Spring 2027 Courses in Medieval Studies

Dr. Betsy Bevis

CLCV/REL 160 Ancient Greek and Roman Religion

Study of Greek and Roman Paganism and the rise of Christianity within that context. Readings are confined to ancient sources in English translation.

ENGL 122 / MDV 122 The Middle Ages in Popular Culture

Explores the use of medievalism in contemporary popular culture. Instructors may draw from film, television, music, fiction, graphic novels, gaming, and other sources, and they approach the material from a variety of cultural, historical, and aesthetic traditions. The goal of the course will be to understand how the medieval periods of world cultures have been reinvented in modern times, and how modernity has been constructed in relation and in opposition to the medieval imaginary.

Prof. Carol Symes

HIST 141 Western Worlds: Ancient and Medieval Societies from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe

A survey of societies from antiquity to the Middle Ages in western Asia, North Africa, and Europe; with an emphasis on cultural exchange, migration, and the transmission of knowledge, ideas, technologies, and arts. Topics include the formation of the earliest civilizations; the political and intellectual experiments of the Greek and Roman worlds; the emergence of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; the military, commercial, social, and educational revolutions of the Middle Ages; the rise of independent cities and territorial monarchies; religious upheavals and their violent aftermaths.

Prof. Erin Riggs

ANTH 221 Archeology of South Asia

Explores the archaeology of South Asia from the earliest occupations of the subcontinent to the present. South Asia is home to one of the first urbanized societies, over 40 World Heritage sites, and some of the 21st century's largest megacities. We will critically examine how these diverse archaeological resources have been investigated by different communities through time and how this has informed modern understandings of cultural, national, religious, regional and gender identities. 

Dr. Hollie Buttery 

ARTH 229 Disability in the Early Modern 

From the “small people” of the Spanish court to so-called monstrous births in Italy, early modern Europe was fascinated — and unsettled — by bodily difference. In the age of exploration, when knowledge of the world was expanding rapidly, the boundaries of humanity itself became increasingly fraught. Social and aesthetic pressures placed a premium on bodies understood as beautiful, whole, and healthy, while bodies that departed from these ideals were represented, scrutinized, and often ridiculed. Art and artists were deeply implicated in these anxieties, essential to the depiction, interpretation, and cataloguing of bodily difference. Yet artists were themselves often part of these histories. From the celebrated engraver Hendrick Goltzius to the master draughtsman Guercino, there is considerable evidence that artists’ lives and practices were deeply shaped by disability. This class investigates the realities (and fractures) of disability in early modern Europe through a combination of lectures, discussion seminars, and creative workshops. Together, we will consider how disability was represented, understood, experienced, and contested, and how art might offer new ways of thinking about bodily difference in the early modern world.

EALC 240 Chinese Civilization

Introduction to the historical development of Chinese civilization. Emphasis will be on broad themes and the connections among cultural values, women and gender, social institutions, political structures, and contacts with outsiders. Visual and literary evidence will be stressed.

EALC/CWL 275 Masterpieces of 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. No knowledge of Chinese or Japanese language required. 

Prof. Carson Koepke

ENGL 202/MDVL 201 Medieval Literature and Culture

Have you ever wondered what stories people were reading for fun a thousand years ago? Together, we will explore the literary and cultural diversity of the Middle Ages by reading and analyzing narrative texts from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Mesoamerica that were being told in or around the year 1000. By focusing on a cross section of world literature from turn of the first millennium CE, we will experience how medieval peoples thought about physical and spiritual travel, how they retold epic myths, legends, and origin stories, and how the genre of the medieval romance laid the foundations for the modern novel. Readings in Modern English translation will be sourced from a wide variety of languages, including Old English, Latin, Arabic, Coptic, Persian, Chinese, Japanese, and Mayan, composed by practitioners of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and other prominent religious traditions. As we read, we will work to place narratives like "Beowulf" and "The Tale of Genji" within their wider cultural contexts while also thinking critically about what features and practices unite literature across geographies. The texts will be both weird and wonderful and they will leave you wanting more.

Prof. Curtis Perry

ENGL 204 / CWL 255 Renaissance Literature and Culture

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

Prof. Ralph Mathisen

HIST 240 Ancient Greek Civilization

The history of ancient Greece and neighboring civilizations from the Archaic Period to the conquests of Alexander.

Prof. D. Fairchild Ruggles

LA 212 Water and Society

A comparative investigation of built landscapes and hydraulic resources through history. It examines problems of water scarcity, abundance and changes in ecology, human social organization, economy, law, and cultural values related to natural water conditions and human management. Comparative case studies include the ancient Near East and modern Middle East, ancient and modern Egypt, the Roman empire, Peru, the Netherlands, South Asia, Illinois River basin, and the American West.

