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Medieval and Renaissance Studies Concentration (MRST)

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The Medieval and Renaissance Studies Concentration encourages students interested in the cultures and kingdoms that flourished from Late Antiquity through the Renaissance to deepen their understanding of these periods through an interdisciplinary program of study. Heirs to ancient empires, the societies of Europe, Byzantium, and the Muslim world each offer fascinating opportunities to watch societies cope with timeless problems of power, identity, and belief. The concentration is open to students in ANY major who wish to expand their knowledge of this important and fascinating period of human history.

A total of 42 credits (usually 7 courses) is required for the concentration: 18 credits in "Core" courses, 18 credits in "Supporting" courses; and a capstone seminar. In addition to the seminars listed below, students may count--with prior approval of both the course instructor and the concentration coordinators--other advanced seminars in which the concentrator’s research focuses on a topic within the period covered by the concentration

Optional Off-Campus Programs: Off-campus study can be an important part of the concentration. Students interested in study abroad as part of the concentration are advised to consult with their academic advisers in deciding when to go off-campus and with the concentration coordinators to discuss the range of programs available and potential programs of study. Courses taken abroad may count for up to two "core" courses (12 credits) and two "supporting courses" (12 credits).

Requirements for the Concentration

Core Courses (3 courses/18 credits required):

ARBC 185 The Creation of Classical Arabic Literature (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARCN 246 Archaeological Methodology

ARCN 395 Archaeology Capstone Seminar (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARTH 101 Introduction to Art History I

ARTH 102 Introduction to Art History II

ARTH 155 Islamic Art and Architecture (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARTH 180 Medieval Art

ARTH 226 The Gothic Cathedral

ARTH 234 Italian Renaissance Art (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARTH 285 The Art of Death in the Middle Ages

ENGL 114 Introduction to Medieval Narrative

ENGL 201 Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales

ENGL 210 From Chaucer to Milton: Early English Literature (not offered in 2012-2013)

ENGL 216 Milton

ENGL 244 Shakespeare I

ENGL 301 The Courtly Chaucer (not offered in 2012-2013)

ENGL 309 Renaissance Selves (not offered in 2012-2013)

ENGL 310 Shakespeare II

FREN 351 Love, War and Monsters in Early Modern France (not offered in 2012-2013)

GERM 230 From Gutenberg to Gates: The History and Practice of Printing (not offered in 2012-2013)

GERM 231 Damsels, Dwarfs, and Dragons: Medieval German Literature

HIST 131 Saints, Sinners, and Philosophers in Late Antiquity (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 137 Early Medieval Worlds

HIST 138 The Making of Europe (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 139 Foundations of Modern Europe

HIST 201 Rome Program: Power and Piety in Medieval Rome, 300-1150

HIST 204 Crusade, Contact and Exchange in the Medieval Mediterranean (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 206 Rome Program: Eternal City in Time: Urban Structure and Change

HIST 207 Rome Program: A Roman Journal: Travelers' Accounts as Source and Experience

HIST 230 Institutional Structure and Culture in the Middle Ages (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 232 Renaissance Worlds in France and Italy (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 233 Cultures of Empire: Byzantium, 710-1453 (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 236 Women's Lives in Pre-Modern Europe

HIST 239 Britain, c. 1485-1834: From Sceptred Isle to Satanic Mills (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 243 The Peasants are Revolting! Society and Politics in the Making of Modern France (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 278 The Spanish Inquisition

LATN 243 Medieval Latin (not offered in 2012-2013)

MUSC 210 Medieval and Renaissance Music

RELG 122 Muhammad and the Qur'an: An Introduction to Islam

RELG 163 The Qur'an (not offered in 2012-2013)

RELG 231 From Luther to Kierkegaard (not offered in 2012-2013)

RELG 263 Sufism

SPAN 330 The Invention of the Modern Novel: Cervantes' Don Quijote

SPAN 331 Baroque Desires (not offered in 2012-2013)


Supporting Courses (18 credits required):

Note: all courses listed as "core courses" also qualify as "supporting courses."

