Introduction: The project that I have been developing is a two-week unit on the tales of Marguerite de Navarre from The Heptameron, Giovanni Boccaccio from The Decameron, and Geoffrey Chaucer from The Canterbury Tales. I have selected ten tales, and put together some ideas on how best to present the material.

In addition to the obvious thematic similarities between the tales of the three authors, this unit has many added bonuses. First of all, the tales are very enjoyable, and, while they can be discussed on many levels, are also accessible to students of any level. They are also, for the most part, quite short, and therefore will not be daunting to students. The best part of a unit on the three writers is the opportunity that it provides for interdisciplinary exchange of ideas. I have had many discussions with the French, Italian, and English teachers at my school about the materials, and they have proved to be an invaluable resource in putting together this project. In the suggested schedule for the unit, I have included days for teachers from other departments to come in and present their insights on the materials. I have found that not only does this provide valuable content analysis for the students, but it also generates excitement and "buzz" about the literature.

The hardest part about the project was choosing the ten stories. I have taken four from Marguerite de Navarre, and three each from Boccaccio and Chaucer. There are almost two hundred stories to choose from within the three works of literature, and I have tried to take those that are the most representative, that work the best together, or that you may see in a textbook/anthology. Although I read all of the stories and/or their summaries, I am sure that there are many different, other, and probably better combinations that you could come up with yourselves. I have tried to simply provide some guidelines and ideas from which to start your own examination of the stories. There is certainly a wealth from which to choose, and I would be interested in knowing if anyone had any better ideas about how to proceed. It is exactly this type of dialogue between colleagues that I think is promoted by an interdisciplinary project like this, and it is what attracted me to it in the first place.

Contents:
1. A summary for each of the ten stories under discussion
2. A suggested schedule for the two-week unit
3. A page of discussion ideas, interrelationships, and discussion questions
4. A student worksheet for each of the ten stories
5. A suggested final paper project for completion after the unit is finished

I hope that some of my ideas will prove useful to those who are thinking of doing these writers in class. Each of them in some way illuminates the other, and I am sure that implementing the project will generate even more ideas. Each of the writers is important and interesting in his or her own right, but they benefit from refracting and reflecting off of one another. Again, if you have any suggestions, please let me know. I am excited by the exchanges already generated by the project, and look forward to more of the same interdisciplinary collegiality in the future.