Medieval Modernity

Catalog description

The consensus of the Early Modern Era seemed to be that closing the door on those dank and dark Middle Ages was for the betterment of humanity, art, culture, and intellectualism. Despite this, medieval stories and ideologies have continued to be a popular mode of expression, an abundant wellspring from which people pull adaptions and continuations which remain relevant well into the contemporary moment. In all media and mediums, the medieval lurks; from popular video games such as The Witcher and Dark Souls series; to international T.V. phenomena like House of the Dragon and Kingdom; to the silver screen in adaptions like The Green Knight; to the countless literary productions which reinvent, recycle, reinterpret, and readapt medieval narratives, characters, and themes found in comic books like Once & Future and novels such as The Buried Giant. This class will explore medieval texts through the lens of relevance, building a foundation of knowledge through readings of medieval material before moving onto later and more contemporary literature to explore why we just can’t seem to shut the book on the Middle Ages.