Classical Studies:

GREK 602.401 crosslisted with COML 606
Sophists
M 7-10
Rita Copeland and Ralph Rosen

The teachers, rhetoricians, and philosophers of 5th-century Athens known collectively as the Sophists were controversial in their own time, and they have occupied a controversial place in intellectual and cultural history ever since. Plato polemicized against them, Aristophanes satirized them, Aristotle refuted them, and generations of rhetorical theorists in Greek and Latin attempted to differentiate their art from the supposedly debased model of sophistic rhetoric. All this despite the fact that in their day many of them could be considered foundational thinkers in areas we would call anthropology, linguistics, psychology and cultural studies. Sophistic thought found its way indirectly but powerfully into the Middle Ages, where it represented both a despised falsification of philosophical argument and a dangerously attractive logic of paradoxes and insolubilia. Culturally the (spectral) figure of the Sophist served as image of both the familiar and the outsider, linked intimately with academic identity but also with the falsifier and heretic. As in Antiquity, so in later periods the Sophist came to embody anxieties about persuasive discourse and negation. But in the thought of Hegel and then Nietzsche, the Sophists were recovered and “rehabilitated” as a crucial moment in the history of philosophy, and among modern intellectual historians (Untersteiner, Jaeger, de Romilly) as well as philosophers (Heidegger, Derrida) their contributions have been reevaluated.

In this course, taught jointly by medievalist Rita Copeland and classicist Ralph Rosen, we study the Sophists in classical antiquity and in and their post-classical reception. We will begin by getting as close as possible to them through the fragmentary records that remain of their own ideas and arguments, and then we will look at how they were represented philosophically by Plato and Aristotle as well as culturally by Aristophanes. We will study their afterlife in Late Antiquity and especially the Middle Ages, in both Latin and vernacular contexts, with special attention to the seductions of “sophistic” as a form of logic and to the ways that the Sophist defined heresy debates in England. We will consider the central role that they came to play in Hegel’s understanding of the history of philosophy and in Nietzsche’s antifoundationalist thought. Throughout the semester we will also be considering twentieth-century philosophical and historical reassessments of their importance.

The readings for the course will all be available in English for students who do not read Greek or Latin.

ANCH 230.401 - crosslisted with JWST 229, NECL 289, and RELS 229
Early Jewish Magic
R 1:30-4:30
Harari

This course will deal with the Jewish culture of magic in Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. It will focus on two aspects: how was Jewish magic characterized within the evidence provided by "insiders," namely practitioners, and how was it described and presented in "outsider" accounts, mainly rabbinic sources. We will examine magical artifacts such as amulets and magic bowls, as well as manuals and treatises of magic. The course explores the beliefs, practices and aims of Jewish magic activity. At the same time, we will delve into the political question of accusations of magic and their role in the struggle of the religious elites for monopoly over holiness and ritual power. All course materials will be in English.

Comparative Literature:  

COML 235.401 - crosslisted with RUSS 234/HIST219/SLAV 517 Medieval Russia: Origins of Russian Culture
TR 4:30-6
Julia Verkholantsev

This course offers an overview of the literary and cultural history of Medieval Rus' from its origins through the Late Middle Ages, a period which laid the foundation for the emergence of the Russian Empire. Three modern-day nation-states – Russia, Ukraine and Belarus – share and dispute the cultural heritage of Medieval Rus’, and their political relationships even today revolve around questions of national and cultural identity. The focus of the course will be on the Kievan and Muscovite traditions but we will also note the differences (and their causes) of the Ukrainian and Belarusian cultural histories. The course takes a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to the evolution of the main cultural paradigms of Russian Orthodoxy viewed in a broader European context. Students will explore the worldview of medieval Orthodox Slavs by delving into such topics as religion, spirituality, art, literature, education, music, ritual and popular culture.

The legacy of the Rus’ Middle Ages has a continuing cultural influence in modern Russia. This legacy is still referenced, often allegorically, in contemporary social and cultural discourse as the society attempts to reconstruct and reinterpret its history. Similarly, the study of the medieval cultural history of Rus’ explains many aspects of modern Russian society, and, in particular, the roots of its Imperial political mentality. Those interested in the intellectual and cultural history of Russia, and Eastern Europe in general, will find that this course greatly enhances their understanding of the region and its people.

