Gender in Medieval Literature

In this course, we will examine the multiplicity of ways that gender and sexuality are portrayed in the literature of medieval Britain and interlinked cultural regions. How do medieval texts depict gender categories, relations of desire and violence, intersectional subject positions, and anxieties about sex that remain alive today? What are some currents of fluidity, peculiarity, and rebellion in early ideas about gender and sexuality? Texts may include the Roman de Silence, the Lais of Marie de France, and the Book of Margery Kempe. No previous experience with medieval literature required.