ENGL.F26

Rather than being at odds with the church, sex and sexuality was an integral part of medieval concepts of sanctity. Even as the church attempted to regulate sexual behavior, it was also deeply invested in the relationship between the divine and the corporeal, including meditation upon the frankly erotic Song of Songs; the question of Mary's virginity and motherhood; hagiographic accounts of cross-dressing saints; and the feminization of Christ's body. This course will explore three concepts-- sex, sin, and the sacred-- and their interrelationship during the medieval period. We will investigate the complex and often contradictory ways that sex was understood, exploring how medieval people conceptualized the sacred and profane -- and then troubled the very binaries such a system established. Broadly interpreting the term "sex," we will explore issues of sexual and romantic desire; sexual acts and behaviors; medieval versions of gender identity; pre-modern understandings of "biological" sex; love and courtship; and more. Readings will include work from Geoffrey Chaucer, Alain de Lille, Julian of Norwich, Thomas Aquinas, and Marie de France, as well as commentary and essays from critics such as Judith Butler, Caroline Walker Bynum, Robert Mills, and Carolyn Dinshaw. While texts will be presented in their original form where possible, prior knowledge of Middle English is not mandatory.


Prerequisite: One 200-level English course or permission of instructor
Approaches to Inquiry: CI, IP, PIJ