Literature 3252 - The Danger of Romance

Institution:

Bard College

Subject:

Description:

Medieval Studies Throughout its history, romance has been criticized for the effects it has upon its readers. Dante Alighieri's Francesca ends up in Hell for eternity because she has read the romance of Lancelot, Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quijote tilts after windmills because he has been reading romances, and Gustave Flaubert's Emma Bovary veers into adulterous affairs because she has indulged in similar reading matter. The alternate world presented by romance can seem more attractive than our own mundane existence and can threaten to distract us from our real-life responsibilities within it. In reading the major works of romance literature, students consider the uncertain moral status of this genre. Texts include classical epics, medieval Arthurian romances and lays, Renaissance romance epics, and some modern descendants of the romance tradition.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.bard.edu

Phone Number:

(845) 758-6822

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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