Medieval Studies offers students interdisciplinary perspectives on the history and culture of Europe and the Mediterranean rim between ca. 300-1500. Courses spanning 18 departments allow students to explore the medieval world from the standpoints of art, visual and material culture, history, law, languages and literature, music, philosophy, religious studies, and the history of science and medicine. The certificate in Medieval Studies is designed to encourage the pursuit of interdisciplinary work across several departments.
The Middle Ages was a dynamic period of transcontinental trade and travel that fostered cultural, technological, and scientific interactions among the kingdoms and city states of Western Europe, the Byzantine (East Roman) Empire, and the Islamic caliphates that eventually encompassed much of Spain, north Africa, and the Middle East. It is also known that the Norse (Vikings) established settlements in North America as early as ca. 1000, some 500 years before Columbus.
In Western Europe, the Middle Ages laid the foundations of constitutional government and modern nation-states, instituted a system of trial by jury, and developed the first universities along with the concept of a liberal arts curriculum (encompassing both arts and sciences). The period also saw the development of English, Germanic, Scandinavian, and romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian), which by the end of the fourteenth century came to eclipse Latin as vehicles for secular poetry and prose. Further east, Greek dominated the territory of the Byzantine Empire, while the foundation of the Kyivan Rus coincided with the development of Cyrillic script used by many Slavic and non-Slavic languages. The Islamic world saw the wide diffusion of Arabic languages and literature, including scientific works which served to mediate knowledge of Greek natural philosophy and medical science to Western Europe.
Other significant cultural developments include the development of the codex, or book, often with elaborate programs of visual imagery and diagrams, the innovation of musical notation and early forms of polyphony, the application of optical science to urban planning and of one-point perspective to painting (especially in Italy), and the refinement of structural engineering that led to the soaring light-filled architecture of Gothic cathedrals in Western Europe and the expansive centralized domed spaces of the Byzantine Empire and related Orthodox states, as well as the Islamic world.
The program's focus is embodied in the interdisciplinary courses devoted to the history and culture of the Middle Ages that are regularly offered across campus by participating departments and programs. The program cross-lists many of these courses, helps to publicize courses with medieval subject matter that are not permanently cross-listed, and offers opportunities for students to undertake independent study projects with participating faculty members. It also regularly organizes public programming on specific themes with the support of the Anonymous Fund, the Center for the Humanities, the Institute for Research in the Humanities, and affiliated departments and programs.
In addition to departments and programs that regularly offer courses counting towards the Medieval Studies certificate—including Art History, CANES (Classical and Near Eastern Studies), English, French and Italian, Integrated Liberal Studies, German/Nordic/Slavic+ (including Folklore and Scandinavian Studies), History, History of Medicine, History of Science, Jewish Studies, Religious Studies, and Spanish and Portuguese—the following departments and programs occasionally offer courses on medieval topics: African Studies, Asian Languages and Culture, Music, Philosophy, and Political Science.
Like a minor, the certificate documents a student's pursuit of a rigorous course of study in addition to the major(s). It attests to ambitious intellectual goals as well as the ability to imagine historical problems in transnational and transcultural perspectives. As a credential, it demonstrates a capacity for comparative critical thinking and analysis, skills that appeal to a wide range of potential employers.
Students interested in working toward the certificate should contact the director of Medieval Studies as early in their degree program as possible. The director serves as the undergraduate advisor for all students pursuing the certificate. For further information see the Medieval Studies website.
Requirements for the Certificate
The certificate requires the completion of five courses (15 credits) in the medieval area, according to the following distributional requirements.
Students interested in working toward the certificate should contact the director of Medieval Studies as early in their degree program as possible. The director serves as the undergraduate advisor for all students pursuing the certificate. For further information see the Medieval Studies website.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Complete one of the following: | 3-4 | |
| Medieval Europe 410-1500 | ||
| Western Culture: Science, Technology, Philosophy I | ||
| The Origins of Scientific Thought | ||
| Literature and Culture I: to the 18th Century | ||
| History of Western Art I: From Pyramids to Cathedrals | ||
| Complete two courses from Category A ("The Middle Ages through History and Social Sciences"). 1 | 6 | |
| Complete two courses from Category B ("The Middle Ages through Language, Literature and the Arts"). 1 | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 15 | |
- 1
For a list of which individual courses count toward Category A and which toward Category B, see the course lists below.
