Course Descriptions for Spring 2008

ART HISTORY

Dressler, AARH 332, Survey of Gothic Art and Architecture
TTH 11:45-1:05, FA 126
The course examines western European visual culture from c. 1150-c. 1400, the "Age of the Cathedrals" through analysis of buildings, sculpture, manuscripts and luxury objects within their historical and cultural contexts.  The emphasis is on sacred art, but we also look at chivalric and courtly culture.

Bloch, AARH 499Y, Italian Renaissance Art
W 9 a.m.-12 p.m., FA 217
The course is a research seminar that will focus on Early Renaissance Art, more specifically, the lives and works of the five masters mentioned by Alberti in the prologue to his *On Painting*: the sculptors Ghiberti, Donatello, and Luca della Robbia; the architect Brunelleschi; and the painter Masaccio. Individual readings and discussions will focus on their approaches to creating art and the place and significance of their innovations in the late medieval and early Renaisance periods in Italy.

ENGLISH

Cable, AENG 305Z, Studies in Writing about Texts: Critique and the Renaissance Sonnet
TTH 2:45-4:05, HU 112
This course draws on several English Renaissance writers, including (but not limited to) Shakespeare, Donne and Milton, to explore multiple critical perspectives on the demanding poetic form that is the sonnet. We will explore the literary history of the English sonnet and sonnet sequences at the same time as we examine closely the formal structure and rhetorical effects of individual sonnets. To deepen our understanding and cultivate interpretive skills, we will also approach sonnets from varied theoretical and critical perspectives. We will discover how poets have used the sonnet to examine sexual politics, ethics and social relations, religious and political controversy. We will experience the sonnet as an instrument of intellectual analysis or problem solving, of moral and spiritual inquiry, of aesthetic or philosophical speculation, and of developing personal identity. By the end of the course, students may expect to read and write with expertise and critical confidence about multiple aspects of this major literary form.
(Restricted to English majors)

Cable, ENG 331, Literature of the Earlier Renaissance: Identity and Empire in Early Modern England
TTH 11:45-1:05, HU 123
This course focuses on representative poetry, prose and drama written during the English 16th and early 17th centuries, primarily during the reigns of Henry VIII through Elizabeth I. Our main focus will be on constructions of individual identity in the context of English efforts to solidify a sense of nationhood while also working to exercise a more prominent role in the new, substantially mercantile, internationalism. By approaching a variety of literary texts from the dual perspective of individual and national identity, we will discover that literary works traditionally thought to transcend historical context also bear witness to conflicts that underlie their construction. Religious debate, economic and social turmoil, confrontations with cultural others, and the exercise of arbitrary political power are all reflected in the ways early modern English writers crafted character, situation and self in their creative work. By discovering how historical forces shaped ideas of self and nationhood in the English Renaissance, we will gain both a new understanding of that era's creative achievement and a better understanding of the relevance of early modern English experience to our own.

Brown, AENG 346 (=ATHR326), Studies in Shakespeare: Later Works
TTH 10:15-11:35
In this course we will read plays from Shakespeare’s great tragedies as well as late works of romance and comedy. While considering the plays in their cultural and performance context, we will closely examine language, ideas, and structure. The reading list will include Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest. Course requirements will include a midterm examination, short papers and a staged reading project.

Thornton, AENG 346, Shakespeare’s History Plays
TTH 11:45-1:05, BA 213
In this course we will delve into the history plays, examining them as distinct artistic works as well as examining them as a group of plays which may or may not present history with accuracy. To that end, students will be expected to do significant research into the history of the period depicted by the plays. One project will be devoted to such research. Similarly, students will be expected to research the particular plays we read and explore the way critics have viewed the plays over the decades they have been discussed. One project will be devoted to such research. Students will be expected to attend and actively participate in all classes. A mid-term and final exam will measure student progress. Among the plays we may read are Richard II, Henry IV, parts I and II, Henry V, Henry VI, parts 1, 2, 3, Richard III, and possibly King John.

