Spring 2004 Undergraduate Courses - Medieval Institute, University of Notre Dame

715 Hesburgh Library, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5629, Telephone: (574) 631-6603, Facsimile: (574) 631-8644, Email: medinst@nd.edu

Spring 2004: Undergraduate Courses

MI 301 Ancient & Medieval Philosophy
A. Freddoso
TH 2:00-3:15

A survey of wstern philosophy from the sixth-century B.C. Presocratics to the sixteenth-century Scholastics. The lectures will focus primarily on Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas Aquinas, using the twin themes of nature and human nature as an occasion for (a) formulating with some precision the main metaphysical and moral problematics that emerge from the works of Plato and Aristotle, (b) investigating the influence of Plato and Aristotle on the Catholic intellectual tradition, and (c) exploring in some depth the relation between faith and reason.

Texts: Because the lectures will not try to cover all the important figures (though there will be ample references to them, as well as to key early modern philosophers), the students will be expected to read all of the assigned secondary source, viz., James Jordan's Western Philosophy: From Antiquity to the Middle Ages, as well as the primary sources assigned for the lectures. For the rest of the texts, consult the syllabus here.

Requirements: In addition, the requirements include (a) two six- to seven-page papers on assigned topics, and (b) two exams.

MI 308 Middle Ages II
D. Hobbins
MWF 9:35-10:25

This course is a thematic survey of the high (1000-1300) and late (1300-1500) Middle Ages. The course begins with an introduction to three emblematic developments of the high Middle Ages: cathedral-building, the crusading movement, and the beginnings of the universities. Themes addressed include the nature of high medieval religion, the agricultural and commercial revolutions, and high medieval politics and patronage. Treating the later Middle Ages, the course focuses upon a catastrophic event and an epic poem. The Black Death (and related late-medieval catastrophes) has traditionally been seen as marking a turning point in European history. To what extent is this so? Finally, Dante's Inferno will offer a window into key issues of late-medieval religious culture, including papal politics, the role of the laity in religion, late-medieval philosophical thought, heresy, and the Italian city-state as the site of a new Renaissance of learning.

MI 311M Unsolved Historical Mysteries
D. Hobbins
MWF 12:50-1:40

This course examines three episodes: the trial of the Knights Templar (1312), the trial of Joan of Arc (1431), and the fate of the princes in the Tower (1483). Emphasis will be on the careful reading of primary texts (in translation), evaluating conflicting accounts, source criticism, surveying historiographical debates, and reconstructing plausible narratives. The trial of the Templars illustrates the difficulty of discovering the truth from suspicious and contradictory evidence. Were the Templars guilty of secret crimes, or the victims of scheming political enemies? The conviction of Joan of Arc as a heretic was almost immediately denounced, and provides an interesting case study in the convergence of religion and politics. The fate of the princes in the Tower of London is a classic historical mystery. Did Richard III have them killed, or did they somehow survive only to reappear in the reign of Henry VII? At stake here is the reputation of Richard III. Was he a monstrous villain or the victim of Tudor propaganda? Each case illustrates the way historical narratives are constructed. Assignments include a research project of ten to fifteen pages to be worked out in consultation with the instructor.

MI 315F Playing God in Medieval Drama
R. Davis
MWF 12:50-1:40

Jesus: All men that walk by way or street,
Take heed that you miss none of my suffering.
Behold my head, my hands, and my feet,
And fully feel now, before you pass,
If any mourning may be equal,
Or misfortune measured unto mine.
- York Crucifixion play

In medieval England, crowds gathered on holidays to behold dramatic retellings of Biblical stories, including scenes from the life and death of Christ. These plays, sometimes called the Corpus Christi cycles, were "pop culture" in the Middle Ages, spectacular occasions that were not so very different from the forms of entertainment with which we publicly express our values, traditions, and social unity today. In considering the medieval drama, we will read these plays alongside biblical accounts and discuss how (and why) the narratives are revised, embellished, and sometimes completely fabricated for their medieval audiences. This course also emphasizes performance: students will read aloud from the plays and imagine how performances might be staged to affect their audiences. We will view a video of a recent production of the Crucifixion play in York to see how one company chose to stage the play, and, as a major course project, students in groups of four or five will themselves select and perform one of the plays that we have not studied together as a class. The course concludes with discussion of a film, Jesus of Montreal (1989).

MI 318A Survey of Spanish Literature I
E. Juarez
TH 9:30-10:45

This course is a survey of Spanish literature from the medieval period through the seventeenth century. We will study representative works with a view to understanding the cultural, intellectual, and historical forces which shaped the literary production of the period. Much emphasis will be placed on the evolving notions of "literature" and its conventions. Works to be studied include Poema de mio Cid, Libro de buen amor, La Celestina, Lazarillo de Tormes, poetry of Garcilaso, San Juan de la Cruz, Fray Luis de Leon, Góngora y Quevedo, and one play by Lope de Vega. Active student participation is required. Lecturing will be kept to a minimum so as to allow more time for analysis and discussion of the texts. The class will be conducted in Spanish. Requirements for the course include one paper (seven to eight pages) on topics approved by the instructor (25% of final grade), seminar presentations and class participation (20%), a midterm exam (25%), and a final exam (30%).

