ARTH3009

Grounded in critical race theory, intersectionality, and queer theory, this class draws on primary texts and a range of visual and material sources to trace the histories, experiences, and representations of marginalized identities in the medieval world. We will consider gender, sexuality, and race in the context of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic cultures during the Middle Ages. This class will examine topics including transgender saints, miraculous transformations, demonic possession, female artists and patrons, the "monstrous races" of travel accounts, and gender-affirming surgeries. In contrast to misconceptions of a homogenous white European past, the reality of medieval Europe was diverse and complex, and its boundaries - geographical, cultural, bodily, and otherwise - were in flux, as reflected in its visual and material culture.

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