Reading Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in the Twenty-First Century
Speaker: Professor David Raybin, Eastern Illinois University
Moderator: Zhang Lian, Zhejiang University
Time: April 12, 2026, at 9:00 am (Beijing Time)
Venue: Zoom 91912107802 Passcode: 2026
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/91912107802?pwd=bnevwCbRSbYqTEzH2plL03T5QB1xLr.1
Abstract: Geoffrey Chaucer died in October 1400, leaving unfinished his greatest work, The Canterbury Tales. Over six hundred years later, we continue to read this book, for its brilliant poetry, its unrivalled exploration of medieval lives and culture, its keen insight into psychology and behavior, and its mix of what Chaucer calls sentence (meaning, wisdom) and solaas (pleasure, entertainment). The richness of The Canterbury Tales had allowed generations of readers to approach the book in accordance with their particular interests. This talk explores how we might want to read Chaucer today.
David Raybin is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Eastern Illinois University and editor of The Chaucer Review. He has written extensively on Chaucer and on medieval French literature, and he has edited five volumes on Chaucer: Chaucer and Trauma (2025), Chaucer: Visual Approaches (2016), Chaucer: Contemporary Approaches (2010), Closure in The Canterbury Tales: The Role of the Parson’s Tale (2002); and Rebels and Rivals: The Contestive Spirit in the The Canterbury Tales (1991).
