Yale Summer Session in Paris: Age of Cathedrals

Description

A study of the culture and monuments of the High Middle Ages in France, with visits to Saint Denis, Chartres, Sainte-Chapelle, Amiens, Bayeux, Reims, the Cité de l'Architecture, Cluny Museum,  and discussion of accompanying historical, literary, and philosophical works by Peter Abelard, Abbot Suger, Rutebeuf, Saint Bernard, Joinville, Thibaut de Champagne, Pseudo-Dionysius, Marie de France, Jacques de Voragine, Guibert de Nogent, and the anonymous Song of Roland, Quest for the Holy Grail, fabliaux, and courtly lyric. Core consideration of the Norman Conquest of 1066, gothic architecture, urban and economic renewal, and intellectual, social, and religious life of twelfth- and thirteenth-century France. Participants choose to receive credit in either FREN, HUMS, or LITR at the time of application.

The class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. and students should expect about 12 hours of work outside the classroom each week, as well as excursions and other program activities. 

The syllabus below is from a previous summer and contains dates that differ from those of the upcoming summer.

A note about your instructor:

R. Howard Bloch is Sterling Professor of French at Yale and has written widely on the literature and art of the Middle Ages as well as the late nineteenth century.  His latest book, officially available as of October 11, 2022, is Paris and Her Cathedrals (W.W. Norton).

Budget

Yale Summer Session Programs Abroad updates program budgets in late January. Please note the year listed on the button below.

Summer 2022 Budget

Trips and Activities

The program will visit the first gothic cathedral at Saint Denis, the stained glass windows and sculptural programs of the Sainte-Chapelle, Chartres, Amiens, and Reims, the Bayeux Tapestry, along with the material objects of cathedral culture in Paris’s Cluny Museum of the Middle Ages.

Housing

Students will live in an international dorm at St. John's University - Paris Campus, in double-occupancy rooms. A continental breakfast is included daily at St. John's; students will be on their own for lunch and dinner each day. A student cafeteria with discount prices is located only two metro stops from the dorm.

Notes

Participants are responsible for making their own travel arrangements and are expected to arrive in Paris on the first day of the program, and depart no earlier than the last day of the program (see 'Dates' above); additional information will be provided upon admission.

Questions

For course content questions contact instructor R. Howard Bloch. For general program questions contact the Study Abroad staff.

Learn More

Review eligibility requirements, the application process, and deadlines:

How to Apply