Stanford Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (CMEMS) is a multidisciplinary community working together to produce new perspectives on medieval and early modern studies. The mission of CMEMS is to promote innovative research and foster a lively dialogue among faculty, students, librarians, and research affiliates, to rethink the nature of the field across time, space, and disciplinary boundaries, and to explore the significance of these earlier periods for our understanding of today’s world.
There are a number of programs and courses related to medieval and early modern studies. To learn more, see the center's web site.
The Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages offers a Medieval Studies minor.
Minor in Medieval Studies
Faculty Director: Kathryn Starkey
The Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages offers an undergraduate minor in Medieval Studies. The minor in Medieval Studies:
- provides Stanford students with the historical knowledge and framework, through which to view globalism;
- embeds the study of medieval culture in a coherent framework that resonates with contemporary issues of community building, the virtual world and mobility;
- and promotes an innovative crossdisciplinary and skill-based approach to Medieval Studies.
Students in any field qualify for the minor by meeting the following requirements:
Students complete a total of 25 units (including a core course) in courses relevant to the major in departments across the University including, but not restricted to, English, East Asian Studies, History, Religious Studies, Music, and DLCL courses (Comparative Literature, German, French, Italian, Iberian and Latin American Cultures, and Slavic Languages and Literatures), and Classics.
One of the following three introductory core courses is required to be taken for 5 units. Students engage creatively with the Middle Ages and produce projects that will be collected in a database and shared with the Stanford community. The core courses are offered on a regular basis by faculty across the University.
| Units | ||
|---|---|---|
| DLCL 122 | The Digital Middle Ages | 3-5 |
| FRENCH 205 | Songs of Love and War: Gender, Crusade, Politics (counts for DLCL 121) | 3-5 |
| DLCL 123 | Medieval Journeys: Tales of Devotion and Discovery | 3-5 |
Electives may be selected from a large number of offerings in a variety of disciplines according to student interests, but they must follow a coherent course of study. This course of study must be approved by the faculty director. Up to 5 units may be taken in a medieval language, such as (but not limited to) Old English, Old Norse, Medieval Latin, Old French, Middle High German, Classical Arabic. No transfer credit may be used toward the Medieval Studies minor. Appropriate courses offered through BOSP may count toward this minor.
Course work in this minor may not duplicate work counted toward other majors or minors. Advanced placement credit and transfer credit do not apply to this minor. All courses must be taken for a letter grade. By University policy, no more than 36 units may be required in this minor. Students declare the Minor in Medieval Studies through Axess.
Affiliated Faculty: Benjamin Albritton (Library), Vincent Barletta (Iberian and Latin American Cultures), Shahzad Bashir (Religious Studies), Carl Bielefeldt (Religious Studies), George H. Brown (English, Emeritus), Steven Carter (Asian Languages), Ronald Egan (Asian Languages), Fiona Griffiths (History), Paula Findlen (History), Charlotte Fonrobert (Religious Studies), Marisa Galvez (French and Italian), Hester Gelber (Religious Studies), Avner Greif (Economics), Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht (French and Italian), Robert Harrison (French and Italian), Michelle Karnes (English), Alexander Key (Comparative Literature), Nancy S.Kollmann (History), Mark E. Lewis (History), Ivan Lupic (English), David Lummus (French and Italian), William Mahrt (Music), Patricia Parker (Comparative Literature, English), Bissera Pentcheva (Art and Art History), Barbara Pitkin (Religious Studies, Lecturer), Orrin W. Robinson (German Studies, Emeritus), David Riggs (English, Emeritus), Jesse Rodin (Music), Behnam Sadeki (Religious Studies), Carolyn Springer (French and Italian), Kathryn Starkey (German Studies), Laura Stokes (History), Elaine Treharne (English), Ali Yaycioglu (History)
