Small class sizes and lots of personal interaction with faculty who are experts in the field are hallmarks of New College’s Medieval and Renaissance Studies AOC, which features a wide variety of courses. We focus on the critical period in Western history between the end of antiquity and the birth of modernity.
About the Medieval & Renaissance Area of Concentration
This interdisciplinary program is focused on the critical period in Western history between the end of antiquity and the birth of modernity (roughly, 400 to 1600 C.E.). The periods of the Middle Ages and Renaissance encompass vast and exciting transformations that saw the creation of many of the institutions and habits upon which our world and worldview rest. Study of the period will provide students with the valuable perspective on the contemporary scene that can only be acquired at a considerable distance.
In many cases, students will be best served by pursuing medieval and Renaissance interests in concentrations such as Literature or History. An interdisciplinary approach, however, recognizes that the modern division into academic disciplines does not adequately reflect pre-modern European culture, when theology might be argued in verse or in painting, and when history, literature, and religion were inextricably entwined.
The Biennial Conference on Medieval & Renaissance Studies
Every other year New College welcomes premodernists from across the US and internationally—about 300 people—to one of the largest regional conferences on medieval & Renaissance studies in the US. Students are welcome to attend all sessions and related events, and student employees help run the conference. Check out the conference website:
Featured Course
HIST 3300
The Global Middle Ages: Travel and Cultural Exchange Before the Age of Exploration
This seminar will take an interdisciplinary approach to travel and exploration, analyzing how medieval Europeans experienced, described, and mapped the world and its peoples. The course will incorporate a wide range of primary evidence such as Viking settlements in the Americas; travelogues by Christians, Muslims, and Jews (such as those of Benjamin of Tudela, Ibn Battuta, and Marco Polo); and Italian headstones in a cemetery in Yangzhou, China.
Recent courses
- A Brief History of the Bible
- The Global Middle Ages: Travel and Cultural Exchange Before the Age of Exploration
- Medieval Cities
- The Middle Ages and the Birth of the Modern World
- Role-Playing Politics and Religion in the Renaissance
- Saints and Sinners: Image, Gender and Spirituality in the Medieval and Early Modern Eras
Career Pathways
- Law
- Foreign Service
- Public Policy
- Intelligence
- Politics
- Education
- Journalism
- Library Sciences
- Publishing
Faculty in Medieval & Renaissance Studies
Nova Myhill
Professor of English and Theater, Dance & Performance Studies
Director of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies
David Rohrbacher
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs
Professor of Classics
Jing Zhang
Professor of Chinese Language and Culture.
Nassima Neggaz
Associate Professor of History and Religion