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Class number:
2687
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Title: The Marvelous Middle Ages |
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Department: English |
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Career: Undergraduate |
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Component: Seminar |
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Session: Regular |
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Instructor's Permission Required: No |
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Grading Basis: Regular |
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Units: 1.00 |
| Enrollment limited to 15 |
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Current enrollment: 15 |
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Available seats: 0 |
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Start date: Tuesday, January 20, 2026 |
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End date: Friday, May 8, 2026 |
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Mode of Instruction: In Person |
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Schedule: TR: 10:50AM-12:05PM, LIB - 103 |
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Instructor(s): Staples, James |
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Prerequisite(s): None |
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Distribution Requirement: Meets Humanities Requirement |
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Note: For majors, this course fulfills the requirement of a pre-1800 requirement/elective/additional literature or film course. |
Course Description:
Readers of medieval literature (alongside its characters) often find themselves in fabulous but disorienting settings-from fairy "otherworlds" to the Kingdom of Heaven-where they encounter supernatural beings, unexplainable events, dazzling objects, magic, and the miraculous: in short, medieval texts challenge readers to take "the marvelous" seriously. This course will explore the concept of "the marvelous" in medieval literature, not only what it is, but what it does, what we as readers are invited to do when confronted with the logically or textually unexplainable. Considering such subjects as gender, sexuality, and race alongside accounts of fairies, mystical visions, and otherworlds, we will explore how the marvelous can provide the catalyst necessary for reimagining new possibilities in the "real" world. |