Spring 2025 Courses in Medieval Studies

Prof. Claudia Brosseder

HIST 105 Latin America to Independence

This class surveys the history of the colonial period (from 1492 to 1825) of what is now called Latin America. We will discuss pre-Columbian America, Europe in the fifteenth century, the encounter between the Old and the New Worlds, its consequences, the working of colonial institutions, the place of slavery, the role of race and ethnicity in the construction of colonial power, women in a multiethnic patriarchal colonial society, the role of the Church, and the coming of independence. Without doubt, the history of the colonial period in Latin America is one of the most interesting examples of how different cultures met in the early modern world. To understand this process this survey class focuses on three main questions: first, what constituted the pre-Columbian cultural heritage? Second, how did the encounter between European, African, and indigenous cultures evolve? Third, how did colonialism shape indigenous, Mestizo, Creole, and Afro-American identities?

Prof. Dov Weiss

REL 120 / HIST 168 / JS 120 A History of Judaism

The course examines the social, political, economic, and intellectual history of the Jews from Abraham to the present-day, with particular attention to Jewish thought and society.

Prof. Yujie (Elena) Pu

HIST / EALC 220 Traditional China

An historical background to the modern age, tracing the Chinese state and empire from the earliest times until 1644 A.D. Basic political, social, and economic patterns; cultural, intellectual, and technological achievements; and China's impact on Asia and the world.

Prof. Jingling Chen

EALC / CWL 275 Masterpieces of East Asian Literature

A wide-ranging introduction to the literatures of traditional China, Korea, and Japan. Selections from novels, plays, and poems are studied to gain insight into the cultures that produced them and to hone skills in textual analyses. Explores how influential texts have been repackaged and reinterpreted for modern audiences in media such as film and manga.

Prof. Craig Callahan

REL / EALC 287 Introduction to Buddhism

A thematic approach to the history of Buddhism from its origin in India to its spread throughout China and Japan; explores how the doctrinal and social development of Buddhism in East Asia is related to the process of cultural adaptation.

Prof. Mukhtar Ali

REL 214 Introduction to Islam

The history of Islamic thought from the time of Muhammad to the present, including the prophethood of Muhammad, the Qur'an, theology and law, mysticism and philosophy, sectarian movements, modernism and legal reform, and contemporary resurgence.

Prof. Adam Newman

REL 286 Introduction to Hinduism

Elements of Hindu thought and practice; selected topics presented in historical order and in the context of Indian cultural history (including the present).

Prof. Mukhtar Ali

REL 260 Mystics and Saints in Islam

Examines mystical concepts and practices in Islam through the ages, through the lives and writings of important mystics and Sufi holy men and women, as well as the integration of mysticism and the Sufi Orders into Muslim society and Islamic orthodoxy.

Prof. Dede Ruggles

LA 222 / ARCH 222 / ARTH 219  slamic Gardens and Architecture

From the 7^th century to the present, the Islamic world extended at various times from Spain, across northern Africa, the Middle East and Balkans, to South Asia and beyond. Its built environment was characterized by architecture centered on large open courtyards, often gardened, and a sophisticated system for organizing, irrigating, and cultivating the landscape. The themes for the course, which is both topical and historical, include the greening and settlement of the desert, the formation of an Islamic culture with a distinct visual vocabulary, the agricultural landscape, gardens and buildings of myth and memory, architectural and garden typology and symbolism, and architecture as a theater for political display. 

Prof. Lisa Lucero

ANTH 278 Climate Change and Civilization

An examination of how climate change impacts society. With the increasing need to understand how climate changes and society intersect at present, it is becoming important that we address critical questions about how lessons from the past inform present needs. Case studies from around the world are discussed.

ENGL/MDVL/CWL 202 Medieval Literature and Culture

Introduction to the diverse literatures and cultures of the global Middle Ages (approximately 500-1500 CE). Students will read works by medieval authors in Modern English translation, with particular attention to placing works in their historical and material contexts.

