The Masque of Blackness
Race, Religion, and Sexuality in Renaissance Poetry

David Scott Wilson-Okamura · English 50-03 · Spring 2000 · Macalester College

Hard copies of all assignments are due at the beginning of the class period. Assignments delivered after that will receive a lower grade. (For instance, an A- essay that is delivered up to 24 hours late will receive a B+, an A- essay that is delivered between 24 and 48 hours late will receive a B, and so on.)

Essays. Over the course of the semester you will submit two essays of app. 2,000–2,500 words each on topics of your choice.

• Essays should be typed and should follow the format specified in one of three style books: the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Essays, the Turabian Manual for Writers of Term Essays, Theses, and Dissertations, or The Chicago Manual of Style.
• When you’re done, do a word count and write the result on the first page of your paper. (Long quotations don’t count, by the way: I’m interested in what you think.)
• Pages should be (a) stapled and (b) numbered (by computer, not by hand; this is a skill you will need in the future: if you don’t know how to do it yet, now is the time to learn).
• If you’re serious about your ideas, get serious about the way you express them. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar count.
• Use 12 point Times.
• Doublespace.

Please note that these are rules, not recommendations. Papers that don’t observe them will be handed back unread.

Discussion and Weekly Analysis. Your essays will make up approximately two thirds of your grade for this course. The remaining third will be determined by a combination of two factors: your participation in class discussion and a weekly writing assignment of 400-500 words.

There will be no midterm or final exams in this course. Instead, you will submit a weekly written analysis of the previous week’s discussion. Your analysis of week one will be due at the first class meeting of week two and so on.

A good analysis will summarize the content of the previous week’s discussion, but it will also evaluate that discussion: what, for instance, got left out of the conversation last week, and why does it matter? Because these assignments take the place of midterm and final exams, they will be graded. This means that spelling, grammar, and punctuation count, as well as content.

One final note. You will submit each written analysis in two forms: to me, on paper, and to the members of the class, by emailing it to the course mailing list, renaissance-poetry@virgil.org.

Midterm and Final Exams. There will be no midterm or final exams in this course.

Attendance and Reading Quizzes. There is one more requirement for this course: you have to come to class and you have to do the reading. If you don’t, I will give you a no credit (nc) for the course. There are several reasons for this. First, this is a discussion course. What goes on in class, therefore, is part of the content of the course. There is a certain body of wisdom and knowledge that I want to impart to you, and which I expect you to absorb. You can’t do that if you don’t come to class or do the readings. Second, your classmates have wisdom and insight that they want to impart to you. They can’t do that if you don’t come to class or do the reading. Finally, you have wisdom and insight to impart to your classmates and to me. You can’t do that if you don’t come to class or do the reading. So come to class and do the reading.

I do give short reading quizzes from time to time. There are no make-ups for missed quizzes. On the other hand, the quizzes themselves are very easy—so long as you’re there to take them and you’ve done the reading. In fact, they’re not even part of your grade for the course. You do have to pass them, however, in order to get a grade. Fail or miss them on a regular basis and you’ll get a no credit (nc) for the semester—even if you hand in all of the graded assignments. You can also get a no credit if you miss nine or more class meetings. So come to class and do the reading.

A note on the shortness of the readings. Most of the assignments in this class are relatively brief; this is because it is expected that you will read each poem over at least twice before class.

Everyone gets a two-day extension on one paper over the course of the semester. You choose which one. You don’t need to ask me ahead of time: just hand in a sheet of paper with your name on it that says "I’m taking my extension on this paper." In the interests of fairness, however, no one will be granted an extension on a second paper.

According to the Catalog, "Students are expected to complete the work in each course on schedule. Under unusual circumstances, an instructor may allow a student an additional specified time period, not to extend beyond the first class day of the next semester, for completion of the course." According to the Dean of Students, "unusual circumstances" are defined as "an unexpected catastrophe that occurs near the end of the semester."

Plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas in such a way that a reader cannot distinguish them from your own work. As such, it is a form of cheating. If you have questions about plagiarism, please ask me about it before your paper is due; after a paper is handed in it’s too late to claim ignorance. This is important: the standard penalty for a first cheating offense at Macalester College is an F on the assignment.

Course materials on the web: http://www.virgil.org/dswo/courses/renaissance-poetry-00/

Reference These items may be found online or in the reference section on the first floor of the library.