Spring 2019 MEDREN Courses
MEDREN 2215 - Gothic Paris 1100-1300
Description: The arts, architecture, poetry, history, music, theology, food, and fashion of Paris in 1100-1300, the age of Gothic cathedrals and the birth of the university.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Medieval 215. GE culture and ideas and diversity global studies course.
Paris became a center for learning, beauty, power, and shopping in the High Middle Ages. Discover the first Gothic cathedrals, Courtly Love, King Arthur’s justice, and the love affair between the philosopher Abelard and his gifted student Heloise in the age of the birth of the university. Explore the streets of Paris and its monuments through readings, films, interactive web maps, and hands-on experiences. Assignments: midterm & final exam (multiple choice), short quizzes, and a short research project on experiencing something related to medieval Paris.
Class: 33161
Time: TuTh 2:20PM-3:40PM
Room: Scott Lab E040
Instructor: Sarah-Grace Heller
MEDREN 2618 - Travel and Exploration
Description: In this course we will explore narratives of travel and intercultural contact—not only victorious accounts of discovery and conquest, but also tales of failed expeditions, shipwreck, and captivity—produced by some of the main competitors in European imperial expansion: the Portuguese, Spanish and English. We will study the relationship between literature and empire as we examine how such narratives shaped Europeans’ perceptions of their own and other cultures, and how the texts reflect, implement, and/or challenge imperial and colonial discourses. This course examines intercultural contact between Europe (Spain, Portugal, and England) and the 'New Worlds' through early modern narratives of travel, conquest, shipwreck, and captivity. Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Medieval 218. GE culture and ideas and diversity global studies course.
Class: 32895
Time: WeFr 11:10AM-12:30PM
Room: Mendenhall Lab 174
Instructor: Lisa Voigt
MEDREN 5695 - Advanced Seminar in Medieval and Renaissance Studies: Little Ice Age
Description: This course will explore the human experience of climatic changes and extremes from the Great Famine of the 1310s to the famous “Year without a Summer” in 1816. We’ll start by examining how scientists and historians have reconstructed past climate, and how they have explained its impact on agriculture, health, and economic and political history. However, the real emphasis of the course will be how ordinary people lived through the Little Ice Age: their perceptions, experiences, and memories of climatic changes and extremes. We’ll approach this topic through case studies of historical events, as well as theater, art, and literature. We’ll draw on examples from across the world over a wide range of time, but with a focus on Europe and particularly England ca.1560-1620. Throughout this course we’ll discuss how past experiences of natural climate change can (and can’t) help us understand the experience of anthropogenic global warming in the present century.
Class: 26030
Time: We 2:15PM-5:00PM
Room: University Hall 024
Instructor: Samuel White
MEDREN 7899, "Medieval and Renaissance Colloquia"
Description: This course consists of 1 credit hour per semester for attending CMRS lectures, faculty colloquia and subsequent discussions or preceding "open forum" events. This will amount to: 4 1-hour+ CMRS lectures by visiting professors and at least 1 internal lecture, plus subsequent (or preceding) discussion sessions (total = approx. 3 hours per event); at least one lunch with visiting faculty member (2 hours); active involvement with MRGSA and its activities; and meetings with the Center director (one hour once per term). With permission of the Director other professional activities (e.g. attendance at appropriate conferences, on or off campus; other relevant lectures hosted by OSU units if CMRS colloquia are not scheduled) may be substituted.
Prereq: Grad standing. Repeatable to a maximum of 3 cr hrs. This course is graded S/U.
Class: 9247*
Time: Fri 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Room: TBA
Instructor: TBD