Women Gender in Mdvl France

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course will provide an introduction to the role of women and questions of gender in medieval French society – and in the process, a survey of the major literary works and figures of the French Middle Ages. With the exception of a few short texts presented for the sake of contrast, every work discussed in this class was either written by, or written at the request and financing of, a woman. The themes of these works span the magical/otherworldly, the amorous, and the political/religious; they address the distinctive problems faced by medieval women within their marriages, as well as within their social positions more broadly. No prior experience studying the literature or culture of the Middle Ages is required.