Medieval Literature
Class Information
Instructor: Vernon, Matthew
CRN: 84085
Time: R 3:10-6:00
Location: 120 Voorhies
Breadth: Earlier British
Focus: Genre, Interdiscipline, Theory
Description
(E)Raceing the Middle Ages
This course will consider the contentious relationship between race and the Middle Ages. We will trace the ongoing critical conversation that has the potential to radically alter how we constitute the field in terms of periodization and objects of study. To do so, will draw together a range of sources that will allow us to conjecture different formations for medieval studies while also considering the relevance of disciplinary boundaries. At the core of this course will be a critical consideration of the interplay between metaphor and reality: when the metaphors of color become the basis for racist policies or when crusader history becomes fodder for the rhetoric of modern warfare.
Texts
Desdemona, Morrison
Othello, Shakespeare
Lord of the Rings, Tolkein
The Man of Law's Take, Chaucer
Vinland Saga
Refugee Tales
Dark Princess , Du Bois