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 economic forms, and artistic and literary traditions in this important 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 East Asian cultures in the middle ages.
For additional information, please visit the department's website: https://medieval-studies.brown.edu/
MDVL 0360. The Body: Medieval Perspectives.
In this course, we will explore bodies from a wide range of disciplines in medieval studies. The body has been always an object of imagination, literature, science, philosophy, and religion, it is the vehicle of both the divine and the profane, and it is at the center of debates on sexuality, gender identities, race, and politics. In this course, we look at how different views on the body and on sexuality developed and changed throughout the medieval period and how they influenced and were influenced by the religious doctrines, medical theories, and the intellectual environment of different groups of people. Finally, we will explore bodies both physical and metaphorical.
MDVL 0620. Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Medieval Iberia.
The cultural diversity of medieval Spain and Portugal is proclaimed by their Christian cathedrals, Islamic palaces, and Jewish synagogues. The three distinct cultures that produced these buildings lived together for centuries in medieval Iberia, sometimes in peace, sometimes not. This convivencia of Jews, Muslims, and Christians will be examined from the perspectives of literature, art, architecture, archaeology and history.
MDVL 1970. Independent Study.
Tutorial instruction on an approved topic in Late Antique and/or Medieval cultures, supervised by a member of staff. Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course. May be repeated once for credit.
MDVL 1990. Honors Thesis.
Independent research and writing on a topic of special interest to the student, under the direction of a faculty member. Required of candidates for honors. Permission should be obtained from the Director of the Program in Medieval Studies.
MDVL XLIST. Courses of Interest to Concentrators in Medieval Cultures.
| Fall 2026 | ||||||
| The following courses include a focus or significant content on Medieval and Late Antique Cultures. They may count toward the concentration in Medieval Cultures offered through the Program in Medieval Studies. Please check with the sponsoring department for times and locations. English ENGL 0202S |
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| Spring 2027 | ||||||
| The following courses include a focus or significant content on Medieval and Late Antique Cultures. They may count toward the concentration in Medieval Cultures offered through the Program in Medieval Studies. Please check with the sponsoring department for times and locations. Comparative Literature COLT 0510K |
Medieval Cultures
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 important 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 East Asian cultures in the middle ages.
It is recommended that prospective concentrators take the introductory course, Medieval Perspectives, during their freshman or sophomore year.
Medieval Cultures Track
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 important 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 East Asian cultures in the middle ages.
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-level course (or higher) that uses primary texts in a medieval language. 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 Director for approval.
Requirements for the A.B. degree
| Two courses in medieval history | 2 | |
| One course at the advanced level (numbered at least 1000) in one approved language | 1 | |
| Seven other courses drawn from appropriate offerings and with approval of the concentration advisor. These courses should support a concentrational area of special interest | 7 | |
| Total Credits | 10 | |
| Astronomy Before the Telescope | ||
| The Literary Worlds of Late Antiquity | ||
| The Idea of Self | ||
| The 1001 Nights | ||
| Very Short Poetry: From Tanka to Twitter | ||
| The Quran and its Readers | ||
| A Classical Islamic Education: Readings in Arabic Literature | ||
| Art and Exemplarity in Medieval and Early Modern Literature | ||
| Captive Imaginations: Writing Prison in the Middle Ages | ||
| Foreign Bodies in Japan, 600–1600 | ||
| Gender in Medieval Literature | ||
| Medieval Drama | ||
| Introduction to the Old English Language | ||
| Seminar in the Old English Language II | ||
| Medieval Race | ||
| Le Mariage dans la littérature médiévale: la violence et le "problème" du corps | ||
| Codicology Compared | ||
| The Bureaucracy of Hell: Envisioning Death in East Asian Art | ||
| Christianity in Conflict in the Medieval Mediterranean | ||
| The Long Fall of the Roman Empire | ||
| The Viking Age | ||
| Becoming Medieval: Self, Other, and the World | ||
| The Ottomans: Faith, Law, Empire | ||
| Unearthing the Body: History, Archaeology, and Biology at the End of Antiquity | ||
| Sex, Power, and God: A Medieval Perspective | ||
| Dante in English Translation: Dante's World and the Invention of Modernity | ||
| Classical Japanese | ||
| Difficult Relations? Judaism and Christianity from the Middle Ages until the Present | ||
| Great Jewish Books | ||
| The Talmud | ||
| Fortunatus | ||
| Literature at the Court of Charlemagne | ||
| Medieval Latin Lyric | ||
| Survey of Late and Medieval Latin | ||
| Alcuin | ||
| The Body: Medieval Perspectives | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Honors Thesis | ||
| Reading Persian for Research | ||
| Jesus | ||
| Sacred Stories | ||
| Christians | ||
| Islamic Sexualities | ||
| Sacred Bodies | ||
| The Virgin Mary in Christian Tradition | ||
| The Life and Afterlives of the Apostle Paul | ||
| Buddhist Poetry | ||
| Methods and Problems in Islamic Studies | ||
| Medieval Islamic Sectarianism |
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 Cultures 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 Program Director for further details or consultation.
Late Antique Cultures Track
Late Antique 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 either CLAS 1310 or CLAS 1320 (recommended), one medieval history course, and one 1000-level course (or higher) that uses primary texts in a late antique vernacular. 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 Director for approval.
Requirements for the A.B. degree
| 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 | |
| Seven other courses drawn from appropriate offerings and with the approval of the concentration advisor. These courses should support a concentrational area of special interest. | 7 | |
| Total Credits | 10 | |
- 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: | ||
| Astronomy Before the Telescope | ||
| The Literary Worlds of Late Antiquity | ||
| The Idea of Self | ||
| Roman History I: The Rise and Fall of an Imperial Republic | ||
| Roman History II: The Roman Empire and Its Impact | ||
| The 1001 Nights | ||
| The Quran and its Readers | ||
| Introduction to the Old English Language | ||
| Seminar in the Old English Language II | ||
| Art and Architecture of the Roman Empire | ||
| The Arts of Religion and Ritual in the Ancient World | ||
| Politics and Spectacle in the Arts of Ancient Rome | ||
| Arts of Memory in Ancient Rome | ||
| Christianity in Conflict in the Medieval Mediterranean | ||
| The Long Fall of the Roman Empire | ||
| The Viking Age | ||
| Becoming Medieval: Self, Other, and the World | ||
| Unearthing the Body: History, Archaeology, and Biology at the End of Antiquity | ||
| Sex, Power, and God: A Medieval Perspective | ||
| Difficult Relations? Judaism and Christianity from the Middle Ages until the Present | ||
| The Parting of the Ways?: Questioning Jewish/Christian Difference | ||
| Great Jewish Books | ||
| The Talmud | ||
| Fortunatus | ||
| Literature at the Court of Charlemagne | ||
| Survey of Late and Medieval Latin | ||
| Alcuin | ||
| The Body: Medieval Perspectives | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Honors Thesis | ||
| Jesus | ||
| Christians | ||
| Islamic Sexualities | ||
| Arts of the Sacred and the Demonic in the Ancient Mediterranean | ||
| Sacred Bodies | ||
| Religious Authority in an Age of Empire | ||
| The Virgin Mary in Christian Tradition | ||
| The Life and Afterlives of the Apostle Paul | ||
| Methods and Problems in Islamic Studies | ||
| Medieval Islamic Sectarianism | ||
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 Late Antique 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 Program Director for further details or consultation.