FRENCH

Winn, AFRE 201, Women in the Middle Ages
2nd quarter (8wk2), MWF 10:25-12:25, HU 109
A study of women in France from the 5th through the 15th centuries, as viewed in literature, history, and the arts. The course will examine the many roles and occupations of women in society against the background of the prevailing ideas about the nature of woman. Object of desire as well as incarnation of evil, daughter of Eve or of the Virgin, woman was at once worshipped and maligned. If the ideal woman was "chaste, silent, and obedient," others were warriors, writers, and saints. In the 12th century, Heloise (c. 1100-1164) achieved notoriety first for her liaison with the University scholar Abelard and then as abbess of the convent of the Paraclete, while Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1122-1204), queen of France and then of England, championed the literary and artistic works of the troubadours. Fifteenth-century France gave birth to the heroic figure of Joan of Arc (1412-1431) and to the first major female writer to champion women's causes, Christine de Pizan (c. 1365-1430), both of whom will be studied in the course. Other works to be examined: the Distaff Gospels, Lais by the renowned poet Marie de France (c. 1160-1180), selections from lyric poetry, courtly romance, fabliaux, the Romance of the Rose; musical selections of troubadour lyrics; examples of medieval art, especially illuminations from medieval manuscripts; two films on Joan of Arc.

HISTORY

Nold, His 235/235Z, Early and Medieval Christianity
TTH 11:45-1:05, LC 22
This course will cover the history of Christianity in the West from the earliest times to the eve of the Reformation. Our focus will be less theological than social. Topics covered include persecution and martyrdom, the conversion of the Roman Empire and the barbarians, monasticism, heresies and heretics, the crusades, the inquisition, missionaries, and the papacy.
Note: The 'Z' section of this course requires the permission of the instructor.

Monfasani, HIS 338/338Z, The Italian Renaissance, 1300-1530
T 2:45 - 5:35, LC 5
This course will cover the political, social, economic, and cultural development of Italy from the end of antiquity to the sixteenth century. We shall cover the political, social, and economic aspects in the first half of the course, and the cultural aspects in the second half. We shall concentrate on humanism and scholasticism. Art history will enter the discussion in so far as it illuminates some general cultural trends. There will be an in-class mid-term examination (short answer and essays) and a final examination (short answer and essays) as well as short papers on the readings. We shall have an attendance policy. [EU/EU WI]
Note: The 'Z' section of this course requires the permission of the instructor.

Approved Courses

The courses listed below have been approved for the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program. Please note that only a selection of these courses will be available in any given semester.

Courses that conform to the intent and content of the program but are not listed below may be counted towards fulfilling the requirements upon approval of the program director.

History Core Courses

A His 336 (or 336Z) History of the Early Middle Ages
A His 337 (or 337Z) The High Middle Ages
A His 338 (or 338Z) The Italian Renaissance 1300-1530
A His 339 (or 339Z) Renaissance and Reformation in 16th-Century Europe
A His 346 The History of England I
A His 346Z The History of England I
A His 391 Topics in European History (when appropriate) History Elective Courses
A His 235 or 235Z Early and Medieval Christianity
A Jst 343 or 343Z Issues in Medieval Jewish History
A Spn 313 Medieval Spain: Christians, Arabs, Jews

Literature and Philosophy Courses

A Eng 291 The English Literary Tradition I
A Eng 341 Chaucer
A Eng 344 Early Works of Shakespeare
A Eng 345 Later Works of Shakespeare
A Eng 348 Milton
A Eng 421 Literature of the Middle Ages
A Eng 422 Literature of the Earlier -Renaissance
A Eng 423 Literature of the Later Renaissance
A Eng 425 Literature of the Restoration and the 18th Century Enlightenment
A Fre 361 French Literature: Middle Ages to the 17th Century
A Fre 362 French Literature: 18th to 20th Centuries A Ita 421 Dante
A Ita 441 The Italian Renaissance
A Jst 430 Maimonides and Spinoza
A Phi 311 History of Medieval Philosophy
A Phi 312 Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Philosophy
A Spn 311 Hispanic Literature through the Golden Age
A Spn 482 Cervantes Art and Music Courses
A Arh 331 Early Medieval & Romanesque Art
A Arh 332 Gothic Art
A Arh 341 Renaissance Art of the 15th Century
A Arh 342 & 342Z Renaissance Art of the 16th Century
A Mus 205 History of Music I
A Mus 230L Music History I
A Mus 287 University Chamber Singers (when appropriate)