Medieval Studies

ENG 200 The English Literary Tradition I (4 Credits)

A selection of the most engaging and influential works of literature written in England before 1800. Some of the earliest survived only by a thread in a single manuscript, many were politically or religiously embattled in their own day, and some were the first of their kind in English. Fights with monsters, dilemmas of chivalry, a storytelling pilgrimage, a Faustian pact with the devil, a taste of the forbidden fruit, epic combat over a lock of hair: these writings remain embedded in American culture and deeply woven into the texture of the English language. Enrollment limited to 20. WI {L}

Fall, Spring

ENG 202/ WLT 202 Western Classics in Translation I: Homer to Dante (4 Credits)

Offered as ENG 202 and WLT 202. Considers works of literature, mostly from the ancient world, that have had a significant influence over time. May include: epics by Homer and Virgil; tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides; Plato’s Symposium; Dante’s Divine Comedy." Enrollment limited to 20. WI {L}

Fall

ENG 210 Old English (4 Credits)

A study of the language of Anglo-Saxon England (ca. 450-1066) and a reading of Old English poems, including The Wanderer and The Dream of the Rood. Students learn the 31-character Anglo-Frisian futhorc and read runic inscriptions on the Franks Casket and Ruthwell Cross. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

ENG 211 Beowulf (4 Credits)

A reading of Anglo-Saxon England’s most powerful and significant poem, invoking the world of barbarian Europe after the fall of Rome. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

ENG 213 Playing Knights: Chivalry, Romance, Fantasy (4 Credits)

The knight in shining armor has long outlived the medieval chansons de geste in which s/he was born, riding forward into the modern Western, the fantasy novel, even the space opera. This course explores the premodern English chivalric romance alongside its afterlives, asking what has made this imaginary world—with its quests, duels, magicians, hippogriffs, crossdressing, lady knights—perennially entrancing for so many readers. The course considers the genre's standard features, development and influences; the course also explores the many subversions of this tradition and transgressions of its rules. Why was chivalric romance once considered dangerous reading material? What is heroism good for, and what is it less good at? What expectations and norms do these tales perpetuate, and what fantasies do they allow readers to realize? Discussions include: gender, sexuality, class and empire; Arthuriana; chivalry in art and film; cosplay; and YA fiction. Enrollment limited to 30. (E) {L}

Spring

ENG 250 Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (4 Credits)

A study of England's first cosmopolitan poet whose Canterbury Tales offer a chorus of medieval literary voices, while creating a new kind of poetry anticipating modern attitudes and anxieties through colorful, complex characters like the Wife of Bath. The class reads these tales closely in Chaucer's Middle English, an expressive idiom, ranging from the funny, sly and ribald to the thoughtful and profound. John Dryden called Chaucer the "father of English poesy," but if so, he was a good one. Later poets laughed with him, wept with him and then did their own thing, just as he would have wanted. Restrictions: Not open to first-years. {L}

Fall, Spring, Annually

ENG 271/ GER 271 Imagining Evil (4 Credits)

Offered as GER 271 and ENG 271. This course explores how artists and thinkers over the centuries have grappled with the presence of evil--how to account for its perpetual recurrence, its ominous power, its mysterious allure. Standing at the junction of literature, philosophy, and religion, the notion of evil reveals much about the development of the autonomous individual, the intersection of morality, freedom and identity, and the confrontation of literary and historical evil. Readings include literary works from Milton, Goethe, Blake, Kleist, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Tolkien, Le Guin; theoretical texts from Augustine, Luther, Nietzsche, Freud, Arendt. Conducted in English. {L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

ENG 333jt Seminar: Topics: A Major Writer in English-Tolkien (4 Credits)

J. R. R. Tolkien was an Oxford don and professor of Old and Middle English literature who used fantasy fiction as a technique of moral philosophy and historical analysis, a way of pondering the meaning of human life on earth and the trajectory of human experience through time. This course explores Tolkien’s Middle-earth in The Hobbit (1936), The Lord of the Rings (1965) and The Silmarillion (2001) with special attention to the medieval and early modern sources of Tolkien’s literary imagination as intimated in his essays "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" (1936) and “On Fairy-Stories” (1947). Restrictions: Juniors and Seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

FRN 253 The Lady, the Knight, the King (4 Credits)

An introduction to the main cultural and literary currents that shaped Medieval France, a period whose values and concept of "literature" were dramatically different from the present. This class focuses on the rise of courtliness and the invention of romantic love, the legend of King Arthur and the transmission of Celtic themes, adultery and madness, magic and the chivalric quest, and the ribald humour of the fabliaux. Readings include The Romance of the Rose by Guillaume de Lorris, Tristan and Yseut, Marie de France’s Lanval, Chrétien de Troyes’ Yvain, troubadour and trouvère lyric and selected fabliaux. Prerequisite: FRN 230. Course taught in French. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

