HSY2640

The Twelfth-Century Renaissance: Culture and Society (6 points)

(ARTS)

Leader: Constant Mews

Offered:
Clayton Second semester 2003 (Day)

Synopsis: This unit examines the flowering of cultural activity in France, England and the Rhineland 1070-1170, known as 'the twelfth-century renaissance', and its relationship to wider changes in European society at this time. It will look at the writings (available in translation) of particular individuals, notably Guibert of Nogent, Abelard and Heloise, John of Salisbury and Hildegard of Bingen, in terms of their response to changing perceptions of self and the external world which developed in the twelfth century. The unit will also examine the tensions provoked by competing visions of cultural and religious renewal.

Assessment: Precis Exercise (750 words): 15% + Essay (2250 words): 55% + Examination (1.5 hours): 30%

Contact Hours: 3 hours (2 lectures and 1 tutorial) per week over 11 weeks

Prerequisites: A first-year sequence in History or permission

Prohibitions: HSY3640