Fall 2013 Courses
I. Undergraduate Course Descriptions
II. Graduate Course Descriptions
Note: For Cross-listed courses the CRN is that for MDVL; the CRN for
other Departments will differ
I. Undergraduate Courses
MDVL 111 Ancient to Medieval Art
Same as ARTH 111
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for:
Literature and the Arts
4 credit hours
Instructor: A. Marina
CRN 37084 Lecture AL1 (students must also register for a discussion section)
MWF 12:00-12:50
134 Temple Buell
Development of the visual arts in Western Europe and the Near East in their cultural
contexts from prehistoric times until the early fifteenth century; includes Egyptian,
Greek, Roman, and medieval art and architecture.
MDVL 201 Medieval Literature and Culture. Topic:
Medieval Chivalry, East and West
Same as CWL 253 and ENGL 202
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for:
Literature and the Arts and Western Compartv Cult
3 credit hours
Instructor: M. Camargo
CRN 33892
TuTh 11:00-12:15
221 Gregory Hall
Chivalry, a set of ideals that was supposed to guide a knight’s conduct as
warrior and lover, was a prominent theme of medieval literature that continues
to influence popular culture from the Boy Scouts to the Jedi of Star Wars. The
concept of chivalry was not limited to the knights in shining armor and the
beautiful damsels (often in distress) featured in the medieval romances of
Western Europe. Elements of the chivalric code, especially the rules governing
what is known as ‘courtly love,’ may have originated in Islamic culture, and the
ideal of the virtuous warrior found its counterpart in the Islamic futuwwah (the
way of the young man) and the Japanese bushido (the way of the warrior), as the
code of the Samurai came to be called. In this course we will look at some of
the ways in which these chivalric codes were defined, celebrated, and/or
critiqued in literature written during the Middle Ages. Works that we will read,
discuss, and compare include two love manuals--The Dove’s Neck-Ring by Abu
Muhammad Ali ibn Said ibn Hazm and The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas
Capellanus; The Book of Sufi Chivalry by Muhamed ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami;
chivalric romances by Chrétien de Troyes, Marie de France, Wolfram von
Eschenbach, and the anonymous author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; and
selections from the classic Japanese Tale of the Heike and Tale of Genji.
Requirements: daily attendance and participation; short, written responses to
the readings; two medium-length papers; a final exam.
MDVL 240 Medieval and Renaissance Literature and
Culture. Topic: The Foul and the Fragrant
Same as ITAL 240 and CWL 240
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for
Literature and the Arts
3 credit hours
Instructor: E. Stoppino
CRN 53946
MWF 1:00-1:50
What is polite? What is forbidden? Why do we wash our hands and turn away
when we blow our noses? What is exactly "my personal space" and where does
this idea come from?
This course explores topics such as the formation of manners, the creation of
ideals of civility, the expectations for proper male and female behavior, the
representation of chivalric conduct. We will focus on the education of
the perfect poet, the perfect wife and the perfect nun; on the upbringing of the
perfect lady and of the perfect courtier, the care and grooming of the courtly
body, and the rejection of the lower bodily functions. Readings include works
by Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio, Franceso da Barberino, Niccolò Machiavelli,
Baldassarre Castiglione, and Giovanni della Casa, among others.
Lectures and readings are in English. Same as CWL 240 and MDVL 240.
MDVL 247 Medieval Europe
Same as HIST 247
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for:
Hist&Philosoph Perspect and Western Compartv Cult
3 credit hours
Instructor: M. McLaughlin
CRN 43301
MWF 2:00-2:50
1065 Lincoln
From the fragmentation of the Roman Empire to the formation of territorial
monarchies, this course surveys the events, innovations, crises, and movements
that shaped western Europe in a pivotal era known as "the Middle Ages."
Topics will include the spread of Christianity, the migration of peoples,
fundamental changes in economic and social structures, the development of
political institutions, the role of women, and the cultural achievements of
different communities (the monastery, the town, the court).
MDVL 252 Viking Sagas in Translation
Same as CWL 252 and SCAN 252
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for:
Literature and the Arts and Western Compartv Cult
3 credit hours
Instructor: B. Malekin
CRN 48307
MWF 11:00-11:50
G46 FLB
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.
ANTH 277 Ancient Cities, Sacred Landscapes
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for:
Social Sciences and Western Compartv Cult
3 credit hours
Instructor: T. Pauketat
CRN 46541
MW 9:00-11:20
113 Davenport
This course examines the theories and evidence of ancient cities around the
world and the cultural landscapes of which they were a part. We focus on whys
and hows that such places developed in China, Cambodia, the Near East,
Africa, Europe and the Americas at places such as An-Yang, Ur, Great
Zimbabwe, Teotihuacan, and Tiwanaku. And we examine the historical effects
of such cities by answering the questions “What’s a city, and what do cities do?”
