Fall 2003

Grand Valley State University

Honors Program

HR 216-C European Civilization I

Christians, Muslims and Jews: Identity and the Other

This course will examine the development of European Civilization through the reading and discussion of representative literary works and historical documents. We will take as our perspective the Iberian Peninsula , given its unique historical and geographical position as the cultural crossroad of East and West, where the three “peoples of the book” coexisted in complex patterns of harmony and tension. In addition to becoming familiar with the main literary genres and currents (the heroic epic, early lyric poetry, development of narrative fiction, courtly love, picaresque fiction) in their historical contexts (the Arab invasion, the Reconquest, the Black Plague, the Reformation and Counter Reformation, the Inquisition, etc.) we will also listen to the voices of individual Christians, Muslims and Jews in order to address such issues as: the creation of the other, marginalization (of minorities and women) and the formation of identity (social and religious). We will compare and contrast Spain to the rest of Europe , learning about its uniqueness as well as about the common ties that bind it to the mainland. We will begin by examining the forms of interaction among the three groups in Medieval Europe that will then lead us to examine the marginalization and portrayal of Jews and Muslims in the Early Modern Period.

Dr. Diane Wright

2046 Mackinac Hall

(616) 331-3203/3670

wrightd@gvsu.edu  

Office Hours: Monday 2:30-3:30 pm 

and Thursday 2:30-3:30 pm

Class meetings: Monday and Wednesday 4:00-5:15 in MAK 2016

Texts:

Constable, Olivia Remie (ed.) Medieval Iberia. Readings from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.

Rojas, Fernando de. Celestina or the Tragi-Comedy of Calisto and Melibea. Ed. Eric Bentley. Applause Books, 2002.

Two Spanish Picaresque Novels. Ed. Michael Alpert. Viking Press, 1969.
Course pack  

On-line texts.  

***In addition we will be reading selections from and referring to the texts that Dr. Coolidge is using:  

Cowns, John, (ed.). Early Modern Spain: A Documentary History