Spring 2013 Courses
I. Undergraduate Course Descriptions
II. Graduate Course Descriptions
III. Schedule Grid of All Courses
Note: For Cross-listed courses the CRN is that for MDVL; the CRN for
other Departments will differ
I. Undergraduate Courses
MDVL 201 Medieval Literature and Culture
Same as CWL 253 and ENGL 202
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for:
Literature and the Arts
Western Compartv Cult
3 credit hours
CRN 43185 Lecture-Discussion E
MWF 1:00-1:50 149 Henry Admin
Instructor: R. Barrett
This course introduces students to the cultural diversity of the European
Middle Ages by focusing on eight literary journeys. Some are historical treks: an
Arab diplomat heads north into the frozen territory of the Rus, a Castilian
mercenary seeks service in the courts of Muslim Spain, a Norman clerk recruits
Crusaders amidst the mountains of Wales, and an English housewife goes on
pilgrimage just about everywhere. Others traverse imaginary terrain: a lovesick
dreamer enters the mindscape of his beloved, a Florentine poet descends into
Hell, a grim outlaw fights trolls and zombies in the wilds of Iceland, and two
knights errant wander the forests of Arthurian legend on never-ending quests.
All eight journeys share an interest in encountering the alien (barbarians,
foreigners, monsters, prodigies, heretics, etc.) as well as a realization of travel’s
potential for self-alienation. We’ll read our texts in Modern English translation,
and we’ll undertake a variety of assignments: frequent short reading responses,
two medium-length essays, and two exams.
MDVL 222 Medieval Art
Same as ARTH 222
3 credit hours
CRN 46127 Lecture AM
TR 9:30-10:50
302 Architecture
Instructor: A. Marina
An introduction to the art and architecture of Western Europe from the 4th to
the 14th centuries. No prerequisites.
Landscape Architecture 222 Islamic Gardens and
Architecture
Same as ARCH 222
3 credit hours
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for:
Non-Western Cultures
Hist&Philosoph Perspect
CRN 58986 Lecture A
TR 11:00-12:20
Room TBA
Instructor: D. Fairchild Ruggles
From the 7th century to the present, the Islamic world extended at various
times from Spain, into Africa, the Middle East and Balkans, to Central and
South Asia and Indonesia. The built environment is characterized by
architecture centered on large open courtyards, often gardened, and a
sophisticated system for organizing, irrigating, and cultivating the landscape.
The themes for the course, which is both topical and historical, include the
greening and settlement of the desert, the formation of an Islamic culture with
a distinct visual vocabulary, the agricultural landscape, gardens of myth and
memory, architectural and garden typology and symbolism, and architecture as
a theater for political display.
MDVL 251 Viking Mythology
Same as CWL 251, RLST 251, and SCAN 251
3 credit hours
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for:
Hist&Philosoph Perspect
Western Compartv Cult
Instructor: B. Malekin
CRN 34202 Lecture-Discussion AE1 MW 200:-2:50; F discussion session
Studies pre-Christian beliefs of the Germanic peoples as reflected primarily in
medieval Icelandic prose and poetry (in translation).
MDVL 252 Viking Sagas in Translation
Same as CWL 252 and SCAN 252
3 credit hours
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for:
Literature and the Arts
Western Compartv Cult
Instructor: B. Malekin
CRN 58487 Lecture-Discussion C
MWF 10:00-10:50
Viking Sagas in Translation is a course designed as an introduction to the
medieval Icelandic sagas which record the traditions of the Viking Age. The
sagas are one of the great medieval literatures, but they are unique by virtue of
subject matter, prose form, and narrative technique. In the course of the
semester we will discuss the special conditions under which these sagas have
been composed: the cultural background of the texts as well as their
transmission, structure, form, and socio-historical validity. The discussions of
the cultural aspects will deal with such issues as the settlement of Iceland,
Icelandic society, love and marriage, blood feuds, law and legal systems, pagan
religion, the conversion to Christianity, politics, social customs, poetry, travels
abroad, etc. During the course we will read and discuss several Icelandic sagas
as well as a few shorter tales.
French 323 Major Literary Figures. Marie de France:
Authorship, Patronage, Reading and Textuality in the
Twelfth Century
Prerequisite: FR 207, FR 208, FR 209, and FR 210; or equivalents.
