English 494MI - VirtMedvl:Fict&Fant/MiddleAges

What is medieval? Most people learn very little about the foggy period that lies between the end of the Classical era and the start of the Renaissance. What we do learn usually consists of stereotypes. Jousting, chivalry, repression of women, religious fervor, medical ignorance, lice, Crusades, King Arthur, economic injustice, knights, ladies, and plague: such words, concepts, images predominate. How were these stereotypes produced? How are they reinforced or challenged on-line? What is their relationship to the ways the medieval world saw itself? In each module we will take up texts, objects, and concepts that have constructed and reconstructed our ideas about the Middle Ages. Our goals: to consider the ways we use objects and texts to construct history; to explore the relationship between academic and popular depictions of the medieval; and to think about the ways we might work across the academic/popular divide in order to offer competing views of the past. Satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for BA-Engl students.

Open to seniors with English as a primary major only. ENGLISH 200 w/ C or E200 This class is intended for English primary majors only