Spring 2012

Ger G571 Representations of the Life of Christ

This seminar engages with a set of themes that are as old as the bible itself: Does the bible need to be explained, not only with the help of words, but also in images and with visual exegesis on stage? Is it even possible to present the life of Jesus in theatrical terms? And can such a staging be considered sacred in any way? What is the status of performative representations of the Passion before (and after) the Reformation?

We will explore these questions with reference to German literature and culture, above all, by dealing, with the efflourescence of spiritual drama in the period between 1150 and 1550, at the center of which stands the life of Christ. We will also explore the reasons for the vehemence with which, at the time of the Reformation in the 16th century, reformers rejected this tradition. Taught in German.

Ger E371 / MEST M490: Courtly Epic in French and German

In this course, we will read some of the most famous novels of the Middle Ages by Chrétien de Troyes, Hartmann of Aue, but also the most important heroic epic, the Nibelungen-lied, all as a way of exploring the origins of fictionalizing the reality people lived in at the time. We will also have a close look at manuscripts, wall-paintings, castles and other living places of the time as well as ways of life within the different ranks of society in order to grasp the complexity of a sociocultural fabric of a specific period. Taught in English. Crosslisted with Medieval Studies.