Prerequisite: any 200- or 300-level course. This course satisfies the early Spanish peninsular requirement.

MI 325 Latin Literature and Stylistics
B. Krostenko
TH 2:00-3:15

The aim of this class is an appreciation of the history of Latin prose. The aim will be achieved in three ways. First, we will examine samples of authors from Cato the Elder to Apuleius to isolate their stylistic peculiarities and attempt to see shifts in style as responses to varying social pressures in the Roman world. Second, we will practice composing short pieces of Latin prose in imitation of some of the peculiarities observed. Third, we will consider some general problems in the history of Latin semantics, syntax, and style.

Prerequisite: CLLA 103 or equivalent.

MI 346 History of Communication Technologies
B. Mak
TH 12:30-1:45

A history of the survival and destruction of books, from Alexandria to the Internet. Our understanding of historical events is based primarily on written evidence. But have you ever stopped to consider how these documents were made, how they were preserved, and how it is that we possess them now? This course questions how we "know" anything about the past by examining the transmission of written sources through time. We will survey the different ways that people have recorded their histories-in stone, on papyrus scrolls, in hand-written and printed books, on Web sites-and how their choices have affected the way we now understand the past. We will also consider how libraries have helped to create and shape "knowledge" through their accumulation and preservation of these sources. Course requirements include participation in class discussions, completion of a series of short papers, a mid-term examination, and a final paper and presentation.

MI 371 Survey of French Literature I
M. Gude
TH 2:00-3:15

The course is designed to serve as an introduction to French literature of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the seventeenth century. We will read a combination of representative whole works and selections from authors of each period, including Chrétien de Troyes, Villon, Ronsard, Rabelais, Molière, and Racine. In addition to acquiring a basic familiarity with early French literature, students will be introduced to the vocabulary of literary criticism. Close readings, some oral presentations (or explications), and active participation in classroom discussions are expected. All discussions and written work will be in French. Some quizzes, three moderate-length papers (or the equivalent in drafts), and a final exam will be required.

MI 372 Ovid's Metamorphoses
A. Wouters
TH 3:30-4:45

In this course, we translate and discuss selected passages from the Metamorphoses, Ovid's idiosyncratic poetic history of the world. Topics for our discussions include the spiritual, moral, religious, political, and physical transformations portrayed between the creation story at the beginning and the deification of Caesar at the end of the text; the tension between Ovid's adherence to Roman traditions and his irreverent, sometimes subversive, artistic originality; the poem's narrative techniques, poetic style, and structure; the significance of intertextual allusions to Greek drama, Virgilian epic, and Ovid's own love poetry; the instability of gender; portraits of the poet within the work; and the innumerable faces of love, as presented through characters who are pious, raging with passion, inseparable, violent, infatuated, lovesick, devoted, and much more. Above all, this course aims at clarifying how Ovid's inexhaustible playfulness and delightful wit contributed to shaping a work of both epic grandeur and lyric intimacy that continues to inspire poets, composers, novelists, painters, and at least one playwright whose version recently made it all the way to Broadway. Daily preparation and active participation in class are essential components of this course; brief written assignments, one mid-term exam, one brief project, and a final exam also count toward the final grade.

MI 392 History of Christianity to 1500
R. Sullivan
TH 3:30-4:45

A survey of the development of Christianity from late antiquity to the eve of the sixteenth-century Reformation. Emphases include processes of Christianization, definitions of prescribed and proscribed beliefs and practices, institutional elaboration, relations with imperial and royal authority, impact of and on culture, and varieties of religious behaviors. Although the history of the Latin (Catholic) church is highlighted, the dynamics and consequences of its separation first from the Oriental and then from the Orthodox churches will be examined. The course aspires to achieve a routine of interactive lectures. There will, in addition, be three small-group reading seminars and at least one individual conference. Requirements include three short (five- to six-page) papers that engage the texts discussed in the seminars, midterm and final examinations, class attendance, and participation. The written examinations seek to assess knowledge applied as analysis.

