Medieval and Renaissance Studies majors and minors have the chance to extend their learning outside the classroom by participating in cocurricular programming, musical performance, the Manuscripts, Inscriptions and Documents club, study abroad and more.
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
- Byzantine Chant Concert by award-winning ensemble Psaltikon
- Lecture titled “Nasty, Brutish, Short? Exploring the Classical Influence on Anglo-Saxon Poetry,” by Colleen Curran ’11, junior research scholar, Corpus Christi College, Oxford University
- Holy Cross Faculty Colloquium: "Chaucer's Cuckoo and Late Medieval Song Debates,” by Sarah Stanbury, professor of English at Holy Cross
- Concert of song cycles, lullabies, and legends with Ukranian ensemble Kurbassy
- Lecture titled “I’ve Got You Under My Skin: The Green Man, Trans-Species Bodies, and Queer Worldmaking” by Carolyn Dinshaw, professor of social and cultural analysis and English at New York University
- Trips into Boston to see Shakespeare’s Globe performance of “King Lear” and Actors’ Shakespeare Project production of “Measure for Measure”
- Tours of the Cantor Art Gallery exhibit of Italian nativity scenes, “The Italian Presepe: Cultural Landscapes of the Soul,” curated by Sarah Stanbury and Margot Balboni
- Student performance of the 15th-century “Second Shepherd’s Play”
- Paper presentations at the annual Undergraduate Shakespeare Conference
- 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.
For more information about study abroad and the Maymester programs, visit the Study Abroad website.
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.
Learn more about the Manuscripts, Inscriptions and Documents Club.