COML 333.401
Dante's Divine Comedy
TR 10:30-12
Kevin Brownlee

In this course we will read the Inferno, the Purgatorio and the Paradiso, focusing on a series of interrelated problems raised by the poem: authority, fiction, history, politics and language. Particular attention will be given to how the Commedia presents itself as Dante's autobiography, and to how the autobiographical narrative serves as a unifying thread for this supremely rich literary text. Supplementary readings will include Virgil's Aeneid and selections from Ovid's Metamorphoses. All readings and written work will be in English. Italian or Italian Studies credit will require reading Italian texts in their original language and doing the written assignments in Italian.

COML 606.401 - crosslisted with GREK 602/ENGL 705
Sophists: Ancient Texts and Post-classical Interpretations M 7-10
Rita Copeland and Ralph Rosen

COML 638.401 - crosslisted with FREN 638 and MUSC 710
Etymologies of Medieval Song M 2-5
Kevin Brownlee and Emily Dillon

English:

025.001
Age of Chaucer
MW 2-3:30
David Wallace

In this class we come to speak as people spoke in England some six centuries ago: in medieval or ‘Middle’ English. We do this by reading the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer, a great poet who has influenced everyone from William Shakespeare to Sylvia Plath. Since medieval folks did not commonly read silently—all poetry was written to be shared and read aloud—we spend plenty of time performing and declaiming. And since Middle English takes some getting used to, class assignments are not heavy (usually about 800 lines per class). A typical course (each one varies somewhat, according to season and instructor) might begin by looking at a few lyrics and by reading one of the easier and shorter (but still very eventful) Canterbury Tales. The class might then read the greatest poem of love in the English language, Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, plus the nasty coda written to this poem by Scotsman Robert Henryson-- in medieval Scots-- the Testament of Crisseid (a text that set the tone of Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida). Returning to the Canterbury Tales, due attention would be paid to its extraordinary variety of comic, scatological, religious, allegorical, and beast epical genres. Representations of medieval Christianity, Judaism, and Islam will be compared; and we may occasionally consider aspects of film adaptation by Pier Paolo Pasolini (and by other filmmakers). We’ll also consider the contemporary adaptations of Chaucer by African-American poet Marilyn Nelson (poet laureate of Connecticut) and of Chaucer rapper Baba Brinkman. We’ll consider what it might have been like to live secure in an age of faith; or to live insecure, as a dizzying new profusion of trades and occupations sprang up in unprecedented ‘divisions of labor.’ We’ll imagine being a medieval woman. Above all, we’ll enjoy the poetry.

An early class assignment would likely be a multiple-choice vocabulary test, based on some 200 lines of Chaucer’s text (to be assigned). The second would be a translation and commentary exercise; the third a short essay. Assignment 4 might invite you to investigate any topic that is not Chaucer: medieval medicine, astrology, cookery, gynecology, trade, travel, warfare, sexuality, love sickness, etc. In assignment 5, you would revisit this essay and reshape it to enlighten moments in Chaucer’s text; you should thus end up with a strong piece of writing of about twelve pages.

No previous experience required. Read Middle English aloud and amaze your friends.

218.301
Beowulf
MW 2-3:30
Emily Steiner

Gold-hoards, dragons, creatures from the deep, a hero literally larger than life - this is the stuff of the oldest and, some think, the most beautiful of English epics, Beowulf. In this course we will master the basics of Old English grammar and poetics in order to read this classic poem in the original. We will also study the many cultures of Beowulf: 8th- to 10th-century literature, warfare, and religion; the charred 11th-century Beowulf manuscript, which includes Judith (who beheaded Holofernes), the Wonders of the East (cannibals), and Alexander's Letter to Aristotle (strange encounters in India); J.R.R. Tolkein's critical and creative responses to Beowulf; modern translations and adaptations, including Seamus Heaney's translation, Benjamin Bagby's recordings, John Gardiner's novel, Grendel and Roger Zemeckis's new film, Beowulf.

Assignments may include weekly translations, short quizzes, a final paper, and participation in a final performance at the Kelly Writers House called Old English Live!

No previous knowledge of Old English necessary!

