298. Experimental Course
Constructing Women Writers and Saints: 1200-1500
This course focuses on Italian women saints and writers of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. This course will analyze the role of women's literature in the 1200s and trace its development through the mid-1500s. We will study the literature of these women, by first examining their social, spiritual and philosophical preparation. We will then consider how these factors influenced both the subject of the texts and the manner in which these works were received. The genres studied will include poetry, autobiographies, sermons, and treatises. Select readings from Chiara d'Assisi, St. Catherine of Siena, Vittoria Colonna, Gaspara Stampa, Tullia d'Aragona. Conducted in Italian.