Department of English

How do people imagine the world, and in what ways has global thinking changed across history? In this course we will track how a broad range of writers imagined the world from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern period and beyond. Along the way, we will analyze manuscripts, poetry, and travel narratives written from many different times and places. Our readings will include an account of the Vikings written by a tenth-century Arab Muslim envoy, an Icelandic saga containing the earliest description of North America, and a number of European works responding to the first truly global power: the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century. We will discover a multiethnic, multilingual Middle Ages defined by a diverse range of voices. The goal of the course will be to gain knowledge of global thinking in its historical, social, and political contexts, and to acquire critical skills for analyzing premodern literature.