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. Mukhtar Ali

REL 280 Islamic Intellectual Culture

This course introduces the rich traditions of thought and culture in the Islamic world from the seventh to the fifteenth century. Through translated readings, students explore poetry, philosophy, cosmology, mysticism, art, and medicine while examining how Muslims understood knowledge, revelation, the human soul, gender symbolism, and sacred art. The course highlights the interconnected development of religious thought, ethical practice, scientific inquiry, and artistic expression in Islamic civilization. Designed for students from all backgrounds, it develops critical tools for interpreting religious traditions within broader humanistic and cultural frameworks. No prior knowledge of Islam is required.

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. Katelyn Bishop 

ANTH 315 Archaeology of the American Southwest

The American Southwest is characterized by excellent preservation of archaeological sites, precision in chronological schemes, and a long history of intensive excavation and research, factors that have made it a laboratory for the development of archaeological methods. This course will provide an overview of the history of archaeological research in the Southwest, of the cultural developments of cultures and societies of the Southwest, and of the indigenous people present in the region today.

Prof. Naoko Gunji

EALC/ARTH 320 Sacred Sites in Japan

An interdisciplinary study of major sites in Japan that are deemed sacred, and of their visual culture. The art and architecture of sacred sites are examined and positioned within a variety of contexts, such as their cultural, religious, and socio-political significance. It will be explored how these art and architecture have been received and used, and how they and perceptions of the sites have shaped each other.

Prof. Craig Koslofsky

HIST 344 Early Modern British Isles

Social, economic, cultural and political history of the "four Kingdoms" of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland between 1450 and 1800. Covers the Tudor and Stuart dynasties, Shakespeare, the English Civil War, the development of British colonial holdings across the globe, and the effects of empire at home.

Mr. Cade Meinel

HIST 345 Medieval Civilization 

An introduction to the cultural history of medieval Europe in its wider contexts. This “in-between era,” from the 4^th to the 16^th centuries, generated many of today’s forms of education, identity, law, government, language, literature, architecture, art, and religious belief. We will study some key texts and artifacts produced in this era, as well as some cutting-edge historical scholarship on crucial developments. There are no prerequisites, but students will be required to read and participate actively in class discussions and exercises, and to complete several writing assignments.

Prof. Ralph Mathisen 

HIST 399 The “Augustan History”: History, Biography, and Fiction in the Late 4^th Century

One of the most problematic accounts of Roman imperial history is the so-called Historia augusta (HA) or “Augustan History,” a collection of imperial biographies ostensibly modeled on Suetonius and picking up where Suetonius left off. Much of the work can be characterized as historical fiction, and the author(s) gaily invented documents, decrees, letters, and acclamations, and enthusiastically discussed various usurpers, some of whom otherwise unknown, for whom the material is completely fabricated. What makes the Augustan History especially interesting and valuable is that it presents a view of senatorial sentiments at a time when the Senate had been stripped of any place in the political process for at least a hundred years. It also provides precious insights into popular culture, perceptions of women, and current social practices. PREREQUISITES. A previous class dealing with ancient or medieval history would be helpful. Knowledge of Latin also will be useful, but the workload will be tailored to the language skills of each student. Unless otherwise specified, the class will meet on Tuesday, 3:00-4:30, in 446K Gregory Hall. Please contact ralphwm@illinois.edu for more information. Undergraduates can receive registration authorization from Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies Stefan Djordjevic in the History Department Office (309 Gregory Hall). 

Prof. Heather Grossman

ARCH/ARTH 407 Rome, City of Visible History

Rome’s many layers show the intersection of multiple periods of architecture and the effects of politics, economics, religion, and culture on its urban context. This course considers Rome from its foundation until today, examining its urban form as well as individual monuments and their arts. We will employ a variety of evidentiary materials: individual monuments, maps, photographs, films, prints, and primary texts.

Dr. Betsy Bevis

CLCV 444 / ARTH 416 The Archaeology of Italy

Monuments, material remains, and sculpture and other arts illustrating the development of Greco-Roman and other ancient Italian civilizations to 330 A. D.

Prof. Daniel Leon Ruiz

GRK 401/491 The Literature of Sports in Ancient Greece

This class introduces ancient Greek sporting culture through the available textual evidence, including epigraphy, epinician poetry, and narrative prose. Intersecting social issues such as physical and mental health, personal identity, and civic identity will be discussed. Previous interest in sports is not required.

Prof. Ralph Mathisen 

HIST 441 The Roman Empire

Examination of the political, social, economic, military, institutional, religious and cultural development of the Roman Empire from the reign of Augustus (27 BCE - 14 CE) through the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. 480 CE.

Prof. Eleanora Stoppino

ITAL/MDVL/CWL 413 Dante 

Interpretation of Dante’s Divine Comedy with special attention to its position in the medieval world. Through a complete reading of the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso this course will situate Dante within the literary, political, philosophical and religious contexts of thirteenth and fourteenth century Italy. Topics in the Comedy explored over the course of the semester include the relationship between love and knowledge; aesthetics and ethics; and exile and history. Knowledge of Italian is not required.

