MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE STUDIES
422BLehmann Hall 854-4350
www.barnard.edu/medren
jkaye@barnard.edu
 

This program is supervised by the Committee on Medieval and Renaissance Studies:
 

Art History: Professors Keith Moxey, James Beck (CU), Stephen Murray (CU), David Rosand (CU);
Assistant Professor Holger Klein (CU)
Classics: Professor Carmela Franklin (CU)
English: Professors Christopher Baswell,  Kathy Eden (CU), Anne Prescott, David Scott Kastan (CU), James Shapiro (CU), Jean Howard (CU), Paul Strohm (CU); Associate Professors Peter Platt (Chair), Julie Crawford (CU), Assistant Professors Patricia Dailey (CU), Molly Murray (CU); Senior Lecturer, Timea Szell French: Assistant Professor, Philip Usher;  Senior Lecturer, Laurie Postlewate
History: Professor Martha Howell (CU); Professor and Program Director Joel Kaye; Associate Professor Adam Kosto (CU); Assistant Professor Matthew Jones (CU)
Italian: Professor Teodolinda Barolini (CU); Associate Professor Jo Ann Cavallo (CU)
Philosophy: Professor Alan Gabbey, Associate Professor Christia Mercer (CU)
Religion: Professors Robert Somerville (CU), Peter Awn (CU), Professor Elizabeth Castelli
Spanish and Latin American Cultures: Professors Marcia Welles, Gonzalo Sobejano (CU);
Assistant Professor Michael Agnew (CU)

This program enables undergraduates to acquire a thorough knowledge of the most
important aspects of Medieval or Renaissance civilizations and to gain an awareness
of the interdependence of historical and cultural developments.
 

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR
Major programs are established individually with a concentration in one of these disciplines:
art history, history, literature, philosophy, romance philology, music, or religion.
Each student, after consultation with the chair, chooses an adviser in her area of concentration
who guides her in developing a sequence of courses to be taken in the field.

A minimum of 11 courses is required for the major in Medieval and Renaissance Studies:
Five courses in the area of concentration;
Two history courses for students who are not concentrating in history;
Two courses in the other disciplines mentioned above for those who are;
Two electives in areas outside the concentration, to be chosen in consultation with the
adviser; and
MRS BC 3998x and MRS BC 3999y, Directed Research, a two-semester program of interdisciplinary
research leading to the writing of the senior essay.
(In some cases, a senior seminar in one of the departments may be substituted for
MRS BC 3998x or 3999y.)
Students are required to write an interdisciplinary senior essay based on two semesters
of research in their field of concentration and in another discipline, carried out under the
supervision of their area adviser and another from the second discipline. The choice of
Medieval & Renaissance Studies 287
topic for this senior project and the appointment of a second adviser are determined in
consultation with the area adviser and the chair of the program.
In addition to the language used to fulfill the general four-semester requirement for
graduation, the student must have completed two semesters of a second language (or the
equivalent) relevant to her area of concentration.
The following courses represent only a sample of those that can be taken to satisfy the
program requirement. Other relevant courses may be taken with the permission of the
chair.
No minor is offered in Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Link to Barnard Course Catalogue for Medieval & Renaissance Courses