Center for Medieval Studies at the University of Minnesota

This page contains the Medieval Studies minor requirements and our current courses and those of the last two terms. You can contact us for more information. To register for the courses, view the course catalog, and receive other relevant information, please visit the University's student and faculty services site at http://onestop.umn.edu

Minors in Medieval Studies

Medieval Studies is an interdisciplinary minor designed to complement the program of a student majoring in a participating discipline. The minors at both the graduate and undergraduate levels require students to take courses outside their major discipline including Latin (the major written language of medieval Europe), permitting students to acquire a broad base in Medieval Studies.

Requirements for the Minors

• B.A. minor 15 semester credits in courses at the 3xxx, 4xxx, and 5xxx level, chosen in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

• M.A. minor 2 medieval courses (6 semester credits) outside the major department, of which one must be Latin (Latin 33xx or 34xx taken as 8120 or any Latin 5xxx or higher), and the other either MeSt 4610, 5610, or 8110 or another approved medieval or Latin course. If the non-Latin course taken is not MeSt 4610, 5610, or 8110, then MeSt 8010 is also required. (The grade in each course must be B or above).

• Ph.D. minor 12 semester credits, of which two must be Latin (1 course: Latin 33xx or 34xx taken as 8120 or any Latin 5xxx or higher; 1 course: Latin 5xxx or higher) and the rest medieval studies courses — either MeSt 4610, 5610, or 8110, or another approved medieval or Latin course. If the non-Latin course taken is not MeSt 4610, 5610, or 8110, then MeSt 8010 is also required. (The grade in each course must be B or above). Note: If an M.A. minor as described above has already been obtained, then only 6 additional semester credits are required, including one 5xxx or higher Latin course.

Note: Students in Classical fields using Latin to satisfy their classical requirements must substitute a medieval vernacular language for Latin

Spring 2007

Fall 2006

MEST Spring 2006

MEST Courses Fall 2005

MEST Courses Spring 2005

MEST Courses Fall 2004

MEST Courses Spring 2004

MEST Courses Fall 2003

MEST Courses Spring 2003

Please also notice the new course offered by Prof. Sellew called "Comparative Seminar in Ancient Religions: Christianity in Egypt 100-1300" which is offered as RelA 8190, and meets Wednesdays 2:30-4:30 PM

Course Description: Egypt was the birthplace and the laboratory for many of the central aspects of Christian theology and spiritual practice. From the theological and hermeneutical debates of the learned in Alexandria, through the ascetical disciplines of the desert mothers and fathers, to the experiments in both urban and rural monastic life, Egyptian Christianity inspired and directed the course of faith and practice for centuries to come. In this interdisciplinary course, we will study the shape and contours of Egyptian religious ideology as made visible in literature, in patterns of life, in art and architecture, from late antiquity through the middle ages.

Topics will include:

• The metropolis Alexandria as the birthplace of the Egyptian church
• Forging of Egyptian Christian identity in the crucible of martyrdom
• Alexandrian strategies for allegorical readings of scripture
• The mysticism and asceticism of Gnostics, Manichaeans, and Encratites
• Life and letters of the eremite St. Anthony
• Struggles of the fourth-century bishop Athanasius against heretics and emperors
• Rise and bloom of Coptic monastic life, led by Pachomius and Shenoute
• Development of architectural styles of a "communal hermetism"
• Social and economic connections of monastic communities with their surroundings
• Arrival and consequences of Islam (mostly positive for a long time)
• Coptic church art and architecture
• Importance of religious pilgrimmage
• Periodic rise of millenial and apocalyptic fervor
• Process of Arabicization and Islamic conversion
• Effects of the European Crusades on the Egyptian Christian community

Members of the seminar will also participate in the scholarly conference "Living for Eternity: Monasticism in Egypt", to be convened at the university March 6-9, 2003, an occasion for meeting many of the important scholars working in this field today.
Prerequisites: graduate status in a relevant field, such as Classics, History, Art History, Religious Studies or Anthropology. Reading knowledge of one or more of the following languages is helpful but not required: Greek, Latin, Coptic, Arabic.
Crosslisted as RelA 5070: Topics in Ancient Religion. With permission of the instructor, this registration option is open to well-qualified undergraduates majoring in a relevant field.

MEST Courses Fall 2002