The Medieval Literary Arts

3 units

How do medieval French writers understand the structures and functions of the human body? What kinds of bodies are considered disabled? Are womanhood, childhood, and old age construed as disabilities? in this course we will read texts of varied genre--farces, saints' lives, fabliaux, poems, romances, journals and chronicles--as we consider how, if at all, disability exists as a social or literary construct in the Middle Ages. Texts include Philippe de Beaumanoir's MANEKINE, Courtebarbe's TROIS AVEUGLES DE COMPIÈGNE, Guillaume de Machaut's VOIR DIT, and the farce LE GARÇON ET L'AVEUGLE; excerpts from Jean de Meun's ROMAN DE LA ROSE, from the OVIDE MORALISÉ and from Christine de Pizan's MUTACION DE FORTUNE; and poems by Rutebeuf, Deschamps, and Molinet, as well as critical and theoretical texts from the emerging discipline of disability studies. Texts will be available in modern French; no prior study of Old French language is necessary. This course counts towards the seminar requirment for the major. Prereq: Fr 325 or Fr 326 or one of these courses and the equivalent WU transfer literature course from Toulouse or Paris. One-hour preceptorial for undergraduates.