ENGL 40241 - Book Under Suspicion: Censorship and Freedom of Expression in Medieval English Literature

Institution:

University of Notre Dame

Subject:

English

Description:

Late medieval writers operated in a world distressed by social injustice, political oppression and church controversy. Although this period saw the rise of modern English literature itself, it was also a time when starving peasants rebelled against their overlords, knights rode off on crusade amidst anti-war critique, English translations of the Bible were suppressed, women mystics struggled to be heard amidst gender prejudice, and the king Chaucer worked for was deposed and murdered. This course will examine how the major writers of late medieval England negotiated these troubled waters, writing sometimes candidly and sometimes secretly about dangerous or disturbing matters. Authors to be studied will include Geoffrey Chaucer, William Langland, the Wakefield Master playwright, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, and Marguerite Porete (the only medieval woman author to have been burned at the stake for her writings). The aim is to help illuminate how literary writers sought to defend or enlarge their religious or political orthodoxies in response to the challenges of the time.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nd.edu

Phone Number:

(574) 631-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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