G45.2290Passions & Pleasure - Medieval
Narrative / New Approaches Fall 2008, Wed 2-4 Prof. Evelyn (Timmie) Birge Vitz - ebv1@nyu.edu This course focuses on a wide range of works of medieval verse narrative, mostly French but open to texts in other languages. Works to be studied
include: La Chanson de Roland—and excerpts from another version of the Roland, Rhymed Roland Selected readings from the Tristan legend: Béroul, Thomas,
the Folies Chrétien de Troyes’ Yvain Lais by Marie de France Aucassin et Nicolette Several narrative lyrics, e.g., chansons de toile, pastourelles Several short saints’ lives Scenes from the Roman
de la Rose Several fabliaux Passages from Dante’s Divine Comedy Selected tales from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales Theoretical
approaches: We will approach these works in part through the lens of several contemporary theoretical frameworks, in particular: Work from the field of evolutionary biology, e.g., Joseph Carroll, and Ellen Dissanayake on art and aesthetic experience Recent work on performance (e.g., “Performing Medieval Narrative Today: A Video Showcase”: http://wilde.its.nyu.edu/mednar/) and on cognition of medieval narrative Richard Schechner’s work on performance and on “rasa” (the passions) Work on “Theory of Mind,” in particular, Lisa Zunshine, Why We Read Fiction Note: The course will be given in English in order to make the discussion available to graduate students from different departments. Students should be able to read modern French; we will do some work on Old French together in class. Book order: Several texts will be read in part, in a Reader. Texts to be purchased are: La Chanson de Roland, Lettres Gothiques Tristan et Iseut, Lettres Gothiques Chrétien de Troyes, Yvain, Lettres Gothiques Aucassin et Nicolette, Garnier Flammarion Note: For the theoretical works, there will be a Reader. But copies of books by Ellen Dissanayake, Joseph Carrolll, Richard Schechner, Lisa Zunshine and others are readily available on Amazon and through other book-sellers. |
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