This introduction to Medieval and Renaissance though and literature emphasizes a few selected master-works and focuses on the way in which individual writers, particular communities, and even entire cultures came to terms with such personal and cultural crises as the fall of the Roman Empire, the humiliation of personal disgrace, the joys and sorrows of falling in love, the "discovery" of the New World, the Copernican revolution, and the great Lisbon earthquake.

Lectures will be given at 11:00 AM Wednesdays and Fridays. Beginning with the first week, there will be seminar meetings (required) at the pre-arranged times. During the course of the quarter students will be required to write two papers, one of three to four pages on a topic chosen from a list of possible subjects (due on Wednesday, February 2) and one of eight to ten pages also on a topic chosen from a list of possible subjects (due on Wednesday, March 3). The final examination will be held on Thursday, March 16, from 8:30-11:30 AM and may not be taken early.

THEMES: The nature of the Humanities and the role of literary studies. The historical origins of the humanist movement. Theories concerning the unchanging human heart. Seeing the world from a new center. Similarity versus difference. Moral theories of reading.

ABOUT THE PROFESSOR

Born in Cardiff, Great Britain, in 1935, Professor Evans emigrated to the United States in 1963 after earning his B.A., M.A., and D.Phil. degrees at Oxford University. His first post in this country was as an Assistant Professor of English in the Stanford English Department, and he has been on the faculty here ever since. From 1977-81 he served as Associate Dean of Humanities and Sciences, from 1981-86 as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the English Department, and from 1988-91 as Chairman of the English Department. Professor Evans's scholarly specialty is the literature of the Renaissance in general and the poetry of John Milton in particular. His publications in this area include: Paradise Lost and the Genesis Tradition (Oxford, 1968), Paradise Lost IX-X (Cambridge, 1973) and The Road from Horton: Looking Backward in "Lycidas" (Victoria, 1983). He regularly reviews new books on Milton for The Review of English Studies. Professor Evans also has an active interest in travel literature, an interest which he tapped in order to write America: The View from Europe (Stanford, 1976). His current research brings together his twin interests in a study of Paradise Lost in the context of Renaissance writing about the New World. In addition to his courses on Milton and Renaissance literature, Professor Evans teaches regularly in the CIV and International Relations programs.