Minor Concentration Medieval Studies (18 credits)

Offered by: English     Degree: Bachelor of Arts

Program Requirements

The Minor Concentration in Medieval Studies facilitates undergraduate training in the interrelated branches of the discipline (e.g., history, literature, art history, languages, religion, philosophy), providing students with experience working in an inherently interdisciplinary filed and a valuable credential to pursue graduate study in the field (in any area).

Required Course (3 credits)

  • MDST 400 Interdisciplinary Seminar in Medieval Studies (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    MDST : Interdisciplinary approaches to themes in medieval culture and history. Emphasizes the development of interdisciplinary research skills and awareness of global approaches to the period. Topics will vary from year to year.

    Terms: Winter 2024

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Complementary Courses (15 credits)

15 credits from the following list, of which only 9 credits may be taken in any one department. No more than 6 credits may be taken below the 300 level.

Art History and Communication Studies

  • ARTH 204 Introduction to Medieval Art and Architecture (3 credits)

    Offered by: Art History & Communications (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Art History : Surveys the arts from late Antiquity to the fourteenth century in Western Europe. Focuses on the body and space to introduce artistic and architectural concepts, practices, and styles from the late Roman, Byzantine and Carolingian empires to monastic and royal patronage of the French Kings.

    Terms: Winter 2024

    Instructors: Hilsdale, Cecily (Winter)

  • ARTH 314 The Medieval City (3 credits)

    Offered by: Art History & Communications (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Art History : Towns and cities in the Middle Ages as architectural entities, their urban planning and development; main building types, profane and ecclesiastical: castle, defence works, town halls, houses, cathedrals, churches and monasteries; the role architecture played in forming a society.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

  • ARTH 425 Arts of Medieval Spain (3 credits)

    Offered by: Art History & Communications (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Art History : This course examines the arts of medieval Spain from the late antique 'barbarian' invasions through the fifteenth century. Within this broad span, particular attention will be paid to key themes, including historiography, the centrality of pilgrimage for shaping artistic practice, and the concept of 'convivencia' among Christians, Muslims, and Jews.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • Prerequisite: Any 300-level course or permission of instructor.

English

  • ENGL 306 Theatre History: Medieval and Early Modern (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of works of Mediaeval and Tudor drama.

    Terms: Winter 2024

    Instructors: Yachnin, Paul (Winter)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

  • ENGL 337 Theme or Genre in Medieval Literature (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Study of a particular theme or genre of significance to the development of medieval literature.

    Terms: Fall 2023

    Instructors: Morrissette, Katheryne (Fall)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

  • ENGL 342 Introduction to Old English (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : An introduction to grammar and basic vocabulary in Old English.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

    • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken ENGL 351.

  • ENGL 348 Great Writings of Europe 2 (3 credits) *

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of selected texts that significantly enhance understanding of English literature.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

  • ENGL 349 English Literature and Folklore 1 (3 credits) *

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of representative texts from Beowulf to the late Renaissance period in relation to their background in folk tradition. A focus on the origin and development of folklore motifs.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

  • ENGL 356 Middle English (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of works in Middle English.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

  • ENGL 357 Chaucer (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of the works of Chaucer.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • Topics vary from year to year.

  • ENGL 452 Studies in Old English (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Study of an aspect of Old English Literature which presupposes a grounding in the language.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

    • Prerequisite: ENGL 351 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor

  • ENGL 456 Middle English (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of works in Middle English.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

  • ENGL 500 Middle English (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of works in Middle English.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

  • ENGL 553 Old English Literature (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A seminar on Old English. Topic varies by year.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Prerequisite (Undergraduate): ENGL 342 or equivalent

* Note: When content relates to Medieval Studies.

History and Classical Studies

  • CLAS 419 Advanced Latin: Post-Classical (3 credits)

    Offered by: History and Classical Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Classics : Translation and examination of Latin text(s) from the Late Antique, Medieval or Renaissance period.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • Prerequisite(s): 6 credits of 300-level Latin or permission of instructor.

  • HIST 194 FYS: Jewish Concepts of Others (3 credits)

    Offered by: History and Classical Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    History : A survey, using translated primary and selected secondary sources, of the ways in which Jews represented Christians from late antiquity to the present. Legal, liturgical, literary and other sources are examined with the focus on the Medieval and Early Modern periods.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • Restriction: Open only to newly admitted students in U0 or U1, who may take only one FYS. Students who register for more than one will be obliged to withdraw from all but one of them.

    • Maximum 25 students.

    • For first year students only.

  • HIST 319 The Scientific Revolution (3 credits)

    Offered by: History and Classical Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    History : The intellectual and cultural history of science and technology, in Europe and in the wider world, from the time of Leonardo to the time of Newton (c. 1500-c.1700).

    Terms: Fall 2023

    Instructors: Dew, Nicholas (Fall)

  • HIST 323 History and Sexuality 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: History and Classical Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    History : Antiquity to Early Modern Europe. The cultural meanings and social institutions that create the historical context for sexual behaviours. Possible topics include: Greek homosocial and homosexual culture; sex and citizenship; wives and concubines in the ancient world; Christianity and aestheticism; misogyny and gender in Medieval Europe; adultery and lineage.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

  • HIST 356 Medicine in the Medieval West (3 credits)

    Offered by: History and Classical Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    History : The history of ideas about the human body, disease and therapeutics and the diverse practices of medicine in western Europe in the Middle Ages (ca. AD 300-1500), with particular attention to their social, intellectual, cultural and religious context.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

  • HIST 358 China's Middle Empires (3 credits)

    Offered by: History and Classical Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    History : Developments of China's middle empires, ca. 600-1300 CE. Studies changing international relations, rapid commercialization, religious developments, the rise of the civil service examination system, and ensuing social change.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

  • HIST 380 The Medieval Mediterranean (3 credits)

    Offered by: History and Classical Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    History : Thematic history of the Mediterranean during the Medieval period, covering elements of Latin, Byzantine and Islamic civilizations and their interactions.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

  • HIST 401 Topics: Medieval Culture and Society (3 credits)

    Offered by: History and Classical Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    History : Selected topics in the intellectual and cultural history of the Middle Ages. Emphasis on modern critical approaches to medieval culture, including literature, the supernatural, religious experience.

    Terms: Winter 2024

    Instructors: Bruce, Travis (Winter)

  • HIST 567D1 Seminar: Medieval Medicine (3 credits)

    Offered by: History and Classical Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    History : Models of the body, disease and medical intervention current in western Europe between 400 and 1500 AD will be examined through analysis of primary sources in translation, and modern historical scholarship.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

  • HIST 567D2 Seminar: Medieval Medicine (3 credits)

    Offered by: History and Classical Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    History : Models of the body, disease and medical intervention current in western Europe between 400 and 1500 AD will be examined through analysis of primary sources in translation, and modern historical scholarship. The sequel to this course is HIST 496.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • Prerequisite: HIST 567D1

    • No credit will be given for this course unless both HIST 567D1 and HIST 567D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms

Islamic Studies

  • ISLA 325 Introduction to Shi'i Islam (3 credits)

    Offered by: Islamic Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Islamic Studies : Developments in doctrines, legal school, rituals and political thought of Twelver Shi'ite Muslims during early and late medieval periods (centuries VII-XIII). The emergence of the earliest Shi'ite communities in Arabia, Yemen, Iraq and Iran stressing the relationship of the Shi'ite Imams and their religious scholars to the Sunnite Caliphates.

    Terms: Winter 2024

    Instructors: Abisaab, Rula (Winter)

    • Winter

  • ISLA 345 Science and Civilization in Islam (3 credits)

    Offered by: Islamic Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Islamic Studies : History of scientific traditions and ideas in Islamic civilization, from the origins of Islam to the early modern period. Emphasis is on the derivation, development and transmissions of Islamic science, as well as on the assimilation and influence of science within Islamic culture.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • Winter

    • Prerequisite: ISLA 200 or permission of the instructor.

    • Note: All readings are in English.

  • ISLA 350 From Tribe to Dynasty (3 credits)

    Offered by: Islamic Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Islamic Studies : The political and intellectual developments shaping Arab and Persian societies from the rise of Islam in the 7th century until the early mid 8th century, including the major social changes, political revolts, religious schisms, and the consolidation of lasting cultural institutions.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • Fall

  • ISLA 420 Indo-Islamic Civilization: Medieval (3 credits)

    Offered by: Islamic Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Islamic Studies : The rise of Islam in South Asia in the 8th Century and its subsequent expansion; evolution of Indo-Islamic civilization and its apogee during Mughal rule up to 1707. Themes include state and religion; ruling institutions; political theory, Sufism and the process of conversion, as well as the formation of a composite culture.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • Winter

    • Prerequisite: ISLA 200 or permission of instructor.

  • ISLA 430 Islamdom: Baghdad to Cordoba (3 credits)

    Offered by: Islamic Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Islamic Studies : The course examines the major socio-political developments in Iraq, Persia, Syria, Egypt, North Africa and Spain from the 9th to the 13th Century. Emphasis is laid on the Umayyad Caliphate centered in Cordoba, and the 'Abbasid Caliphate centered in Baghdad, and the rise of important local dynasties leading up to the Mongol invasion. The course underscores the formation of Islamic cultures in distinct geographical settings and the transformation of religious life under new socio-economic conditions. It also explores shifting notions of civil society and orthodoxy.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

  • ISLA 516 Medieval Islam, 13th-15th Century (3 credits)

    Offered by: Islamic Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Islamic Studies : The historical circumstances surrounding the Crusades against Muslims in Greater Syria and Egypt. The socio-economic, political, and cultural transformation of Muslim society following the destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate, and the rise of the Ikl-Khanid Mongols in Iran and Iraq, as well as the Mamluks in Syria and Egypt. Emphasis will be placed on the integration of new Persian, Turkish, and Indian populations into Islamic imperial culture.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Jewish Studies

  • JWST 261 History of Jewish Philosophy and Thought (3 credits)

    Offered by: Jewish Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Jewish Studies : An introduction to Jewish philosophy and thought from the Hellenistic period (Philo) to the beginning of the modern era (Spinoza) focusing on topics such as prophecy and philosophy, God and the world; the Law as a canon of ethical rules and as a political constitution. Survey of the treatment of such issues by Jewish thinkers from Philo to Maimonides.

    Terms: Fall 2023

    Instructors: Kaplan, Lawrence (Fall)

  • JWST 337 Jewish Philosophy and Thought 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: Jewish Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Jewish Studies : Focuses on either a period, a current of thought or the work of a thinker in the history of Jewish thought from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, paying particular attention to the relationship of Jewish thinkers to intellectual trends in their respective cultural contexts. Contemporary Muslim and Christian theologians and philosophers.

    Terms: Winter 2024

    Instructors: Fraenkel, Carlos (Winter)

Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

  • ITAL 355 Dante and the Middle Ages (3 credits)

    Offered by: Languages,Literatures,Cultures (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Italian (Arts) : An introduction to the work of Dante Alighieri, a pillar of medieval European literature. The times in which he lived, the institutions and cultural shifts of that era, the influence exercised by Dante's work, as well as how it has been perceived in our time.

    Terms: Winter 2024

    Instructors: Soranzo, Matteo (Winter)

    • Fall

    • Given in English

  • ITAL 356 Medieval Discourses on Love (3 credits)

    Offered by: Languages,Literatures,Cultures (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Italian (Arts) : Medieval ideas, attitudes and behaviour surrounding love as represented in literature: readings will include excerpts from early Italian love lyrics, Dante's Vita Nuova, Petrarch's Canzoniere, Boccaccio's Decameron.

    Terms: Fall 2023

    Instructors: Soranzo, Matteo (Fall)

  • ITAL 465 Religious Identities in Italy (3 credits)

    Offered by: Languages,Literatures,Cultures (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Italian (Arts) : This course examines the role played by religion in shaping Italian identities by looking at the works of Dante, Marsilio Ficino, Giovanni Pico, Galileo Galilei and other Early Modern authors in their cultural and institutional contexts. By looking at how these authors expressed their beliefs and interacted with religious institutions, students are invited to critically engage on the concept of "religion".

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Langue et littérature françaises

  • FREN 455 La littérature médiévale 1 (3 credits) *

    Offered by: French Language & Literature (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    French (Arts) : Étude d'oeuvres, d'auteurs ou de courants de la littérature française du moyen-âge (des origines au 15e siècle).

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

  • FREN 456 La littérature médiévale 2 (3 credits) *

    Offered by: French Language & Literature (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    French (Arts) : Étude d'oeuvres, d'auteurs ou de courants de la littérature française du moyen-âge (des origines au 15e siècle).

    Terms: Fall 2023

    Instructors: Arseneau, Isabelle (Fall)

** Note: Course taught and all coursework done in French.

Philosophy

  • PHIL 344 Medieval and Renaissance Political Theory (3 credits)

    Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Philosophy : A study of Medieval and Renaissance political theory.

    Terms: Winter 2024

    Instructors: Levy, Jacob (Winter)

  • PHIL 356 Early Medieval Philosophy (3 credits)

    Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Philosophy : An examination of selected works in the Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions. Topics in moral and political philosophy, logic and metaphysics, philosophical psychology and epistemology, philosophy of science, and philosophical theology may be discussed.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Religious Studies

  • RELG 322 Church and Empire to 1300 (3 credits)

    Offered by: Religious Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Religious Studies : A survey of major institutional developments in the history of Western Christianity in Church and Empire from the end of the apostolic age to 1300.

    Terms: Fall 2023

    Instructors: Kirby, W J Torrance (Fall)

    • Fall

  • RELG 532 History of Christian Thought 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: Religious Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Religious Studies : The development of Christian theology in the Patristic and Medieval periods. Focus on the controversial development of Christian doctrines and disciplines through intensive exposure to primary texts.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.

    • Prerequisite: At least six (6) credits at the 300 level in Christianity or the Christian Bible.

    • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken RELG 320

Faculty of Arts—2023-2024 (last updated Aug. 31, 2023) (disclaimer)
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