ENGL 202

Fall 2025 All Classes

All Classes

Medieval Literature and Culture

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Credit: 3 hours.

Introduction to the diverse literatures and cultures of the global Middle Ages (approximately 500-1500 CE). Students will read works by medieval authors in Modern English translation, with particular attention to placing works in their historical and material contexts.

Same as CWL 253 and MDVL 201. Prerequisite: Completion of the Composition I requirement.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2022 for:

Humanities – Lit & Arts

Cultural Studies - Western

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ENGL 202 class schedule data for fall 2025
	CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
	33890	Lecture-Discussion	D	9:30AM -10:45AM	TR	Davenport Hall	Koepke, C	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/25/25-12/10/25 Degree Notes: Humanities - Lit & Arts, and Cultural Studies - Western course. Credit: 3 hours Section Info: FA25 ENGL 202 / CWL 253 / MDVL 201 - Medieval Lit and Culture - Carson Koepke - Have you ever wondered what stories people were reading for fun a thousand years ago? Together, we will explore the literary and cultural diversity of the Middle Ages by reading and analyzing narrative texts from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Mesoamerica that were being told in or around the year 1000. By focusing on a cross section of world literature from turn of the first millennium CE, we will experience how medieval peoples thought about physical and spiritual travel, how they retold epic myths, legends, and origin stories, and how the genre of the medieval romance laid the foundations for the modern novel. Readings in Modern English translation will be sourced from a wide variety of languages, including Old English, Latin, Arabic, Coptic, Persian, Chinese, Japanese, and Mayan, composed by practitioners of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and other prominent religious traditions. As we read, we will work to place narratives like "Beowulf" and "The Tale of Genji" within their wider cultural contexts while also thinking critically about what features and practices unite literature across geographies. The texts will be both weird and wonderful and they will leave you wanting more.