Judson Allen, David Benson, Judith Ferster, and Mary Teresa Tavormina consider ways in which scholars and literary historians of ancient eras often find parallels with contemporary ideas and social questions. The Middle Ages in Europe–the period roughly spanning the years 500 to 1500 A.D.–are a case in point. Where in modern ways of thinking about and seeing the world around us do modern scholars find analogies that reflect the days of Geoffrey Chaucer and the society he inhabited? How do these parallels express themselves today?
At the time of this conversation, Allen was professor of English at the University of Florida. Benson, a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1983-84), was professor of English at the University of Connecticut. Ferster, a Fellow at the Center (1980-81), was professor of English at Brandeis University. Tavormina, a Fellow at the Center (1983-84), was professor of English at Michigan State University.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
