Upcoming Courses: Spring 2023

MRST 5301: Methods in Medieval & Renaissance Studies
Instructor: John Beusterien (CMLL, Department of Spanish)
Time: Thursdays, 6-8:50pm
Modality: Hybrid

Description: The course provides a multi-disciplinary introduction to the study of medieval and early modern Europe. It encourages students to reflect upon the common problems scholars of the pre-modern past encounter in their work, and the research methodologies they deploy to address these problems. Guest speakers representing core disciplines associated with the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Center at TTU, including history, art history, literatures & languages, and music will give students a chance to learn in more detail how study of the medieval and early modern centuries works in practice. Course assignments will be geared towards introducing students to resources available at TTU for the study of medieval and early modern Europe, and towards getting students to apply the methods they encounter in readings and discussions to their own work. Students in course will participate in the Centers and Peripheries conference hosted at Texas Tech University. Meeting in-Person Room 255 Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures and Online, Synchronous. Note: This course is required for completion of the MRSC certificate.

 

ENGL 5304: Studies in Renaissance British Literature - How to Read an Early Modern Play
Instructor: Matthew Hunter (Department of English)
Time: Wednesdays, 6-8:50PM.
Modality: Online.

 

ENGL 5303: Studies in Medieval British Literature - Beowulf
Instructor: Brian McFadden (Department of English)
Time: Tuesdays, 2-4:50PM.
Modality: Face-to-face.

Description: This course will be an in-depth translation and analysis of Beowulf, the first major epic poem in the English language. Topics to be discussed: early medieval English conceptions of monstrosity, Otherness, and race; Germanic social structure as depicted in the poem versus the realities of early medieval English society; the role of women in the poem and women in early medieval English society; the tension and accommodation between Christian and Germanic elements in the poem; the paleography and codicology of the text and the application of digital technology, especially the online Electronic Beowulf project at the University of Kentucky, to the study of the poem and the Beowulf manuscript (London, British Library, Cotton Vitellius A.xv).  Requirements: leading one class discussion; one 20- to 25-page seminar paper; weekly translation and reading in Old English. Texts to be announced but will probably include Mitchell and Robinson's edition of Beowulf, Klaeber's Beowulf Fourth Edition by Fulk, Bjork, and Niles, The Beowulf Reader (ed. Bjork and Niles) and A Critical Companion to Beowulf (Orchard). Note: ENGL 5301 (Old English Language) is a prerequisite for ENGL 5303. History of the English Language is not a satisfactory substitute for ENGL 5301. Requirements fulfilled: Philology foreign language option; Early British literature; Poetry genre requirement; Book History and Medieval and Renaissance Studies certificates.

ARTH 5320: Arts of Medieval Europe: Medieval Monsters
Instructor: Theresa Flanigan (Department of Art History)
Time: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3:00-4:20.
Modality: Face-to-face

Description: In this course we will examine the monsters that populate medieval images, from the margins of manuscripts to the sculptures and paintings in churches, from the edges of maps to illustrated romances, travel literature, and more. While focusing primarily on late medieval Europe (ca. 1000-1500), we will compare medieval European monsters with monsters from other cultures, such as Africa, China, Japan, and the Americas, as well as our own modern-day monsters. We will study the visual representation of monsters as historical evidence, providing deeper insight into both the societies that created them as well as our own. Questions we will ask include: Why does a society create monsters? What do monsters symbolize? How do monsters evoke emotions, such as fear and wonder? What values do monsters communicate? What social, cultural, or political functions do monsters serve? What are you afraid of? The course will be arranged around a series of thematic units, each with a discussion based on a series of assigned primary and secondary source readings. For a grade, students will perform independent research, write a thesis-driven research paper, and do oral presentations related to the course's themes. Prerequisite: consent of the instructor. Note: Multiple critical, theoretical, and historical approaches to the art and architecture of Medieval Europe. May be repeated with change of topic up to 9 hours.