FRN 320 Women Defamed, Women Defended (4 Credits)

The voices of medieval women juxtaposed with the voices of men seeking to defame them (the antifeminist tradition.) How did women writers of the Middle Ages engage with the conventions and rhetoric of misogyny? To what extent did they question the traditional gender roles of their society? How did they represent female characters in their works, and what do their statements about authorship reveal about their understanding of themselves as champions of women? Readings include the love letters of Héloïse, the lais and fables of Marie de France, the songs of the trobairitz and women trouvères, and the writings of Christine de Pizan, alongside excerpts from the major antifeminist tracts of the Middle Ages. ​ {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

FYS 142 Reacting to the Past (5 Credits)

In this course, students learn by taking on roles, in elaborate games set in the past; they learn skills--speaking, writing, critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, and teamwork--in order to prevail in complicated situations. Reacting roles do not have a fixed script and outcome. While students adhere to the intellectual beliefs of the historical figures they have been assigned, they must devise their own means of expressing those ideas in papers, speeches or public presentations. Class sessions are run entirely by students; instructors guide students and grade their oral and written work. It draws students into the past, promotes engagement with big ideas and improves intellectual and academic skills. Restrictions: First years only; students are limited to one first-year seminar. Enrollment limited to 24. WI {H}

Fall, Spring, Variable

FYS 167 Viking Diaspora (4 Credits)

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. This course compares 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. Sources for these experimental communities are the oral memories of founding families preserved in the later Íslendingasögur (Sagas of Icelanders) of the 13th century. This course counts toward the world literatures, English and medieval studies majors. Restrictions: First years only; students are limited to one first-year seminar. Enrollment limited to 16. WI

Fall, Spring, Variable

FYS 168 Damaged Gods: Myth and Religion of the Vikings (4 Credits)

A reading of poems and sagas about the Old Norse gods and their cults during the Viking Age (ca. 800-1100 CE) as these were preserved mainly in Icelandic manuscripts of the 13th century, but also in Arabic, Latin, Old High German and Anglo-Saxon texts and runic inscriptions. This course explores the dark world-view and desperate religion of the Vikings from the creation of the world to the end of time, including relations between living and dead, male and female, animals and humans, gods and giants, Æsir and Vanir--a crowded universe of trolls, elves, witches, dwarfs, valkyries, berserks, shapeshifters and various kinds of human being. Restrictions: First years only; students are limited to one first-year seminar. Enrollment limited to 16. WI

Fall, Spring, Variable

HST 224 History of the Early Middle Ages (4 Credits)

This survey course examines Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the early medieval era, starting with the dissolution of the Roman Empire. Students will study the turbulent nature of political and societal boundaries and the rise of Christianity in Europe before 900 AD, as well as the emergence of Islam as a religion and political power and its influence on the medieval European and Byzantine worlds. Students will engage in the examination and discussion of early medieval notions of kinship, race, law and justice, popular piety and political power. Enrollment limited to 40. {H}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

HST 225 Making of the Medieval World, 1000–1350 (4 Credits)

This survey course examines Europe, the Mediterranean world, from the late 10th century to the 14th, considered the height of the medieval world. Students study the interactions between peoples and societies in the medieval world - from the emergence of new conceptions of sovereignty, popular religion and the Crusades, the university, and Arthurian literature, to the restructuring of society in the calamitous century of the Mortalitas Magnas. Students engage in discussions about the notions of conquest and reconquest, race, law and justice, medieval love and chivalry, and the intersection of political and religious authority. Enrollment limited to 40. {H}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

HST 226 Renaissance and Reformation? Europe in the Late Middle Ages: Society, Culture and Politics From (4 Credits)

Did radical societal shifts really take place in Europe between 1300 and 1600, as the terms “Renaissance” and “Reformation” imply? Students will use this question to frame their learning in this survey course, studying the period that saw the aftermath of the Black Death, the fragmentation of Christianity, the growing power of monarchs, the advent of the printing press, and the beginnings of the age of European Imperialism. Students will examine and discuss humanism, witch hunts, popular piety and heresy, the advent of the Italian city-state, and the intersection of politics and science. Enrollment limited to 40. {H}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

HST 227mm Colloquium: Topics in Medieval European History-Magic in the Middle Ages (4 Credits)

The course uses magic as a case study for exploring cultural transmission in the Middle Ages. The course examines Germanic and Greco-Roman occult traditions, and the way in which the medieval synthesis of these cultures effects understandings of the occult. The course follows the influence of the Arabic and Hebrew influences on western occultism of the High Middle Ages, and flowering of the Renaissance magical tradition. The course challenges and reshapes some of our basic understandings about Medieval society. It problematizes modern division between science, magic and religion to illustrate how occult beliefs were part of wider religious experiences. Enrollment limited to 18. {H}