Students are exposed to the theories of Coulanges, Certeau, and Soja, among a
few others, as we analyze the archaeological evidence of social and economic
processes, politics, and religion. There are readings, one lecture and one
discussion session every week. Students are graded on the basis of their
participation, two exams and four writing assignments.
MDVL 345 Medieval Civilization
Same as HIST 345 and RLST 345
3 credit hours
Instructor: M. McLaughlin
CRN 51285
MWF 11:00-11:50
315 Gregory
The architectural, artistic, philosophical, political, and religious components of
medieval culture, thought, and patterns of behavior; includes monasticism and
society and the individual.
MDVL 407 Old English
Same as ENGL 407
Instructor: C. Wright
CRN 49830
TuTh 12:30-1:45
108 English
In this course you will learn to read Old English prose and poetry in the
original language, which was spoken by the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants of
England from the sixth through eleventh centuries. This was the native
language of Caedmon, who wrote the earliest surviving English poem
(“Cædmon’s Hymn”); of King Alfred, who prevented the Vikings from
conquering England, and who then undertook a revival of learning by
translating into English “those books which it is most necessary for all to
know”; of the anonymous author of Beowulf, who memorialized a Germanic
hero’s battles with a man-eating monster, his vengeful mother (the monster’s,
that is), and a dragon; and of abbot Ælfric and archbishop Wulfstan, who
preached in English for those who could not understand Latin, the official
language of the medieval church.
We will begin with some easy prose readings (the story of Adam and Eve from
Genesis, and a school dialogue about Anglo-Saxon “career choices”), and as
you gradually master the basics of Old English grammar we will work our way
up to more challenging narrative prose such as Bede’s story of Cædmon’s
miraculous transformation from cowherd to poet; King Alfred’s government
“white paper” on education reform; and Ælfric’s story of the martyrdom of
King Edmund, slain by Vikings invaders. Then in the second half of the
semester we will read some of the finest shorter Old English poems, including
The Wanderer and The Seafarer, two elegiac poems of exile; The Battle of Maldon,
recounting the heroic defeat of an English army by the Vikings; The Dream of the
Rood, a mystical vision of the Crucifixion, as told by the Cross; and The Wife’s
Lament, about a woman abandoned by her former lover.
MDVL 410 Topics in Medieval British Literatures.
Topic: Nature and the Non-Human in Medieval
England
Same as ENGL 412 and CWL 417
3 or 4 credit hours
Instructor: R. Barrett
CRN 61187
MWF 1:00-1:50
104 English Bldg.
The natural landscapes of medieval English literature are filled with human and
non-human agents: knights errant, intersex deer, half-giants, city mice, snake
ladies, talking crosses, and so on. In this course, we’ll explore the interactions
between these diverse beings, paying particular attention to their violations of
the so-called line between human and non-human. Nature itself, frequently
personified as a woman, will be an object of study, as will the ecologies our
characters traverse and modify in the course of their adventures. Among the
texts we’ll read in Modern English translation are the Exeter Book riddles of
Anglo-Saxon England (in which talking objects recount their histories and ask
you to guess their true identities), the Arthurian romance Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight (in which Sir Gawain finds himself the object of an all-too deadly
hunt), the exotic Travels of Sir John Mandeville (in which diamonds have sex and
give birth to baby diamonds), Chaucer’s Parliament of Fowls (in which the
goddess Nature serves as relationship counselor for a quartet of eagles), and
The Owl and the Nightingale (in which the two birds debate their relative
superiority).
MDVL 414 Boccaccio’s Decameron
Same as ITAL 414 and CWL 414
Prerequisite: Fulfillment of campus rhetoric requirement.
3 or 4 credit hours
Instructor: E. Stoppino
CRN 39453
MWF 11:00-11:50
In the 700th anniversary of Boccaccio's birth, this course explores his
collection of tales called Decameron, following the adventures of star-crossed
lovers and inveterate sinners, ambitious merchants and licentious priests,
cunning wives and clueless travelers.
Readings and discussions in English (with dedicated readings and discussions in
Italian for graduate students and majors).
