Digital/Medieval/Postmodern

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

It has been said often and by many scholars, critics, and entrepreneurs that the hypertextual and hyperreal landscape of the internet is “medieval.” This course will explore the varied meanings of such claims and the connections between “the medieval,” “the digital,” and the “postmodern” through a series of readings on the digital humanities, critical theory, and the close relationships between deconstructive postmodernism and medievalism. We will pair this theorizing with the study of select medieval texts that are digitally accessible in their manuscript and early printed material contexts and the study of past and present writing technologies. The course will serve as an introduction to medieval studies as a global, multidisciplinary field in the twenty-first century. Student work will include presentations, short reflective papers, practical training in digital humanities tools, and a final project combining the traditional research paper and digital visualizations. We will work closely with the Lauinger Library’s digital scholarship programs. Taught in English with readings in Spanish and English.