Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Degree Type Bachelor of Arts
Department Interdisciplinary
Academic Division The College
Offerings
The Medieval and Renaissance Studies (MRST) program offers both a major and a minor. This interdisciplinary program allows students to complete work in a variety of subjects and fields, including art history, religion, literature, history, music, philosophy and Classics, while gaining an in-depth knowledge of Medieval and Renaissance culture.

Why Study MRST at W&L?

Medieval and Renaissance Studies offers students a chance to experience interdisciplinary inquiry at its best. Cultures do not follow strict divisions between fields and neither does our program. Students will get a 360-degree view of medieval and Renaissance culture, culminating in an independent capstone or thesis on a topic of the student’s choice. Students work closely with faculty mentors in a variety of departments, with study abroad and research opportunities strongly encouraged. Students will gain skills in cultural analysis, research and writing that will serve them in multiple career paths.

About the Program

One of the oldest interdisciplinary programs at Washington and Lee, MRST prides itself on its strong core faculty drawn from across the College. With the help of our students, MRST faculty conduct exciting international research projects, including several prominent digital humanities projects supported by competitive national funding. Our students often study abroad, and many choose to complete honors theses on a related topic.

Opportunities for Students

We offer paper prizes for the best work in introductory and advanced course work. Our students often study abroad and conduct summer research with faculty. They are often candidates, finalists and winners of nationally competitive fellowships.

After W&L

MRST students go on to careers in law, academics, medicine, teaching, museum curatorship, government service and business. The study of medieval and Renaissance culture is a versatile humanities major that will prepare students for a variety of careers.

Holly Pickett

Program Head
P: 540-458-8078
E: picketth@wlu.edu

Sample Courses

At W&L, we believe education and experience go hand-in-hand. You'll be encouraged to dive in, explore and discover connections that will broaden your perspective.
ARTH 383

Digital Florence

This course invites students to participate in and contribute to the Digital Humanities project "Florence As It Was: The Digital Reconstruction of a Medieval City." We consider how the built environment of Florence influenced—and was in turn influenced by—the culture, society, art and history of the city. Students learn to translate historical, scholarly analysis into visually accessible formats, and collaborate on the "Florence As It Was" project, contributing to the digital mapping, data visualization, and virtual-reality reconstruction of medieval Florence.

MRST 110A

Dreaming in the Middle Ages

An introduction to the interdisciplinary study of the medieval and Renaissance periods through the study of a particular topic. Recent studies: The Crusades, Monasticism, Chivalry, Elizabethan England, the Birth of Italian Literature, Pilgrimage, and European Encounters with Islam.

ARTH 253

Medieval Art of Southern Europe

Examination of the art and culture of Italy and Greece from the rise of Christianity to the first appearance of bubonic plague in 1348. Topics include early Christian art and architecture; Byzantine imagery in Ravenna and Constantinople during the Age of Justinian; iconoclasm; mosaics in Greece, Venice and Sicily; sculpture in Pisa; and the development of panel and fresco painting in Rome, Florence, Siena and Assisi.

ARTH 253

The Early Renaissance in Italy

Examination of the intellectual, cultural and artistic movements dominant in Florence between ca. 1400 and ca. 1440. Images and structures produced by Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Donatello and Fra Angelico are considered within the context of Florentine social traditions and political events.

CLAS 210

Classical Mythology

An introduction to the study of Greek mythology, with an emphasis on the primary sources. The myths are presented in their historical, religious and political contexts. The course also includes an introduction to several major theories of myth, and uses comparative materials drawn from contemporary society and media.

HIST 212

Crime & Punishment

Crime and Punishment in Medieval and Early Modern Europe is an exploration of the history of crime, law enforcement, and punishment during the period of 1200-1650. Our central project is to investigate the deep problems of writing history from a paucity of very biased sources: the criminal records of a world of the past. We begin with the central historical questions: What counted as criminal when, who defined it, and with what authority? What could count as proof of guilt? What constituted acceptable punishment (torture, imprisonment, spectacle executions, penance) and how did this change over time? What role did politics, religion, class, gender or marginal status play?.

Meet the Faculty

At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
Holly Pickett Associate Professor of English
Pickett teaches courses on Shakespeare, early modern drama and contemporary drama. Her research interests include religion and drama, history of the senses, and early modern religious identities and controversies.
Matthew Bailey Department Chair, Professor of Spanish
Bailey teaches Spanish language, culture and literature. His research interests include medieval Spanish literature and culture, and more specifically, medieval epic narrative.
Rebecca Benefiel Professor of Classics, Head of the Classics Department
Benefiel teaches classics and Latin courses such as Pompeii, Classics in a Digital Age, and The Poetry of Ovid. She studies Latin epigraphy, Roman social and cultural history, Latin literature and Roman archaeology.
George Bent Sidney Gause Childress Professor in the Arts
Bent teaches courses on medieval art, Renaissance art and gothic art. He has researched Italian art extensively and recently taught a course called Digital Florence in which students helped to digitally reconstruct the city.
Michelle D. Brock Associate Professor of History
Brock teaches courses on British and Atlantic history, the Reformation, witchcraft and the devil, and the history of poverty. Her research focuses on the supernatural and religious beliefs and identities in early modern Scotland.
Roger Crockett Professor of German
Crockett teaches courses on German literature and business.
Hank Dobin Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Studies
P: 540-458-8113 E: hdobin@wlu.edu
Dobin teaches first-year writing seminars and courses on Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth and revenge. His current research project pertains to Robert Devereux, the Second Earl of Essex.
Genelle Gertz Professor of English and Chair, English Department
Gertz teaches courses on Milton, the Tudors and the Bible. She is currently working on methods of social network analysis as they apply to our understanding of the rise and fall of women mystics in English literary history.
Wan-Chuan Kao Associate Professor of English
Professor Kao’s teaching and research interests include medieval literature, especially Chaucer; whiteness studies; critical theory; race and ethnicity; gender and sexuality; queer studies; hotel theory; affect; and cute studies.
Jemma Alix Levy Assistant Professor of Theater, Core Affiliated Faculty, Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program
Levy teaches courses on acting, directing, Shakespeare and theater history. She is a professional director with critically-acclaimed national and international credits, and for 10 years ran Muse of Fire Theatre Company.
Stephen P. McCormick Associate Professor of French and Italian
McCormick teaches courses on French language and culture. He also supervises the French study abroad program. He has researched old French epic and medieval/early modern Italian cartography.
David Peterson Professor of History
P: 540-458-8094 E: petersond@wlu.edu
Peterson teaches courses on medieval Europe, the Renaissance and Reformation, church history and political thought, Dante and Machiavelli. He has researched the relationship between religion and politics and Renaissance Italy.
Debra Prager Associate Professor of German
Prager teaches courses in German language and literature.
Dominica Radulescu Edwin A. Morris Professor of Comparative Literature
Radulescu teaches upper-level French and Francophone literature, theater, and the representations of women, gender, and sexuality in literature. She researches feminist theater and is an award-winning novelist/playwright.
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