Overview of the Undergraduate Major

Every period in history is better illuminated and understood by using evidence from research in different fields rather than by studying it solely from the point of view of a single discipline. People of the past, after all, did not live their lives according to the departmental divisions of a modern university. Medieval studies, particularly in the last half century, have benefitted enormously from this interdisciplinary approach. Work, for example, in family history, genealogy, archeology, folklore, iconography, textual criticism, linguistic analysis, and statistical research has advanced and deepened our knowledge of the highways and byways of the period.

At the University of Virginia there has been a strong and active program for many years in teaching and research based on significant holdings of printed works in the primary and secondary sources in the university libraries. There are now more than thirty faculty members who offer upwards of sixty courses on medieval topics in the departments of History, Classics, Religious Studies, Philosophy, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Middle Eastern Studies, Art History, Architecture, Music, and Government.

For the interested and able student, the major provides a way of pursuing medieval studies free of existing departmental requirements, a program of language study within the field, a sound training for graduate work, and a chance to share knowledge and opinions with other scholars on the incunabular period of western civilization. By its comprehensive structure, it promotes cordiality, collegiality, and an exchange of views across departmental lines. The major in medieval studies, because it helps to develop and refine powers of criticism and imagination, and because it encourages, through practice, the ability to think and write with clarity and precision, furnishes the skills useful in a wide variety of vocational fields.

Requirements for the Major

1. The major is open to all qualified students in the College of Arts and Sciences who have demonstrated competence in a foreign language through the 200 level, or its equivalent, which is appropriate to their work in the program.

2. Requirements for graduation from the major:

• a) 30 hours of credit in courses approved by the student's advisor with passing grades, and at least a 2.0 average, distributed over the following fields of study:
  • History (9 hours)
  • Literature (9 hours)
  • Art or Music (3 hours)
  • Philosophy, Religious Studies, or Political Thought (3 hours)
  • The Colloquium in Medieval Studies (MSP 308) in the fall of the junior year (3 hours)
  • The Seminar in Medieval Studies (MSP 480) in the spring of the senior year (3 hours)
• b) a senior thesis written under the supervision of a member of the faculty and approved by the student's advisor and the chair of the Medieval Studies Program.

3. The major may be combined with another departmental program as a double major. Students may also complete a Minor in Medieval Studies by taking at least 18 credit-hours in medieval courses approved by the student's advisor. At least one course must be taken in each of three of the contributing fields of study (History; Literature; Art or Music; Philosophy, Religious Studies, or Political Thought)

The problems inherent in an interdisciplinary major which relate to the sources and methods in different fields, and to the development of a program from a vast array of courses, can be dealt with to a large extent by fitting the program to each student's abilities and needs. This is done through individual consultation, work in small classes, and careful supervision of the senior essay.