Course

The aim of this course is to discuss method and theory in interpretation of premodern texts. We explore the social function of texts, the dynamics between written and oral communication, different types of texts, ways of reading, why texts were made and how they have survived (and why), text on artifacts and text in a spatial context. The course consists of lectures and seminars. The purpose of the lectures is to open wide theoretical and methodological perspectives, while the seminars are focused on close reading and interpretations of a given choice of key texts. The aim is to provide the students with a tool to get to know, to interpret and to sharpen their awareness of the complexity of texts as sources to the past. Examination is partly made during seminars, requiring active participation, partly independently through a written interpretative exercise, including explanation and commentary.