Sex, Violence and Women in Medieval Culture
David Boyd profile
W 9-12
While focusing on developing your teaching skills, this course will examine three topics of vital importance in medieval culture: sex, violence and women. The course will not only focus on each of the topics separately, but will also investigate the way that they are typically conflated--especially as the high and late Middle Ages produced fascinating (although quite disturbing) discourses on misogyny and heteronormativity. A wide variety of texts (mainly in modern English translation) from across Western Europe will form the basis for the seminar: selections from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, medieval Latin meditations on the Virgin (and her relation to Christ's body/phallus), short lyrics confounding the sexual and the sacred, Old French, Eneas, Hartmann von Aue's Erec, Christine de Pisan's Letter of Cupid, the mystery plays, Noah, and The Crucifixion, selections from Bocaccio's Decameron, Marie de France's Lanval, Chretien de Troye's Lancelot, and selections from The Romance of the Rose (Guillaume de Lorris and the naughty Jean de Meun). Outside contextual and theoretical readings will also be required.
For the pedagogical aspects of the class, we will not only read and discuss some recent theories of pedagogy and composition, but will also use part of the seminar to develop practical strategies for teaching undergraduates and for preparing classes. We will do this through mock teaching and through having a member of the seminar be responsible each week for leading discussion and researching/assigning background, critical and theoretical materials each week (though I will also inundate you with my own sage observations). In other words, I will not employ this seminar simply as a way of supplying you with all the information you need to teach the texts (too easy for me and you), but to equip yourself with the techniques you need to learn to do this for yourself (teach someone to fish...). I should also note that the purpose of the class is not to tell you how to teach, but to give you the opportunity to explore different teaching styles and theoretical/political commitments underwriting and informing one's own performance in the classroom. This way, you can decide how and why you want to teach, and we can work to make you as effective as possible within the paradigms you design. Besides class observation, we will also use videotaping as a pedagogical tool (though the tapes will not be used in class, but will form the basis for private consultation). I will contact seminar members in late may to begin preparation for the Fall (welcome to the world of teaching!) Since some editions may not be readily available for next Fall, I may have to substitute some of the above texts with others (more on this when I have the information.)
updated 2006-04-17
