The program in Medieval Studies offers a concentration in Medieval Cultures with two tracks with distinct foci: one in Medieval Cultures and the other in Late Antique Cultures. Medieval Cultures focuses on the 6th-15th centuries, combining interdisciplinary perspectives with in-depth study of one or two related disciplines.
Late Antique Cultures deals with the 3rd-9th centuries, when ancient cultural forms were still in place but medieval cultures were beginning to take shape simultaneously. The first undergraduate degree of its kind in this country, Late Antique Cultures studies the changing relation of cultural practices, social patterns, political and economics forms, and artistic and literary traditions in this imporant transition period.
A traditional area of study in Medieval Cultures is Western Europe in the High Middle Ages, but students are encouraged to work comparatively in Byzantine, Islamic, Judaic and/or Slavic cultures in the middle ages.
Medieval Cultures Track
It is recommended that prospective concentrators take the introductory course, Medieval Perspectives, during their freshman or sophomore year.
Requirements
Ten courses approved by the Program in Medieval Studies, including two courses in medieval history and one 1000- or 2000-level course that uses primary texts in a medieval language other than Middle English. Interested students are invited to discuss their plans with an appropriate faculty member of the Program. A concentration proposal should be prepared in consultation with the faculty advisor and submitted to the Program Chair for approval.
| Under the supervision of the director of the program, students may choose courses from the following: | ||
| Difficult Relations? Judaism and Christianity from the Middle Ages until the Present | ||
| Sacred Stories | ||
| Matters of Romance | ||
| Christians | ||
| Islam Unveiled | ||
| The Philosophers' Stone: Alchemy From Antiquity to Harry Potter | ||
| The Medieval King Arthur | ||
| Islamic Sexualities | ||
| Beowulf to Aphra Behn: The Earliest British Literatures | ||
| Prose Sagas of the Medieval North | ||
| Toward a Global Late Antiquity:200-800 CE | ||
| Medieval Bodies: Medieval Perspectives | ||
| Ancient Christianity: Jesus to Muhammad | ||
| Sacred Bodies | ||
| Muslims, Jews and Christians in Medieval Iberia | ||
| The 1001 Nights | ||
| Christianity in Conflict in the Medieval Mediterranean | ||
| The Holy Grail and the Historian's Quest for the Truth | ||
| The Literary Worlds of Late Antiquity | ||
| Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Medieval Iberia | ||
| Dying To Be With God: Jihad, Past and Present | ||
| The Search for King Arthur | ||
| The World of Byzantium | ||
| Great Jewish Books | ||
| Topics in Hispanic Culture and Civilization | ||
| Medieval and Renaissance Music | ||
| Dante in English Translation: Dante's World and the Invention of Modernity | ||
| Fortunatus | ||
| Literature at the Court of Charlemagne | ||
| Medieval Latin Lyric | ||
| Greek Erotic Literature: From Plato to the Medieval Romances | ||
| Rhetors and Philosophers: Intellectual Thought and Sophistic Style in the Ancient World | ||
| Survey of Late and Medieval Latin | ||
| Alcuin | ||
| The Idea of Self | ||
| The Age of Constantine: The Roman Empire in Transition | ||
| The Long Fall of the Roman Empire | ||
| The Viking Age | ||
| Becoming Medieval: Self, Other, and the World | ||
| Living Together: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Iberia | ||
| Death from Medieval Relics to Forensic Science | ||
| A Classical Islamic Education: Readings in Arabic Literature | ||
| Chaucer | ||
| Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales | ||
| History of the English Language | ||
| Sagas Without Borders: Multilingual Literatures of Early England | ||
| From Mead-Hall to Mordor: The Celtic and Germanic Roots of Tolkien’s Fiction | ||
| The Virgin Mary in Christian Tradition | ||
| El amor en español | ||
| Quest, Vision, Diaspora: Medieval Journey Narratives | ||
| Introduction to the Old English Language | ||
| Middle English Literature | ||
| Europe in the Vernacular | ||
| Women's Voices in Medieval Literature | ||
| Seminar in the Old English Language II | ||
| The Ottomans: Faith, Law, Empire | ||
| The Architecture of Solitude: The Medieval Monastery | ||
| Pilgrimage and Sacred Travel in the Lands of Islam | ||
| Methods and Problems in Islamic Studies | ||
| Medieval Islamic Sectarianism | ||
| Italy and the Mediterranean | ||
| Astronomy Before the Telescope | ||
| The Talmud | ||
| Erotic Desire in the Premodern Mediterranean | ||
| Captive Imaginations: Writing Prison in the Middle Ages | ||
| Unearthing the Body: History, Archaeology, and Biology at the End of Antiquity | ||
| Medieval Manuscript Studies: Paleography, Codicology, and Interpretation | ||
| Barbarians, Byzantines, and Berbers: Early Medieval North Africa, AD 300-1050 | ||
| Charlemagne: Conquest, Empire, and the Making of the Middle Ages | ||
| Sex, Power, and God: A Medieval Perspective | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Prostitutes, Mothers, + Midwives: Women in Pre-modern Europe and North America | ||
| Honors Thesis | ||
| Fifteenth-Century Sentimental Romances and Celestina | ||
| Greek Palaeography and Premodern Book Cultures | ||
| Manuscript, Image, and the Middle English Text | ||
| New Perspectives on Medieval History | ||
Honors
This is awarded to students who present a meritorious honors thesis in addition to completing the required courses of the concentration. The thesis permits the student to synthesize various disciplines or interests, or to pursue a new interest in greater depth. To be eligible for Honors, candidates must complete a minimum of six approved courses in Medieval Studies by the end of their third year with more grades of A than B. Students should apply for admission to Honors and should meet with their faculty advisor(s) no later than spring of the junior year to plan the thesis project. Accepted candidates write the thesis in a two-semester course sequence under the supervision of a director and second reader drawn from the Medieval Studies faculty.