ENGL/CWL 204 Renaissance Literature and Culture

Readings in English and continental literary masterpieces with attention to significant cultural influences.

Prof. Andrea Stevens

ENGL 209 Early British Literature

This course surveys more than a thousand years of British literature from the early Middle Ages through the Renaissance and well into the eighteenth century. But what does "British literature" really mean, especially in the context of an island archipelago populated by multiple nations (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) and repeatedly subjected to foreign rule (either by violent invasion or dynastic succession)? The range of texts we thus characterize as "early British literature" is staggering, and part of our goal in this course will simply be to appreciate the sheer volume and breadth of written work created in Britain and Ireland between the sixth and eighteenth centuries. We will do this through a necessarily selective sampling of historical periods, languages, and genres. Our authors will range from the famous (e.g., Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton) to the lesser-known (e.g., Marie de France, Lady Mary Wroth, and Eliza Haywood) to the unknown (e.g., the anonymous Beowulf-poet).

Prof. Curtis Perry

ENGL 218 Introduction to Shakespeare

Representative readings of Shakespeare's drama and poetry in the context of his age, with emphasis on major plays; selections vary from section to section.

Prof. Naoko Gunji

EALC / ARTH 320 Sacred Sites in Japan

This course aims at an interdisciplinary study of the visual culture of major sacred sites in Japan. It will examine the art and architecture of sacred sites and position them within a variety of contexts. Particular emphasis will be placed on the ways in which the art and architecture are/were used in rituals. The types of sacred sites to be studied include: imperial mausolea, capitals, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, warrior castles, tea houses, mountains and fields, and parks. Through successfully completing this course, students will enrich their understanding of the roles of the art and architecture in sacred sites against the background of their historical, cultural, religious, political, and social significance. It also covers today’s controversial issues related to Japanese sacred sites.

Prof. Dov Weiss

REL /JS/ MDVL 344 Jewish Intellectual History: Encounters with Islam and Christianity

Study of the distinctive religious ideas, movements, and figures of pre-Modern Judaism [500 CE-1700 CE] with an emphasis on how Judaism’s encounter with medieval Islam and Christianity influenced these new Jewish expressions. Topics include theology, philosophy, Biblical interpretation, mysticism, Jewish-Christian polemics, and law.

Dr. Laurence Mall

FR 310 Medieval and Early Modern Literature

Overview of French literature from the Middle Ages to the Revolution in its historical context. Taught in French.

Dr. Elana Peña-Argüeso

SPAN 310 Premodern Spanish Literatures and Cultures

A critical analysis of selected texts and authors representative of the Medieval and Early Modern periods in the context of Iberian cultures. Particular emphasis on the relationship between cultural practices and the construction of national identities prior to 1700, as well as on the plurality of cultures that shaped what is now Spain. Specific sections may emphasize critical topics such as gender, ideology, literary form, nationalisms, race, and sexuality, among others. Instruction in Spanish unless otherwise noted.

Prof. Heather Grossman

ARCH 407 Rome: City of Visible History

 While primarily associated in popular imagination with its ancient, medieval, and Renaissance past, Rome is a vital, changing, and challenging contemporary city. Rome’s many layers show the intersection of multiple periods of architecture and the effects of politics, economics, religion, and culture on the urban context. This course considers the city of Rome from its foundation until today, using critical strategies for understanding urban environments as well as individual monuments. We will employ a variety of evidentiary materials: individual monuments, maps, photographs, prints, primary texts, and films.

Prof. Gian Piero Persiani

JAPN 407 Introduction to Classical Japanese

Learn to read texts in classical Japanese and get a deeper understanding of modern Japanese culture in the process. In this course you will acquire a good working knowledge of the grammar, vocabulary, and syntax of classical Japanese, and become familiar with aspects of traditional culture that still play a role in Japanese cultural life today.

