CONTACT INFORMATION:
Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of French and Medieval Studies
Department of French
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802 USA
| Office Telephone: | (814) 234-6062 |
| Office Fax: | (814) 234-2062 |
| Active email: | njl2@psu.edu |
| Relevant Webpage: | http://www.personal.psu.edu/njl2/ |
| Relevant Webpage: | http://www.french.psu.edu/ |
SCHOLARLY INTERESTS:
Current area(s) of research:
Arthurian studies (medieval French); textual criticism/editing
Selected publications, recent and forthcoming:
Recent Edited Volume:
Perceval/Parzival: A Casebook, with Arthur Groos. New York: Routledge, 2002 [2003]. Pp. viii + 312.
Edited Volumes Forthcoming:
A Concise History of Arthurian Scholarship. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer.
A Companion to Chrétien de Troyes, with Joan Tasker Grimbert. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer.
Under Editorial Consideration (Edited Volume):
The Fortunes of King Arthur. 13 essays.
Articles Published in 2003:
"Convention, Character, and the Form of La Vengeance Raguidel," Arthurian Literature XIX (2003), pp. 65-75.
"Halfway to Quixote: Humor in Blandin de Cornoalha" in Risus medievalis: Laughter in Medieval Literature and Art, ed. Herman Braet et al. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2003, pp. 173-80.
"Pathelin in 1706: de l'or dans un fumier" in Theatrum mundi: Studies in Honor of Ronald W. Tobin, ed. C. Carlin and K. Wine. Charlottesville: Rookwood Press, 2003, pp. 163-68.
"Naming and the Construction of Identity in Li Chevaliers as deus espees," Romance Philology, 56 (2003), 203-16.
"The Sense of an Ending: La Mort Artu," in A Companion to the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, ed. C. Dover. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 2003, pp. 115-23.
Articles Accepted/Forthcoming:
"On Customs in Medieval French Romance," in Revue Belge de Philologie et d'Histoire. Forthcoming, 2003.
"Arthurian Burgundy: The Politics of Arthur," in The Arthur of the French, ed. G. Burgess and K. Pratt. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. Forthcoming.
"Modern French Arthurian Literature," in The Arthur of the French, ed. G. Burgess and K. Pratt. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. Forthcoming.
"On Armor and Identity: Chrétien and Beyond," in De sens rassis: Essays in Honor of Rupert T. Pickens, ed. L. Whalen, K. Busby, and B. Guidot. Amsterdam: Rodopi. Forthcoming.
Co-editor, with R.H. Thompson, and contributor, "Arthurian Literature, Art, and Film, 2000-2003," Arthurian Literature. Forthcoming.
"Arthurian Translation," in A Concise History of Arthurian Scholarship. Forthcoming. [See above, edited volume forthcoming]
"The Arthurian Legend and French Prose Romance," essay for the "Arthurian Manuscripts on Film" project from Adam Matthew Publishers, Marlborough, England. Forthcoming.
"The Ambiguous Fortunes of Arthur," in The Fortunes of King Arthur. Forthcoming. [See above, edited volume under consideration.]
"The Arthurian Legend Before Chrétien de Troyes," in A Companion to Chrétien de Troyes. Forthcoming. [See above, volume forthcoming.]
"The Enigma of the Prose Yvain," in Textual Traditions of Mediaeval Arthurian Literature: Essays in Honour of P.J.C. Field, ed. B. Wheeler. Cambridge: Brewer. Forthcoming.
Preface to The Arthurian Annals, by P. Boardman and D. Nastali. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Forthcoming.
WUN-IDENTIFIED RESEARCH COLLABORATION THEMES:
Multilingualism in the Middle Ages:
History of the Medieval Book:
Medieval Chronicle Studies:
IN TERMS OF TEACHING, the connections with all three are peripheral, except that I do teach Arthurian chronicles. In addition, multilingualism is related to my courses by a frequent emphasis on early translations and adaptations (sometimes involving a fundamental rewriting of a text in another language.
IN TERMS OF RESEARCH, I am at present working on a French ms. written in Italy (replete with Italian lexical and orthographical features), and multilingualism is certainly pertinent to this project.
Ph.D.s UNDER SUPERVISION:
Veronique Zara, Changing Conceptions of Time in the Grandes Chroniques de France.
Amy Ingram, Character Development and Expression in 12th-13th-Century Arthurian Romance.
STAFF EXCHANGES/ONLINE RESOURCE CREATION/VIDEOCONFERENCING:
Yes, I am interested in possible exchange of PhD students in the future, in involvement in development of online research resources, and in participating in a videoconferencing seminar or course.
MEDIEVAL COURSES TAUGHT:
Old French
Various Arthurian seminars (medieval French literature; medieval European Arthuriana; Chretien de Troyes and his Contemporaries; the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, etc.)
Comedy, Parody, and Irony in Medieval Literature
Problems of Genre
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