Courses

ARTH 3151  Art and Science in the Middle Ages

ARTH 3591-002  Medieval Mayhem

ENGL 1500-001  Vikings: Myths and Sagas

(Hopkins) Tue-Thu 3:30-4:45 pm

This course introduces students to tales of Vikings and their gods. We will study Old Norse mythology and cosmology, and consider their adaptation into later medieval prose sagas. We will begin with Prose and Poetic Eddas, examining their tales and learning essential historical and cultural contexts necessary to appreciate these bodies of myth and legend. We will then consider how the conversion to Christianity (in the summer of 999) changed Iceland’s literary landscape. Unlike in other converted regions like England and Germany, the Norse heathen myths survived the advent of this new faith, and even thrived. How did Icelanders get away with sustained interest in their heathen ancestors and beliefs? What purpose did Christians find in telling old tales with... a very different ethical system? In the back half of the course, we will focus on texts composed well within the Christian era to investigate the various ways in which medieval Icelanders reckoned with the heathen past of their ancestors while working out their own identity in verse and prose; we will also compare their myths to the closest thing we have in Old English: Beowulf. In doing so, we will come to better understand how passing on ancient stories always involves retelling, and how modern minds can be shaped by ancient tales—then as well as now.

ENGL 2599-002  King Arthur in Time

(Watts) Tue-Thu 12:30-1:45 pm

King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table are a romanticized staple in nostalgic notions of the medieval past. But who is King Arthur, and where did his legend come from? This course will chart the history of King Arthur in literature, from his early Welsh origins through medieval chronicle and romance, modern poetry and novel, and contemporary film. Along the way, we will consider how the changing historical context and conventions of genre shape and transform the Arthurian mythos. Whenever they were written, texts about King Arthur are always set in the mythic past, shrouded by the mists of half-forgotten history. How does the past function in the world of literary imagination? And what are the political uses of the imagined past? As we read famous works of literature, whether from the twelfth century or the twentieth, we will explore not only medieval narrative but also narratives about the Middle Ages. As writers, we will step into the unfolding history of Arthurian narrative to speak back to these texts and the critics who read them.

ENGL 3559  Chaucerian Dream Poems 

(E. Fowler)  Tue-Thu 2:00-3:15 pm 

The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Parliament of Fowls, and The Legend of Good Women are poignant, wildly surreal, funny, philosophical, emotionally intense, feminist, and visually overstimulated story-poems that are even more interesting now because of their complex virtual reality; dreams seem to provide Geoffrey Chaucer with a way of thinking about what it is to have the strange, out-of-the-body experience of reading. So that’s what we’ll do. This is a course on those four late medieval poems together with bits of some poems Chaucer had read and some others that his poems engendered; it’s a good course for beginners and for Chaucer adepts alike.  (It’s fine to take this if you’ve already had any other Chaucer course.) We’ll meet outside in camp chairs on the grass whenever possible.

ENGL 4510  Analog Chaucer  

(Holsinger) Fri 9:30am-12:00 pm

This fourth-year seminar will be devoted to Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, one of the most fascinating and perplexing works of literature to survive from the medieval world. With patience and attention, we will read most of the Tales in the original Middle English, concentrating on pronunciation, form and style, and interpretation. We'll also spend a lot of time with the manuscript contexts of Chaucer's works, with visits to Special Collections and a focus on the role of hard copy (manuscript and print) in the transmission and meaning of the Tales.

ENGL 5500-002  Lyric and Lyric Theory 

(E. Fowler) Tue-Thr 12:30-1:45 pm 

So much of the most brilliant poetry in English is brief, intricate, emotional, musical, and written between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries. We’ll study Middle English to Early Modern verse (amorous, comic, elegiac, devotional, etc.), refining our sense of what language can do in its most intense, witty, ornate, gorgeous, and sweet moments. We’ll consider poems as part of the built environments of their uses (castles, candles, beds, roads, doors . . . ), think of them as scripts for experiences we might define, notice their sensory overload and their orientation towards knowing things, puzzle over their participation in everyday life. We’ll test important strands of current lyric theory against this material, wondering whether we can revise or challenge what scholars of the 19th and 20th centuries are saying. You’ll become a skillful “close reader,” get some experience with researching material culture and entangling that in your literary criticism, and work out some tentative theoretical or philosophical positionings for yourself. Readers and poets welcome! This class will meet in camp chairs on the grass whenever the weather gods allow. This is a graduate level class with lots of reading and research, but enthusiastic raw beginners in poetry and poetics and/or Middle English are welcome.

ENGL 5510  Old Norse Language and Literature

(Hopkins) Tues-Thurs 9:30-10:45 am

This course provides an introduction to the language and literature of medieval Iceland (also called Old Norse or Old Icelandic, roughly 800-1400 CE), and the goal is to arrive at a sound reading knowledge of the Old Norse language. Drawing upon Byock’s textbook, the first half of the semester focuses on internalizing the basics of Old Norse grammar and vocabulary. While acquiring these rudimentary linguistic skills, we will practice translating short bits of prose and poetry as supplied in the textbook. We will move through the grammatical paradigms quickly, since translation is the most efficient and rewarding way to pick up any dead language. By the midterm exam, we will have covered all the basics of the grammar, and will transition towards more challenging texts to translate together.

The course will also include basic readings from O’Donoghue to orient us towards Old Norse genres, contexts, and critical/theoretical approaches prevalent in the field, with an emphasis on the history of the conversion and importation of writing technologies. By the end, we will grapple with excerpts from The Prose Edda, gaining familiarity with Old Norse poetic diction, accentual-alliterative poetic form, style, syntax, and the basics of paleography by accessing Old Norse manuscripts via handskrift.is . Students will also complete an annotated bibliography on a topic of their choice, presenting findings to their classmates.

(Ogden) Tue-Thu 2:00-3:15 pm

Why are some stories so compelling that they return generation after generation in new retellings? How do different people in different times and places reuse well-known tales for radically different purposes? How do legends become so meaningful that just a word or a name invokes a wealth of cultural references? Focusing on two stories that originated in French culture but have spread globally—the Grail, Robin Hood—this course examines their uses in written works, television, film, and song from the Middle Ages to the present, including versions by some of the best-known writers, filmmakers, and musicians in French. Course taught in French (prereq: any 3000-level FREN course at or above 3140).

(McDonald) Tue-Thu 12:30-1:45 pm

This course traces the lineage and shapes of the Arthurian legend as witnessed in medieval literature and modern adaptations, including film and television ("Games of Thrones," "Star Wars," etc.) The aim is familiarity with the story of King Arthur and his court, as well as an ability to appreciate the permutations of the legend in all forms of media.

(Cronan) Tue-Thu 3:00-4:15 pm

Historians of East Asia have traditionally told stories set on land, focusing on the rise and fall of dynasties. This seminar asks that we pivot our focus to the coast and instead place the maritime world at the center. Together we will ask how the ocean tied together communities across the broader East Asian world, tracing how merchants, pirates, monks, migrants, and diplomats traversed Asia’s waters from the Sea of Japan to the Strait of Melaka. The course will serve as an introduction to the discipline of history through the bourgeoning field of maritime history, encouraging students to look beyond national boundaries to consider East Asia as a region made up of interconnected networks. Topics will include the “maritime Silk Road,” Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia, the expansion of European empires in Asian waters, and beyond. Reading assignments will include first-hand sources as well as recent academic scholarship on the study of maritime East Asia.

(Cronan) Tue-Thu 12:30-1:45 pm

This course traces the rise of the Mongol Empire on the Eurasian steppe in the 13th century, follows its campaigns in Eastern Eurasia, West Asia, and Southeast Asia, and examines how Mongol imperial rule was experienced in societies across the Eurasian landmass. Students will read eyewitness accounts, legal statutes, historical chronicles, and beyond to explore how the Mongols transformed the societies they conquered---and how their legacy was remembered.

