Courses in the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program
ME/R 246 Monsters, Villains, and Wives
NOT OFFERED IN 2008-2009. This course will select its monsters, villains, and wives from early English, French, and Anglo-Norman literature, ranging from the giant Grendel (and his mother) in Beowulf to the arch-villain Ganelon in The Song of Roland, from Guinevere to the wife of the enigmatic Green Man in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. We will finish by considering the survival of the magical villain in a modern-day fantasy classic like the medievalist J.R.R. Tolkien’s Hobbit, or a volume in his Lord of the Rings trilogy, and in John Gardner’s recasting of the Beowulf-story, Grendel.
Prerequisite: None
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: Spring Unit: 1.0
ME/R 247 Arthurian Legend
Wall-Randell (Med/Ren and Englsih)
The legends of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, with their themes of chivalry, magic, friendship, war, adventure, corruption, and nostalgia, as well as romantic love and betrayal, make up one of the most influential and enduring mythologies in European culture. This course will examine literary interpretations of the Arthurian legend, in history, epic, and romance, from the sixth century through the sixteenth. We will also consider some later examples of Arthuriana, on page and movie screen, in the Victorian and modern periods.
Prerequisite: None
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: Spring Unit: 1.0
ME/R 248 Medieval Women Writers
NOT OFFERED IN 2008-2009.
This course explores a variety of texts by medieval women writers and the contexts in which and against which they were written. These texts raise questions about the role of the female body and about strategies of self-authorization which remain important today. The writers we will consider in depth are Marie de France, Heloise (and Abelard), selected medieval mystics, Margery Kempe, Julian of Norwich, and Christine de Pizan.
Prerequisite: None
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: Fall Unit: 1.0
ME/R 344 Tales of Love
Lynch (Med/Ren and English)
Topic for 2008-09: The Love Story of Troilus and Criseyde. This seminar will trace the love story of Troilus and Criseyde (or as she is alternately called Briseida or Cressida from its origins in the Middle Ages through Shakespeare’s treatment in the Renaissance (and beyond). We will especially note the evolution of Criseyde’s character as she is handled by different (male) authors as well as questions of historical truth that are linked to the transgressions of this lovely but faithless woman. Versions of her story taken from Latin, Old French, Italian, and Middle Scots texts will be considered alongside the canonical versions of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Dryden. During the first month, the course will meet an additional hour for the instruction in Middle English that will enable students to read Chaucer’s poem in its original Middle English.
Prerequisite: Open to juniors and seniors or by permission of instructor. Preference given to medieval/renaissance majors.
Distribution: Language and Literature
Semester: N/O Unit: 1.0
ME/R 350 Research or Individual Study
Prerequisite: Open by permission to juniors and seniors.
Distribution: None
Semester: Fall, Spring Unit: 1.0
ME/R 360 Senior Thesis Research Prerequisite: By permission of the directors of the medieval/renaissance studies program. See Directions for Election and Academic Distinctions.
Distribution: None
Semester: Fall, Spring Unit: 1.0
ME/R 370 Senior Thesis
Prerequisite: 360 and permission of department.
Distribution: None
Semester: Fall, Spring Unit: 1.0
Related Courses For Credit toward the Major
For more information about these courses, please visit department websites.
History of Art
ARTH 100 Introduction to the History of Art Part I: Ancient and Medieval Art
ARTH 100/WRIT 125 Introduction to the History of Art Part I: Ancient and Medieval Art
ARTH 101 Introduction to the History of Art Part II: Renaissance to the Present
ARTH 101/WRIT 125 Introduction to the History of Art Part II: Renaissance to the Present
ARTH 201 The Art and Architecture of the High Middle Ages in Europe
ARTH 218 From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Painting in the Netherlands in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries
ARTH 221 Seventeenth-Century Dutch and Flemish Painting
ARTH 227 Islamic Architecture and the Age of the Caliphates
ARTH 244: Sixteenth-Century Art in Italy
ARTH 246: The Baroque and Rococo in Italy
ARTH 247 Islamic Art and Architecture
ARTH 251: Italian Renaissance Art and Architecture 1300-1500
ARTH 267 Cross-Cultural Encounters in the Early Medieval Mediterranean
ARTH 268 Art, Architecture, and Pilgrimage in the Medieval World
ARTH 305 Seminar. History of Prints: New Media of the Renaissance
ARTH 310 Renaissance Architecture, Material Culture and Urban Form
ARTH 330: Seminar. Italian Renaissance Art
ARTH 331 Seminar. The Art of Early Modern Europe
ARTH 332 Seminar. Topics in Medieval Art.