Fall, Spring, Variable

HST 228/ JUD 228 The Jew in the Medieval World (4 Credits)

Offered as JUD 228 and HST 228. How does the medieval period influence or complicate contemporary understandings of race, religious cooperation and rivalry, and constructions of otherness?  Explores intellectual and cultural cross-pollination in the Islamic Middle East and North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and Europe, including crises reflected in disputations, crusades, exile and murder. Open to students at all levels. {H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

HST 229 Colloquium: A World Before Race?: Ethnicity, Culture and Difference in the Middle Ages (4 Credits)

Twenty-first century scholars argue that race is a constructed social identity that began to coalesce around the seventeenth century. But were they right? In this course, we will look to the Middle Ages to challenge the consensus that racial constructions were a byproduct of modernity. Does race function differently between the world of Latin Christendom and that of the dar al-Islam? What are the advantages and dangers of using the prism of race to analyze ethnic, cultural and religious differences in this medieval period? What does studying race in the Middle Ages teach us about contemporary conceptions of race? Enrollment limited to 18. {H}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

ITL 332 Dante's Inferno (4 Credits)

Detailed study of Dante’s Infernoand Medieval culture. Conducted in English. A separate discussion session in Italian (ITL 332D) is a required part of the course for Italian majors and minors. Five credits if combined with ITL 332D. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

ITL 334 Boccaccio: Decameron (4 Credits)

This course goes deep into the world of Boccaccio’s Decameron, a collection of colorful tales that paint a vivid and often scandalous picture of medieval life. The class examines a rousing cast of characters:  sly wives, shrewd merchants, sensual nuns, roguish painters, rebellious daughters and so on, all negotiating the rapidly evolving social and sexual mores of their time. Boccaccio’s storytellers, in weaving their tales, also construct the foundation of a new and more just community. In this course, students explore this masterpiece of Italian literature with an eye to what they can learn from this text in the present moment. Taught in Italian. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

LAT 100Y Elementary Latin (5 Credits)

The Latin language has had an extraordinarily long life, from ancient Rome through the Middle Ages to nineteenth-century Europe, where it remained the language of scholarship and science. Even today it survives in the Romance languages that grew out of it and in the countless English words derived from Latin roots. This course prepares students to read Latin texts in any period or area of interest through a study of the fundamentals of classical Latin grammar and through practice in reading from a range of Latin authors. Some attention is also given to Roman culture and Latin literary history. This is a full-year course and cannot be divided at midyear with credit for the first semester. Enrollment limited to 30.

Fall, Spring, Annually

LAT 212 Introduction to Latin Prose and Poetry (4 Credits)

Practice and improvement of reading skills through the study of a selection of texts in prose and verse. Systematic review of fundamentals of grammar. Prerequisite: LAT 100Y or equivalent. {F}{L}

Fall

REL 110hl Colloquium: Topics in Thematic Studies in Religion- Jerusalem and Invention of the Holy Land (4 Credits)

This course examines the religious and historical legacy of the city of Jerusalem and the idea of "the Holy Land" in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It explores the ways Jerusalem and the Holy Land have been sanctified in scripture, art, architecture, literature, poetry and film. It also explores how rulers have co-opted this sanctity to promote their own legitimacy and political agendas. The course considers Jerusalem and the Holy Land as a shared heritage the inspired co-existence and rivalry, as well as bloody conflicts, both in the past (e.g., the Crusades) and today (e.g., Israeli-Palestinian conflict.) Enrollment limited to 20. {H}

Fall

REL 145 Introduction to the Islamic Traditions (4 Credits)

The Islamic religious tradition from its beginnings in seventh century Arabia through the present day, with particular emphasis on the formative period (A.D. 600–1000) and on modern efforts at reinterpretation. Topics include Muhammad and the Qur’an, prophetic tradition, sacred Law, ritual, sectarianism, mysticism, dogmatic theology and popular practices. Emphasis on the ways Muslims in different times and places have constructed and reconstructed the tradition for themselves. The course concludes with examples of modern Islamic thought (modernism, feminism and militancy). {H}

Fall

REL 221 Philosophers and Mystics (4 Credits)

The rise of Jewish philosophy and mysticism (Kabbalah) in the Islamic world and in medieval Spain, and the development of these theological and intellectual trends as decisive influences upon all subsequent forms of Judaism. Analysis of Jewish philosophy and mysticism as complementary yet often competing spiritual paths. How did Jewish philosophers and mystics consider the roles of reason, emotion and symbols in religious faith and practice? What interrelations did they see between the natural and divine realms, and between religious, philosophical and scientific explanations? Expressions of philosophy and mysticism in religious texts, individual piety, popular practice and communal politics. Readings drawn from the works of the great philosopher Maimonides, the mystical classic the Zohar and other thinkers, as well as personal documents of religious experience and thought. All readings in English. {H}

