Lords, Ladies, and Avatars: the Middle Ages in Art, Literature, and Second Life

Catalog description

In this Learning Community, students study early British literature from Anglo-Saxon warrior poetry (Beowulf) and the tales of King Arthur to plays with medieval settings or themes by William Shakespeare (Henry V, Hamlet, Lear). Students will be introduced to the virtual environment of Second Life and will learn how to build castles, churches, and jousting fields, and to make tapestries, stained glass, sculpture and wall paintings. Drawing on real and fantasy models, they will also design their own medieval weapons, clothing, and pets (dragons!) and perform scenes from medieval and early modern texts. All texts and technologies will be taught.