HISTORY 412A: Women and Gender in the Middle Ages

Course Description

This course explores the history of women, and the social, political, and intellectual constructions of gender in medieval European culture, from about 500 CE to about 1500 CE, through both primary and secondary sources. Topics include changes to the social, political, economic, and legal status of women during the medieval millennium; the roles of women in medieval religious cultures (including Judaism and Islam); the position of women in the family and kinship structures of medieval Europe; and the ways in which gender was constructed and modeled, including definitions and the performance of masculinity.