GERST 4285

Premodern Literature and Media

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2023-2024.

This course introduces the canon of premodern German literature, including lyric poetry (Minnesang), Arthurian romance (Gottfried's Tristan, Wolfram's Parzival, Hartmann's Iwein), and the heroic epic (Nibelungenlied). With a focus on medieval manuscript culture, we will investigate problems of form, genre, and representation, as well as post-medieval approaches to materiality, hermeneutics, and textuality. Our larger questions, centering on the mediation of words, images, and sounds, will address the contested legacy of the premodern period in German modernity.

When Offered Fall or Spring.

Breadth Requirement (HB)
Distribution Category (ALC-AS, HST-AS, LA-AS)

Comments Taught in English.  Reading knowledge of Middle High German is not required; some exposure to the language will be facilitated with the aid of bilingual editions.

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