225.301
Chaucer Research Seminar
MW 3:30-5
David Wallace

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is the most experimental, generically diverse poem in the whole history of English literature. At a time when the English language had unmatched plasticity and expressive force, Chaucer chose to write in many genres: classical romance, bedroom farce, Ovidian metamorphosis, saint's life, anti-feminist fable, feminist fairytale, poetic manifesto and prose treatise on the Seven Deadly Sins. By dressing contemporary characters in ancient garb, Chaucer was able to write a kind of science fiction before its time: medieval Londoners, depicted as ancient Trojans, Athenians, or Bretons, address vital and controversial issues of honor, belief, and afterlife.

Chaucer also wrote a poetry designed to be read aloud and appreciated in group settings. In this class we will devote considerable time to reading Chaucer aloud, mindful that each new reading is an act of interpretation. We will also see how later centuries have reacted to or rewritten Chaucer, beginning with a cranky anti-feminist Scottish schoolmaster (Robert Henryson): his coda to Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde exerted major influence upon the mood of Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida. More recent reworkings of Chaucer for consideration include Ted Hughes (and Sylvia Plath), African-American poet (and Connecticut poet laureate) Marilyn Nelson, and Chaucer rap artist Baba Brinkman.

The creative effort of this seminar builds towards one final, independent research paper. Form of assessment: one shorter essay (6pp.), one longer essay, with research component (12 pp. max); no incompletes. One critical reading (pass/pass) at some point in the semester: a reading of c. 20 lines of text, mindful that every reading aloud is an act of interpretation.

Students are invited to bring knowledge of later periods to this class; no prior medievalist experience required.

323.401 - crosslisted with COML 333
Dante's Divine Comedy
TR 10:30-12
Kevin Brownlee

701.301
Piers Plowman
R 12-3
Rita Copeland and Ralph Rosen

Germanic Languages & Literatures:

246
Heroes, Minstrels, Knights - Epics and Lyrics of the Middle Ages
TR 10:30-12
Francis Brevart

This course is designed to introduce students to the main genres and broader themes of medieval literature. To achieve this goal, we will read three medieval works of international literary importance: The Song of the Nibelungs as example of heroic literature, the romances of Hartman von Aue Erec and Iwein as examples of Arthurian literature, and Tristan and Isolde by Gottfried von Strasburg as an example of the tragic courtier romance. We will conclude our reading selection with a few representative love poems by German Minnesänger, the counterparts of the French Troubadours. Enjoying these literary works is the principal objective of this course. But we will first need to familiarize ourselves with the distant world of the Middle Ages, with the “alterity” of medieval mentality. To accomplish this, we will begin with informative sessions on the historical, political, social, economic, religious, and cultural situation of the 12 th and 13 th centuries during which time the works to be discussed were composed. Armed with this knowledge, we will proceed with a close reading of the texts and analyze in depth several recurring themes also found in other works of world literature written in different epochs. These include among others 1. the ubiquitous and timeless love theme, that of the grande passion, as expression of personal freedom in all its variations; 2. the theme of the bridal quest which, instead of leading to the traditional “happy end”, culminates in the Song of the Nibelungs in the total destruction and disintegration of entire peoples and values, and, in Tristan and Isolde, in the forced separation and utter misery of the ideal couple; 3. the theme of the weak king (roi fainéant; rex inutile), exemplified in the persons of King Arthur, Attila, and King Marke, surrounded by ambitious and ruthless vassals, as a reflection of 12 th century political reality; the theme of the courtier, exemplified in the persons of Tristan and Siegfried. Time permitting, we will allude to the reception and adaptation of Song of the Nibelungs, Tristan and Isolde, and of King Arthur in present day film and politics, in order to demonstrate the topicality of medieval literature.

History:

101.301
The First Crusade
M 2-5
Edward Peters

This seminar will examine the penitential military expedition to Jerusalem that was launched in November, 1095, conquered the city in July, 1099, and was subsequently called by historians, but not by participants, the First Crusade. We will study the individuals, ideas, and events of those years through the close examination of primary historical sources (texts and other materials produced at the time or shortly after) and through the consideration of selected secondary source materials (historical and other scholarship). We will also consider serious disputes among contemporary historians of the crusades. We will consider the three distinctive civilizations, parts or all of which were affected by the expedition: Latin Christian Europe, Greek Christian Byzantium (the Empire of East Rome), and the Middle Eastern (and Mediterranean western) Islamic world, as well as the culture of Jews in all three worlds. We will also consider the later interpretation of the expedition by historians, novelists, poets, politicians, and others that is, the First Crusade in cultural memory.

