Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Areas of Study
Offered through the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, the program offers an unusually rich faculty, with more than 15 faculty members researching the medieval and early modern periods spanning from the fourth to the 17th centuries in Europe, Asia and the Mediterranean basin. Fields include but are not limited to:
- Art history
- Classics
- English
- History
- Italian
- Latin
- Music
- Philosophy
- Religious studies
- Russian
- Spanish
Requirements
The Medieval and Renaissance Studies program is part of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (CIS). CIS provides the opportunity for you to design your own minor or major in a field of study that lies outside the current discipline-based departments, but still draws upon relevant coursework from across the College.
Medieval and Renaissance Studies Majors require 14 courses drawn from at least three departments (or 10 courses in the case of a double-major). In addition, majors are required to read and work with original period texts — either in a foreign language (French, German, Italian, Latin, Spanish) or in Middle English — at some point during their coursework.
Advisors will inform students about the course offerings, help them plan an interdisciplinary program that will build toward a capstone project and inform them about graduate opportunities in their field.
Medieval and Renaissance Studies Minors require a minimum of 6 courses drawn from at least three different departments (Classics, English, history, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, music, philosophy, religious studies, Spanish, visual arts, etc.). At least three courses must be at the intermediate or advanced level.
- Classical and Biblical Sources of European and English Literature
- Touchstones 1: Early Brit Lit
- The Rise of the Christian West to A.D. 1000
- Dante
- Intermediate Latin 1
- History of Western Music 1
- Islam
- Fairytale: Russia & the World
- Medieval Spanish Literature
- Global Commerce in 15th Century Italy
Meet Your Faculty Advisor
Opportunities
Cocurricular Opportunities
Students enrich their formal study of the medieval and renaissance periods with an array of cocurricular offerings. Recent events and excursions include:
Performance and participation in a concert/lecture titled Music and the Jesuits.
Student performance of Vespers in the St. Joseph Chapel with the Gregorian chant class.
Concert of song cycles, lullabies, and legends with Ukranian ensemble Kurbassy.
Visits to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and The Cloisters in New York.
Musical Performance
Students who concentrate in Medieval and Renaissance Studies, often enjoy performing with campus music ensembles, which engage in the performance of “early music.” These include, but are not limited to, the College Choir, Chamber Singers, Schola Cantorum and Schola Gregoriana. College Choir and Schola Gregoriania require no auditions. Students interested in music performance of medieval and renaissance music should contact the director(s) of the individual ensembles.
Study Abroad/Maymester
Students who concentrate or major in Medieval and Renaissance Studies often include coursework undertaken abroad or through the College’s Maymester programs. Coursework on medieval or renaissance topics in Italy, France, England, Spain and elsewhere have commonly been a part of self-designed programs of study.
Manuscripts, Inscriptions, and Documents Club
Students interested in medieval and renaissance topics often take part in and are encouraged to participate in the Manuscripts, Inscriptions, and Documents Club (MID). Students from the club have presented their research on digitalized, medieval and renaissance manuscripts at national and international conferences around the world.
Preparation for Graduate Work
Majors and minors who plan on pursuing graduate study will have a distinct advantage at institutions with medieval and renaissance programs at the graduate level. Students considering such programs are strongly encouraged to study Latin.