Medieval Studies

Timothy C. Graham, Director

Institute for Medieval Studies
MSC06 3620
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
(505) 277-2252
http://www.unm.edu/~medinst

Advisory Committee
Justine Andrews, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (Art and Art History)
Anthony J. Cárdenas-Rotunno, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin (Spanish)
Helen Damico, Ph.D., New York University (English)
Leslie Donovan, Ph.D., University of Washington (University Honors)
Anita Obermeier, Ph.D., Arizona State University (English)
Michael A. Ryan, Ph.D., University of Minnesota (History)

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Introduction

The Minor in Medieval Studies is an interdepartmental, interdisciplinary program designed to introduce students to the extraordinarily rich culture of the European Middle Ages. Representing a major period of transition between Classical Antiquity and the Renaissance, the Middle Ages witnessed key developments in literature, history, art, architecture, music, philosophy, religion, and science - developments whose impact has continued to reverberate to the present day. This was the era that saw the composition of great vernacular works such as Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, the Arthurian legends, and Dante’s Divine Comedy; the emergence of the illuminated manuscript as a major art form and medium for the transmission of knowledge; the foundation of the first universities and the development of a formal educational curriculum; the architectural achievements embodied in the great Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals; the major encounter between the West and Islam that produced the Crusades on the one hand and the revival of Aristotelian learning on the other; the spirituality of the monastic orders; the music and love poetry of the troubadours; and the richly varied lives of such influential individuals as the emperor Charlemagne, the philosopher Peter Abelard, the visionary Hildegard of Bingen, and the saint Francis of Assisi. Political and ideological developments were no less important: it was during the Middle Ages that most western countries assumed something close to their present borders and began to develop their national consciousness, while the period also witnessed the beginnings of parliamentary democracy. Students opting for the Minor in Medieval Studies will have the opportunity to explore these varied topics from an interdisciplinary perspective by choosing courses offered by UNM faculty from several different departments, but may maintain a disciplinary focus by selecting the majority of their courses from within one specific department.

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