Medieval and Renaissance Studies*

*Medieval and Renaissance Studies is offered exclusively as a concentration.

Program Director: Dr. Susan Boynton, Professor of Music, 621 Dodge Hall, slb184@columbia.edu 

Program Administrator: Colleen Swift, 653-A Ext. Schermerhorn Hall, medren@columbia.edu

Medieval and Renaissance studies is an interdisciplinary program in which a student combines a concentration in medieval or Renaissance civilization with a major or concentration in one of the following departments:

  • Art History and Archaeology
  • Classics
  • East Asian Languages and Cultures
  • English and Comparative Literature
  • French and Romance Philology
  • Germanic Languages
  • History
  • Italian
  • Latin American and Iberian Cultures
  • Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies
  • Music
  • Philosophy
  • Religion
  • Slavic Languages

For more information about the special concentration in medieval and Renaissance studies, visit http://medren.columbia.edu/.

Executive Committee of the Interdepartmental Committee on Medieval and Renaissance Studies

  • Christopher Baswell (English and Comparative Literature)
  • Susan Boynton (Music; Program Director, Medieval and Renaissance Studies)
  • Consuelo Dutschke (Rare Book and Manuscript Library)
  • Rachel Eisendrath (Barnard Department of English, Barnard Medieval and Renaissance Studies)
  • Carmela Franklin (Classics)
  • Seth Kimmel (Latin American and Iberian Cultures)
  • Adam Kosto (History)
  • Pamela Smith (History)
  • Alan Stewart (English and Comparative Literature)
  • Jesus Rodriguez-Velasco (Latin American and Iberian Cultures)
  • Michael Waters (Art History and Archaeology)
  • Eliza Zingesser (French and Romance Philology)

Full Faculty List: https://medren.columbia.edu/content/faculty

Special Concentration in Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Students considering the special concentration in medieval and Renaissance studies should consult with the director in advance of course registration to ensure that their selection of courses will count towards the special concentration.

Please note that requirements for the Special Concentration were revised November 2017.

In addition to fulfilling the requirements for a departmental major or concentration, students with this special concentration should plan on taking an additional four (4) courses in other departments of the program, to be chosen in consultation with an appropriate member of the committee.

Students must also demonstrate an ability to work with original language sources (other than in Early Modern English) from the medieval and/or Early Modern periods, either through language coursework focusing on the historical language (e.g., LATN UN3033 MEDIEVAL LANGUAGE & LITERATURE, MDES GU4214 FOURTH YEAR CLASSICAL ARABIC I) or through research (e.g., a senior thesis or seminar paper with substantial use of original language sources). Any courses outside the major used to demonstrate the language requirement may also count toward the course requirement for the special concentration. Students should gain approval of the director of the program in advance for plans to fulfill this language requirement.