3 credit hours
CRN 43803 Lecture-Discussion S
TR 2:00-3:30
Room TBA
Instructor: K. Fresco
As we read the works attributed to Marie—her lays, beast fables and legend of
Saint Patrick—we will consider a woman’s self-definition in a culture whose
understanding of creativity and authority commonly excluded women. We will
also sample works that form the cultural context of her times—courtly
lovesong, romance, didactic literature, medical and theological discourse. We
will approach our subject from three angles, the representation of women in
texts, women as audience, and women as poets. Texts in modern French. This
course will be taught in French.
MDVL 344 Medieval Jewish Thought
CRN 58882 Lecture-Discussion TR 12:30–1:50
Instructor: D. Weiss
Study of the distinctive religious ideas, movements, and figures of Medieval Judaism
[500 CE – 1700 CE]. Topics include theology, philosophy, Talmudic and Biblical
exegesis, mysticism, Jewish-Christian polemics, and law. Emphasis will be placed not
only on content and form, but also on historical and social context.
MDVL 345 Medieval Civilization
Same as HIST 345 and RLST 345
3 credit hours
CRN 40120 Lecture-Discussion A
MWF 11:00-11:50 321 Gregory
Instructor: M. McLaughlin
Economy, society and culture in Europe during the High Middle ages (11th
through 14th centuries): this course focuses on the relationship between
medieval social and economic structures, and such cultural manifestations as
epic and romantic literature, gothic and romanesque architecture, scholastic
theology and monasticism.
English 412 Medieval British Literatures: Topic:
Troilus and Criseyde: Love and Loss in Medieval Troy
Same as CWL 417 and MDVL 410
3 OR 4 credit hours
Prerequisite: One year of college literature or consent of instructor.
CRN 52271 Lecture-Discussion 1U MWF 11:00-11:50 149 Henry Admin
CRN 52273 Lecture-Discussion 1G MWF 11:00-11:50 149 Henry Admin
Instructor: M. Camargo
Dramatically set in the midst of the Trojan War, the story of the tragic love
affair between the Trojan prince Troilus, youngest son of Priam and Hecuba,
and the beautiful young Trojan widow Criseyde, daughter of the turncoat priest
Calchas, was told and retold for more than five hundred years. A minor
character in the ancient sources, Troilus was transformed into a romance hero
by the twelfth-century French writer Benoît de Sainte-Maure. His exploits as
warrior and lover were recounted in the thirteenth-century Latin history of the
Trojan War by Guido de Columnis, and in the following century he became the
hero of his own poem, written in Italian by Giovanni Boccaccio. Boccaccio’s
work was the major source for Chaucer’s version of the story, which was
considered Chaucer’s masterpiece during his lifetime and for centuries
afterward. The Scots poet Robert Henryson even wrote a sequel to complete
Criseyde’s part of the story. William Shakespeare recast Chaucer’s narrative still
more radically as a play, which John Dryden subsequently reshaped into a
proper neoclassical tragedy with Cressida as tragic heroine. We will read all of
these versions--those by Benoît, Guido, and Boccaccio in modern English
translations, the others in the original English—but will focus especially on the
brilliant treatments of the story by Chaucer and Shakespeare. Prominent topics
of discussion will include the characterization of Criseyde and the issue of
female desire, the relationship between public and private history, and the
changing conceptions of tragedy.
MDVL 444 Medieval England
Same as HIST 445
2 TO 4 credit hours
CRN 39784 Lecture-Discussion U3 3 hours undergrad credit
CRN 32266 Lecture-Discussion G2 2 hours grad credit
CRN 39783 Lecture-Discussion G4 4 hours grad credit
MW 12:30-1:50
Room TBA
Instructor: C. Symes
This course is devoted to some key sources and topics of English history, from
the end of Roman rule in Britain (c. 410) to the fifteenth century. Readings and
discussions will focus on the formation of a distinctive Anglo-Saxon culture,
the continuity and discontinuity of identities and institutions before and after
the Norman conquest of 1066, the ongoing tensions resulting from internal
and external colonization, and significant cultural and social developments.
Recurrent themes include the emergence of distinctive legal and political
institutions, the roles of women, the status of commoners, intellectual trends,
and the importance of public media for the dissemination of ideas (writing,
performance). Students will be expected to read secondary scholarship and
primary sources in English, as well as some texts in Middle English; to
participate actively in class discussions and exercises; and to write several
papers. Graduate students will complete additional readings and a research
paper or critical review essays.
