WGSS 261
The Saint and the Countess: The Lost Voices of Medieval Women Spring 2013
Division II Writing Skills
Cross-listed MUS 261
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

Very few female voices from the Middle Ages are audible today; most of the music, poetry, and other writings that survives reveals the creativity and expresses the attitudes of men. This course will explore the experiences and viewpoints of medieval women through the lens of the poetry and songs of two exceptional 12th-century figures: the German abbess Hildegard of Bingen, whose long and immensely productive life was shaped by the requirements of monastic culture; and the French Countess of Dia in Provence, whose elusive life and works exemplify the dynamics of aristocratic court culture. We will ask how these and other musical women active in both the sacred and the secular spheres (such as the nun Birgitta of Sweden, and Queen Blanche of Castile) negotiated their places and made their voices heard within the patriarchal society of their time. We will examine the ways in which these contrasting environments informed the different outlooks, ideas, and aesthetics expressed in the words and music of their songs. Along the way we will critically assess how these lost voices have been recreated to speak to us today through recordings and film.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 10
Expected: 8
Class#: 3904
Grading: no pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: evaluation based on several short papers and presentations, and a final project and presentation
Extra Info: not available for the Gaudino or Pass/Fail options
Prerequisites: ability to read music useful but not required
Enrollment Preferences: given to current or prospective majors in Music, WGSS, History, Comparative Literature and Religion
Distributions: Division II Writing Skills
Notes: meets Division 1 requirement if registration is under MUS; meets Division 2 requirement if registration is under WGSS
This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
MUS 261 Division I WGSS 261 Division II
Attributes: MUS Group A Electives

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