(Vise) Mon-Wed 1:00-1:50 pm

The Black Death—the fourteenth-century pestilence that reduced the population of Europe by one third—has been and remains one of the great mysteries and sites of controversy for both historians and scientists. New data continue to be generated but these bring just as many questions as they do answers. What is the true story of the Black Death and how have scientists and historians worked together (or not!) to reconstruct it? This course will utilize an interdisciplinary approach to explore the causes, experiences, and consequences of this pandemic.

During this course, we will ask: how did Europeans explain and respond to the disease using scientific, political, and religious tools? How has science changed since then? How can we use modern science in our work as historians and what contributions might historians bring to the scientist’s bench? By the end of this course, students will be able to articulate informed perspectives on these topics, while providing compelling and balanced arguments for their interpretations. Students will also engage in a semester-long role-playing game in their Discussion Sections to investigate the techniques of discernment and imagination necessary to face major biological crises.

(Richardson) Tue-Thu 9:30-10:45 am

Explores the history of the Middle East and North Africa from late antiquity to the rise to superpower status of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. Topics include the formation of Islam and the first Arab-Islamic conquests; the fragmentation of the empire of the caliphate; the historical development of Islamic social, legal, and political institutions; science and philosophy; and the impact of invaders (Turks, Crusaders, and Mongols).

(Richardson) Thu 2:00-4:30 pm

Rather than viewing Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia as separate regions, this seminar approaches them as interconnected societies linked through maritime networks spanning more than two millennia. Drawing on literary texts, travel narratives, historical documents, films, and critical scholarship, students will explore how the Indian Ocean has shaped identities, languages, religions, and cultural imaginaries.

(Fayyaz) Tue-Thu 12:30-1:45 pm

This course aims to introduce students to Persian literature's contribution to global humanism through poetry and poetics. We'll explore how Persian romance novels in verse (masnavi) engage with themes like love, desire, beauty, and the Divine, and how these themes intersect with gender, religion, society, ethics, womanhood, and leadership. The main focus will be the narrative content, the poets' arguments, and the issues they raise.

(Fayyaz) Tue-Thu 2:00-3:15 pm

The course focuses on two key twelfth-century texts: Nasrullah Munshi's Kalila and Dimna (translated by Wheeler Thackston), a collection of animal fables--featuring lions, jackals, elephants, hares, tortoises, snakes, ducks, and even ants--rooted in Indian and Persian moral traditions; and Farid ud-Din Attar's The Conference of the Birds (translated by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis), a Sufi allegory exploring the soul's journey.

(Spittler) Mon-Wed 9:00-9:50 am

Studies the history, literature, and theology of earliest Christianity in light of the New Testament. Emphasizes the cultural milieu and methods of contemporary biblical criticism.

(Shuve) Mon-Wed 2:00-3:15 pm

Why were women excluded from the priestly hierarchy of the church? How did male clerics subsequently circumscribe women's roles in the church? And how did women respond? These are the questions that we will explore in this course on the intersection between gender and power in pre-modern Christianity.

(Riva) Tue-Thu 9:30-10:45 am

This course will explore medieval and early modern works written in Castilian from El Cid to Calderon's theater. We will focus on the function of these literary texts in the European and Mediterranean context. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisite: SPAN 3300 or placed out of SPAN 3300. Enrollment not allowed for 4th year Spanish majors.

(Velázquez-Mendoza) Mon-Wed 2:00-3:15 pm

Drawing on a comparative approach to language change, this course traces the primitive origins and historical development of the major linguistic changes that took place in the passage from Latin to Spanish and other Romance (i.e., Latin-derived) languages, mainly Portuguese, Italian, and French.