FR 417 The History of the French Language
Same as MDVL 417
Prerequisite: FR 414
3 or 4 credit hours
Instructor: Zsuzsanna Fagyal
CRN 43243
TuTh 2:00-3:20
French is a Romance language, but Latin is just one of the many sources of
influence on its lexicon, enriched by Celtic, Germanic, and other Romance
languages, as well as Arabic and American English. We will retrace the history
of the French lexicon from Medieval texts to contemporary hip-hop lyrics
through internal (word formation) and external (borrowing) processes of
change that remain operational today. Registers and styles (taboo), professions
(jargon), social and race relations (argot, verlan), and global influences (rap, hiphop) in the lexicon will be tied to the cultural history of France and its colonies,
and processes of change, recycling, and loss that characterized words in French
in earlier and modern times. Textbook: The Vocabulary of Modern French: Origins,
Structure and Function, by H. Wise (Routledge), and papers in French. Midterm
and final paper; taught in French, with readings in English and French. Prerequisite: FR 414 or equivalent.
SLAV 430 History of Translation
Same as CLCV 430, CWL 430, ENGL 486, GER 405, SPAN 436, TRST 431
3 or 4 credit hours
Instructor: D. Cooper
CRN 58432 (A3) or 58432 (A4)
TuTh 2:00-3:20
This survey examines the historical development of translation ideas and
practices in Europe and in particular cases across major global regions through
the lens of contemporary theories of translation. It will focus on reading and
analysis of key texts in the development of translation theory and case studies
of translation practices and methods and the historical roles played by
translation. Students will read significant texts in the history of translation
theory and be able to discuss major ideas and developments in translation
theory from the Romans to the 20th century. Students will learn about
translation practices in a variety of historical periods and places, be able to
discuss the many roles that translation and translators have played in cultural
history, and learn approaches to the analysis of translations. Students will either
conduct research into the history of translation ideas and practices in a
particular literature at a particular historical moment and present their results in
the form of a scholarly essay or will translate into English a short work on
translation from their literature of concentration, from any historical period.
MDVL 443 Byzantine Empire AD 284-717
Same as HIST 443
3 or 4 credit hours.
Instructor: R. Mathisen
CRN 46628 (G4) or 46627 (U3)
TuTh 12:30-1:50
1062 Lincoln
Examination of the political, social, economic, military, institutional, religious
and cultural development of the early Byzantine Empire from the reign of
Diocletian (AD 284-305) through the Heraclian Dynasty (AD 610-717).
Same as MDVL 443. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: A
year of college history or consent of instructor.
II. Graduate Courses
MDVL 501 Topics in Medieval Studies. Topic: From
Script to Print: The Transformation of Medieval
Culture, c.1350-c. 1550
2 credit hours
Meets with LIS 590 SPM, CRN 44041
Instructor: J. Clark (Exeter University)
CRN 61645
TuTh 2:00-4:00
Reading Room, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Main Library
This special seminar, taught by distinguished Visiting Professor James Clark
(Exeter Univ.), will meet twice weekly for 5 weeks (from 27 August to 26
September), followed by 3 weeks of distance-supervision of students’ research
projects until the end of the 8-week term (19 October).
Between the Black Death and the Break with Rome the cultural life of Western
Europe was transformed. Even before moveable metal type came out of the
Rhineland, old orthodoxies had been unsettled by novel scholarship, fervent
classicism and vigorous, vernacular polemic carried in manuscript to a widening
constituency of consumers. Print cemented these novelties and created a
responsive reading public. It was this engaged, social community of readers that
ensured renewed calls for reform around 1517 were not to be stifled and which
became the focus of princely and pontifical efforts to confessionalize the
continent. These remarkable changes might be studied by means of particular
authors, texts or indeed the more dominant ideas but this course will focus on
arguably the most powerful agents, the books themselves. In each seminar, an
original book from the period will act as a point-of-entry into the key
developments, and their effects for the people of Europe.
The course begins by exploring cultural life in Europe in the mid-fourteenth
century, and the transformations occurring in three, connecting contexts: the
challenge within the universities to conventional philosophical, exegetical and
theological method, led in England by John Wyclif; the effort to recover the
texts and teachings of classical antiquity, arising especially in northern Italy and
among the international community at Avignon; and the development of a
lively vernacular discourse which found an audience beyond the clerical
establishment. Also examined is the place of learning, reading and the
consumption of books in different social strata. The course then turns to
address the advent of printing in the second half of the fifteenth century and its
effects not only on elite learning but also on the cultural and social patterns of
the populace as a whole; it also confronts the continuing historical debate over
the contribution of print culture to the making of Renaissance and
Reformation.
Course requirements: class presentation & 20-page seminar paper for
submission at the close of the eight-week course. There is no language prerequisite.