408
The World of Dante
T 1:30-4:30
Edward Peters

The course will focus on the life and most of the literary and philosophical works of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), a Florentine and Tuscan political figure, moral philosopher, poet, and exile, as well as on those of some of his predecessors and contemporaries. It will also deal with an extended world of Dante, that is, the immediate Florentine and Tuscan setting of most of his life, and on the larger spatial and chronological world of his perspective on Europe . Dante's son Pietro called his father a "theologian, philosopher, and a poet." To be either or both of the first two of these required a mental horizon far wider than that of Florence or Tuscany, and our course will reach out into those areas of the world in which philosophy and theology had a recognized existence and the means by which Dante got them and how he and others used them.

219
Literary and Cultural History of Medieval Russia
TR 4:30-6
Julia Verkholantsev

Overview of the literary and cultural history of Medieval Rus' from its origins through the Late Middle Ages, a period which laid the foundation for the emergence of the Russian Empire. Three modern-day nation-states Russia , Ukraine and Belarus share and dispute the cultural heritage of Medieval Rus, and their political relationships even today revolve around questions of national and cultural identity. The focus of the course will be on the Kievan and Muscovite traditions but we will also note the differences (and their causes) of the Ukrainian and Belarusian cultural histories.

339
Making money before 1500
TR 1:30-3
J Goldberg

Monday: bought olive oil. Tuesday: hid indigo from customs officials. Wednesday: attacked by pirates. Thursday: sold water-logged flax.

This course explores the history of trade in the Mediterranean before the discovery of the New World . We will examine how trade and patterns of trade fit into both the broader economies of the ancient and medieval worlds. We will also look at the culture of traders and merchants: how they organized their work; and their social and cultural role in their societies. Secondary readings for the course are a mix of readings from historians and economists; these will be used to help understand the varied documents of traders themselves--accounts, letters, contracts, and court documents that illuminate the day-to-day struggles and satisfactions of pre-modern business life.

342
European Intellectual History, 1300 – 1600
MW 3:30-5
Moyer

This course will examine the formation of European traditions of scholarship and letters, including medieval, Renaissance and early modern writings. Topics will include court literature and romance; scholastic thought and university scholarship; political thought; the humanist tradition. It will consider the rise of printing, the formation of the "republic of letters," and the development of popular literature.

History of Art:

101
Art and Civilization Before 1400
TR 9-10:30
Robert Ousterhout

This is a double introduction: to looking at the visual arts; and, to the ancient and medieval cities and empires of three continents - ancient Egypt, the Middle East and Iran, the Minoan and Mycenaean Bronze Age, the Greek and Roman Mediterranean, and the early Islamic, early Byzantine and western Medieval world. Using images, contemporary texts, and art in our city, we examine the changing forms of art, architecture and landscape architecture, and the roles of visual culture for political, social and religious activity.

242/642
Medieval Architecture
MWF 11-12
Robert Maxwell

This course provides an introduction to the built environment of the Middle Ages. From the fall of Rome to the dawn of the Renaissance, a range of architectural styles shaped medieval daily life, religious experience and civic spectacle. We will become familiar with the architectural traditions of the great cathedrals, revered pilgrimage churches, and reclusive monasteries of western Europe, as well as castles, houses, and other civic structures. We will integrate the study of the architecture and with the study of medieval culture, exploring the role of pilgrimage, courts and civil authority, religious reform and radicalism, crusading and social violence,and rising urbanism. In this way, we will explore the ways in which the built environmentprofoundly affected contemporary audiences and shaped medieval life.

516.301
Medieval Luxury Goods at Eurasiann Crossroads: Grave Goods. Gifts and Treasures (Pro-Seminar)
M 1-3
Holod

At the center of attention for the pro-seminar will be a Turkic kurgan (barrow) found in southern Ukraine (see chingul.org.ua). The grave goods found in the kurgan are datable in the twelfth – thirteenth centuries and originate from various regions: Western Europe, the Byzantine and Islamic Mediterranean and beyond. The grave goods include arms and armor, metalwork, textiles and costumes, ceramics as well as remains of flora and fauna. We will investigate the phenomenon of personal and heritage inventories in grave goods and beyond. Therefore, the holdings of treasuries will be considered, and the manner in which these objects have been accumulated. Through this lens, the questions of gift exchange, tribute and booty will also be examined. In short, what were inventories of goods in their contexts, and what roles did they play? The time span of the comparative material we will be reviewing stretches from the 5th to 14th centuries CE, with references back to earlier inventories; the space is Eurasia, with particular focus the world of the nomadic steppe polities. For Medievalists, Art Historians, Historians, Archaeologists and Anthropologists. Reading knowledge of main European research languages desirable; familiarity with Arabic, medieval Greek or Latin useful.

