Cross listed with MDVL_REN 4105-03, MDVL_REN 7105-02

The Canterbury Tales offer us the opportunity to study in depth a single text that shows us a full sweep of medieval life. Through the tales, we encounter a surprising variety of genres and forms: from bawdy fabliaux to courtly romances to the theological lessons of the saints’ lives. The tellers of these tales allow us to explore the complex class structure of 14th century English society: we will read stories “told” by a tavern-keeper, a nun, a few bureaucrats, a knight, a merchant, a religious scammer. By situating the tales within their social and cultural contexts, we will consider and interrogate how these characters - and the society from which they were drawn - constructed and understood race, nation, gender, sexuality, community/ies, and vocational/professional identities.