Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Medieval Literature
ENGL 353
Spring 2027
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
MDST 353, CJST 353 |
Why do white supremacists celebrate the European Middle Ages as a lost era of racial and religious purity? This course approaches that question and related issues by considering the emergence of medieval ideas of race, ethnicity and religious difference. We will also think through the meaning of these categories and recent controversies about locating "race" in medieval studies. Our focus will be on a selection of texts dealing with encounters -- real and imaginary -- of Western European Christians with cultures ranging from the Mongol Empire to the Jewish communities in their own territories. The readings will begin historically with the Crusades and the gruesome chronicles written by Christian, Muslim, and Jewish authors. We will move on to religious polemics, travel accounts, and romances: fictions that re-imagine the past in terms of exoticized sexuality, racial transformation, cannibalism, and nationalist fantasies. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Christian, Muslim, and Jewish chronicles of the Crusades
Usama ibn Munqidh, THE BOOK OF CONTEMPLATION
THE SONG OF ROLAND
AUCASSIN AND NICOLETTE
Herman the Former Jew, HIS CONVERSION
William of Rubruck, MISSION TO THE MONGOL EMPIRE to the Mongol Empire;
THE TRAVELS OF JOHN MANDEVILLE
THE KING OF TARS
RICHARD COER DE LYON
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Examinations and Assignments:
Regular Moodle Forum posts; Final research paper |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Contributes to the fulfillment of the following English major requirements:
Literary History 1; World Literature; Research Option
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| Instructor(s): Nisse,Ruth Times: ..T.R.. 01:20PM-02:40PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 5 | JR major: 5 | | |
| Seats Available: 15 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 5 | JR non-major: 0 | SO: 0 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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