Offered Fall 2012
T TH 10:30-11:50 a.m.
Brigette Buettner-Gorra
Requirements/Departments (Art)
An introduction to the language and literature of medieval Iceland, including the mythological texts and the family sagas. {L} 4 credits
Offered Fall 2012
M W F 10:00-10:50 a.m.
Craig R. Davis
His art and his social and literary background. Emphasis on the Canterbury Tales. Students should have had at least two semester courses in literature. {L} 4 credits
Offered Fall 2012T TH 10:30-11:50 a.m.
Nancy Mason Bradbury
The Norse colonies of Iceland and Greenland, and the attempted settlement of Vinland in North America, were the first European societies of the New World, revealing patterns of cultural conflict and adaptation that anticipated British colonization of the mid-Atlantic seaboard seven centuries later. We will compare the strengths and weaknesses of the medieval Icelandic Commonwealth, founded in 930, with the 1787 Constitution of the United States, both political systems facing serious crises within two generations. Our sources for these experimental communities are the oral memories of founding families preserved in the later Íslendingasögur ‘Sagas of Icelanders’ of the thirteenth century.{F/L} 4 credits
Offered Fall 2012
T TH 10:30-11:50
Craig R. Davis
Topic: Heresy, Dissent and Doubt in the Age of the Inquisition
The Holy Office of the Inquisition of the Roman Catholic church proved an effective instrument for controlling religious and political orthodoxy from the Middle Ages through the early modern era. Its range of activity spanned from investigations into doctrinal purity, clandestine assemblies, Jewish and Muslim converts to the Christian faith, scientific discoveries, witchcraft, cunning folk, the dark arts, to popular dissent and questions of doubt. Punishments for crimes of heresy were severe, often carrying penalties of mutilation, life imprisonment, and death. The colloquium examines this institution and the social, political, intellectual and imaginary world it monitored in order to safeguard “faith and morals” in this life and access to salvation in the next. {H} 4 credits Enrollment limited to 18.
Offered Fall 2012
TTH 10:30-11:50 a.m.
Frederick McGinness
Detailed study of Dante's Inferno in the context of his other works. Conducted in Italian.
{L/F} 4 creditsOffered Fall 2012
T TH 10:30-11:50 a.m.
Alfonso Procaccini
An in-depth thematic study of Boccaccio’s literary masterpiece, Decameron, including its style, structure and historical context. Particular attention will be devoted to Boccaccio’s singular interest in how imagination effectively combats the various constraints and even tragic aspects of life such as the plague or certain forms of social, political, and psychological oppression. In what way do Boccaccio’s novelle provide every reader the same “diletto e utile consiglio” which he was so intent on offering his gracious ladies? Conducted in Italian. Open only to senior Italian majors or by permission of the instructor. {L/F} 4 credits
Offered Spring 2013
T TH 9:00-10:20 a.m.
Alfonso Procaccini
Prerequisite: 212 or permission of the instructor. {L/F} 4 credits
Offered TBA
TIME: TBA
Scott Bradbury
A study of Western philosophy from the early Greeks to the end of the Middle
Ages, with emphasis on the pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics and
Epicureans, and some of the scholastic philosophers. {H/M} 4 credits
Offered Fall 2012
MFW 11:00 a.m.-12:10 p.m.
Susan Levin
Requirements/Departments (Philosophy)
Topic: Sex and the Medieval City
This course examines the medieval understanding of sex and the woman’s body within an urban context. We will read medieval texts on love, medicine and women’s sexualityby Iberian and North African scholars. We will investigate the ways in which medieval Iberian medical traditions have viewed women’s bodies and defined their health and illness. We will also address women’s role as practitioners of medicine, and how such a role was affected by the gradual emergence of “modern” medical institutions such as the hospital and the medical profession. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 19. {L/F} 4 credits
Offered Fall 2012
T TH 1:00-2:50 p.m.
Ibtissam Bouachrine
SPN332 The Middle Ages Today
Topic: Queer Iberia and North Africa
This course examines the medieval and early-modern Iberian and North African understanding of sexuality in light of modern critical theory. Special attention will be given to the Arabic and Castilian representations of same-sex desire. Readings will include texts by Ibn Hazm, Juan Ruiz, al-Tifashi, al-Nafwazi, Wallada, Ibn Sahl of Seville, Ibn Quzman, and Fernando de Rojas. All readings in Spanish translation. Taught in Spanish. Enrollment limited to 14. {L/F} 4 credits
Offered Fall 2012
T TH 3:00-4:50 p.m.
Ibtissam Bouachrine
Admission by permission of the instructor and the Medieval Studies Council
4 credits. Offered both semesters each year.
Admission by permission of the instructor and the Medieval Studies Council
8 credits. Full year course; offered each year.
Requirements/Departments (Special Studies)
Director: Craig Davis, Fall 2012; Vera Shevzov, Spring 2013
Admission by permission of the Medieval Studies Council.
8 credits. Full-year course; offered each year
Please consult the Director of Medieval Studies for the application procedure.
Requirements: the same as those for the major, except that the thesis (eight credits) shall count as one course (four credits) in the area of concentration. The subject of the thesis should, preferably, be determined during the second semester of the junior year. There shall be an oral examination on the thesis.
Requirements/Departments (Honors)
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