742
Problems in Medieval Art: Romanesque
W 2-5
Robert Maxwell

This course explores the art, historiography, and interpretation of Romanesque art. The first half will be devoted to broad issues and themes and provide an overview of art production in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The second half will select topics for discussion around specific works, focusing on issues such as orality and literacy, visions and visuality, body and presence, monasticism and exegesis, etc. Readings will draw especially on current research trends in medieval studies as well as on broader theoretical concerns.

Linguistics:

No Listings Available.

Music:

710 - crosslisted with COML 638 and FREN 638
Etymologies of Medieval Song
M 2-5
Emily Dillon and Kevin Brownlee

Near Eastern Languages & Literatures:

JWST 229 - crosslisted with ANCH 230, NECL 289, and RELS 229
Early Jewish Magic: Practice, Text, and Context
R 1:30-4:30
Harari

Religious Studies:

229 - crosslisted with JWST 229, ANCH 230, and NECL 289
Early Jewish Magic: Practice, Text, and Context
R 1:30-4:30
Harari

523.401 - crosslisted with HEBR 583, HIST 523, and JWST 523
The Senses in Jewish Culture: Medieval and Early Modern Perspectives
M 2-5
Fishman

Through close reading of primary sources (many available in English translation), this course will explore perspectives on the senses expressed in medieval and early modern Hebrew sources, and the efforts made by Jews to enroll the senses in the practice of Jewish ritual and theology. Attention will be paid to concerns about idolatry and temptation, the place of aesthetics, the visualization of God and of the Temple, the cultivation of prophetic powers, the sensory training of memory, the wonders of nature, and the enrollment of the senses in the service of religious polemic.

738.401 - crosslisted with HIST 720
Lay Christianity 900-1000
M 2-5
Ann Matter and Goldberg

What does it mean to live a Christian life? Who should or can do the work of Christianity in European society? Is it possible to be Christian or do the work of religion while fulfilling other roles, and doing other jobs? What are the roles and authority of such Christians in relation to the “professional” religious? We will trace the changing answers to these questions through readings that explore definitions, roles, and expressions of lay Christianity, equally from the clerical, monastic, and lay perspective. Attention will be given to themes of penance, donation, heresy, preaching, and popular devotion as well as to the history of Gregorian reform, the Crusades, and mass lay movements.

Romance Languages & Literatures:

FREN 638 - crosslisted with MUSC 710 and COML 638
Etymologies of Medieval Song
Emma Dillon and Kevin Brownlee

ITAL 100.301
Petrarch and Boccaccio
MWF 2-3
Pellicone

Focusing on Boccaccio’s short stories (the Decameron) and Petrarch’s lyric poetry (the Canzoniere), this course will explore how these two friends responded to their fourteenth-century world as it survived the Black Death and the Hundred Years’ War in a great cultural transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Later writers who transmitted their work establish cultural continuities to our own day, indelibly influencing our own twenty-first century vision of modernity. Readings in English with dual-language edition of Petrarch’s poems. Course conducted in English. May be counted toward an Italian Studies major or minor.

ITAL 333
Dante's Divine Comedy
TR 10:30-12
Kevin Brownlee

In this course we will read the Inferno, the Pergatorio, and the Paradiso, focusing on a series of interrelated problems raised by the poem: authority, fiction, history, politics, and language. Particular attention will be given to how the Commedia presents itself as Dante’s autobiography and to how the autobiographical narrative searves as a unifying thread for this supremely rich literary text. Supplementary readings will include Virgil’s Aeneid and selections from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. All readings and written work will be in English. Italian or Italian Studies credit will require reading Italian texts in their original language and writing about their themes in Italian.

Slavic Languages and Literatures

RUSS 234 - crosslisted with HIST 219, SLAV 517, and COML 235
Medieval Russia: Origins of Russian Cultural Identity
TR 4:30-6
Julia Verkholantsev