Medieval & Renaissance Studies
Students in the Medieval & Renaissance Studies Program (MRST) study the events, people, and cultures of the rich period stretching from 300 to 1700 C.E.
Program Overview
Students in our interdisciplinary program study the events, people and cultures of the rich period stretching from 300 to 1700 C.E. Students can take courses from over 40 faculty members across a dozen departments and programs. We explore developments in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the Americas, and the Mediterranean during these centuries from the perspective of many fields: architecture, art history, archaeology, history, literature and languages, music, religious studies, philosophy, and political science. Our curriculum introduces students to these fields and their methods, while allowing them to concentrate on the eras and approaches that excite them most.
In MRST classes, students and faculty together encounter the past as “ travel to another world” in order to understand the conditions that have shaped today’s increasingly interconnected world. MRST majors and minors graduate with a multifaceted understanding of the medieval and Renaissance worlds and with skills essential for the job market, including sensitivity to cultural, linguistic, and historical difference and experience making contemporary sense of the texts and contexts of past times.
Medieval and Renaissance Studies Concentration Program Requirements
Why Medieval and Renaissance Studies?
- Interdisciplinary Exploration – Engage with history, literature, languages, archaeology, art history, music, religious studies, philosophy, and political science to study medieval and Renaissance societies.
- Global Perspectives – Explore historical developments across Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the Americas, and the Mediterranean for a well-rounded understanding of the past.
- Faculty Excellence – Learn from renowned scholars across eight departments, offering expertise in diverse fields.
- Customizable Pathways – Tailor your coursework to focus on specific eras, cultures, or disciplines that match your interests and career goals.
Careers
MRST graduates develop highly transferable skills, preparing them for careers in a variety of fields:
- Cultural & Historical Analysis: Preparing for careers in education, research, public history, and cultural institutions.
- Critical Thinking & Communication: Valued in law, policy, journalism, and business.
- Linguistic & Textual Analysis: Beneficial for translation, publishing, and archival work.
- Global Awareness & Problem-Solving: Relevant in international relations, museum work, and the nonprofit sector.
Featured Courses
HIEU 354
Early Medieval Warfare
Transformation of warfare, society, and culture in Europe and the Mediterranean during the years 350-1000.
ITAL 401
Dante and Medieval Culture
Dante’s times and the Divine Comedy.
ENGL 422
Medieval Women’s Literary Culture
Emphasis on the literary consciousness and works of women writers in Britain. Course content will vary. Authors covered may include Marie de France, Margery Kempe, Aemilia Lanyer, Elizabeth Cary, Aphra Behn, Frances Burney, Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and Doris Lessing.
ARTH 452
Art of Italy, 1475-1600
Surveys the height of the ‘re-birth’ of the visual arts and the revival of classical antiquity now known as the Italian Renaissance. The 15th and 16th centuries witnessed landmark artistic, intellectual, and technological innovations such as humanism, the development of printmaking, the rise of the artist as genius, and the discipline of art history itself. Artists include Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, and Palladio.
Complementary Minors
