Beowulf. Seamus Heaney, trans.2^nd ed. Norton Critical Edition, 2019. ISBN: 9780393938371

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales: Seventeen Tales and the General Prologue. 3^rd ed. V.A. Kolve, ed. Norton Critical Edition, 2018. ISBN: 9781324000563

Euripedes. Medea. Shirley Murnaghan, trans. Norton Critical Edition, 2020. ISBN: 9780393265453

Everyman and Mankind (Arden Early Modern Drama). Douglas Bruster and Eric Rasmussen, eds. Arden, 2009. ISBN: 9781904271628

Homer. The Odyssey. Emily Wilson, trans. Norton Critical Edition, 2020. ISBN: 9780393655063

Marie de France. Poetry. Dorothy Gilbert, trans. Norton Critical Edition, 2015. ISBN: 9780393932683

Plautus. Four Comedies. Erich Segal, trans. Oxford World Classics, 2008. ISBN: 9780199540563

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Marie Borroff, trans. Norton Critical Edition, 2009. ISBN: 9780393930252

Sophocles. Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Electra. Edith Hall, ed. Oxford World Classics, 2009. ISBN: 9780199537174

This course is an advanced study of classical and medieval genres and their representation of the broader world of classical and medieval cultures. By examining epic, saga, romance, and more, students will understand how these works engaged with and critiqued the cultural values of the age in which they were produced, and use contemporary literary theory to study the critical reaction to those works and their lasting influence on Western literary production. 3 credit hours.

Upon successful completion of the course, each participant should be able to:

• analyze classical and medieval literary genre conventions in order to understand the popular structures and themes of literary production during those periods;
• express their understanding of the relationship between literature and the historical/cultural contexts in which it was written;
• demonstrate an understanding of contemporary literary theory and peer-reviewed scholarship, including approaches such as new historicism, feminism, Marxism, reader-response criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, and post-structuralism, among others;
• deploy ideas from works of criticism and theory in their own reading and writing;
• evaluate journal articles and professional studies of medieval and classical genres in order to write for an audience of professional scholars, and
• demonstrate a fuller and deeper understanding of classical and medieval genres and their relation to past literary cultures and influence on subsequent literary production.