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Research by Vassar College's Medieval & Renaissance Studies major Emily Roberts on St. Jerome in his Study by Netherlandish painter Joos Van Cleve, painted in the 16th Century, in the permanent collection of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center on the Vassar Campus.
The Medieval and Renaissance Studies program at Vassar provides a unique opportunity for students to explore the Middle Ages and Renaissance from various angles. Choosing courses from participating departments, students learn the skills of different disciplines while building their knowledge of the period. The flexibility of the major allows students either to take a wide variety of courses in several different departments or to concentrate more on one discipline within the program, while still achieving breadth in other areas.
Students are also expected to do sustained independent research in the form of a senior thesis directed by at least two members of different departments. Majors are not required, but strongly encouraged to spend junior year studying abroad to gain a direct appreciation for the sites and cultural artifacts of medieval and Renaissance history. Upon completion of the major, students will have gained both a well-rounded sense of the period and the ability to work with diverse sources and cultural artifacts. (See the major and correlate descriptions below for more details on requirements.)
Finally, people often ask, “What does one do with a Medieval and Renaissance Studies degree?” As the above description suggests, Medieval and Renaissance Studies teaches several important skills. Majors acquire the tools of critical analysis by working with very challenging sources. They hone their research abilities in the pursuit of these rich, often hard to find, sources. They also have countless opportunities to develop more fully as writers. Armed with these skills, some majors go on to graduate school and pursue careers in academia. Some find jobs working in museums – a profession they often find their way into via internships during summer breaks from Vassar. Other majors go on to receive law degrees or MBAs, or take jobs in publishing, finance, or the arts. As with any good liberal arts major, the possibilities are broad.
Description of the Major and Correlate Sequence:
The interdepartmental program in Medieval and Renaissance Studies is designed to provide the student with a coherent course of study in the arts, history, literature, and thought of European civilization from the fall of Rome to the seventeenth century.
Requirements for concentration: 12 units, including Medieval/Renaissance Culture 220, and the senior thesis. Three units, one of which is the senior thesis, must be at the 300-level. Distribution and language requirements, listed below, must also be satisfied.
Distribution Requirement: In addition to Medieval/Renaissance Culture 220 and the thesis, students should take 10 units from the approved list. Two courses must be chosen from each of three groups of disciplines: Art and Music; History, Philosophy, Religion; Language and Literature. 300-level work is required in at least two departments.
Language Requirement: The major requires demonstration of competence in Latin or in at least one vernacular language besides Middle English. Competency is demonstrated by completion of at least two courses at the 200-level. Languages may include French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Old English, and Spanish.
Recommendations: Since Latin is a core skill for medieval studies, all students are strongly urged to take at least one year of Latin. Students expecting to concentrate on the Renaissance should also study Italian.
Certain courses help form a foundation for this major. A selection from these 100-level courses may be applied toward the major in consultation with the coordinator: Art 105, Classics 102, Classics/College Course 101, Italian 175, History 116, History 123, Religion 150, Philosophy 101 or 102. No more than two 100-level courses may be offered toward the major.
Correlate Sequence in Medieval and Renaissance Studies: 6 graded units from the list of approved courses are required, including Medieval and Renaissance Studies 220 or History 215 or History 225; Art 220 or the equivalent; and English 220-221 or the equivalent in a foreign language. These courses should be taken early in a student’s career. 100-level work cannot be included in the sequence and at least 1 unit must be at the 300-level. The courses selected for the sequence must form a unified course of study and a written proposal articulating the focus of the sequence must be submitted to the correlate sequence adviser for approval prior to declaration.