Are you interested in learning more about two rich and understudied medieval literatures? Medieval Occitan and Catalan are two sister languages used in the south of France and in the eastern regions of the Iberian Peninsula, and are the vehicles for new literary forms and aesthetic practices arising in the twelfth century. The Centre for Medieval Studies is pleased to offer graduate courses next year that will provide the tools for close engagement with literary texts ranging from the earliest courtly love lyrics in Occitan, to the Catalan royal chronicles of intrigue and conquest of Muslim territories in thirteenth-century Catalonia. As a capstone event, there will be a joint workshop where papers presented by students in both courses will enable further dialogue between the Catalan and Occitan cultural spheres.
If you would like to hear more about the interconnections between Occitan and Catalan languages and cultures, and about how these two courses will approach their respective literary cultures,
please come to an information session to be held on
Monday, May 2 from 11:00-12:00 at the Centre for Medieval Studies, Room 301.
Professors Dorothea Kullmann (Occitan) and Jill Ross (Catalan) will be present to talk about their respective courses and about the exciting things happening in both Occitan and Catalan literary studies.
MST3152F: Introduction to Medieval Occitan (W 11-1, CMS)
A language course, designed for beginners who have little or no previous knowledge of Old Occitan and who wish to acquire the means to approach medieval Occitan literature in the original language. (A seminar on medieval Occitan literature will be offered in the spring term.) We will study historical phonetics, morphology, and syntax, using original text examples from different genres, including some troubadour poetry
MST3153S: Medieval Occitan Literature (W 11-1, CMS)
A brief general introduction to medieval Occitan literature will be followed by the study of a specific corpus, author, or genre, or a particular aspect of this literature. Apart from troubadour lyric, genres such as romance, epic, hagiography etc. may also be covered. Participants will become acquainted with the literature and culture of Southern France and its relationship to other European cultures. This year (2017-2018) we will explore the status of troubadour lyric within the literary system. Both lyrical and non-lyrical texts will therefore be included.
MST 3140Y: Medieval Catalan Language and Literature (R 10-12, CMS)
This full-year course is designed to teach the Catalan language (in both its medieval and modern forms) to students interested in reading medieval Catalan texts. The course begins with an intensive introduction to Catalan grammar and slowly introduces students to a variety of literary and historical texts written between 1200 and 1500. By late fall semester the emphasis in the course shifts away from grammar to reading literature in the spring semester. Texts to be studied include lyric poetry, historical chronicles, sermons, Arthurian romance, and allegorical dream visions by authors such as Ramon Llull, Bernat Desclot, Vicent Ferrer, Ausiàs March, Guillem de Torroella and Bernat Metge. No prior knowledge of Catalan is required although knowledge of another Romance language or Latin would be helpful.