ENGL 800 (M1) - Studies in Literature
Stdy Lit/Medieval Otherworlds
Term: Spring 2023 - UNHM Credit (15 weeks) (01/24/2023 - 05/08/2023)
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CRN: 56499
Start Date | End Date | Days | Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
1/24/2023 | 5/8/2023 | MW | 11:01am - 12:30pm | PANDRA P531 |
This course considers major works of medieval literature from Japan and Europe in which the “natural” and the “supernatural” meet. We’ll take up questions of religion and magic, gender and shapeshifting, love and seduction, heroism and ethical testing, power and subjection, in a range of works: Japanese animal and demon tales, as well as excerpts from Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji; the Lais of Marie de France; the Gawain poet’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath’s Tale.
We’ll also read or view modern re-imaginings of these famous works, for instance Zadie Smith’s short play The Wife of Willesden, David Lowery’s film The Green Knight, and Lauren Groff’s novel Matrix.
The class may be particularly valuable for future teachers wishing to expand their expertise in early literature. Students from majors other than English Studies are very welcome and may find the subject matter of interest.