Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2018 - HUM 305 J100

Medieval Studies (4)

Class Number: 7590

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 4 – Dec 3, 2018: Mon, 5:30–9:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Dec 8, 2018
    Sat, 7:00–10:00 p.m.
    Vancouver

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A detailed interdisciplinary analysis of a selected topic, issue, or personality in the Middle Ages. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

THE MEDIEVAL IMAGINARY: LOVE, SWORDS, AND THRONES
 
From the Scandinavian lore of Edda, the Germanic heroic poetry of the Song of the Nibelungs and the chivalric tales of the Arthurian cycle, to the poetry of courtly love of French troubadours, Tuscan and Sicilian poets, or the letters of Abelard and Heloïse, medieval literature offers a wide range of stories merging the fantastic and the passionate, the didactic and the spiritual, the celebratory and the meditational.
 
In this course, we will read and discuss medieval texts in the context of their cultural and historical milieu—a time of cultural, social and economic growth but also of political crisis in the transition from the feudal system to the dawn of early modern principalities and States. We will read these texts (storytelling or documents) historically and “symptomatically.”
 
We will reflect on the long lost roots of some of these tales (for example, Nordic legends as a source for the Song of the Nibelungs and Celtic myths for the figure of the ideal sovereign in Arthurian romances) and on the relation of orality to writing, but also on the shifts in class, economics, and gender relations that made possible the emergence of courtly culture and its slow disintegration in the face of the early modern State. Our “literary” readings, therefore, will be fully in conversation with the multiple disciplines that helped shape medieval culture—history, religion, philosophy, and the arts—by means of relevant materials and period documents provided in class. At the same time, we will consider what makes medieval stories still attractive in the modern age and the ideological values re-coded in novels, music, and cinema, from Wagner’s music and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings to the TV series Game of Thrones.  
 

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

At the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate their proficiency in the following activities

  1. Read and analyze Humanities texts creatively and to academic standards.
  2. Situate texts in their historical and socio-cultural context.
  3. Analyze medieval culture through the lenses literature, history, and the arts.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of the continuities and discontinuities characterizing medieval cultures.
  5. Demonstrate the comprehension of the way in which the cultural and social values of the Middle Ages have shaped the modern world.
  6. Write about Humanities texts analytically by becoming proficient in modeling interpretation, linking claims to evidence, developing a thesis, structuring a paper, and using sources effectively.

Grading

  • Attendance and participation 10%%
  • Document analysis 10%%
  • Final research paper 25%%
  • Creative project: Medieval lore and pop culture 15%%
  • Midterm (in-class) 20%%
  • Take-home final exam 20%%

REQUIREMENTS:

In-class screening: Terry Gilliam's The Fisher King (1991)

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

P. Abelard and Heloise, The Letters of Abelard and Heloïse. (Trans. B. Radice). Penguin, 2004.
ISBN: 0140448993

Anon., The Nibelungenlied: The Lay of the Nibelungs. (Trans. C. Edwards). Oxford World's Classics, 2010.
ISBN: 0199238545

Gottfried von Strassburg, Tristan: With the Surviving Fragments of the 'Tristan of Thomas'. (Trans. A.T. Hatto). Penguin, 1960.
ISBN: 0140440984

Chrétien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances (we will read only a selection). (Trans. Kibler and Carroll). Penguin, 1991.
ISBN: 0140445218

Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript. [1469-70]. Oxford World Classics, 2008.
ISBN: 0199537348

Wolfram Von Eschenbach, Parzifal. (Trans. A.T. Hatto). Penguin, 1980.
ISBN: 0140443614

A short selection from the poetic Edda, Hildegard von Bingen, the Lais of Marie de France, Louise Labé, Arnaut Daniel, Dante, Arab mystical poetry, Minnesänger, and folk ballads from the Robin Hood cycle; historical documents. [via Canvas]

RECOMMENDED READING:

W.R. Cook and R.B. Herzman, The Medieval World View: An Introduction (3rd Ed.). Oxford UP, 2012

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS