MEMS Courses in Fall 2007

First, the MEM courses:

MEM 3003: The Medieval World

Florin Curta

Political hegemony. Globalized economy. Religious fundamentalism. Technological innovation. Many identify these as qualities of the modern age, but the tendency towards globalization has characterized religion, politics, economies, and the arts throughouth history. Though often viewed as ignorant, static, and provincial, medieval society was creative and dynamic. This class will recast medieval peoples and cultures in a global context. From Rome to Baghdad, Seville to the Silk Road, we will take an interdisciplinary approach to diverse sources from the medieval world.

Satisfies the H and I general education requirements.

MEM 3300: Castles and Cloisters: An Introduction to Medieval Communities

Will Hasty

The goal of this course will be to develop a familiarity with some of the salient characteristics of monastic and courtly-chivalric communities in the European Middle Ages, by means of a study of the ways in which they organized their lives temporally and spatially, and of the ways in which they gave expression to their views about life, love, work, God, etc. in their art, literature, and music. This course functions as a core course for the recently developed interdisciplinary minor in Medieval and early Modern Studies (MEMS).

Satisfies the H and I general education requirements.

Course website (via Vista)

MEM3730/ ITA3500 Italian Civilization: Explorations in the Holy Roman Empire

Mary Watt
Through a combination of lectures, readings and discussions, this course considers the cultural impact of the office of the Holy Roman Empire on Italian literature and culture of the Middle Ages
and Renaissance.

MEM 4930, section 2860: Medieval & Early Modern Studies Research Methods

Paul Victor, Jr.
(1 credit; meets Wed., 7th per., Library West room 211)
Medieval Studies Research Methods is a one credit course (non-Gordon Rule) targeted specifically at teaching undergraduate students how to conduct effective research in the field of medieval studies. It is envisioned that this course will eventually become a mandatory course for those students pursuing study in MEMS.
    The most important assignment that students will work on all semester is the Research Project Proposal. This Project requires students to start by picking an academic topic in medieval studies that they are interested in researching. They are then required to meet with MEMS faculty members in their area of study (with guidance from the instructor) to learn how to develop their topic into a focused research thesis. It is important to note that students will not be writing a research paper for this class. These assignments are meant to familiarize them with the research process necessary to be a successful student.
    Throughout the semester the students will be introduced to many print and electronic resources for conducting research. Students will learn how to use their research topics to search each of the following types of resources effectively: reference books, secondary sources, journal articles, Internet resources. They will then create annotated bibliographies for these various resources in the citation style appropriate to their area of study. Students will be assigned a citation partner who will use peer-review to evaluate their work and offer constructive feedback on how to improve it. Each student will then use this feedback to hand in a better annotated bibliography to be graded by the instructor. The annotated bibliography assignments are designed so that students will learn how to cite & annotate sources properly.

MEM4931/ ITW3100 - Special Topics: Introduction to Italian Literature 1

Mary Watt
Through a combination of lectures, readings and discussions, this course considers the major works of Italy's greatest writers of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Some other courses of interest to MEMS students:

EUH 4930 (History Senior Seminar) Religion and Politics in Medieval Spain

Nina Caputo
Restricted to history majors.

GEW 4400 (section# 2686): Medieval Studies in German

This course, instructed in German, provides an introduction to the literary language and culture of medieval Germany, focusing in particular on Germany's role in the so-called "Twelfth Century Renaissance."  Prerequisite: GER 2200 or the equivalent. (Recommended: GEW 3100).

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/hasty/courselogin.html

HIS 3942 History Practicum: The Middle Age in Film

Nina Caputo
Restricted to history majors.

IDH 3931 Icelandic Sagas: The Sword and the Cross

Avery Cahill
Honors course; other students welcome.
This course is designed to give students an in-depth introduction to the myths and sagas of Icelanders. We will study the Icelandic sagas as literature written by Christians about their pagan ancestors, focusing on the cultural history of Iceland in the Viking era and the Middle Ages. It begins with an overview of Medieval Scandinavia with an emphasis on Iceland from its settlement to the end of the Viking Age. In light of the heroic ideal, the role of women, and the interplay between pagan codes of honor and Christian ethics, we will analyze a number of these blood drenched yarns, including the Vinland sagas-the first European discovery of America, Hrafnkel's saga-revenge and the pagan priest of Frey, Egil's saga-the murderous poet, Gisli's and Grettir’s sagas-Iceland’s most famous outlaws, and selections from the mythic stories in the prose and poetic Eddas. Emphasis will be placed on writing and thinking about the past.

SPW 3100: Introduction to Spanish Literatures I: Crossroads (Encrucijada de caminos)

Shifra Armon

SPW 4604 Don Quijote

Shifra Armon
Read Cervantes's masterpiece in Spanish!  Prereq. Minimum grade of B in at least 2 3000-level Spanish literature classes or prior consent.

Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Will Hasty, 263 Dauer Hall, 273-3780
Email: hasty@ufl.edu

Mary Watt, 301 Pugh Hall, 392-2422
Email: marywatt@ufl.edu