Among the original source-books to be considered:
Piers Plowman Z Text [Oxford, Bodleian Library, Bodley MS 851] (before
1388?); Wyclif’s Latin [Oxford, Oriel College, MS 15] (c. 1400); Petrarch’s Virgil
[Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Codex A. 49. Inf.] (1340); The Shrewsbury
Talbot Codex [British Library, Royal MS 15 C VI] (1445); The Gutenberg Bible
(Mainz, 1454-55); Caxton’s Ovid (Westminster, 1483); Sebastian Brandt, Der
narrenschiff (Basel, 1494); William Tyndale’s New Testament (1526)
Select Bibliography:
The Uses of Script and Print, 1300-1700, (ed.) J. C. Crick & A. Walsham
(Cambridge, 2004); The Production of Books in England, 1350-1500, (ed.) A.
Gillespie & D. Wakelin (Cambridge, 2011); Image, Text and Church, 1380-1660,
(ed.) M. Jurkowski and C. Richmond (Toronto, 2009); Gentry culture in late
medieval England, (ed.) R. Radelescu & A. Truelove (Manchester, 2005) C. G.
Nauert, Humanism and the Culture of Renaissance Europe (Cambridge, 1996) The
Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Humanism, (ed.) J. Kraye (Cambridge, 1996);
The Cambridge History of the Book III. 1400-1557, (ed.) L. Hellinga and J. B. Trapp
(Cambridge, 1999); E. Eisenstein, The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe
(Revsd edn., Cambridge, 2012); L. Febvre & H-J. Martin, The Coming of the Book.
The Impact of Printing, 1450-1800 (Revsd edn., London, 1997); J. N. King, ‘The
Materiality of English Printed Bibles from the Tyndale New Testament to King
James’, in The King James Bible after 400 Years, (ed.) H. Hamelin and N. W. Jones
(Cambridge, 2010)
RLST 503 Renaissance of the Bible
Meets with LIS 590 CRN 35250
4 credit hours
Instructors: D. Price and V. Hotchkiss
CRN 61489
W 3:00-5:00
The course explores the cultural, intellectual, and political circumstances of
Bible production in Early Modern Europe. Major focus is on the impact of
print technology on cultural changes. Course will meet frequently in the Rare
Book and Manuscript Library and students will be encouraged to use holdings
of the RBML for their projects. Some specific topics will be history of
Renaissance humanism, the function of biblical studies in the reform
movements (including the Catholic Reformation), translations of the Bible, the
politics and artistry of the English‐ language Bible (Tyndale through the King
James Version), and the artistic presentation of the Bible (especially printed art
and the Bible). Issue of the physicality of the book, the book as cultural object,
book design, and intentional design for reader reception will be discussed. We
will also explore challenges to the Bible’s authority in the seventeenth century
(in particular Spinoza).
MDVL 511 Seminar in Chaucer. Topic: Twenty-First
Century Chaucer
Same as ENGL 511
4 credit hours
Instructor: M. Camargo
CRN 61217
W 1:00-2:50
309 English Bldg.
The focus of this seminar will not be a particular theme, approach, or set of
Chaucerian texts but rather the scholarship on Chaucer published since 2000
(with allowance for continuing trends that first emerged during the 1990s). We
will first orient ourselves by reading and discussing several published overviews
of the field. Due to the amount of publication on Chaucer, such overviews
have come to constitute an important scholarly genre in their own right. Using
criteria derived from this metascholarship, in combination with the individual’s
own critical and theoretical predilections, each member of the seminar will
identify a coherent body of Chaucer scholarship to survey in greater detail and
present to the seminar (with a limited number of assigned readings). The other
major work for the seminar will be a research paper (20-25 pages) on a
Chaucerian topic of the student’s choice. In form, this paper should resemble
an original article suitable for publication in a scholarly journal. There is no
requirement that the paper belong to the specific subfield of scholarship
previously surveyed by its author.
MDVL 522 Studies in Medieval Art: Topic: The
Problems of Plunder: Spolia in Medieval Art
and Architecture
Same as ARTH 522
4 credit hours
Instructor: A. Marina
CRN 47565
W 3:00-5:50
240 Art and Design Building
This seminar will explore classic and contemporary debates on the nature and
meaning of the ubiquitous practice of incorporating preexisting artifacts into
new objects or monuments in the Middle Ages. Modern art historical discourse
lumps these reused elements together under the catchword spolia (plunder),
although they were not necessarily acquired by violent means. Scholars
of spolia have focused on developing competing taxonomies of reuse, or on
monuments that include ancient Roman fragments. How useful has the
taxonomic approach been in interpreting the phenomenon? Has the emphasis
on the antique obscured other modes of spoliation? How does it relate to other
modes of citation or allusion? What other conceptual frameworks might
illuminate the practices of material reuse in the Middle Ages?
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
Instructor: B. Mak
CRN 51750
F 10:00-12:50
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.