ARBC 185 The Creation of Classical Arabic Literature (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARBC 215 Readings in Medieval Arabic Anthologies (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARCN 246 Archaeological Methodology

ARCN 395 Archaeology Capstone Seminar (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARTH 101 Introduction to Art History I

ARTH 102 Introduction to Art History II

ARTH 155 Islamic Art and Architecture (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARTH 170 Printmaking: The First Media Revolution (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARTH 180 Medieval Art

ARTH 226 The Gothic Cathedral

ARTH 233 Van Eyck, Bosch, Bruegel: Their Visual Culture (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARTH 234 Italian Renaissance Art (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARTH 238 Rembrandt, Vermeer and Netherlandish Art (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARTH 251 Ruins and Romantics: English Gothic and Gothic-Revival Art and Architecture (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARTH 285 The Art of Death in the Middle Ages

ARTH 307 Rome: The Art of Michelangelo and Caravaggio

ARTH 351 English Art and Architecture on Site (not offered in 2012-2013)

ENGL 114 Introduction to Medieval Narrative

ENGL 201 Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales

ENGL 210 From Chaucer to Milton: Early English Literature (not offered in 2012-2013)

ENGL 213 Christopher Marlowe

ENGL 214 Revenge Tragedy

ENGL 244 Shakespeare I

ENGL 309 Renaissance Selves (not offered in 2012-2013)

ENGL 310 Shakespeare II

FREN 351 Love, War and Monsters in Early Modern France (not offered in 2012-2013)

GERM 230 From Gutenberg to Gates: The History and Practice of Printing (not offered in 2012-2013)

GERM 231 Damsels, Dwarfs, and Dragons: Medieval German Literature

HIST 131 Saints, Sinners, and Philosophers in Late Antiquity (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 137 Early Medieval Worlds

HIST 138 The Making of Europe (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 139 Foundations of Modern Europe

HIST 201 Rome Program: Power and Piety in Medieval Rome, 300-1150

HIST 202 Iconoclasm in the Early Middle Ages (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 203 Papacy, Church and Empire in the Age of Reform (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 204 Crusade, Contact and Exchange in the Medieval Mediterranean (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 206 Rome Program: Eternal City in Time: Urban Structure and Change

HIST 207 Rome Program: A Roman Journal: Travelers' Accounts as Source and Experience

HIST 230 Institutional Structure and Culture in the Middle Ages (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 232 Renaissance Worlds in France and Italy (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 236 Women's Lives in Pre-Modern Europe

HIST 239 Britain, c. 1485-1834: From Sceptred Isle to Satanic Mills (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 243 The Peasants are Revolting! Society and Politics in the Making of Modern France (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 245 Ireland: The Origin of the Troubles (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 268 The Indian Ocean World in the Age of European Expansion (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 278 The Spanish Inquisition

HIST 395 Voyages of Understanding

LATN 204 Latin Prose

LATN 242 Apuleius,

LATN 243 Medieval Latin (not offered in 2012-2013)

LATN 253 Seneca the Younger (not offered in 2012-2013)

LATN 257 Caesar, Lucan, and Civil War

MUSC 210 Medieval and Renaissance Music

PHIL 270 Ancient Greek Philosophy: Knowledge and Skepticism (not offered in 2012-2013)

PHIL 270 Ancient Greek Philosophy: Virtue, Reality and Explanation

POSC 250 Ancient Political Philosophy

POSC 254 Freedom, Excellence, Happiness: Aristotle's Ethics (not offered in 2012-2013)

RELG 122 Muhammad and the Qur'an: An Introduction to Islam

RELG 163 The Qur'an (not offered in 2012-2013)

RELG 231 From Luther to Kierkegaard (not offered in 2012-2013)

RELG 263 Sufism

RELG 287 Many Marys (not offered in 2012-2013)

SPAN 330 The Invention of the Modern Novel: Cervantes' Don Quijote

SPAN 331 Baroque Desires (not offered in 2012-2013)


Capstone Seminars
(one course required):

ARCN 395 Archaeology Capstone Seminar (not offered in 2012-2013)

ARTH 307 Rome: The Art of Michelangelo and Caravaggio

ENGL 309 Renaissance Selves (not offered in 2012-2013)

FREN 351 Love, War and Monsters in Early Modern France (not offered in 2012-2013)

HIST 395 Voyages of Understanding