MI 404A World of Charlemagne
T. Noble
MWF 1:55-2:45

The Carolingian (from Carolus, Latin for Charles: Charles the Great--Charlemagne--was the most famous Carolingian) period, roughly the eighth and ninth centuries, was foundational for western Europe. But this was also the time when the mid-Byzantine Empire consolidated its position and when the Abbasid family of caliphs introduced important and durable changes in the Islamic world. This course will focus on the West in the age of Charlemagne, but will draw frequent comparisons with and make continuous reference to Europe's Byzantine and Islamic neighbors. The course will explore such themes as: Europe's Roman and Christian inheritances from antiquity; the peoples of the Carolingian world; kingship and empire; political and social institutions and ideologies; religious and secular law; war and diplomacy; agriculture and trade; the church--popes, bishops, monks, and nuns; theology; art and architecture; Latin and vernacular literature. Reading assignments will combine modern scholarship and primary sources (in translation). Students will write mid-term and final examinations and will choose between several short papers or one long paper. Graduate students will meet weekly with the professor, carry out reading assignments different from those of the undergraduates, and submit a series of short papers.

MI 416 History of Medieval Philosophy
S. Dumont
TH 5:00-6:15

A survey of the major figures and issues of medieval philosophy considered in their historical context from Augustine to William of Ockham, although the principal focus will be on the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (i.e., Aquinas through Ockham). The course will be a lecture format with discussion of central texts. The necessary historical and conceptual background will be supplied in an effort to locate positions within broad movements of the period, such as realism, nominalism, Augustinianism, and Aristotelianism. The course is intended for advanced undergraduates and for graduate students who require an introduction to medieval philosophy.

MI 423 Dante II
C. Moevs
TH 11:00-12:15

Dante's Comedy is one of the supreme poetic achievements in western literature. It is a probing synthesis of the entire Western cultural and philosophical tradition that produced it, a radical experiment in poetics and poetic technique, and a profound exploration of Christian spirituality. Dante I and II are a close study, over two semesters, of the entire Comedy, in its cultural (historical, literary, artistic, philosophical) context. Dante I covers the works that precede the Comedy (Vita Nuova, Convivio, De vulgari eloquentia) and the Inferno, Dante II covers the Purgatorio and Paradiso, along with the Monarchia. These are separate courses, and can be taken independently, though they do form an integrated sequence. The course and all discussion will be conducted in English. Dante's minor works will be read in English translation; all critical articles will be in English. The Comedy will be read in facing-page translation, and we will refer to it in Italian. Acquaintance with Latin or a Romance language is therefore helpful, though not strictly necessary.

MI 424A Thomas Aquinas: Theologian
T. Prügl
MWF 3:00-3:50

The writings and thought of Thomas Aquinas influenced the subsequent course of Catholic theology perhaps more than any other single theologian in church history. By exploring his career as a Dominican master through a variety of his writings, this course will provide students with a basic introduction to Aquinas's theology. To that end, the course will pay particular attention to his masterpiece, the Summa Theologiae, as well as other shorter works in order to highlight the major loci of his theology (e.g., God, Trinity, creation, sin, grace, virtues, Christ, and the sacraments). Students will be required to write four papers on assigned readings and prepare short class presentations.

MI 430B History of the English Language
K. O'Brien O'Keeffe
TH 12:30-1:45

This course is designed to introduce you to the historical development of the English language, from its earliest recorded appearance to its current state as a world language. It will cover the major developments in the grammar, syntax, and pronunciation of English over time, the ways in which languages are written down and how English has been written, loan words and foreign influences on the word stock of English, the social forces driving linguistic change in English, and the ways people have understood language to work in the past and in the present. This is a course for anyone who loves words and is curious about their history or anyone who is interested in developing a deeper knowledge of the structures of English, early and late.

Requirements: Three semester examinations, ten worksheets, one collaborative project.

MI 434 Medieval Ireland
A. O'Leary
TH 11:00-12:15

This course covers the history and culture of Ireland from the pre-Christian era to approximately 800 A.D. For instance, we will discuss what Saint Patrick really achieved, the nature of monastic life in Ireland, and whether the Vikings were the brutal savages they are often said to be. We will also analyze the relationships between Ireland and her neighbors, especially England and Scotland. Students will be expected to draw their own conclusions on issues such as the uses and limitations of archaeology, the historical value of Celtic mythology, how the Irish related to the outside world, and Ireland's place in medieval European history. Requirements include participation in class discussion, midterm and final exams, and a research paper (ten pages approx.) on a topic of the student's choice.

MI 442 Fifteenth-Century Italian Renaissance Art
C. Rosenberg
MWF 10:40-11:30

This course investigates the century most fully identified with the early Renaissance in Italy. Individual works by artists such as Brunelleschi, Donatello, Ghiberti, Botticelli, and Alberti are set into their social, political, and religious context. Special attention is paid to topics such as the origins of art theory, art and audience, Medician patronage, and art for the Renaissance courts of northern Italy and Naples.

