Program Overview

I. Rationale:

The historical terms Middle Ages and Renaissance are intellectual constructs used to denote a broad period, spanning from the fourth to the seventeenth century. One unifying characteristic of medieval and Renaissance cultures is the intellectual struggle for the synthesis of human knowledge. The multidisciplinary major and minor in Medieval and Renaissance Studies are therefore both conceptually and ideologically coherent, since the true study of the pre-modern world is interdisciplinary. Many of the disciplinary boundaries that define academic programs today would have been foreign to people living in the Middle Ages; in fact we need to study together to be more truly "medieval." For those of us who teach medieval and Renaissance studies and work on scholarship in those areas, interdisciplinarity is a way of life.

With three major world religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, rising in the Mediterranean basin, this period offers a highly relevant model for contemporary study of the interaction of cultures. Study of the medieval and early modern world is fundamental for understanding many of the current pressures that are again opening the world to a renewed internationalism.

The chief benefit for students of a multidisciplinary major or minor in Medieval and Renaissance Studies is the intellectual focus it provides, intensifying the academic value of courses in the fields in the following important ways:

• Advising. Students design Medieval/Renaissance majors and minors in consultation with the director of CISS and members of the faculty: one faculty sponsor for minors, two for majors. They thus receive more than usual faculty counsel and support in planning their academic programs.
• Guest lectures. Medieval and Renaissance Studies sponsors events throughout the term. In addition, Tier 1 courses often include guest lectures by faculty members from other departments.
• Tiered courses. As described below, the major and minor require that students take courses from groups designated as Tier 1 and Tier 2. In addition, students will each complete a capstone project (Tier 3) resulting in a paper or a project.
• Foreign Language Competence. Students completing a major in Medieval and Renaissance Studies are required to read and work with original texts at some point during their course work, and minors are encouraged to do so, particularly if contemplating graduate school. Students may choose to work with a text in a foreign language (Latin, Italian, German, French, Spanish) or in Middle English.
• Creative linkages. By creating increased cooperation and contact among faculty, Medieval and Renaissance Studies generates creative linkages that result in new courses, collaborative study and teaching.
• Preparation for graduate work. Majors and minors who plan on continuing in graduate programs will have a distinct advantage, especially at institutions with Medieval/Renaissance programs at the graduate level. For students who plan to attend graduate school in Medieval/Renaissance, the study of Latin is strongly encouraged.

II. Program of Study:

Students come to the major and minor chiefly through one of the many courses currently offered in medieval or Renaissance studies. Interested students will be directed to faculty advisors with whom they can work directly in developing a course of study. Advisors will inform students about the tiered 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/Renaissance minors are required to take at least six courses. Of these, at least one must be a Tier 1 course; up to three courses may be taken at this level. Students can get credit toward the minor for no more than three Tier 1 courses. Minors will take at least two Tier 3 courses. Majors, in addition, will also complete a capstone project at the Tier 3 level. Courses must be drawn from at least three separate fields (History, Modern Languages, English, Visual Arts/History, Religious Studies, Philosophy, Music, Classics). Students may utilize no more than two courses for the minor which they are using for their major. Most frequently, minors concentrate their study in either medieval or Renaissance courses in order to develop a rationale for coherence among six courses.

• Tier 1: These courses are designated as such because they are broader in their scope and allow the student an entry into the field of Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Each semester at least two Tier 1 courses will be offered. Instructors teaching Tier 1 courses will be encouraged to invite faculty from other departments to give guest lectures, so students can become acquainted with a variety of disciplinary methodologies. Minors must take at least one and not more than three courses at this level.
• Tier 2: These courses are more specialized, challenging students to deepen their knowledge in an area, and will help students to focus their course of study. At least two courses will be drawn from those designated at this level with guidance from the advisor in the minor or major.
• Tier 3: Capstone project. For the capstone, majors will work with faculty members from two different departments in preparing a capstone paper or project that links at least two disciplines. The capstone is sometimes a tutorial, but often is developed within the regular course structure. Generally one of the two advisors serves as the primary advisor, with ultimate responsibility for grading in consultation with the other.

Medieval/Renaissance Studies majors fulfill all the requirements of the minor plus eight more courses, for a total of 14. (Or, if the Medieval/Renaissance major is a second major for a student, s/he will take a total of 10 Medieval/Renaissance courses; only two of these may be in the field of the first major.) In addition, majors are required to read and work with original period texts--either in a foreign language (Latin, Italian, German, French, Spanish) or in Middle English--at some point during their coursework.

For detailed information on proposing a major or minor, go to http://www.holycross.edu/departments/CISS/website/multi_disciplinary.htm. See your Moodle page with a course labeled “CISS Majors/Minors.”

III. When May a Student Become a Major or Minor?

A student may propose a Medieval/Renaissance major or minor no later than the first semester of his/her senior year.

IV. Sample Course Sequence

Student A is English major. She has taken English 291, Readings in Renaissance Literature. She is excited about the connections she sees between literary themes, philosophy, and the historical context of these ideas. She is advised to take two History courses: Renaissance to Napoleon, followed by a Tier two offering, The Reformation. She complements her History experience with Reformation and Counter Reformation in the Religious Studies Department. She also studies Philosophy 362: Augustine, perennially influential for Medieval and Renaissance concepts of morality. In addition she takes an English course on Milton, considering his Irish context. Student A has completed six courses in the minor, from fields of English, Philosophy, History, and Religious Studies.

Student B is a Classics major. He has taken a Montserrat sequence dealing with the Christian and Islamic medieval art. Fascinated by the prevalence of classical antecedents for both religions, he wishes to have a double major. His Montserrat sequence will count for a Tier 1 course. He continues in his second year with two Tier 1 courses: History 112: Emerging Europe, and English 290: Readings in Medieval Literature. His third year he explores Art & Antiquity in 16c Italy, a seminar in Islamic Art, a Latin language course, Early Christian Literature, and Religious Studies 292, Medieval Christianity. His final year he has two additional courses, plus his capstone: a tutorial involving faculty in Art and Classics on the influence of Classical Antiquity on medieval art and culture.