course archive

ART & ARCHAEOLOGY

ART 206/HLS 206 Byzantine Art and Architecture
Slobodan Ćurčić
MW 9-9:50 am

Art and architecture of the Eastern Mediterranean and Eastern Europe, from ca. 600 to ca. 1500. The course will focus on the art of the Byzantine empire and its capital, Constantinople, but will also consider its broader sphere of cultural influence ( Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Sicily, Venice, Serbia, Bulgaria, Rumania). The course will examine the major factors which shaped the artistic legacy of Eastern Christendom during the Middle Ages. (This course was formerly ART 310/HLS 310). For department majors, satisfies medieval distribution requirement.

ART 312 The Arts of Medieval Europe
M 12:30-1:20pm

This course covers a thousand years of magnificent artistic productions that have played a fundamental role in the development of Western consciousness, from late Antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages. Through a combination of historical and thematic approaches - ranging from the apocalyptic imagery of early Medieval manuscripts to the monumental programs of Gothic Cathedrals - students are introduced to fundamental analytical tools for the study and appreciation of Medieval art as it is considered both in its original socio-historical context and its universal significance. For department majors, satisfies medieval distribution requirement.

ART 398/HLS 398 The Byzantine Commonwealth: Then and Now
Slobodan Ćurčić, Petre R. Guran
MW 1:30-2:50pm

The aim of this course is to study how Byzantium shaped its "commonwealth" and created, even on territories it never possessed, a cultural mirror of itself. Through this mirror we can take a new look at Byzantium and its impact on the formation of wider cultural patterns that persist even today. The course is not merely a medieval history of the Eastern and Southeastern European nations, but an attempt to define the early stages of formation of certain political and cultural patterns associated with Byzantium and "Byzantinisms" in the Christian Orthodox societies of Eastern Europe. Each class session will have 50 minutes of lecture and 30 minutes of discussion. For department majors, satisfies the medieval/Islamic distribution requirement.

CLASSICS

CLA 552 The Classical Tradition in the Middle Ages: Virgil and His Epic in the Middle Ages
Janet M. Martin
F 9-11:50am

A study of the medieval reception and transmission of Virgil's Aeneid , with special but not exclusive attention to the story of Dido and Aeneas. Topics will take into account the interests of participants and in past years have included: the commentary tradition, beginning with Servius; the manuscript transmission of the Aeneid ; late-antique and medieval literary imitatio ; Ovidian challenges to the Aeneid ; Latin and vernacular visions of Virgil's life and poetry. This course is intended for classicists, medievalists, and others interested in the medieval fortunes of Virgil and his epic. Course Not Open to Freshmen.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

COM 205/HUM 205 The Classical Roots of Western Literature
Daniel Heller-Roazen
MW 1:30-2:20pm

An introduction to comparative literature, this course will investigate the many forms of cultural transmission: literary, historical, intellectual, political, religious. Readings of major works of the Greek, Roman, Arabic, and European traditions. From Greeks and barbarians to the Library of Alexandria, the foundation of Rome, the sacred texts of Christianity and Islam, and the traditions of learning in medieval Europe, we shall examine the different ways in which pagan, Jewish, Christian and Muslim cultures of Europe and the Near East have understood themselves as products of transmission.

COM 310 The Literature of Medieval Europe
Daniel Heller-Roazen
MW 3-4:20pm

This seminar will explore the rich traditions of Arthurian literature in the European Middle Ages and the many novel forms of composition to which they gave rise in romance and in historiography, in poetry as well as in prose. Topics to be examined include the relations between literature and history; literature and the law; the courtly lover; problems of reading and writing; the nature of the medieval quest; literary completion and fragmentation; the birth of the novel. Figures to be considered include Arthur, Merlin, Perceval, Tristan, Vivianne, and Lancelot. Works will be drawn from Latin, French, German and Italian literary traditions. The topic for 2005 is Arthurian Literature. All texts will be reading in translation, although study of the original texts is encouraged whenever possible.