Category A Course List
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Category A Courses | ||
| HISTORY 115 | Medieval Europe 410-1500 | 4 |
| HISTORY/RELIG ST 205 | The Making of the Islamic World: The Middle East, 500-1500 | 3-4 |
| HISTORY/RELIG ST 208 | Western Intellectual and Religious History to 1500 | 3-4 |
| HISTORY/RELIG ST 212 | The History of Western Christianity to 1750 | 4 |
| HISTORY/MEDIEVAL/RELIG ST 309 | The Crusades: Christianity and Islam | 3-4 |
| HISTORY 417 | History of Russia | 3-4 |
| HISTORY/LEGAL ST 426 | The History of Punishment | 3-4 |
| HISTORY/SCAND ST 431 | History of Scandinavia to 1815 | 3 |
| HIST SCI/MEDIEVAL 322 | Ancient and Medieval Science | 3 |
| HIST SCI/S&A PHM 401 | History of Pharmacy | 2 |
| HISTORY/LEGAL ST 476 | Medieval Law and Society | 3 |
| ILS 201 | Western Culture: Science, Technology, Philosophy I | 3 |
| ILS 205 | Western Culture: Political, Economic, and Social Thought I | 3 |
| INTL ST 266 | Introduction to the Middle East | 3 |
| PHILOS/JEWISH/RELIG ST 435 | Jewish Philosophy from Antiquity to the Seventeenth Century | 3 |
| POLI SCI 265 | Development of Ancient and Medieval Western Political Thought | 3-4 |
Category B Course List
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Category B Courses | ||
| ART HIST 201 | History of Western Art I: From Pyramids to Cathedrals | 4 |
| ART HIST 305 | History of Islamic Art and Architecture | 3 |
| ART HIST 310 | Icons, Religion, and Empire: Early Christian and Byzantine Art, ca. 200-1453 | 3 |
| ART HIST 318 | Romanesque and Gothic Art and Architecture | 3-4 |
| ART HIST 320 | Italian Renaissance Art | 3-4 |
| ART HIST 331 | Angels, Demons, and Nudes: Early Netherlandish Painting from Bosch to Bruegel | 3-4 |
| ART HIST 360 | Gore Luxury Identity Mimesis: Northern Renaissance | 3 |
| ART HIST/RELIG ST 478 | Art and Religious Practice in Medieval Japan | 3 |
| ART HIST/RELIG ST 373 | Great Cities of Islam | 3 |
| ART HIST 413 | Art and Architecture in the Age of the Caliphs | 3 |
| ART HIST/MEDIEVAL 415 | Topics in Medieval Art | 3 |
| ART HIST 515 | Proseminar in Medieval Art | 3 |
| ART HIST 525 | Proseminar in Italian Renaissance Art | 3 |
| ART HIST 535 | Proseminar in Northern European Painting | 3 |
| ENGL 177 | Literature and Popular Culture | 3 |
| ENGL 241 | Literature and Culture I: to the 18th Century | 3 |
| ENGL 314 | Structure of English | 3 |
| ENGL/HISTORY/RELIG ST 360 | The Anglo-Saxons | 3 |
| ENGL 417 | History of the English Language | 3 |
| ENGL 422 | Outstanding Figure(s) in Literature before 1800 | 3 |
| ENGL/MEDIEVAL 423 | Topic in Medieval Literature and Culture | 3 |
| ENGL/MEDIEVAL 424 | Medieval Drama | 3 |
| ENGL/MEDIEVAL 425 | Medieval Romance | 3 |
| ENGL/MEDIEVAL 426 | Chaucers Courtly Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL/MEDIEVAL 427 | Chaucer's Canterbury Tales | 3 |
| ENGL/MEDIEVAL 520 | Old English | 3 |
| ENGL/MEDIEVAL 521 | Advanced Old English Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 546 | Topic in Travel Writing before 1800 | 3 |
| FRENCH 430 | Readings in Medieval and Renaissance Literature | 3 |
| GERMAN 650 | History of the German Language | 3 |
| GERMAN/MEDIEVAL 651 | Introduction to Middle High German | 3 |
| ILS 203 | Western Culture: Literature and the Arts I | 3 |
| ITALIAN 321 | Studies in Italian Literature and Culture I | 3 |
| ITALIAN/MEDIEVAL/RELIG ST 440 | Poverty, Ecology and the Arts: St. Francis of Assisi | 3 |
