GERST 6285

Premodern Literature and Media

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2020-2021.

This course introduces the canon of medieval German literature: lyric poetry (Minnesang), Arthurian romance (Gottfried's Tristan, Wolfram's Parzival, Hartmann's Iwein), and the heroic epic (Nibelungenlied). With a focus on twelfth-century courtly culture, we will investigate medieval problems of form, genre, and representation, as well as post-medieval approaches to materiality, hermeneutics, and textuality. Our larger questions, centering on the controversial concept of medieval alterity, will address the contested legacy of the Middle Ages in German modernity.

When Offered Fall or Spring.

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

View Enrollment Information