Interested students should contact the concentration advisor for further details or consultation (863-1994).
Late Antique Cultures Track
Requirements:
| One course in Roman history: | 1 | |
| Roman History I: The Rise and Fall of an Imperial Republic | ||
| Roman History II: The Roman Empire and Its Impact (recommended) | ||
| One class in medieval history | 1 | |
| One course at the advanced level (numbered at least 1000) in one approved language 1 | 1 | |
| Six other courses drawn from appropriate offerings and with the approval of the concentration advisor. These courses should support a concentrational area of special interest. | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
| 1 | The language in most cases will be Latin, but students will present different competencies and interests; other languages, such as Greek, Hebrew, or one of the medieval vernaculars can be substituted for Latin, with the approval of the concentration advisor and in conjunction with a clearly articulated program of study. |
| Under the supervision of the director of the program, students may choose courses from the following: | ||
| The World of Byzantium | ||
| The Idea of Self | ||
| The Age of Constantine: The Roman Empire in Transition | ||
| Erotic Desire in the Premodern Mediterranean | ||
| The 1001 Nights | ||
| Captive Imaginations: Writing Prison in the Middle Ages | ||
| Matters of Romance | ||
| The Medieval King Arthur | ||
| Beowulf to Aphra Behn: The Earliest British Literatures | ||
| Prose Sagas of the Medieval North | ||
| Chaucer | ||
| Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales | ||
| Sagas Without Borders: Multilingual Literatures of Early England | ||
| From Mead-Hall to Mordor: The Celtic and Germanic Roots of Tolkien’s Fiction | ||
| Quest, Vision, Diaspora: Medieval Journey Narratives | ||
| Introduction to the Old English Language | ||
| Middle English Literature | ||
| Europe in the Vernacular | ||
| Women's Voices in Medieval Literature | ||
| Medieval Manuscript Studies: Paleography, Codicology, and Interpretation | ||
| Manuscript, Image, and the Middle English Text | ||
| Greek Erotic Literature: From Plato to the Medieval Romances | ||
| Rhetors and Philosophers: Intellectual Thought and Sophistic Style in the Ancient World | ||
| Greek Palaeography and Premodern Book Cultures | ||
| Toward a Global Late Antiquity:200-800 CE | ||
| Muslims, Jews and Christians in Medieval Iberia | ||
| The Architecture of Solitude: The Medieval Monastery | ||
| Fifteenth-Century Sentimental Romances and Celestina | ||
| The Philosophers' Stone: Alchemy From Antiquity to Harry Potter | ||
| Christianity in Conflict in the Medieval Mediterranean | ||
| The Holy Grail and the Historian's Quest for the Truth | ||
| The Search for King Arthur | ||
| The Long Fall of the Roman Empire | ||
| The Viking Age | ||
| Living Together: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Iberia | ||
| Becoming Medieval: Self, Other, and the World | ||
| Barbarians, Byzantines, and Berbers: Early Medieval North Africa, AD 300-1050 | ||
| Sex, Power, and God: A Medieval Perspective | ||
| Charlemagne: Conquest, Empire, and the Making of the Middle Ages | ||
| Early Modern Globalization | ||
| New Perspectives on Medieval History | ||
| Difficult Relations? Judaism and Christianity from the Middle Ages until the Present | ||
| Great Jewish Books | ||
| The Talmud | ||
| Fortunatus | ||
| Literature at the Court of Charlemagne | ||
| Survey of Late and Medieval Latin | ||
| Alcuin | ||
| Medieval Bodies: Medieval Perspectives | ||
| Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Medieval Iberia | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Honors Thesis | ||
| Wealth: Religious Approaches | ||
| Christians | ||
| Islam Unveiled | ||
| Islamic Sexualities | ||
| Ancient Christianity: Jesus to Muhammad | ||
| Dying To Be With God: Jihad, Past and Present | ||
| Ancient Christianity and the Sensing Body | ||
| Pilgrimage and Sacred Travel in the Lands of Islam | ||
| Methods and Problems in Islamic Studies | ||
| Medieval Islamic Sectarianism | ||
Honors
When in Late Antique Cultures, these are awarded to students who present a meritorious honors thesis in addition to completing the required courses of the concentration. Application for admission to honors should be made in the spring of the junior year, by which time honors candidates must have completed a minimum of six approved courses in Late Antique Studies. Accepted candidates write the thesis in a two-semester course sequence (MDVL 1990) under the supervision of a director and a second reader to be determined in consultation with the advisor.