, Faust I and II. Edited and translated by Stuart Atkins. Princeton University Press, 1984.

●       Machiavelli Niccolò. “The Mandrake.” The Essential Writings of Machiavelli. Edited and translated by Peter Constantine, Modern Library, 2007.

●       Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Mandrake Root. Malachi Bogdanov, director and screenwriter. European Drama Network, 2014. https://youtu.be/5CFl4uHbcE4

●       Man of La Mancha. Dir. Arthur Hiller. United Artists, 1973.

●       Molière, The Misanthrope. BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 2013. https://youtu.be/VKbU6S5ShjI

●       Molière, The Misanthrope and Tartuffe. Translated by Richard Wilbur. Ecco Publishing, 1965.

●       Molière, The Misanthrope. Translated by Curtis Hidden Page. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1913. Wikisource online edition. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Misanthrope_(Moli%C3%A8re)

●       Murnau, F.W. (dir.). Faust – A German Folktale. Berlin: Ufa, 1926. https://youtu.be/yDKO1meUfOw

●       Palmer, Clarissa. Olympe de Gouges: English Translations of the Original French Texts. 2013-2022. https://www.olympedegouges.eu/#

●       Petrarca, Francesco. Il Canzoniere. https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Italian/Petrarchhome.php

●       De Ronsard, Pierre. Selected Poems. Translated by A.S. Kline, Poetry in Translation, 2000-2022. www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/French/Ronsard.php.

●       Von der Vogelweide, Walther. “Unter der Linden”. Translated by Raymond Oliver, To Be Plain: translations from Greek, Latin, French, and German. Leipzig: Barth, 1981. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_von_der_Vogelweide

●       Voltaire, Candide. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1918. Project Gutenberg E-Book, 2006. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/19942/19942-h/19942-h.htm

●       Voltaire, Candide. Composer Leonard Bernstein. BBC, 1988. https://youtu.be/uQEQNuY6waw

●       Waddell, Helen. Medieval Latin Lyrics. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1948. Internet Archive, 2004. https://archive.org/details/mediaevallatinly037687mbp/mode/2up

●       “Wise and Valiant: Women and Writing in the Spanish Golden Age.” Centro Virtual Cervantes, Instituto Cervantes, 1997-2002. https://cvc.cervantes.es/literatura/sabia/default.htm?en

 

Recommended (On reserve at AAU Library)

●       Bloom, Harold. The Western Canon. Harcourt Brace, 1994.

●       Curtius, E. R. European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages. Princeton University Press, 2014.

●       Dante Alighieri, Inferno. Translated by John D. Sinclair. ‎Rev. ed., Oxford University Press, 1961.

●       Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, Faust I and II. Edited and translated by Stuart Atkins. Princeton University Press, 1984.

●       Machiavelli Niccolò.The Essential Writings of Machiavelli. Edited and translated by Peter Constantine, Modern Library, 2007

●       Molière, The Misanthrope and Tartuffe. Translated by Richard Wilbur. Ecco Publishing, 1965.

●       Voltaire. Candide, or Optimism. Translated by Theo Cuffe. Penguin Classics, 2008.

4. Teaching methodology

Classes will consist of directed close reading, in which individual students will be asked precise questions about assigned texts in order to gradually unfold the layers of meaning in literary works. Student participation is thus more intense than in a normal lecture course, though also considerable time will be devoted to lectures.

5. Course Schedule

Please note: there will be no class on Monday, Sept. 1. The first class meeting will be Monday, Sept. 8. There will be a required make-up class on Friday, Sept. 26 from 15:00-17:45. Also, there will be up to four unannounced written in-class quizzes on assigned readings. These cannot be made up.

