Courses

Fall Semester information

315A: Advanced Topics:Translation: Theory and Practice

315B: Advanced Topics:Asian Theatre History and Criticism

This course will introduce students to important theoretical applications of performance specific to issues of cultures in Asia. At the end of the course, the student will be able to critically discuss issues involving performance theory, culture, civilization, politics, religion, faith, art forms, and dramatic literature. While refining students' analytical and interpretive skills, Asian Theatre offers intensive examination of specific issues in theatre history and performance theory, often those at the center of current critical interest.

Spring Semester information

315A: Advanced Topics:Arthurian Romance

Noble knights, beautiful ladies, and courtly kings... the stories of King Arthur and his Round Table contain many of the images we have come to associate with the high Middle Ages. And the legends are true: Arthurian romances really are some of the greatest pieces of literature produced in pre-modern Europe and the British Isles. In this course, we'll trace the origins of the Arthurian legend from late antique historical documents to high medieval romance to the present day in a series of readings that both introduce students to the Arthurian canon and also frame it within its historical, cultural, and global contexts. We will be reading the greatest of the great: Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'arthur, Chrétien de Troyes' Lancelot, Knight of the Cart, Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the lais of Marie de France, Geoffrey Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Tale, and Welsh tales from the Mabinogion. In the last weeks of the semester, we will consider present-day medievalism, theoretical interpretations of medieval romance, and the enduring appeal of the Once and Future King. ENG 396/WLIT 315 fulfills the Global Learning requirement and counts toward the World Literature Program. It is also a pre-1660/pre-1830 English course.