Uploaded June 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Love stories get a bad rap. “We often think about genres of love narratives, whether they’re films or novels, as frivolous,” says Jessica Rosenfeld, associate professor of English in Arts & Sciences. “But in the Middle Ages, love stories, love narratives, love songs, were invested with the highest seriousness. They were the height of cultural production. And they were the place to think about everything that was important to human life.” In this video, Rosenfeld, who studies the history of emotions, discusses medieval literature, artistic empathy and love as “a wonderful catastrophe.”
→Subscribe: bit.ly/WashUSubscribe
About Washington University in St. Louis:
Washington University is a leader in research, scholarship and patient care. Through our world-class faculty, students, physicians, staff, alumni and friends, WashU brings us closer to the knowledge that matters and the stories that inspire us to change the world.
Get more from Washington University:
Official site: https://wustl.edu
The Source: https://source.wustl.edu
Facebook: facebook.com/wustl
Instagram: instagram.com/wustl_official/?hl=en
Love stories get a bad rap. “We often think about genres of love narratives, whether they’re films or novels, as frivolous,” says Jessica Rosenfeld, associate professor of English in Arts & Sciences. “But in the Middle Ages, love stories, love narratives, love songs, were invested with the highest seriousness. They were the height of cultural production. And they were the place to think about everything that was important to human life.” In this video, Rosenfeld, who studies the history of emotions, discusses medieval literature, artistic empathy and love as “a wonderful catastrophe.”
→Subscribe: bit.ly/WashUSubscribe
About Washington University in St. Louis:
Washington University is a leader in research, scholarship and patient care. Through our world-class faculty, students, physicians, staff, alumni and friends, WashU brings us closer to the knowledge that matters and the stories that inspire us to change the world.
Get more from Washington University:
Official site: https://wustl.edu
The Source: https://source.wustl.edu
Facebook: facebook.com/wustl
Instagram: instagram.com/wustl_official/?hl=en
