| Course Title: The Curious Middle Ages |
| Start Date: 03/18/2021 End Date: 05/11/2021 |
| Term: Spring Semester 2021 |
| Description: Curiosity suggests both a yearning for knowledge and the discernment of something unusual or strange. While influenced by Augustine's warning that worldly inquiry could endanger the pilgrimage of the soul, medieval literature contains many instances of curious looking. Exploring the medieval desire to know, this course considers how the period's tendencies toward spiritual and metaphysical thought are balanced against its fascinations with the observable world. We will study the ways allegories, travel narratives, romances, and dream visions intersect with natural philosophy, historiography, cartography, and architecture. Literary analysis is the basis for our investigative work to uncover the epistemological impulses that inform medieval art and literature. Some critical concepts will preoccupy us as we examine this body of literature as literature -- among them: lyric, history, romance, vernacular and secular poetry, courtly love, mysticism, and dream vision poetry. |
| Distribution(s): I - Humanities , SI - Speaking-Intensive , WI - Writing-Intensive |
| Academic Level Of Course: Undergraduate | Credits:4.00 |
| Faculty | Phone | Email address |
| Wesley Yu | 413-538-2825 | wyu@mtholyoke.edu |
| Meeting Dates | Method | Meeting days | Meeting times | Building name | Room | Frequency |
| 03/18/2021 - 05/11/2021 | Flex. Immersive Seminar/Disc. | Monday | 12:45PM - 02:00PM | TBA | TBA | Weekly |
| 03/18/2021 - 05/11/2021 | Flex. Immersive Seminar/Disc. | Tuesday and Thursday | 12:45PM - 01:45PM | Weekly | ||
| 03/18/2021 - 05/11/2021 | Flex. Immersive Seminar/Disc. | Wednesday and Friday | 12:45PM - 02:30PM | Weekly |
| Requisite Courses | ||
| Prereq: 8 credits in English including ENGL-199. | Take previously | Required |
| Comments |
| Additional Comments |
| meets English department legacy pre-1700 requirement |
| Course Tags | ||
| MOD0002 | MOD-2: Courses meeting in Module 2 | This course meets in Module 2. |
| MEET0003 | +MEET-3: Expects to meet 3 days per week, on average | This class is expected to meet 3 days per week, on average |
| Cross-listed Sections |
| None |
| Course Availability | ||||
| Section status: Open | Capacity: 18 | Enrollment: 17 | Available: 1 | Waitlist: 0 |
BOOK INFORMATION
| Book List | Required | Publisher Full Price |
| Title: The Travels of Marco Polo Author: Polo, Marco Copyright: Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9780140440577 Publisher: Penguin |
Required | 13.95 |
| Additional Book Comments |
| This is the complete book list for this class. |