Religious Studies 482 Muslim-Christian Interactions
3 OR 4 credit hours
CRN 38614 Lecture-Discussion A4
TR 2:30-3:50 G36 Foreign Langs
Instructor: V. Hoffman
This course explores the complexity of Muslim-Christian interactions since
early Islam, including theological and philosophical exchanges, debates,
polemics, interfaith dialogue, perceptions of each other, Muslim minorities in
the West, and Christian minorities in the Muslim world, and the relationship of
religion to culture.
II. Graduate Courses
MDVL 500 Seminar in Medieval Studies. Topic: Ugly
Beasts, Talking Monkeys: Animals in the Middle Ages
Meets with ITAL 510
4 credit hours
CRN 58468 Lecture-Discussion T
T 2:00-4:20
1020 Lincoln
Instructor: E. Stoppino
This seminar will explore the boundaries between humans and animals in medieval
texts. The categories we will use to investigate the distinctions between animals and
humans include metamorphosis, contagion, education, taxonomy, subjugation,
hunting, representation, anthropomorphism and zoomorphism, wilderness, misogyny,
and promiscuity. To probe these categories and distinctions, we will make use of a
series of critical approaches, from critical animal studies to posthumanism, within the
disciplinary specificity of Medieval Studies. A series of guest speakers, from Illinois
and other Universities, will participate in the seminar.
MDVL 508 Beowulf
Same as ENGL 508
4 credit hours
Prerequisite: Reading knowledge of Old English (English 407 or equivalent).
CRN 43537 Lecture-Discussion G
MW 3:30-4:45
309 English
Instructor: C. Wright
Hwæt! In this course we will read the entire poem Beowulf in the original Old
English. Beowulf is one of the finest long poems in the English language from
any period (just ask Seamus Heaney), and how often do you get to immerse
yourself in a great literary work for an entire semester? As we translate the
poem we will discuss literary, historical, and cultural problems in conjunction
with a selection of the best literary criticism from J. R. R. Tolkien’s landmark
essay “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” to the most recent approaches,
such as critical monster theory.
Course requirement: one research paper of about 15-20 pages (no exams).
Undergraduates who have taken Old English (English 407) are welcome! Just
send me an e-mail <cdwright@illinois.edu> so I can send you the necessary
instructor’s permission to enroll in a 500-level class; then take my note to the
Graduate Studies Office in the English Building (Room 210) to enroll (you
won’t be able to do it online).
Texts: Klaeber’s Beowulf, 4th ed., ed. R. D. Fulk, R. Bjork, and J. Niles; A Beowulf
Handbook, ed. Bjork and Niles
Library and Information Science 590 Advanced
Problems in LIS. Topic: History of the Book
CC-Library Info Science course.
Restricted to Graduate students
4 credit hours
CRN 46758 Lecture-Discussion HB
F 10:00-12:50
131 LIS
Instructor: B. Mak
A graduate course on the history of the book. Explores the past and future of
writing technologies, and considers the role of the book in the production and
transmission of knowledge. Students will examine different approaches to the
study of the book, including those of palaeography, diplomatics, bibliography,
art history, musicology, textual criticism, digital humanities, and new media
studies.
III. Schedule Grid of All Courses (Over)
Monday
9:30
Tuesday
222 Mdvl
Art (to
10:50)
10:00 252 Viking
Sagas
11:00 345 Mdvl
Civ.
LA 222
Islamic
Gardens
412 Troilus
12:30 444 Mdvl
England (to
1:50)
1:00
2:00
201 Mdvl
Lit. &
Culture
251 Viking
Myth
508 Beowulf
(to 4:45)
Thursday
252 Viking
Sagas
252 Viking
Sagas
345 Mdvl
Civ.
LIS 590
Hist Book
(to 12:50)
345 Mdvl
Civ.
LA 222
Islamic
Gardens
412 Troilus
344 Mdvl
Jewish
Thought
444 Mdvl
England (to
1:50)
412 Troilus
344 Mdvl
Jewish
Thought
201 Mdvl Lit.
& Culture
FR 323
Marie de
France
(to 3:30)
Friday
222 Mdvl
Art (to
10:50)
251 Viking
Myth
500 Mdvl
Animals (to
4:20)
482
Muslim/
Christian
2:30
3:30
Wednesday
201 Mdvl
Lit. &
Culture
FR 323
Marie de
France
(to 3:30)
482
Muslim/
Christian
508 Beowulf
(to 4:45)
444 Mdvl
England
(to 1:50)