Welcome to Gender and Sexuality in Medieval Europe!
**Important Notice (5/9/25)**
We are currently waiting for the registrar to convert HSTAM 490 to HSTAM/GWSS 343. While we wait for the class to be converted, there is an add code restriction on it that prevents students from enrolling. This is because we would have to drop everyone from HSTAM 490 in order to open the new course and everyone would then have to re-enroll in HSTAM 343. The conversion should be done sometime in the next week or two (by the end of May at the latest). Please watch for the new course number to open. You will be able to register for the class without an add code once it has been updated.
Course Description
The Middle Ages played a critical role in the construction of modern Western gender and sexual identities, as well as our conception of love and romance. This course explores medieval European conceptions of gender and sexuality through the close reading of primary sources, including Christian religious texts, legal texts, medical treatises, histories, and a variety of literary genres. Topics will include normative Christian views of gender (both masculinity and femininity) and sexuality, as well as forms of gender expression and sexuality that the Church condemned and attempted to police, legislative efforts to enforce gender and sexual norms, medieval understandings of non-binary and intersex bodies, and ideas about love and marriage.
This class is intended as a complement to my course on Medieval Women (HSTAM 340), and will cover different material using different primary sources.
W Credit:
All students enrolled in this course will receive a W credit. You do not have to submit additional work to receive it.
Learning Objectives
This course is intended to help students refine their critical analysis and argumentative writing skills. In addition to learning about gender and sexuality in medieval Europe, students will learn to:
- contextualize, analyze, and evaluate primary sources
- use primary sources to make informed and persuasive written arguments about the past
- critically evaluate scholarly arguments in secondary sources
- apply critical theory to the historical development of gender and sexuality
- reflect critically on the differences and similarities between the institutions and people that we are studying and those of the modern western world
- appreciate that historical inquiry is influenced by the cultural and historical context of the historians conducting it
Course Format
This will be a synchronous, in-person class. I will be recording the in-person lectures using Panopto in case you miss any lectures or need to review them, but my expectation is that we will all meet in class for lecture unless you are ill (then please stay home and let me know by email). Also, just be aware that there are sometimes glitches with Panopto recordings and that you can't really rely on them as a perfect substitute for coming to class. I'll do my best to ensure that all of the recordings have good audio and clear video, but I can't always control what happens.
If I need to cancel a class for any reason, I'll notify you through a Canvas course announcement (please make sure you check your UW email on a regular basis, since all important class announcements will be sent to it). Otherwise, the expectation will be that we will all show up for class in person (unless you're ill - then please stay home and let me know by email).