Susan Kim, Illinois State University
Fridays, 2:00-5:00 pm; January 5 - March 16, 2007 (No meeting on February 9)
The four "other" works in the Beowulf manuscript, the "Wonders of the East," the "Letter from Alexander to Aristotle," Judith, and the "Life of St. Christopher," have, until recently, rarely been examined closely, even for the context they provide for Beowulf. Yet these texts provide much insight not only into the reading of Beowulf, but also into Anglo-Saxon literature and culture, as well as the construction of modern interpretations. In Kenneth Sisam's phrase, these works at the very least indicate "a special interest in monsters" throughout the manuscript. This "special interest in monsters," and its own other, the interest in normative corporeal, linguistic, religious, and cultural identity, will be the focus of the seminar.
In our readings of Beowulf and these "other" texts, we will consider a broad range of topics, among them the following: the didactic function of the figure of the monster; the role of the monstrous Eastern Other in the establishment of "English" identity; the uneasy relationship of monster text to monstrous image; the saint or martyr as monstrosity; and the rhetoric of the dismembered body. In addition, we will examine the history of critical discussions of these texts, many of which either dismiss or "reconstruct" these texts, and we will consider both the effects of and the motivations for their marginalization, why, for example, so many discussions of the "Wonders of the East" turn away from the Vitellius version and towards the Tiberius, or why the text of the "Life of Christopher" is elided even in Orchard's invaluable edition.
This course requires reading in Old English (completion of an introductory course in Old English or the equivalent). Although the focus of the seminar will be on the literature, we will spend about half an hour of each meeting in systematic review of the grammar of the language. Reading knowledge of Latin will be helpful but by no means necessary. In addition to the five works of the Beowulf manuscript, we will read a number of critical and theoretical studies as well as a number of Latin and Old English texts including the Liber Monstrorum, several of the Exeter Book riddles, the Old English "Life of Saint Margaret," and excerpts from Ælfric's Grammar.
There will be two guest speakers during the semester: Asa Mittman, Arizona State University, and Patricia Dailey, Columbia University.
Course Syllabus
All students must register for this course. To register, please call the Center for Renaissance Studies at 312-255-3514 or email renaissance@newberry.org