ENGLISH

ENG 301 The Old English Period
Kathleen M. Davis
TTh 11-11:50am

What did English look like in the year 900? How did its poetry sound? This course aims to give the student a reading knowledge of Old English--which may sometimes seem foreign, but in many friendly ways is quite like Modern English. We will begin with basic structure and syntax, build a vocabulary, and translate regularly. The course will introduce Old English literature in its cultural context, as well as the ways its study has played a role in English history. We will also examine some manuscripts and facsimiles in order to gain appreciation for early medieval book technology and the complications of editing medieval texts.

ENG 307 Chaucer
John V. Fleming
TTh 1:30-2:20pm

The course is an introduction to the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer (d. 1400) in the original Middle English. The poetry will be studied with reference to the artistic, intellectual, and cultural traditions which inform it. The primary focus will be on Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde. The course deals with broad questions of medieval aesthetic theory and touches on various major topics in medieval intellectual history. In its approach (literary interpretation guided by historical analysis) it also engages some major issues in modern critical theory. Though the course is not taught from a primarily philological point of view, the practical mastery of Middle English will require careful and faithful preparation on a timely basis. A substantial portion of Middle English text (e.g. one or more individual tales) plus assigned and optional secondary readings. Course Not Open to Freshmen

ENG 511 Special Studies in Medieval Literature: Literary Theory in the Later Middle Ages
Alastair J. Minnis
M 1:30-4:20pm

We will study medieval literary theory mainly as it appears in commentary on the authoritative texts (the "auctores") studied in schools of grammar and theology. Topics will include: "Poetic Fiction and Truth", "Allegory and Authority in Biblical Exegesis", "The Dionysian Imagination", "The Tribulations of Tragedy", "From Latin to Vernacular", "Lollardy and Literary Theory". Special attention will be paid to the reception, reworking and transformation of Latin commentary-tradition as it was appropriated in the service of the emerging European vernacular literatures. Course Open to Graduate Students Only.

ENG 512 Chaucer I
John V. Fleming
Th 9-11:50am

The seminar's title is "Chaucer and the Classical Tradition." It will in effect offer an introduction to medieval literary classicism, and in particular the means by which the Homeric myths and the principal poems of Virgil and Ovid were transmitted to, and used by the Latin poets of the twelfth century, and such vernacular poets as Jean de Meun, Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, Chaucer, and Gower.

FRENCH & ITALIAN

ITA 221 Introduction to Italian Literature, Language, and Society: From the Beginnings to 1700
Simone Marchesi
M 11-12:20pm

A survey of Italian literature and culture from their beginnings up to the period of the Baroque. We will explore some of the distinguishing cultural and social ideals of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Mannerism and the Baroque. Particular emphasis will be placed on the tradition of autobiography in Italian literature. Prerequisite: ITA 107 or 1027, Permission of Instructor.

HISTORY

HIS 220 (cross-listed with NES 220/JDS 220)

HIS 443 (cross-listed with JDS 443)

HIS 544 Seminar in Medieval History
William C. Jordan
T 9-11:50am

Reading and research seminar on political culture in northern Europe in the thirteenth century. Reading knowledge of French required and of German encouraged. Course Open to Graduate Students Only. See instructor for complete reading list.

Humanities

HUM 227 (cross-listed with MED 227)

Judaic Studies

JDS 443/HIS 443 Jewish History Through the Middle Ages
Olga Litvak
MW 11am-12:20pm

This course provides a basic understanding of Jewish experience and expression, ranging from the Christianization of the Roman empire (4th c.) to the early Enlightenment (17th c.), introduces undergraduates to the historical study of Jews and Judaism. Looking at a variety of approaches to the formative questions in medieval Jewish historiography, we will explore the geographic, social, economic, political, and cultural dimensions of the pre-modern Jewish world. In the process, we will uncover surprising continuities and ruptures between the lives and ideas of medieval Jews and those of their contemporary heirs. No prerequisite but a background in European history is helpful.

