Seminar. Medieval Visionary Texts
A Seminar series aimed at MA students.
This course will trace the presentation of visions in medieval English texts, from the earliest accounts such as the Old English Dream of the Rood, to the late Middle English descriptions of visions in The Book of Margery Kempe. Visions provided a means of describing the ineffable; they could also give authority to the visionary, which might explain why many visionary accounts are by women. But visions were also potentially subversive, and opened the visionary up to scrutiny. Topics considered in the course will include: the conservatism of visionary language versus its potential subversiveness; the role of the ‘author’ in relation to God; the role of women in the creation of religious texts; strategies for creating a language to describe the ineffable.
Assessment by Seminar Paper, to be delivered electronically (Word doc preferred): Deadline Sep. 1, 2022- Enseignant·e: Elisabeth Dutton