MI 461B Boccaccio
C. Moevs
T 2:00-4:30

Though one of the most entertaining texts in literature, Boccaccio's Decameron has been called "the most enigmatic of medieval texts, richly difficult to fathom." The text that lies behind Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and that created the modern short story, the Decameron is one of the most important and influential works in literature. It is a profound meditation on the grounds of faith and the meaning of death, on the relation between language and reality, on literature as a response to human suffering and mortality, and on the nature of crisis and historical change. It is a subtle exploration of the concepts of fortune, human intelligence and creativity, love, social hierarchy and social order, and religious language and practice. We shall also pay special attention to the representation of women in the Decameron, and to the book's apparent "feminism." Students will be free to explore other topics as well, such as magic, the visual arts, mercantile culture, travel and discovery, and new religious practices. We will read the text in its entirety in Italian; a reading knowledge of Italian is thus required, but the enrollment will determine the language of discussion. Open to advanced and qualified undergraduates by permission.

MI 465 St. Augustine's Confessions
B. Krostenko
MW 11:45-1:00

This course provides an introduction to St. Augustine's Confessions, through reading of extensive selections from the Latin text, a careful reading of the entire work in English translation, and the application of a variety of critical approaches, old and new.

Prerequisite: CLLA 103 or equivalent.

MI 572A Seminar: Topics in Medieval Art (Sculpture and Architectural Sculpture in Trecento Italy and Its Meaning
P. Sanvito
MW 1:30-2:45

This seminar will address the complex problem of the dialogue between monumental sculpture in the last phases of the Italian Middle Ages and its architectural support. The fourteenth century was among the most productive in Italian art, not least because the country experienced its highest accumulation of capital. Merchant cities, oligarchic states, and dynastic courts engaged many of their strongest resources to realize some of the most impressive artistic commissions of Italian art (e.g., in Florence, Siena, Naples, Milan, and Venice). Interaction of the local schools of sculpture with numerous Swabian and French masters, frequently appointed to the aforementioned centers, enriched the variety of tendencies which late Gothic art shows right up to the end of its development.

MI 472B Ovid's Metamorphoses
A. Wouters
TH 3:30-4:45

See the description for MI 372 above.

MI 472C Readings in Medieval Latin
A. Wouters
TH 11:00-12:15

This course aims at making its students better translators of medieval Latin texts. To that end, we will focus on the translation and morphological and syntactical analysis of a variety of excerpts. In order to ensure the relevance of our brief selections for the broader research interests of the students, our readings will be taken whenever feasible from the reading lists of other courses offered during the Spring 2004 term. Enrollment in any of these other courses is not a prerequisite for our course. Daily preparation and active participation in class are essential components of this course; two written assignments, brief quizzes, one mid-term exam, and a final exam also count toward the final grade.

Prerequisite: (the equivalent of) one year of Latin at the college level or permission of the instructor.

MI 473A Theology of St. Augustine
B. Daley
MW 11:45-1:00

Augustine of Hippo was arguably the most influential theological thinker in the history of western Christianity. A brilliant professional rhetorician and a profound student of Neoplatonic philosophy, Augustine brought his gifts and training to the service of the Church when he was baptized, after a long struggle of faith, in 387. Yet perhaps because of his gifts, he was always surrounded by controversy, and has remained so down to the present--appearing to many to be responsible for some of the main shortcomings of the Church's theology and practice, even as his writings largely set the agenda for later theological discussion in the West. In this course, we will read a representative sample of his major works--some of his early philosophical treatises, the Confessions, his Homilies on I John and on some of the Psalms, some of his controversial works on grace and human freedom, and parts of On Christian Teaching, On the Trinity, and On the City of God. Our goal will be to discover Augustine's characteristic blend of exegesis, pastoral concern, philosophical speculation, and spirituality, and to let it challenge and nourish our own reflective faith.

MI 495A Senior Seminar: Honor, Love, Society
E. Juarez
TH 12:30-1:45

Golden Age theater was a genre that flourished on both sides of the Atlantic. In this course students will read and analyze works by playwrights from Spain and Latin America during the end of the sixteenth and the seventeenth century. Representative dramatic pieces by Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Ruiz de Alarcón, Calderón de la Barca and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, among others, will be examined in their historical and cultural context. The readings, literary analyses and discussions of Golden Age theatre will be supplemented with video and DVD recordings of the plays. This class includes a trip to the XXIX Annual International Siglo de Oro Drama Festival in the Chamizal National Memorial in El Paso, Texas, at the beginning of March 2004. The trip will give students the unique opportunity to attend live performances of Golden Age Theater in Spanish. Students should have a solid command of the target language since all class activities and assignment will be in Spanish. They should have a strong interest in Spanish literature and be able to understand the live performances of the plays in Spanish. Ideally students with international experience will be better suited for this class. The class size is limited to ten students. Requirements for the course include oral presentations, a term paper (twenty to twenty-five pages) and a report on the live performances. This course is a Senior Seminar which satisfies the requirements for first and second majors in Spanish.