General

Tutorial Schedule

No section meeting this week. Remember, you may attend one of Kristine's sections if you want (times are posted on her web page). You should be finished with Koenigsberger and Chapter 5 in Zophy by the end of this week . Read all the stories in Boccaccio's Decameron. You are not required to read those essays at the end of the book. 

Your two-page paper is due in lecture on Monday, 22 November, the day of the play Mandragola. (Attendance for the play is mandatory -- see Pennington's web page.) You may also email it to me or send it as an attachment. The paper will count for your section attendance, your quiz, and your participation this week. If you do an outstanding job on it, I will increase your mid-term grade by one half letter grade.

Keep in mind that you only have two pages in which to answer the question. Unlike in your paper, I do not want a lot of quotations in this essay. Only quote something if it really makes your point. Instead, I want you to make an argument in your own words and to cite parenthetically the relevant and appropriate page numbers as your evidence. YOU MUST TAKE A POSITION! You are not allowed to straddle the fence. 

Paper Assignment 

We established in section  that Boccaccio's purpose in writing The Decameron (for women in particular) is twofold: first, to give them pleasure; second, to give them "useful counsel." In teaching them something useful, does Boccaccio conform to conventional morality and inculcate Christian virtues? That is to say, is he really instructing them how to live according to the moral standards of his day? Or does Boccaccio NOT make moral judgments about the characters in the stories, particularly when it comes to their sexual behavior? In other words, is he simply trying to amuse his readers and make them laugh? 

Things to think about: Is Boccaccio challenging the conventional morality by putting forth a new standard, such as nature? Is he making a distinction between natural behavior and hypocritical behavior? Do you think that he is trying to tell us what is right and wrong?

Requirements: No more than 2 pages; Times New Roman font; double-spaced; one-inch margins; no cover sheet; name in upper right-hand or left-hand corner. Do not  repeat what I said in section.  (Click here for my outline.) 

Quiz

No quiz this week. But here are the IDs that I would have asked you to prepare. It is in your interest to prepare them. You will find them on the final exam in one form or another.

Sicilian Vespers

Avignon Papacy

Battle of Crecy

John of Bohemia

Jacquerie

Email Assignment

Any questions that you have about your papers.