Medieval and Ancient Studies Minor
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Program description
Medieval and Ancient Studies (MAS) is an interdisciplinary major and minor in the humanities division, administered by the medieval studies faculty and the chair of the humanities division.
Medieval Studies examines primarily European literature and culture from roughly 500 to 1500 CE. Ancient Studies examines the languages, literatures, cultures, and material remains of human societies from roughly 3000 BCE to 500 CE. The two overlapping fields include anthropology, archaeology, art history, English, history, math, philosophy, political science, theatre, music, world languages, and areas such as gender and religion with historical roots in ancient and classical periods and Byzantine cultures. These fields provide an opportunity for students to think synthetically across disciplines.
Coursework in Medieval Studies enhances understanding of artistic and material relics of the Middle Ages (manuscripts, cookbooks, Gothic cathedrals, Crusader castles, and picturesque towns cramped within ancient walls) and many of the foundational choices that have made the world what it is today, for good and ill. Many current challenges in the fields of Western law, human rights, attitudes toward power, authority, gender relations, and sexual mores derive from the ways in which these were viewed a millennium ago.
Coursework in Ancient Studies enhances understanding of literary and material relics of the ancient world on all continents: the languages and cultures of the Americas prior to European colonization, Greek dramas, Roman mosaics, classical Latin, the writings of Plato and Aristotle, prehistoric cultures of Asia and Africa, and ancient Athenian democracy. The cultures of the ancient world built the foundations of art, thought, literature, architecture, religion, and politics on which much of the modern world still rests, for better or worse.
Students explore implications and intersections of products of the medieval world across disciplinary, chronological, and geographical barriers. The medieval studies major prepares students for graduate study in many academic fields as well as internship and career opportunities from museum curating to education, law, and data analysis.
The Medieval Studies curriculum is designed to ensure that students:
1. Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the key dates, people, places, and events of the European Middle Ages.
2. Read, write, and discuss in an analytical fashion primary and/or secondary texts related to the European Middle Ages.
3. Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the range of medieval cultures, languages, schools of thought, and religion in the Middle Ages and how these are reflective of personal and social contexts.
4. Critically analyze, interpret, and synthesize various types of evidence for the medieval period.
5. Apply methodologies and critical paradigms from relevant academic fields to explain ways in which the medieval past, including language, has a variety of specifics tied to places, times, and cultural contexts.
Medieval Studies examines primarily European literature and culture from roughly 500 to 1500 CE. Ancient Studies examines the languages, literatures, cultures, and material remains of human societies from roughly 3000 BCE to 500 CE. The two overlapping fields include anthropology, archaeology, art history, English, history, math, philosophy, political science, theatre, music, world languages, and areas such as gender and religion with historical roots in ancient and classical periods and Byzantine cultures. These fields provide an opportunity for students to think synthetically across disciplines.
Coursework in Medieval Studies enhances understanding of artistic and material relics of the Middle Ages (manuscripts, cookbooks, Gothic cathedrals, Crusader castles, and picturesque towns cramped within ancient walls) and many of the foundational choices that have made the world what it is today, for good and ill. Many current challenges in the fields of Western law, human rights, attitudes toward power, authority, gender relations, and sexual mores derive from the ways in which these were viewed a millennium ago.
Coursework in Ancient Studies enhances understanding of literary and material relics of the ancient world on all continents: the languages and cultures of the Americas prior to European colonization, Greek dramas, Roman mosaics, classical Latin, the writings of Plato and Aristotle, prehistoric cultures of Asia and Africa, and ancient Athenian democracy. The cultures of the ancient world built the foundations of art, thought, literature, architecture, religion, and politics on which much of the modern world still rests, for better or worse.
Students explore implications and intersections of products of the medieval world across disciplinary, chronological, and geographical barriers. The medieval studies major prepares students for graduate study in many academic fields as well as internship and career opportunities from museum curating to education, law, and data analysis.
The Medieval Studies curriculum is designed to ensure that students:
1. Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the key dates, people, places, and events of the European Middle Ages.
2. Read, write, and discuss in an analytical fashion primary and/or secondary texts related to the European Middle Ages.
3. Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the range of medieval cultures, languages, schools of thought, and religion in the Middle Ages and how these are reflective of personal and social contexts.
4. Critically analyze, interpret, and synthesize various types of evidence for the medieval period.
5. Apply methodologies and critical paradigms from relevant academic fields to explain ways in which the medieval past, including language, has a variety of specifics tied to places, times, and cultural contexts.
Program last updated
Fall 2024