ARTH 369 Seminar. Conservation Studies: The Material and Techniques of Painting and Sculpture
Studio Art
ARTS 107 Book Arts Studio
Classical Civilization
CLCV 211/311 Epic and Empire
English
ENG 112 Introduction to Shakespeare
ENG 213 Chaucer
ENG 222 Renaissance Literature
ENG 223 Shakespeare Part I: The Elizabethan Period
ENG 224 Shakespeare Part II: The Jacobean Period
ENG 225 Seventeenth-Century Literature
ENG 227 Milton
ENG 315 Advanced Studies in Medieval Literature
ENG 324 Advanced Studies in Shakespeare
ENG 325 Advanced Studies in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Literature
ENG 383 Women in Literature, Culture, and Society. Topic for 2007-08: The Myth of Elizabeth
Extradepartmental/Experimental
EXP 235 Marvels of Paris and Versailles under Louis XIV
EXTD 240 Papyrus to Print to Pixel
French
FREN 301 Books and Voices in Renaissance France
History
HIST 208 Society and Culture in Medieval Europe
HIST 209 The British Isles: From Roses to Revolution
HIST 213 Conquest and Crusade in the Medieval Mediterranean
HIST 214 Medieval Italy
HIST 219 The Jews of Spain and the Lands of Islam
HIST 222 The Barbarian Kingdoms of Early Medieval Europe
HIST 227 The Renaissance in Italy and Northern Europe
HIST 232 The Transformation of the Western World: Europe from 1300 to 1815
HIST 246 Vikings, Icons, Mongols, and Tsars
HIST 279/379 Heresy and Popular Religion in the Middle Ages
HIST 307 Seminar. Religious Change and the Emergence of Modernity in Early Modern Europe, 1600-1800
HIST 330 Seminar. Revolution and Rebellion in Twelfth-Century European Society
Italian Studies
ITAS 263 Dante (in English)
ITAS 311 Theatre, Politics, and the Arts in Renaissance Italy
ITAS 312 Rinascimento e Rinascimenti: Cultural Identities in Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century Italy
Music
MUS 200 History of Western Music I
MUS 224/REL 224 Hildegard of Bingen
Philosophy
PHIL 226 Human Nature in Three Medieval Philosophers
PHIL 310 Seminar. Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
PHIL 323: Fides et Ratio: Augustine’s Confessions and the Philosophical Origins of Christianity
Political Science
POL4 240 Classical and Medieval Political Theory
Religion
REL 215 Christian Spirituality
REL 216 Christian Thought: 100-1600
REL 224/MUS 224 Hildegard of Bingen
REL 226 The Virgin Mary
REL 240/CLCV 249 Romans, Jews, and Christians in the Roman Empire
REL 242 Introduction to Rabbinic Literature
REL 260 Islamic Civilization
REL 261 Cities of the Islamic World
REL 262 The Formation of the Islamic Tradition
REL 361 Seminar. Studying Islam and the Middle East
REL 364 Seminar. Sufism: Islamic Mysticism
REL 367 Seminar. Muslim Travellers
Spanish
SPAN 252 Christians, Jews, and Muslims: The Spirit of Spain in Its Literature
SPAN 300 Seminar. Honor, Monarchy, and Religion in Golden Age Drama
SPAN 302 Seminar. Cervantes
SPAN 307 Seminar. The Clothed and the Naked in Colonial Latin America
SPAN 318 Seminar. Love and Desire in Spain’s Early Literature