Fall, Spring, Variable

REL 238 Mary: Images and Cults (4 Credits)

Whether revered as the Mother of God or remembered as a single Jewish mother of an activist, Mary has both inspired and challenged generations of Christian women and men worldwide. This course focuses on key developments in the "history of Mary" since early Christian times to the present. How has her image shaped global Christianities? What does her perceived image in any given age tell us about personal and collective identities? Topics include Mary’s "life"; rise of the Marian cult; Marian apparitions (e.g., Guadalupe and Lourdes) and miracle-working images, especially in Byzantium and Russia; liberation and feminism; politics, activism, mysticism and prayer. Devotional, polemical and literary texts, art and film. Enrollment limited to 35. {H}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

REL 247 The Qur’an (4 Credits)

The Qur’an, according to the majority of Muslims, is God’s word revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel over a period of 22 years (610-632 C.E.). This course introduces students to Islam’s scriptural text: its content, form, structure and history. It also situates the Qur’an in the larger frame of the genre of Scripture: What does it mean for a text to be revealed? Study of the Qur’an as a seventh-century product, as well as the history of reception of this text. Analysis of its varying impact on the formulation of Islamic salvation history, law and legal theory, theology, ritual, intellectual trends, and art and popular culture. {H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

REL 248jh Topics in Modern Islam-Jihad (4 Credits)

The persistence of the ideology of jihad in modern Islam drives revivalists and apologists to disagree over the meaning of “jihad” and whether it should be understood to necessitate violence or as an interpersonal spiritual struggle. This course examines the most important modern debates about Jihad and how each position engages and appeals to the foundational Islamic sources (e.g. Qur’an, Muhammad, Sharia/Islamic Law) and Islamic history for legitimacy. It also explores the factors that make the rhetoric used by modern jihadists popular among certain Muslim constituencies, inspiring them to wage holy war against “infidels” as well as fellow Muslims. Course may be repeated for credit with a different topic. Enrollment limited to 35. {H}

Fall, Spring, Variable

REL 305mc Seminar: Advanced Topics in Religion-The Muslim World and the Crusades: Then and Now (4 Credits)

This course explores the historical, religious, political, social and cultural impacts of the Crusades on the Muslim World from the late eleventh century until today. Special attention is given to the variety of Muslim reactions to and encounters with the Franks, including hostile and friendly relations. The course also considers the effect of the Crusades on the course of Islamic history and religious thought and its enduring legacy by examining texts, films, novels, poetry, etc. The broader objective is to understand how and why specific historical narratives generate powerful religious discourses that shape the current political, social and cultural realities. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

REL 345sl Seminar: Topics in Islamic Thought-Muslims and Shari'a law (4 Credits)

This seminar explores the complexity and history of Shariʿa Law in Islam. It examines the formation of a variety of schools of Shariʿa from very early Islamic history until today and the way Muslim jurists have maintained the relevance of Shariʿa to their respective societies and times. It covers the theory and application, purpose, sources (e.g., Qurʾan, Muhammad, customs), hermeneutical tools (e.g., reason, public good, doubt) and the Shariʿa laws themselves. The course also discusses the interaction of Shariʿa with other legal systems, especially in the context of today where Shariʿa is restricted to a small realm (primarily family and personal law). Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {H}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 241 Culturas de España (4 Credits)

A study of the Spain of today through a look at its past in art, history, film and popular culture. The course analyzes Spain’s plurality of cultures, from the past relations among Jews, Christians and Muslims, to its present ethnic and linguistic diversity. Highly recommended for students considering Study Abroad in Spain. Fulfills the writing requirement for the major. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}

Spring, Variable

SPN 247 Race and Racism in Premodern Iberia (4 Credits)

This course challenges the dominant presentism by exploring understandings of race and racism in the context of premodern Iberia (present-day Spain and Portugal). Themes include intellectual and physical encounters between medieval kingdoms from West Africa and Europe, the construction of sameness and otherness in Iberia, and the intersection of race, class, and indigeneity in the Middle Ages. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}{H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Annually

SPN 250sm Topics in Iberian Cultural History-Sex and the Medieval City (4 Credits)

This course examines the medieval understanding of sex and the woman’s body within an urban context. The class reads medieval texts on love, medicine and women’s sexuality by Iberian and North African scholars. This course investigates the ways in which medieval Iberian medical traditions have viewed women’s bodies and defined their health and illness. The course also addresses 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. {F}{H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable