Tiffany Jo Werth, Program Director, MEMSdirector@ucdavis.edu
Brandy Fleming, Staff Advisor, bafleming@ucdavis.edu
Program Office, 176 Voorhies Hall
Phone: 530-752-2257
The Major Program
The Major in Medieval and Early Modern Studies serves as the hub from which to examine diverse cultures, intellectual movements, religions, politics, and literary traditions from a world-historical time frame that stretches from the fifth century to the eighteenth-century CE and into contemporary medievalisms. A trans-disciplinary and interdepartmental program, the major includes studies across the humanities in art, drama, history, literature, music, national languages, philosophy, politics and political theory, religion, and rhetoric.
These premodern worlds were rarely static and the major encourages dynamic work across traditional boundaries of faiths, languages, economies, and peoples. The lower division series of Medieval and early modern courses in the program provides the foundation for the major and prepares students for advanced work within individual disciplines. At the upper division level, students may choose humanities course work across geographic areas such as the Middle East, Europe, East Asia, South Asia, Africa, and America. There is also the option for students to choose to complete a senior thesis on a selected aspect of Medieval and/or early modern culture.
Students are responsible for checking prerequisites prior to registering for classes. Below are the URLs to the catalog for the individual Departments/Programs. For more information regarding courses, please consult the General Catalog.
If you would like to take a course that is not listed below that covers material related to the Medieval and/or early modern periods, please fill out the MEMS Request for Course Credit to be Counted for the Major or Minor_0.pdf form.
Major Requirements:
66 units
Preparatory Subject Matter: 22 units
Preparatory Subject Matter: |
22 | |
|---|---|---|
| MST 020A | Early Medieval Culture (Intro to Late Antique and Early Medieval Worlds) | 4 |
| MST 020 B | The Culture of the High Middle Ages (Intro to Late Medieval and Early Modern Worlds) | 4 |
| Choose 12 Units: | ||
| AHI 001B | Medieval & Renaissance Art | 4 |
| AHI 001C | Baroque to Modern Art | 4 |
| AHI 001E | Islamic Art & Architecture | 4 |
| COM 002 | Major Works of the Medieval & Early Modern World | 4 |
| COM 010A | Master Authors in World Literature: Gilgamesh, Ramayana, Beowulf, Nibelungenlied | 4 |
| COM 010B | Master Authors in World Literature: Metamorphoses, Decameron, Arabian Nights, Canterbury Tales | 4 |
| COM 010C | Master Authors in World Literature: Chanson de Roland, El Cid, Igor’s Campaign, Morte D’Arthur | 4 |
| COM 010D | Master Authors in World Literature: Sakuntala, Tristan & Isolde, Aucassin & Nicolette, Gawain | 4 |
| COM 010E | Master Authors in World Literature: Swift, Rabelais, La Celestina, Simplicissimus | 4 |
| ENL 010A | Literatures in English I: To 1700 | 4 |
| GER 048 | Myth & Saga in the Germanic Cultures | 4 |
| HIS 004A | History of Western Civilization | 4 |
| HIS 004B | History of Western Civilization | 4 |
| HUM 001 | Humanities Forum (Prior approval by Undergraduate Advisor necessary) | 4 |
| HUM 009 | Don Quixote & the Modern World | 4 |
| PHI 021 | Philosophical Classics of the Ancient Era | 4 |
| PHI 022 | Philosophical Classics of the Modern Era | 4 |
| MST 098/MST 099; total any combination: | 2 | |
| MST 098 | Directed Group Study | 1-5 |
| MST 099 | Special Seminar for Undergraduates | 1-5 |
Language proficiency is a desideratum. Courses in Latin and other European languages are strongly recommended, particularly for students planning to pursue graduate studies in the medieval or early modern field.
Depth Subject Matter: 44 units
In consultation with the undergraduate adviser, students select a total of eleven courses (44 units) from the following disciplines, with at least three courses from the Medieval Period (denoted as M) and at least three courses in the Early Modern Period (denoted as EM).
| Depth Subject Matter: | 44 | |
|---|---|---|
| Art History: | https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/courses-subject-code/ahi/ | |
| AHI 155 | The Islamic City | 4 |
| AHI 156 | Arts of the Islamic Book (EM) | 4 |
| AHI 178B | Early Italian Renaissance Art & Architecture (EM) | 4 |
| AHI 178C | High & Late Italian Renaissance Art & Architecture (EM) | 4 |
| AHI 179B | Baroque Art (EM) | 4 |
| AHI 190B | Undergraduate Seminar in Art History: Medieval (M) | 4 |
| AHI 190C | Undergraduate Seminar in Art History: Renaissance (EM) | 4 |
| Classics: | https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/courses-subject-code/cla/ | |
| CLA 110 | Origins of Rhetoric (M) | 4 |
| Comparative Literature: | https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/courses-subject-code/com/ | |
| COM 139 | Shakespeare & the Classical World (EM) | 4 |
| COM 164A | The European Middle Ages (M) | 4 |
| COM 164B | The Renaissance (EM) | 4 |
| COM 164C | Baroque & Neoclassicism (EM) | 4 |
| COM 166A | The Epic | 4 |
| COM 180 | Selected Topics in Comparative Literature* | 4 |
| English: | https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/courses-subject-code/enl/ | |
| ENL 111 | Topics in Medieval Literature | 4 |
| ENL 113A | Chaucer: Troilus & the "Minor" Poems (M) | 4 |
| ENL 113B | Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (M) | 4 |
| ENL 115 | Topics in 16th- & 17th-Century Literature (EM) | 4 |
| ENL 117 | Shakespeare (EM) | 4 |
| ENL 122 | Milton (EM) | 4 |
| ENL 150A | British Drama to 1800 (EM) | 4 |
| ENL 153 | Topics in Drama* | 4 |
| ENL 165 | Topics in Poetry* | 4 |
| ENL 185A | Literature by Women Before 1800* | 4 |
| ENL 188A | Topics in Literary & Critical Theory* | 4 |
| ENL 189 | Seminar in Literary Studies* | 4 |
| French: | https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/courses-subject-code/fre/ | |
| FRE 115 | Medieval French Literature & Society (M) | 4 |
| FRE 116 | The French Renaissance (EM) | 4 |
| FRE 117A | Baroque & Preclassicism (EM) | 4 |
| FRE 118B | Private Lives & Public Secrets: The Early French Novel | 4 |
| FRE 141 | Selected Topics in French Literature* | 4 |
| German: | https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/courses-subject-code/ger/ | |
| GER 101A | Survey of German Literature, 800-1800 | 4 |
| GER 112 | Topics in German Literature* | 4 |
| GER 120 | Survey of German Culture (EM) | 4 |
| GER 121 | The Medieval Period in German Literature (M) | 4 |
| GER 122 | Reformation & Baroque (EM) | 4 |
| GER 124 | Major Movements in German Literature* | 4 |
| GER 131 | German Lyric Poetry | 4 |
| GER 134 | Topics in German Intellectual History* | 4 |
| GER 160 | Love in the Middle Ages (M) | 4 |
| History: | https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/courses-subject-code/his/ | |
| HIS 102B | Undergraduate Proseminar in History: Medieval (M) | 4 |
| HIS 102D | Undergraduate Proseminar in History: Modern Europe to 1815 | 4 |
| HIS 121A | Medieval History (M) | 4 |
| HIS 121B | Medieval History (M) | 4 |
| HIS 121C | Medieval History (M) | 4 |
| HIS 122 | Selected Themes in Medieval History (M) | 4 |
| HIS 125 | Topics in Early Modern European History (EM) | 4 |
| HIS 130A | Christianity & Culture in Europe: 50-1450 (M) | 4 |
| HIS 130B | Christianity & Culture in Europe: 1450-1600 (EM) | 4 |
| HIS 131A | Early Modern European History (EM) | 4 |
| HIS 131B | European History During the Renaissance & Reformation (EM) | 4 |
| HIS 131C | The Old Regime: Absolution, Enlightenment & Revolution in Europe (M) | 4 |
| HIS 132 | Crime & Punishment in Early Modern Europe (EM) | 4 |
| HIS 135A | History of Science to the 18th Century (EM) | 4 |
| HIS/STS 136 | Scientific Revolution (EM) | 4 |
| HIS 139A | Medieval & Renaissance Medicine | 4 |
| HIS 144A | History of Germany, 1450-1789 (EM) | 4 |
| HIS 148A | Women & Society in EuropeL 150-1789 (EM) | 4 |
| HIS 151A | England: The Middle Ages (M) | 4 |
| HIS 151B | England: The Early Modern Centuries (EM) | 4 |
| HIS 190B | Middle Eastern History II: The Ages of the Crusades, 1001-1400 (M) | 4 |
| HIS 190C | Middle Eastern History III: The Ottomans, 1401-1730 (EM) | 4 |
| Italian: | ||
| ITA 105 | Introduction to Italian Literature | 4 |
| ITA 112 | Medieval & Renaissance Poetry: St. Francis to Petrarch | 4 |
| ITA 113 | Dante Alighieri, Divina Commedia (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso) (M) | 4 |
| ITA 114 | Boccaccio, Decameron, & the Renaissance Novella | 4 |
| ITA 115A | Studies in the Cinquecento (EM) | 4 |
| ITA 115B | Italian Literature of the Renaissance & the Baroque: From Cellini to Marino (EM) | 4 |
| ITA 115C | Italian Drama from Machiavelli to the Enlightenment (EM) | 4 |
| ITA 115D | Early Modern Italian Lyric (EM) | 4 |
| ITA 118 | Italian Literature of the 18th Century (EM) | 4 |
| ITA 139B | Italian Literature in English: Boccaccio, Petrarch & the Renaissance (EM) | 4 |
| ITA 140 | Italian Literature in English Translation: Dante, Divine Comedy (M) | 4 |
| ITA 141/COM 138 | Gender & Interpretation in the Renaissance (EM) | 4 |
| Latin: | https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/courses-subject-code/lat/ | |
| LAT 100 | Readings in Latin Prose (M) | 4 |
| LAT 101 | Livy (M) | 4 |
| LAT 102 | Roman Comedy (M) | 4 |
| LAT 103 | Vergil: Aeneid (M) | 4 |
| LAT 104 | Sallust (M) | 4 |
| LAT 105 | Catullus (M) | 4 |
| LAT 106 | Horace: Odes & Epodes (M) | 4 |
| LAT 108 | Horace: Satires & Epistles (M) | 4 |
| LAT 109 | Roman Elegy | 4 |
| LAT 110 | Ovid (M) | 4 |
| LAT 112 | Cicero (M) | 4 |
| LAT 115 | Lucretius (M) | 4 |
| LAT 116 | Vergil: Eclogues & Georgics (M) | 4 |
| LAT 118 | Roman Historians (M) | 4 |
| LAT 119 | Readings in Republican Latin Literature (M) | 4 |
| LAT 120 | Readings in Imperial Latin Literature (M) | 4 |
| LAT 121 | Latin Prose Composition (M) | 4 |
| LAT 125 | Medieval Latin (M) | 4 |
| LAT 130 | Readings in Late Latin (M) | 4 |
| Middle East & South Asian Studies: | https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/courses-subject-code/msa/ | |
| MSA 100 | Middle East & South Asia: Comparative Perspectives* | 4 |
| MSA 181C | Topics in Regional ME/SA Studies: Arab Studies* | 4 |
| Medieval & Early Modern Studies: | https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/courses-subject-code/mst/ | |
| MST 130A | Special Themes in Medieval Cultures (M) | 4 |
| MST 130B | Special Themes in Renaissance Culture (EM) | 4 |
| MST 131 | Cross-Cultural Relations in the Medieval and/or Early Modern World | 4 |
| MST 189 | Seminar in Medieval and Early Modern Culture | 4 |
| MST 190 | Senior Thesis | 4 |
| Music: | ||
| MUS 121 | Topics in Music Scholarship* | 4 |
| Philosophy: | ||
| PHI 105 | Philosophy of Religion | 4 |
| PHI 145 | Christian, Islamic, & Jewish Philosophers of the Middle Ages (M) | 4 |
| PHI 168 | Descartes (EM) | 4 |
| PHI 170 | Spinoza & Leibniz (EM) | 4 |
| PHI 172 | Locke & Berkeley (EM) | 4 |
| Political Science: | ||
| POL 115 | Medieval Political Thought (M) | 4 |
| POL 116 | Foundations of Political Thought | 4 |
| POL 118A | History of Political Theory: Ancient (M) | 4 |
| Religious Studies: | ||
| RST 102 | Christian Origins (M) | 4 |
| RST 115 | Mysticism | 4 |
| RST 130 | Topics in Religious Studies* | 4 |
| RST 160 | Introduction to Islamic Thought | 4 |
| RST 165 | Islam in Asia* | 4 |
| RST 169 | Topics in Islam* | 4 |
| Spanish: | ||
| SPA 130 | Survey of Spanish Literature to 1700 | 4 |
| SPA 133N | Golden Age Literature of Spain (EM) | 4 |
| SPA 134A | Don Quijote I (EM) | 4 |
| SPA 134B | Don Quijote II (EM) | 4 |
| SPA 142 | Special Topics in Spanish Cultural & Literary Studies* | 4 |
*Prior approval by Undergraduate Advisor necessary.
Major Advisors: B. Fleming
Minor Program Requirements:
24 units
The minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies is a coherent program of interdisciplinary study. Medieval Studies units may be taken in one or more of the traditional fields of concentration, including art, history, literature, music, national languages, philosophy, political theory, and religious studies. Courses must be upper-division with at least two courses each from the Medieval and Early Modern periods. Students may also select a minor with a thematic emphasis.
Although there is no foreign language requirement for the minor, knowledge of Latin or a modern European language is recommended.
The minor must be designed in consultation with the Undergraduate Advisor.
Minor Advisors: B. Fleming