Your group leader, Dr. Albrecht Classen, with his wife Carolyn as the chaperone, and several students from the 2025 trip, at the study abroad fair, UoA, Oct. 2025:
We’ll continue with our criss-crossing of medieval Europe.
Starting ca. May 18, 2026, in northern Germany, in Lübeck, we will visit Wismar, Schwerin, Greifswald, and Stettin, then move into northern Poland, visit Gdansk and Marlbork, from there travel to Vilnius in Lithuania, Riga in Livonia, and Tallinn in Estonia. Return ca. June 8, 2026.
For a youtube video of a Baltic Tour
The course earns you 6 credits, which can go to German Studies, History, any literary or religious study, art history, philosophy, creative writing, Slavic Studies, or Medieval Studies. Any student from anywhere in the world can join this program. I only require: enthusiasm, motivation, and passion for the study of the pre-modern world. You must be reasonably fit physically because an essential component of this course consists of daily excursions, climbing up hills to visit a castle, climbing stairs up to the top of a tower, walking city walls, roaming through an old city center, etc. But there will be class every day to study the history, literature, art history, philosophy, and religion of the Middle Ages.
Virtually every student who has joined this program has expressed greatest enthusiasm about it, as you can see on the page above with statements.
For a first contact, please email me at aclassen@arizona.edu, or call me at 520 621-1395.
See also my webpage at: sites.arizona.edu/aclassen
To start your application: https://international.arizona.edu/study-abroad/why-study-abroad
and for a global application: https://arizona.via-trm.com/program_brochure/26705
We will examine medieval city centers, city halls, churches, cathedrals, castles, city walls on our daily excursions. Class every day, studying medieval literature, philosophy, and religion. All in English. Faculty-led. Any student from anywhere in the world can join us. I only need your enthusiasm, excitement, and motivation, and a passion for travel and learning on the road.
Here is a rough outline of what we’ll study, though dates still need to be adjusted. Some of the material will change as well:
Schedule (will be adjusted during our travel time)
Day 1 and 2: May 18 and 19: Introduction: The history, social structure, and political system of the Middle Ages. The literary, religious, and philosophical foundations. We will ignore much of the details reg. the history of lit. and religion – just too many names for our purposes. Instead: time frame, social structure, religion, the various cultural periods, major wars.
Keywords: early Middle Ages, high Middle Ages, late Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, Baroque
Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance
chapel, church, cathedral, facade, archivolts, trumeau, tympanon, lintel, paradise, baptismal font, central nave, side nave, altar, apsis, basilica, flying buttress, stained glass window, barrel vault, rib vaults, transept, rosetta window, gargoyles, cruciform of most medieval churches
- Who was Charlemagne, and why was he so successful?
- What role did the Christian Church play? What institutions existed to make its spread so successful?
- What are the principles of feudalism?
- What is a monastery, and a cathedral? Who was the earliest founder of a monastic order?
- What do we know about Jews and the diaspora?
- Who were some of the founding fathers of the Christian Church in the early Middle Ages?
- What peoples attacked early medieval Europe? Why were they so successful?
- Who were the Dominicans and Franciscans? What are beguines? And mystics? Mention some names.
- Rise of medieval cities, craftsmanship, banking.
- What elements does Amt identify for the late Middle Ages?
- The Fall of Constantinople
- The printing press
- The ‘discovery’ of America
- Humanism/Renaissance
- The Protestant Reformation
- Identify two major writers and provide us with a brief introduction, try to mix early, high, and late Middle Ages
- Romanesque
- Gothic
- Renaissance
- Baroque
Day 3: May 20: The early Middle Ages: Hildebrandslied: Critique of feudalism and vassalage.
- Who meets on the battlefield? What peoples?
- Who is Hildebrand? Why did he have to leave 30 years ago?
- Who is Hadubrand?
- What does Hildebrand realize quickly?
- What does Hadubrand firmly assume? What does he hence conclude about the old man’s efforts?
- How does Hildebrand try to reach out to the opponent?
- Why does Hadubrand refuses all?
- Why does Hildebrand fight although the opponent is his son?
- What possible outcomes might there be?
- Why is this Old High German poem only a fragment? Deliberately or by accident?
Day 4: May 21: The end of the Middle Ages: Nicholas of Cusa: Fall of Constantinople, yet Christian outreach to the Turks: History of toleration, religious conflicts. I collect your journal for a preliminary review. What do I expect? Reflections on what we discussed in class, including questions or extra observations, and comments on the sites. Make sure you have the exact names of the major churches or castles. Please record your comments every evening, for ca. 15-20 minutes. Thanks.
- Who was Nicholas of Cusa?
- Why did he write his treatise?
- Whom has he included as possible speakers?
- What is the universally shared ideal?
- What does all this say about toleration vs. tolerance?
- A final attempt to establish peace between the religions?
- What does this all say about the end of the Middle Ages?