Medieval Studies

MED 227/HUM 227 The World of the Middle Ages
Sara S. Poor
TTh 9-9:50am

An introduction to medieval culture in Western Europe from the end of the classical world to 1400. The course focuses on themes such as the medieval concepts of self, humanity, and God; nation-building, conquest, and crusade; relations among Christians, Jews, and Moslems; literacy, heresy, and the rise of vernacular literature; gender, chivalry, and the medieval court. Material approached through various cultural forms and media. Two lectures, one preceptorial. This course is required for Concentrators.

MUSIC

MUS 230 Music in Antiquity and the Middle Ages
Rob C. Wegman
TTh 11am-12:20pm

Intro to some important musical repertories from before 1400 A.D.: Ancient Greece; Gregorian chant; the troubadour culture; musical interactions among the Jewish, Muslim, European, & Byzantine cultures; the intellectual culture of music theory & the earliest polyphonic music. Among the problems & issues: how to recover ancient music from fragments of notation, surviving instruments, paintings & other artifacts; how to recover the medieval roots of oral traditions that are still practiced today; how ancient & medieval concepts of tuning, mode, notation, form, & language continued to shape the history of music long after the Middle Ages.

MUS 503 Medieval Musical Style and Notation
Peter G. Jeffery
Th 10am-12:50pm

Source studies, style-critical problems, readings from the theorists, and practical exercises in transcription from the musical notations of the 12th to the 15th centuries are studied. Course Not Open to Freshmen

NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

NES 220/HIS 220/JDS 220 Jews, Muslims, and Christians in the Middle Ages
Mark R. Cohen
MW 1:30-2:50pm

An introduction to the history and culture of the Jews in the Middle Ages (under Islam and Christendom) covering, comparatively, such topics as the inter-relationship between Judaism and the other two religions, interreligious polemics, political (legal) status, economic role, communal self-government, family life, and cultural developments. Course emphasizes close reading and discussion of important primary sources. No prior knowledge of Jewish history necessary or expected.

NES 442/HLS 442 Making of the Ottoman Balkans, 1353-1500
Heath W. Lowry
TTh 1:30-2:50pm

The Ottoman Empire is traditionally viewed through a paradigm which stresses its Islamic character. In keeping with this assessment its advances into southeastern Europe from the mid-fourteenth century onward are usually portrayed as stemming from a desire to expand the frontiers of the Islamic East at the expense of the Christian West. This course will present an alternative explanation: one focusing on the extent to which the early Ottomans absorbed the peoples, practices, and nobilities of the pre-existing Christian peoples of the Balkans.

NES 507 Readings in Medievel Hebrew Literature
Andras P. Hamori
Th 1:30-4:20pm

Selections from the Hebrew poetry of Muslim Spain, mainly by Halevi, Ibn Gabirol, and Moshe Ibn Ezra. The Arabic poetic background will be discussed, as well as the relevance of philosophical texts (e.g., Halevi's Kuzari, Ibn Gabirol's Maqor Hayyim) and Sufi writings. Some readings in Arabic for those who can handle them. Course Not Open to Freshmen.

NES 523 Readings in Judeo-Arabic
Mark R. Cohen
Th 1:30-4:20pm

An introduction to the reading of Arabic texts written by medieval Jews in the Hebrew script, especially documents from the Cairo Geniza. Readings of responsa (fatwas), literary texts, and especially historical documents from the Cairo Geniza. Final paper.
Course Not Open to Freshmen

SPANISH & PORTUGUESE

SPA 300/LAS 300 Hispanic Literature and Culture: Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque
Ronald E. Surtz
TTh 11am-12:20pm

A study of the formation of a literary tradition in Spanish through the close reading of selected texts in several genres from both Spanish and colonial Latin America. This course is required for Concentrators. Prerequisite: A 200-level Spanish course.

SPA 534 Seminar in Medieval Spanish Literature: Open and Closed Forms
Ronald E. Surtz
T 1:30-4:20pm

A study of the textus interruptus, including frame-narratives and the embedded texts they motivate, as well as cases in which an author's reading of a pre-existing work motivates him to compose a sequel that rewrites or interrogates the original text. Course Not Open to Freshmen