Medieval Studies Minor Concentration (B.A.) (18 credits)
Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)
Degree: Bachelor of Arts; Bachelor of Arts and Science
Program credit weight: 18
Program Description
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).
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Course (3 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MDST 400 | Interdisciplinary Seminar in Medieval Studies. | 3 |
Interdisciplinary Seminar in Medieval Studies. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
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
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ARTH 204 | Introduction to Medieval Art and Architecture. | 3 |
Introduction to Medieval Art and Architecture. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| ARTH 314 | The Medieval City. | 3 |
The Medieval City. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| ARTH 425 | Arts of Medieval Spain. | 3 |
Arts of Medieval Spain. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
English
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 306 | Theatre History: Medieval and Early Modern. | 3 |
Theatre History: Medieval and Early Modern. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of works of Mediaeval and Tudor drama. | ||
| ENGL 337 | Theme or Genre in Medieval Literature. | 3 |
Theme or Genre in Medieval Literature. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of a particular theme or genre of significance to the development of medieval literature. | ||
| ENGL 342 | Introduction to Old English. | 3 |
Introduction to Old English. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to grammar and basic vocabulary in Old English. | ||
| ENGL 348 | Great Writings of Europe 2. 1 | 3 |
Great Writings of Europe 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of selected texts that significantly enhance understanding of English literature. | ||
| ENGL 349 | English Literature and Folklore 1. 1 | 3 |
English Literature and Folklore 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| ENGL 356 | Middle English. | 3 |
Middle English. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of works in Middle English. | ||
| ENGL 357 | Chaucer . | 3 |
Chaucer . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of the works of Chaucer. | ||
| ENGL 452 | Studies in Old English. | 3 |
Studies in Old English. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of an aspect of Old English Literature which presupposes a grounding in the language. | ||
| ENGL 456 | Middle English. | 3 |
Middle English. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of works in Middle English. | ||
| ENGL 500 | Middle English. | 3 |
Middle English. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of works in Middle English. | ||
| ENGL 553 | Old English Literature. | 3 |
Old English Literature. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A seminar on Old English. Topic varies by year. | ||
- 1
When content relates to Medieval Studies.
History and Classical Studies
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CLAS 419 | Advanced Latin: Post-Classical. | 3 |
Advanced Latin: Post-Classical. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Translation and examination of Latin text(s) from the Late Antique, Medieval or Renaissance period. | ||
| HIST 194 | FYS: Jewish Concepts of Others. | 3 |
FYS: Jewish Concepts of Others. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| HIST 319 | The Scientific Revolution. | 3 |
The Scientific Revolution. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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). | ||
| HIST 323 | History and Sexuality 1. | 3 |
History and Sexuality 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| HIST 356 | Medicine in the Medieval West. | 3 |
Medicine in the Medieval West. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| HIST 358 | China's Middle Empires. | 3 |
China's Middle Empires. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| HIST 380 | The Medieval Mediterranean . | 3 |
The Medieval Mediterranean . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Thematic history of the Mediterranean during the Medieval period, covering elements of Latin, Byzantine and Islamic civilizations and their interactions. | ||
| HIST 401 | Topics: Medieval Culture and Society. | 3 |
Topics: Medieval Culture and Society. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| HIST 567D1 | Seminar: Medieval Medicine. | 3 |
Seminar: Medieval Medicine. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| HIST 567D2 | Seminar: Medieval Medicine. | 3 |
Seminar: Medieval Medicine. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
Islamic Studies
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ISLA 325 | Introduction to Shi'i Islam. | 3 |
Introduction to Shi'i Islam. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| ISLA 345 | 3 | |
Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. | ||
| ISLA 350 | From Tribe to Dynasty. | 3 |
From Tribe to Dynasty. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| ISLA 420 | Indo-Islamic Civilization: Medieval. | 3 |
Indo-Islamic Civilization: Medieval. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| ISLA 430 | Islamdom: Baghdad to Cordoba . | 3 |
Islamdom: Baghdad to Cordoba . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| ISLA 516 | Medieval Islam, 13th-15th Century. | 3 |
Medieval Islam, 13th-15th Century. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
Jewish Studies
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| JWST 261 | History of Jewish Philosophy and Thought. | 3 |
History of Jewish Philosophy and Thought. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| JWST 337 | Jewish Philosophy and Thought 1. | 3 |
Jewish Philosophy and Thought 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ITAL 355 | Dante and the Middle Ages. | 3 |
Dante and the Middle Ages. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| ITAL 356 | Medieval Discourses on Love. | 3 |
Medieval Discourses on Love. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| ITAL 465 | Religious Identities in Italy. | 3 |
Religious Identities in Italy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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". | ||
Langue et Littérature Françaises
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| FREN 455 | La littérature médiévale 1. 1 | 3 |
La littérature médiévale 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Étude d'oeuvres, d'auteurs ou de courants de la littérature française du moyen-âge (des origines au 15e siècle). | ||
| FREN 456 | La littérature médiévale 2. 1 | 3 |
La littérature médiévale 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Étude d'oeuvres, d'auteurs ou de courants de la littérature française du moyen-âge (des origines au 15e siècle). | ||
- 1
Course taught and all coursework done in French.
Philosophy
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 344 | Medieval and Renaissance Political Theory. | 3 |
Medieval and Renaissance Political Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of Medieval and Renaissance political theory. | ||
| PHIL 356 | Early Medieval Philosophy. | 3 |
Early Medieval Philosophy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
Religious Studies
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| RELG 322 | Church and Empire to 1300 . | 3 |
Church and Empire to 1300 . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| RELG 532 | History of Christian Thought 1. | 3 |
History of Christian Thought 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||