ENGLISH 346 - Iconoclastic Women in the Middle Ages

Institution:

Hobart William Smith Colleges

Subject:

Description:

Since the last third of the 20th century, feminist literary criticism has paid attention to the realm of medieval women which, for diverse reasons, had "previously been an empty space" (Showalter,1976.) This course looks at a variety of unconventional female lives in hagiography, fiction, history and legend from Perpetua, the 3rd century saint, to Joan of Arc, the 15th century warrior. Though this is not an historical survey, we will respect the chronology in order to recognize evolutions and evaluate influences as we read the story of Silence and the writings of Hrotsvit, Hildegard, Marie de France, Eloise, Margery Kempe, Christine de Pizan and others. Most texts will focus on medieval Europe, but we will also explore the point of views of some Asian female writers. This will allow us to compare and contrasts the views of educated, court women in different parts of the world, during the same historical period.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

WWW.HWS.EDU

Phone Number:

(315) 781-3000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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