MedRen 2215 - Gothic Paris: 1100 - 1300

Description: An introduction to arts, architecture, poetry, history, music, theology, foods, fashions, and urban geography in Paris 1100-1300, the age of Gothic cathedrals and the rise of the university.

Students will:
1. be introduced to some of the main currents of medieval culture in Western Europe through the study of Paris, 1100-1300, gaining deeper historical and cultural appreciation and dispelling some misconceptions.
2. learn to recognize major characteristics of the “Gothic” style in art and architecture.
3. study the formation of the first major Western university, and use the methods of organization and analysis which developed there (and form the basis of analytical methods today).
4. study a crucial growth period of one of the world’s enduring cities, examining the complex web of economic, commercial, political and social forces which contributed to that growth, with the ultimate goal of gaining the ability to transfer that cultural analysis to other times and places.
5. read authentic primary texts in translation, with the goal of appreciating some of the stylistic features and extracting some knowledge of contemporary daily life and ideology.

Assignments: midterm & final exam, partly student written; short quizzes to process readings; a project researching and experiencing/ recreating something related to medieval Paris. 

Class: 34993
Time: WeFr 11:10AM-12:30PM
Room: 129 Mendenhall Lab
Instructor: Kristen Figg (CMRS)

Required Books

• Letters of Abelard and Heloise, Betty Radice and M. T. Clanchy. Penguin Books (2013);
• Honeysuckle and the Hazel Tree : Medieval Stories of Men and Women, Patricia Terry. University of California Press (1995);
• Paris, 1200, John W. Baldwin. Stanford University Press (2010).

GE culture and ideas and diversity global studies course. **NEW: GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.**

MedRen 5610 - Manuscript Studies 

Description: This course introduces students to the pre-print culture of the European Middle Ages and trains them in the fundamental skills required to read and understand handwritten books, documents, and scrolls from ca. 500-1500 AD.  Students will work with manuscripts held in the OSU library’s Special Collections and will benefit from numerous guest lectures.  Knowledge of Latin and other medieval languages is NOT a prerequisite for enrollment.

Class: 34984 (UG); 34985 (G)
Time: TR 12:45-2:05PM
Room: 150A Thompson Library
Instructors: Leslie Lockett (English) and Eric Johnson (University Libraries) 

Required Books

• Introduction to Manuscript Studies, Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham, Cornell University Press (2007).