Day 5: May 22: The Christian Church and its value system: “Our Lady’s Tumbler”: the high Middle Ages: The search for the self within a religious context.
- Who is this tumbler?
- What is so unusual about him?
- What is his most burning desire?
- What monastic order does he join? What are its specifics?
- Why does he fail to achieve his goal?
- How does he find an alternative route?
- How successful is he in this endeavor?
- What do the monk and the abbot observe?
- Why are they so amazed, and what does this all tell us about human belief in miracles?
- What is the analogy between this story and our lives today?
Day 6: May 23: Feminism in the Late Middle Ages: Gender politics. Christine de Pizan
Day 7: May 24: The role of women in the high Middle Ages: Marie de France: Love, marriage, sexuality. 1st journal is due
Day 8: May 25: Briefly Christine de Pizan, then Marie de France:
- How to improve your writing? A scholarly paper.
- Globally, the role of women in the Middle Ages.
- What do we know about Marie?
- Lanval: Utopia, with criticism of King Arthur’s court
- The Two Lovers: Father and daughter conflict
- Why do they fail, or is it only him?
- Bisclavret: Who is at fault here? How could the situation be solved, if at all?
- Eliduc: Why is he expelled from the court? What are his personal strengths? His marriage. Why does he take the princess with him back home? The role of the weasel. The wife’s decision in that case? How do the three people end their lives?
- Globally, the role of women in the Middle Ages.
Day 9: May 26: last comments on Marie de France: Bisclavret, Eliduc, then: Christine de Pizan. If time permitting: Italian literature, Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch/Petrarca: Late Middle Ages, Divina Commedia (structure
Day 10: May 27: Marie de France: Eliduc; Christine de Pizan, intro., and some of the ballads. The political and social system of medieval society as reflected in literary terms: Dante, Divina Comedia
Day 11: May 28: Final reflections on Dante: 1. structure; 2. personal guilt; 3. guide; 4. sins punished; 5. hope; 6. worldview. Then we turn back to the early Middle Ages. Economic and political aspects in the early Middle Ages: Charlemagne: estate management, agriculture. What was required to have on each imperial estate. (Pfalz)? 1. Why would the emperor reflect on the maintenance of his estates? 2. Military purposes? 3. Economic purposes? 4. Everyday life on an early medieval farm. 5. the role of bees.
Day 12: May 29: Charlemagne. Biography and Farm. 2nd journal is due
Day 13: May 30: Miracles, faith, and religious tales: Caesarius of Heisterbach:
1. What is a miracle
2. Why would we study miracles?
3. The miracles with the bees
4. The role of the Virgin Mary
5. Miracles and heresy
6. Miracles and God
Day 14: May 31: Rationalism, philosophy, and the university schools: Abelard: Yea and Nay. Please answer all eight questions by reading the texts and deducing the answers. Write the answers into your journal. Thanks.
- What do we know about Peter Abelard in biographical terms
- How popular was he and why?
- How did he revolutionize the critical discourse on theology?
- What is dialectic? Hegel came up with that term, but we can use it already for the twelfth century.
- Choose two of the questions raised by Abelard and explain their explosive nature (one from the beginning, one from the end)
- What is a scribal error, and why would that be significant in biblical studies?
- What does Abelard refer to when he comments on opinion vs. truth? This still applies to us today. Explain that.
- How does he resolve this conflict for the faithful?
Day 15: June 1: Abelard and Heloise: a political scandal
- Summarize what we know about this affair.
- What does she write about him?
- What does she want from him?
- What is her emotional relationship with Abelard?
- The authenticity question looms large over the entire correspondence. What might be your take?
Day 16: June 2: Political criticism of the Church: Walther von der Vogelweide: social, ethical, and moral issues. We discuss together 8.4 and “Under the Linden,” then each one of you examines one of the other stanzas and makes a brief presentation.
Day 17: June 3: The role of nobility and philosophical and religious quests: Hartmann von Aue, Lord Henry.
This is a rather long and complex, but really meaningful and powerful verse novella.
Day 18 June 4: Finishing with Hartmann von Aue. Then: Late-medieval discourse on justice, individual happiness, and self-realization: Johannes of Tepl.
3rd journal is due on June 4 for final grade. Please also add some comments on: A: the class overall; B. the instructor; C. the excursions; D. any recommendations.
Day 19: We conclude with a final discussion of Johannes of Tepl.
Day 20: June 6: return home
Grading:
Keep a journal for every day, write on your reading experience, on the discussion in class, and on the excursions. These journal entries must be well designed, critical, and in good English. I will collect the journals for an advance feedback from me after 3 days (only comments). Thereafter I’ll collect the journals for grading three times. Please consult with me if you face any problems or need further input.
I expect ca. 1-2 pp. per day, or ca. 150 words. You must engage with every text covered in class, and always provide some reflections on what we studied on our excursions. Be creative, include images, entry tickets, photos, and other mementos. You can also conceive of a visual portfolio, as long as it is accompanied by an extensive and critical narrative.