MDVL 501O Medieval Colonialisms |
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Instructor: Marilynn R Desmond
Post-colonial theory, which is based almost entirely on modern cultures
and modern global politics, seldom addresses the culture and activities of Europe before 1492. This interdisciplinary course
will
investigate the formation of colonizing discourses and desires in medieval
European cultures. In order to look at medieval Europe
in a global context, we will consider the orientalizing constructions of the
crusades and crusade literature, including the visual components of
illuminated manuscripts. We will also consider the development of extensive
trade routes and the circulation of travel literature as well as luxury
objects from abroad, which shaped medieval European
perceptions/representations of and relations with other worlds. Requirements
include: one 5 page paper, one 15 page paper, and one oral report (students
may select topics for these assignments in their own disciplines, under the
supervision of their departmental advisors). Texts: Geoffrey of Monmouth, The
History of the Kings of Britain, Gerald of Wales, Journey through Wales,
History and Topography of Ireland, Tales from the Thousand and One Nights,
Joinville & Villehardouin, Chronicles of the Crusades, John Mandeville,
The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, Marco Polo, The Travels, The Alexiad of Anna
Comnena. Bartlett, R. The Making of Europe, as well at texts by Chrétien,
Chaucer and Christopher Columbus.
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HIST 551Q Renaissance & Reformation in 12C Europe |
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Instructor: Winston E Black
Renaissance and Reformation in Twelfth-Century Europe COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The seminar will focus on the idea of a ‘Renaissance’ in twelfth-century
western Europe, first popularized in the 1920s and still debated by medieval
historians, as well as the concept of a religious ‘reformation’ in the same
period. In this course students will examine the religious, literary,
artistic, and scientific achievements of the ‘long twelfth century’ (roughly
1075-1215), and discuss the concepts of ‘renaissance’ and ‘reformation’ as
they have been borrowed from the Early Modern period and applied to the High
Middle Ages of western Europe. The format will be discussion and
presentations, with occasional lectures on key topics. Assessment is based on
oral reports (25%), a high level of preparation and participation (25%), and
a 20-25 page research paper (50%) on a key aspect or historiographical issue
of the twelfth-century renaissance.
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MDVL 561L The Sultan’s Palace |
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Instructor: Nancy A Um
This course will examine palaces and palatial cities of the Islamic world,
including the desert palaces of the eastern Mediterranean, the royal city of Cairo, the Alhambra in Spain, the Topkapi
Palace in Istanbul,
Emperor Akbar’s palatial city of Fatehpur Sikri
in India, and the Persian
palaces of the royal city of Isfahan.
The course will deal with archaeological and architectural studies, as well
as an examination of some royal accessory arts, like wall paintings,
sculptural programs and carpets. Furthermore, we will ask questions about the
imperial use of administrative and residential space and the specifics of
royal ceremonial, procession and viewing. Most of the class will be devoted
to chosen historical case studies, paired with a careful consideration of the
ways in which the space of the Sultan’s Palace has been constructed through
Orientalist literature, art, and scholarship.
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MDVL 561M Inventing the Middle Ages |
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Instructor: Barbara Abou-El-Haj
The nineteenth century is credited, only partially in jest, with inventing
the Middle Ages. This seminar will explore the modern production of the
medieval past in the context of nation-state building, in the construction of
political ideology and in the acquisition of cultural capital.
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MDVL 561P The Italian Renaissance |
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Instructor: Dana E Stewart
Explores the major cultural trends of the Italian Renaissance, as
reflected in the plays, letters, diaries, poetry, and treatises of the time.
Themes covered include politics, art, philosophy, and religion, as well as
love and the roles of women in Renaissance culture. Authors studied include
Petrarch, Boccaccio, the Humanists, Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci,
Michelangelo, and Renaissance courtesans such as Veronica Franco. Grade will
be based on participation, oral reports, two tests, and short papers. Lectures
in English. Students in the Italian program will read the texts in Italian
and will have extra assignments in Italian.
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THEA 572E Theatre and Music in Renaissance and Early Modern Europe |
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Instructor: Andrew Walkling
The aim of this course, which fulfills the Theatre degree requirement in
Dramatic Theory and Structure, is to introduce students to the role of music
in early modern theatre, and to provide a sense both of its importance to the
cultural milieu of the late Renaissance and the Baroque, and of its
complexion, structure, and modes of functioning within the drama. The class
will explore primarily works produced in Italy,
France, and England
between the middle of the sixteenth and the end of the seventeenth centuries,
looking at their historical and generic development, and the variety of ways
in which music was used to enhance the theatrical experience.
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