Fall 2012 Courses
MVST Courses
MVST 043 Knights of Old and Harry Potter - Dover, TR 11 - 12:15
This course explores the medievalism of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels. To do this we go back to medieval antecedents from the 12th-15th centuries, which allow us to contrast and compare the old and the new. You will read masterpieces of imaginative storytelling from French, English, and Latin medieval literature as well as selected volumes of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels and her associated smaller works. The old and the new are linked thematically in that they are all narratives about growing up and finding one’s identity: a complex, mysterious, and sometimes arduous process that the hero experiences as a magical world where the natural laws governing human existence are suspended, the unexpected is bound to occur, and marvels are reserved for the chosen few. The choices to be made, dangers to be faced, and discoveries to be made, all help the hero to relate to his own world and the public world outside. Friendship, love, good and evil, authority and power, success and failure, responsibility, belief and knowledge, self-knowledge and inexplicable mystery—these are essential experiences that structure and develop identity, in real life and in literature, today as well as yesteryear. All readings and discussion are in English.The course fulfills the Humanities & Writing II requirement. It also counts toward the Medieval Studies Major and Minor, and the SFS Certificate in Medieval Studies. The course is also offered as FREN-040-01. courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
MVST 044 Desire, the Devil and Death - Vann, TR 3:30 - 4:45
Using as a guide Durer’s engraving Knight, Death, and the Devil, often interpreted to represent moral virtue in medieval Scholasticism, this course will investigate the interconnectedness of desire, the devil, and death in the medieval world. Weaving illustrations in codexes, psalters, and books of hours with morality plays, legends, Arthurian romance, the Breton lai and the fabliau, we will examine ways in which written texts are both altered and enhanced by visual representations. Some of the authors we will read are Hrotswitha and Hildegarde, Chaucer, Marie de France, and the ubiquitous medieval author Anonymous. (Counts as HUMW II course) courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
MVST 219 Order, Ornament: Med Art & Lit. - Harrison MW 6:30-7:45
Medieval artisans and poets made their works shine with bold color, elaborate organization, and rich detail--despite the apparent chaos of their age. To explore this paradox, students will examine a range of creations taken from ruined cities and secluded monasteries, bustling universities and stately halls; and throughout, we will consider the persistent connections between visual art and poetry. As we examine some of the Middle Ages' most striking works of literature (sometimes preserved in beautiful manuscripts), questions will center on the role of order and ornament in expressing medieval worldviews. How are narratives like knots, and how are behaviors branches? What is the relationship between symmetry and goodness? What were the hidden meanings of gemstones, animals, and plants in the natural world? courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
MVST 221 Apocalypse: Word/Image/Stone - Meyer, T 6:30 - 9:00
• All texts will be read in modern English translations.
• No previous knowledge of Biblical, ancient, or medieval materials is required for students.
• Examples from the visual arts will be drawn primarily from French and English sources. Students will have the opportunity, however, to pursue independent work on other, related European traditions. courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
MVST 232 History & Legend: Medieval Britain - Moran Cruz, MW 3:30 - 4:45
Focuses on contrasting modern views of British medieval history with medieval perceptions. The historical evidence and the legends for figures such as Arthur, King Alfred, Thomas Becket, Robin Hood, and Richard II are compared. courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
MVST 348 Senior Seminar: Research - TBD
This research and reading seminar is required for senior Medieval Studies majors. Minors and SFS certificate students wishing to enroll and write a thesis are welcome to contact the Program Director, David Goldfrank, goldfrad@georgetown.edu. courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
Crosslisted courses that count toward the major, minor and certificate
ARTH 228 Northern Renaissance Art - Acres courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
CATH 156 Holy Bones in Catholic Imagination - Apostolos-Cappadona courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
CATH 157 Healing in the Catholic Imagination - Apostolos-Cappadona courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
ENGL 108 Chaucer - Hirsh courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
ENGL 304 Medieval Sexualities - Wickham-Crowley courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
FREN 494 Medieval French Language - Dover courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
GERM 024 Germanic Christian Hero - Murphy
HIST 109 Islamic World - J.Brown courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
HIST 122 History of China I - Spendelow courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
HIST 160 Middle East I - Isci courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
HIST 230 Europe: From the Fall of Rome to the Millenium - Moran-Cruz courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
HIST 232 History and Legend in Medieval Britain - Moran-Cruz courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
HIST 431 Outer Space from Plato to Newton - Collins courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
INAF 241 Kabbalah and its Contexts - Soltes courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
ITAL 372 Dante and the Medieval Mind - Ciabattoni courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
SPAN 427 History of the Spanish Language - Walsh courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
SPAN 493 Framed: Stories that Move in Chains - Francomano courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
THEO 136 Medieval Women Mystics - Lamm courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
WFST 250 The Breast: Image, Myth and Legend courses.georgetown.edu/index.cfm
