Pamela Barrie

During the late 12th and 13th centuries, the Norse settlers of Iceland created a body of prose narratives rivaling the modern novel in psychological penetration and sheer narrative craft: the famous Sagas of the Icelanders. They also preserved a treasure trove of Nordic myths in verse and prose versions known as the Eddas; nearly all we know about Odin, Thor, and Ragnarok, the Doom of the Gods, derives from a few Icelandic manuscripts, along with the familiar tales of the death of Baldr, Sigurd the Dragon slayer, and the valkyrie Brunhild. This course engages students in an exploration of the literary, mythic, and historic world of the medieval Icelanders, including a reading of the outlaw sagas of Gisli and Grettir the Strong, and the Eddic lays that inspired the creations of Wagner, William Morris, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Coursework includes two take-home exams with a mix of short answers and essays, and a class presentation and term paper on suggested topics.

From hieroglyphs to haiku?when do images function as words, words as images? Where do word, image and idea meet, and what are the potentials for communication and artistic expression? From the Renaissance fad for emblem poems, to the Asian-inspired poetics of the 20 th century Imagists, these questions have arisen a number of times in the history of the alphabetic cultures, as well as those employing other forms of graphic notation. In this course, we study a diverse range of verbal/visual traditions and movements, the philosophies and theories behind them, and their cultural and aesthetic aims and achievements. Students write a series of short essays in response to the course materials, and also do independent research for a presentation and paper on a particular aspect of the topic.