| ITALIAN/MEDIEVAL 659 | Dante's Divina Commedia | 3 |
| ITALIAN/MEDIEVAL 671 | The 13th Century | 3 |
| JEWISH/AFRICAN/MEDIEVAL/RELIG ST 462 | Muslims and Jews | 3 |
| LATIN/MEDIEVAL 563 | Mediaeval Latin | 3 |
| LITTRANS/MEDIEVAL 235 | The World of Sagas | 3 |
| LITTRANS/MEDIEVAL/RELIG ST 253 | Of Demons and Angels. Dante's Divine Comedy | 3 |
| LITTRANS/MEDIEVAL 255 | Black Death and Medieval Life Through Boccaccio's Decameron | 3 |
| LITTRANS 271 | In Translation:Masterpieces of Scandinavian Literature, Middle Ages-1900 | 3-4 |
| LITTRANS/FOLKLORE/MEDIEVAL/SCAND ST 345 | The Nordic Storyteller | 3 |
| LITTRANS/FOLKLORE/MEDIEVAL 346 | In Translation: The Icelandic Sagas | 3-4 |
| LITTRANS/FOLKLORE 347 | In Translation: Kalevala and Finnish Folk-Lore | 3-4 |
| MUSIC 411 | Survey of Music in the Middle Ages | 3 |
| MUSIC 412 | Survey of Music in the Renaissance | 3 |
| SCAND ST/FOLKLORE/MEDIEVAL/RELIG ST 342 | Nordic Mythology | 3 |
| SCAND ST 373 | Masterpieces of Scandinavian Literature: From the Middle Ages to 1900 | 3-4 |
| SCAND ST/MEDIEVAL 407 | Introductory Old Norse | 3 |
| SCAND ST/MEDIEVAL 409 | Survey of Old Norse-Icelandic Literature | 3 |
| SCAND ST/MEDIEVAL 430 | The Vikings | 4 |
| SCAND ST/LITTRANS 435 | The Sagas of Icelanders in English Translation | 3 |
| SCAND ST/MEDIEVAL 444 | Kalevala and Finnish Folk-Lore | 4 |
| SPANISH 322 | Survey of Early Hispanic Literature | 3 |
| SPANISH/MEDIEVAL 414 | Literatura de la Edad Media Castellana (ss. XII-XV) | 3 |
| SPANISH/MEDIEVAL 503 | Survey of Medieval Literature | 3 |
| SPANISH/MEDIEVAL 504 | Survey of Medieval Literature | 3 |
| SPANISH/MEDIEVAL 541 | Old Spanish | 3 |
Residence and Quality of Work
- At least 8 certificate credits must be completed in residence.
- Minimum 2.000 GPA on all certificate courses.
Certificate Completion Requirement
This undergraduate certificate must be completed concurrently with the student’s undergraduate degree. Students cannot delay degree completion to complete the certificate.
- Historical knowledge: Acquire knowledge of historical events, social structures, cultural productions, and/or scientific innovation from c. 300-1500; develop an understanding of the relationship between these and present-day institutions, forms of artistic expression, geo-political problems, and environmental and social concerns.
- Interdisciplinary perspective: Approach problems in the study of the past using sources and methods drawn from more than one traditionally defined academic discipline; achieve an understanding of the inherently interdisciplinary nature of medieval studies.
- Primary research: Encounter and analyze primary sources—including but not limited to historical documents, religious writings, scientific treatises, literary texts, works of visual art and architecture, material culture, performance texts, and music—to reach an understanding of significant aspects of medieval culture and demonstrate that understanding in an applied format.
- Critical thinking: Discern and synthesize different perspectives on the Middle Ages; identify and question assumptions about the medieval era; assess evidence and/or evaluate methods for understanding the complexities of the past.
Students can obtain advising for the certificate by contacting the director of medieval studies. The director serves as the undergaduate advisor for all students pursuing the certificate. For further information see the Medieval Studies website.
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