Dr. Oz Tamir

REL 442 / HIST 432 History of Early Judaism

The history of Judaism from Ezra to the rise of Islam: Hellenism and Judaism, varieties of Judaism, Palestinian Judaism and its documents, Babylonian Judaism, the rabbis, and popular Jewish culture.

Dr. Anna Tosato

REL 495 Sacred Art of India

In this course we will study the principles of Indian religious art through a selection of primary and secondary readings, and a vast collection of images. We will learn to identify the different structures and styles of Indian sacred buildings of the classical and medieval periods, and we will explore how they served their religious purposes. Also, we will study some of the masterpieces of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain art, highlighting the social status and agency of the artists who created them.

 Note to graduate students pursuing the Certificate in Medieval Studies ~ This year, we are not offering a designated MDVL 500 (Medieval Studies Seminar), but any of these courses can be counted toward the certificate and, if need be, substituted for MDVL 500. 

Prof. Eric Calderwood 

CWL 571 Introduction to North African Studies

A wide-ranging introduction to North African cultures and to the field of North African studies. For questions, please contact ecalderw@illinois.edu.

Prof. Carson Koepke

ENGL 514 / MDVL 514 Seminar in Medieval Literature: Reconstructing Old English in the Long Seventeenth Century

This is an Old English reception course based in the antiquarian, religious, and philological scholarship of the late sixteenth century through the early eighteenth, from Archbishop Matthew Parker and Franciscus Junius to George Hickes and the Elstob siblings. We will read from the first printings of Old English literature and examine these editions and their paratexts through multiple sessions at the RBML. In a sense, we will attempt to recreate the earliest post-medieval environments for scholars and students to learn Old English and read its literature, and we will interrogate their methods by critically engaging with the works they left behind. Topics of study will include the use of early medieval England's literary output as historical evidence for an independent English Church, the (mis)interpretation of Old English as a daughter of the Gothic language, and the mining of primary sources to reconstruct England's political and legal history prior to the Norman Conquest.  

Prof. Yunxin Li

HIST/EALC 520 Problems in Chinese History

This graduate seminar examines major themes and historiographical debates in Chinese history from the Neolithic period to 1800. Through critical reading and discussion of secondary sources, students will engage key scholarship and put historical perspectives in conversation with one another. Course topics include the origins of Chinese civilization, political evolution from the pre-imperial to early imperial eras, the Tang-Song transition, intellectual traditions, religions, textual production and manuscript culture, gender and sexuality, ethnicity and conquest dynasties, Chinese law and medicine, and socio-economic and environmental histories.

Prof. Carol Symes

HIST 502A Writing Regimes: Interrogating Texts and Contexts in Global Perspective Written records are a main source of historical evidence for understanding past 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 (stone, wood, wax, textile, papyrus, parchment, paper) 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 have been transmitted and accessed – even by non-literate individuals and groups? This seminar will interrogate the making of premodern and modern 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. Ralph Mathisen 

HIST 597 The “Augustan History”: History, Biography, and Fiction in the Late 4^th Century

One of the most problematic accounts of Roman imperial history is the so-called Historia augusta (HA), or “Augustan History,” a collection of imperial biographies ostensibly modeled on Suetonius and pickingup where Suetonius left off. Much of the work can be characterized as historical fiction, and the author(s) gaily invented documents, decrees, letters, and acclamations, and enthusiastically discussed various usurpers, some of whom otherwise unknown, for whom the material is completely fabricated. What makes the Augustan History especially interesting and valuable is that it presents a view of senatorial sentiments at a time when the Senate had been stripped of any place in the political process for at least a hundred years. It also provides precious insights into popular culture, perceptions of women, and current social practices. PREREQUISITES. A previous class dealing with ancient or medieval history would be helpful. Knowledge of Latin also will be useful, but the workload will be tailored to the language skills of each student. 1-3 hours graduate credit. Unless otherwise specified, the class will meet on Tuesday, 3:00-4:30, in 446K Gregory Hall. Please contact ralphwm@illinois.edu for more information. 

Prof. Carlos Ramírez

MUS 523 Sound and Coloniality

This seminar takes as its foundation an understanding of coloniality as the formations of knowledge and subjectivity, hierarchies, and social relations that sustain, reproduce, and outlast the colonial structures that generate them. The seminar draws on historical musicology, cultural history, sound studies, material culture, and decolonial studies to generate analytical frameworks to examine how colonized subjects negotiate, contest, appropriate and transform colonial systems through sonic and musical practices. The seminar welcomes participants from across disciplines interested in the critical study of sound and music; proficiency in musical notation or performance is not required.

Prof. Richard Layton

REL 511 Seminar in the Study of Religion: The Apocalypse