ENG 4938 Coldiron Spring 2021

This course studies the first professional woman writer in the West, Christine de Pizan. We’ll read several of her major works in English, and we’ll study her reception in Tudor England as a major author: among her 45 main works are revisionist mythographies, allegories, political theory, military theory, poetry, and dream-vision narratives. Was she a proto-feminist? How did she earn a living writing in her constrained context? Although she died in the 1430s, her works had a key place at Henry VIII’s court in the earlier sixteenth century; how did the translators of her work into English manage to enhance her authority long after her death? Did textuality matter (manuscript versus print)? What can we learn about “medieval” and “Renaissance”/“early modern” literary culture from this author’s reception? REQUIREMENTS: Textbooks (purchased or rented, but you will need physical books); Zoom attendance and alert participation in scheduled classes; daily readings, HW, and exercises; in-class presentations; final research project.