Courses
Summer 2020
Session 1: June 1–July 10, 2020
Session 2: June 29–August 7, 2020
Session One
The British Country House: Collecting and Display (BRST 158)
Martin Postle, Deputy Director for Grants and Publications, Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
This course will explore the phenomenon of the British Country House from the sixteenth century to the present day through its collections of works of art and their display histories. The course, centered around a series of Country House “case studies,” addresses two closely related issues: the formation, character, and function of country-house art collections, and the conventions, development, and dynamics of pictorial and sculptural display within the Country House. The course will draw upon the Paul Mellon Centre’s extensive research resources, including archival materials, correspondence, country house guides, sales catalogues, books, photographs, and newly commissioned images. An essential component of the class will be regular visits to Country Houses to study collections and displays, as well as a three-day field trip. (HU)
Indigenous London: Native American Literature in Place (BRST 316)
Alanna Hickey, Assistant Professor of English, Yale University
This is a broad survey of Native North American literature from the eighteenth through the twenty-first centuries, focusing on texts written specifically for an international audience. The class will engage with Native American and Indigenous literary theory, especially as these thinkers address the colonial history of literary pedagogy. Studied examples include works by Samson Occom (Mohegan), William Apess (Pequot), Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (Anishinaabe), John Rollin Ridge (Cherokee), Sarah Winnemucca (Northern Paiute), and Zitkála-Šá (Yankton Sioux) set within their cultural and political moments. (HU, WR)
Session Two
Modern British Drama (BRST 478C)
Sheila Fox, Freelance critic and BBC Producer
This course provides an introduction to London theater, both from behind-the-scenes and in performance, through current productions of classic and contemporary works. Students will examine theatrical conventions and the historical and cultural contexts of the plays, the economics of London theater, and the political and social implications of the stories the plays tell. (HU)
Sacred and Profane (BRST TBD)
Jessica Brantley, Professor of English, Department Chair, Yale University
This course investigates the interdependence and collaborations of the sacred and the profane in late medieval European literature and visual art. It will involve the close reading of primary texts along with analysis of paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, printed books, and prints. Examples to be studied include Chaucer’s Miller’s Tale, The Book of Margery Kempe, The Second Shepherd’s Play, Middle English lyric poetry, the Wilton Diptych, illuminated manuscripts, panel painting, and church architecture. (WR, HU)
Past Courses
Each year new courses are added to the curriculum, and some may be repeated in upcoming sessions. Samples of recent Yale in London courses, including syllabi, are available for review in past courses.