Date	Class Agenda
Lesson 1 Sept. 8	Topic: European Literature: The Classical and Medieval Inheritance, The Birth of European Vernacular Literature Description: Reading (in class): Selected examples of medieval Latin, Provencal troubadour, and other medieval European literature and song in translation.
Lesson 2 Sept. 15	Topic: Dante and His World Description: Reading: Dante Alighieri, Inferno. Cantos 1-12, 17.
Lesson 3 Sept. 22	Topic: Dante and His World Description: Reading: Dante Alighieri, Inferno. Cantos 26, 30-34.
Lesson 4 Sept. 26 (make-up session)	Topic: Renaissance Comedy I Description: Reading: Niccolò Machiavelli, La Mandragola (“The Mandrake”), Acts I-III (pp. 433-463).
Lesson 5 Sept. 29	Topic: Renaissance Comedy II Description: Reading: Niccolò Machiavelli, La Mandragola (“The Mandrake”), Acts IV-V (pp. 464-480). In-class viewing of “The Mandrake Root”. Assignments/deadlines: Early Term Reading Quiz, in class. Worth 3 percent of total grade.
Lesson 6 Oct. 6	Topic: The Picaresque I Description: Reading: Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, Part I, Chapters I-XIV, pp. 25-112.
Lesson 7 Oct. 13	Topic: The Picaresque II Description: Reading: Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, Part I, Chapters XXXVI-end, pp. 338-479. In-class viewing of Man of La Mancha. Assignments/deadlines: Essay 1 due on NEO Friday, Oct. 20, 11:59 p.m.
Lesson 8 Oct. 20	Topic: Stifled Voices: Women Writers of 16th-18th Century Europe Description: Ana Caro, Catalina de Erauso, Madame de La Fayette, Olympe de Gouges, Sophie von La Roche, Benedikte Naubert. Reading: 1)   Instituto Cervantes, Wise and Valiant: Women and Writing in the Spanish Golden Age 2)   Olympe de Gouges: “Declaration of the Rights of Woman”; Black Slavery, or The Fortunate Shipwreck (excerpts)
Oct. 27	No class – Mid-term Break
Lesson 9 Nov. 3	Topic: 17th Century French Theatre I Description: Reading: Molière, The Misanthrope. Acts 1-3 (Wilbur translation, 1965).
Lesson 10 Nov. 10	Topic: 17th Century French Theatre II Description: Reading: Molière, The Misanthrope. Acts IV-V (Page translation, 1908). In-class viewing of The Misanthrope. Assignments/deadlines: Late term reading quiz, in class. Worth 3 percent of your total grade.
Nov. 17	No class -- Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day and International Students´ Day
Lesson 11 Nov. 24	Topic: The 18th Century: Satire I  Description: Reading: Voltaire, Candide. Chapters 1-18 (pp. 1-89 in Project Gutenberg E-book)
Lesson 12 Dec. 1	Topic: The 18th Century: Satire II Description: Reading: Voltaire, Candide. Chapters 19-30 (pp. 89-169 in Project Gutenberg E-book). In-class viewing of Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide”, selected scenes.
Lesson 13 Dec.  8	Topic: The 18th Century: Drama I Description: Reading: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust, pp. 13-66 (plus Prologues). In-class viewing of F.W. Murnau’s “Faust”.
Lesson 14 Dec. 15	Topic: The 18th Century: Drama II Description: Reading: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust, pp. 67-119. In-class viewing of F.W. Murnau’s “Faust”. Assignments/deadlines: 1)    Final exam in class. 2)   Essay 2 due on NEO Friday, Dec. 19 at 11:59 p.m.

6. Course Requirements and Assessment (with estimated workloads)

Assignment	Workload (average)	Weight in Final Grade	Evaluated Course Specific Learning Outcomes	Evaluated Institutional Learning Outcomes*
Attendance and Class Participation	42	20%	Demonstrate understanding and analysis of literature via close reading of texts, attuning themselves to nuances of meaning.	1,2,3
Essays (2)	60	40%	Demonstrate understanding and analysis of literature via close reading of texts, attuning themselves to nuances of meaning.	1,2
Quizzes	18	10%	Prove that they have done the assigned readings.	2
Forum Posts	5	5%	Demonstrate an ability to place in context the great works of literature from cultures other than their own, enriching their own perspectives.	1.2.3
Final Exam	25	25%	Demonstrate comprehension and clear understanding of important movements, periods and authors across the range of European literature from 1200-1800.	1, 2
TOTAL	150	100%

*1 = Critical Thinking; 2 = Effective Communication; 3 = Effective and Responsible Action

7. Detailed description of the assignments

 Class Participation. Here is where you will not only show me that you are carefully reading the works assigned, but also where you will develop and practice the skills you will use in your essays (see above). I will ask each of you questions designed to elicit hard thinking about the text in front of you, at least until and if we develop a pattern of full participation in the class.

Assessment breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Proof that you have read the text	50
Close reading of text	50

 

 

Reading Quizzes. The two announced quizzes (early and late term) will consist of both short factual questions as well as short essay questions. There will be up to four unannounced in-class quizzes consisting of short factual questions to make sure you have done the reading, given at the start of class. You cannot make up missed unannounced reading quizzes without an excused absence.

 

Assessment Breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Proof that you have read the text	100

 

Forum Posts. Several times during the semester I will continue in-class analysis with a prompt question or set of questions on NEO Forums.

Assessed area	Percentage
Engagement in ongoing group textual interpretation	100

 

Final Exam. The final exam will consist of short answers and a choice of essay questions designed to get you to synthesize the thinking you have developed all semester into cohesive literary analysis of texts.

 

Assessment Breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Factual knowledge of texts	25
Critical thinking displayed in essay answers	50
Clear writing and correct grammar/punctuation/syntax	25

 

Essays. Each essay must be approximately 1500 words, about one of the works studied during the period leading up to which the essay is due. Your first essay must be about one of the works studied in Weeks 1-7, and your second about one of the works studied in Weeks 8-14. Moreover, the essays are not supposed to be about the historical context of the work or biographical information about the writer. Indeed, the task is much more difficult: to find meaning via careful, persuasive analysis of very specific passages in the works studied. The best models for the essays will be the weekly close readings in class.

Assessment breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Factual Knowledge of text	20
Clear writing and correct grammar, punctuation, syntax	20
Incisive, persuasive textual analysis	60

 

8. General Requirements and School Policies

General requirements

All coursework is governed by AAU’s academic rules. Students are expected to be familiar with the academic rules in the Academic Codex and Student Handbook and to maintain the highest standards of honesty and academic integrity in their work. Please see the AAU intranet for a summary of key policies regarding coursework.

 

Course-Specific Requirements

Because this course is all about your own close reading of literary texts, no AI-generated text is allowed in writing assignments. Any use of it will result in a failed grade for the assignment and could result in failing the entire course.

 

Prepared by and when: Andrew Giarelli, April 28,2025.