Prof. Ralph Mathisen

HIST 443 Byzantine Empire, 294-717 CE

An examination of the political, social, economic, military, institutional, religious and cultural development of the early Byzantine Empire from the reign of Diocletian through the Heraclian Dynasty.

Prof. Yujie (Elena) Pu

EALC 746 / HIST 425 / CWL 476 Classical Chinese Thought

Prof. Eric Calderwood
CWL 481 Al-Andalus: Literate and Legacies of Muslim Iberia

This course will introduce students to the vibrant history and far-reaching legacies of al-Andalus (or Muslim Iberia). We will read major cultural and literary works from al-Andalus and also explore how the memory of al-Andalus has shaped culture and politics throughout the world today. Some of the topics covered in this course include: the creation of new literary and cultural forms in al-Andalus; the musical heritage of al-Andalus; the architecture of al-Andalus; ethnic and religious identities in al-Andalus; gender in al-Andalus; interfaith relations in al-Andalus; and relations between the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, and the Middle East. Some of the authors from the course syllabus include Radwa Ashour, Hafsa bint al-Hajj, Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, Mahmud Darwish, Ibn ʿArabi, Moshe Ibn Ezra, Shelomo Ibn Gabirol, Ibn Hazm, Ibn al-Khatib, Ibn Quzman, Ibn Rushd, Ibn Shuhayd, Maimonides, al-Rundi, and al-Saraqusti.

Prof. Anne Burkus-Chasson

ARTH/EALC 403 World and Image in Chinese Art

A study of the diverse correlations between verbal texts and visual images in Chinese art and art theory from the twelfth through seventeenth centuries.

Prof. Curtis Perry

ENGL 418  Shakespeare

A survey of the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. Reading assignments will reflect the generic diversity and historical breadth of Shakespeare's work.

Prof. Carol Symes

MDVL 500/HIST 502A (Medieval Studies Seminar/Problems in Comparative History)

Writing Regimes: Interrogating Premodern Texts and Contexts in Global Perspective

Written records are a main source of historical evidence for understanding ancient and medieval societies -- but how should we read, analyze, and critique these texts in order to extract information from them? How can we more fully account for the contextual forces that have shaped a given record, from its material supports (papyrus, parchment, stone, wood, wax, textile) to its entangled and contingent reception history? How have specific documentary regimes worked to control what is preserved and why, and how have modern categories and archiving practices worked to create artificial genres and hierarchies of knowledge? How can we better account for the multiple media (oral, visual, performative) through which texts were transmitted and accessed - even by non-literate individuals and groups? This seminar will interrogate the making of premodern texts in order to enrich, complicate, and challenge our reliance on them, engaging technologies and practices of literacy from many cultures around the world. Students will then apply what they learn to a particular text or archive relevant to their own research.

Prof. David Cooper

SLAV 525 Problems in Slavic Literature

Selected subjects in Russian and Slavic prose, poetry, drama, and literary criticism. Reading knowledge of Russian an advantage, but not required. Reading knowledge of another Slavic language a bonus.

Prof. Carlos Ramírez

MUS 523(Seminar in Musicology) Sound and Power

This seminar explores the intersections between sound and power, moving beyond music to encompass a range of sonic phenomena. Drawing from Foucault’s foundational theories of power and contemporary critical frameworks—including postcolonial theory, critical race theory, and feminist theory—this course examines how sound is used to reinforce, challenge, and disrupt power structures across various cultural and historical contexts. Students will engage with theoretical and applied approaches to sound’s relationship with identity, space, and technology, investigating topics such as sonic warfare, urban soundscapes, colonial power, and the sonification of the cosmos. Participants will critically analyze how sound functions as both a tool of control and resistance. Guided readings and weekly in-class discussions constitute the primary mode of instruction. The assessment of seminar participants is based on discussion participation and a series of short papers on a topic of the participants’ choice that is related to the seminar theme. No previous knowledge of musical notation or performance is required for this seminar. Graduate students interested in sound studies from any disciplinary perspective are welcome to register.