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Ater completing the course studentsare able to:
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demonstrate insight about the impact of scientific and magical thought on European literature from ca. 1450 until 1800
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identify the most important scientific and magical subjects in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period
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describe various medieval en renaissance literary genres, authors and movements
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compare the various dimensions of literary texts
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explore the complex processes of historical continuity and change
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appreciate the cultural origins of modern science
They are able to:
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relate literary texts to religious, scientific and magic sources
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analyze and compare literary texts within a wide chronological and geographical range
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trace, find, study, criticize and use secondary material and primary sources
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express their findings both orally and on paper
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This course focuses on the intermediary role of late-mediaeval texts and early modern literature -- between the old and new, between science and magic, between the natural and supernatural, between the rational and irrational. The scientific revolution is usually seen as the period between 1500 and 1700, when the foundations of modern science were laid down in Western Europe, and when there were many revolutionary discoveries in the fields of medicine, astronomy and natural philosophy. From a cultural point of view, however, scientific trends were less revolutionary, and less far-reaching. The chasm between the ‘magical’ Middle Ages and the ‘scientific’ Renaissance has been overestimated. Old and new in the Early Modern Period were not divided in two different camps. Magic and superstition were intricately intertwined with innovation and scepticism, and science and religion had to find a compromise. In this course we will address questions like: how did literature contribute to the creation and resilience of astrology, alchemy, and humoral pathology? What was the role of literature in the dissemination of the heliocentric worldview, the discovery of the blood circulation, the mechanical philosophy and Newton’s gravitational theory?
Format
The course runs for fifteen weeks; there are two two-hour sessions per week. The instructor will give an introductory lecture highlighting central themes in the first session of the week. The students have studied the required reading, select a quote from the reading and prepare the reading questions (available on workspace). In class you can ask questions and are invited to join discussions. The second session in the week is for oral presentations, discussion and assignments. Halfway the course the students write an individual essay. The course will be rounded off with a take-home exam, which will test the general knowledge and insights of the students. Suggestions for assignments and proposed further reading are given in the course manual.
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