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About the Minor

In this interdisciplinary program, students delve into the complex histories and cultures of medieval and early modern worlds from a variety of perspectives, taking courses in art, literature, languages, history, and music from Byzantium to Shakespeare’s England. Working closely with faculty in small classes, students find one-on-one encouragement, personal direction, and research opportunities. 

A Sampling of Courses

The Nuremberg Chronicle, one of 700 surviving copies of the 1493 world history

Visual Culture of the Medieval World

This course surveys the art and architecture of Europe during the Middle Ages from ca. 500-1400. We will focus on key artworks and monuments made and built in Europe from the Visigoths and Vikings to the Valois court, as well as examine cross-cultural interactions across religious and political boundaries in medieval Africa, the Arctic, and the Mediterranean. Students will develop an awareness of the production, function, and social context of medieval visual culture through the close study of architecture, manuscript, metalwork, mosaic, painting, sculpture, and textile. Despite our historical distance from the Middle Ages, we will also consider how medieval imagery remains relevant to our current visual world.  

Explore these select courses:

Meet Our Faculty

Stephanie Bahr

Associate Professor of Literature, Director of Medieval and Renaissance Studies

sbahr@hamilton.edu

Abhishek Amar

Director, Associate Professor of Asian Studies

aamar@hamilton.edu

archaeological history of South Asian religions, especially Buddhist and Hindu traditions; research in themes of inter-religious dynamics, syncretism and religious transformation; colonialism and reconfigurations of sacred centers; and religion and water management in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions

Mackenzie Cooley

Associate Professor of History, Director of Latin American and Latine Studies

mcooley@hamilton.edu

History of science; early modern world; Colonial Latin America; environmental history; intellectual history; digital humanities; history of gender and sexuality; animal studies; genetics and history

John Eldevik

Professor of History, Director of German Studies

jeldevik@hamilton.edu

social and economic history of the early Middle Ages; history of law and mechanisms of conflict resolution; the perceptions of non-Christian peoples and lands in medieval manuscript culture

Lydia Hamessley

John and Anne Fischer Professor in Fine Arts, Acting Chair of Music

lhamessl@hamilton.edu

Dolly Parton; American folk and traditional musics; banjo, music and film; medieval and renaissance music; music and gender

Katherine Terrell

Associate Chair, Professor of Literature

kterrell@hamilton.edu

Old English, Middle English, and Middle Scots language and literature

Margaret Thickstun

Jane D. and Ellis E. Bradford ’45 Distinguished Writing Chair

mthickst@hamilton.edu

literature in 17th-century England and Colonial America, particularly by women and by people writing on religious subjects

Laura Tillery

Assistant Professor of Art History

ltillery@hamilton.edu

Medieval and early modern art; Scandinavian studies; German studies; economics and trade; religious iconography; object-based learning; history and methods of art history

Careers After Hamilton

Hamilton graduates who concentrated in Medieval and Renaissance studies are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:

  • Assistant Professor of English, Wittenberg University
  • Arts Editor, Bennington Banner

Explore Hamilton Stories

medieval map

Meshing Digital Arts and Medieval Maps

Fueled by a dual passion for production value and the Middle Ages, Ryan Mayhan ’22 created a project that successfully meshes his academic interests. It’s a video, aimed at a general audience, about how cartographers created ideological maps of the medieval mind.

John Greenlee ’00

Because Hamiltonians Feel for Eels: John Greenlee ’00

Medievalist and cartographic historian John Greenlee ’00 was working on a project involving 17th-century London when he noticed something odd. On several maps, there were two ships anchored in the Thames. These ships had been marked as civic landmarks and labeled “Eel Ships.” Interest piqued, he began researching the history behind these vessels and the history of eels in England in general.

Dew Drops of Wisdom

Teaching Tools

These days, Hamilton students and faculty delve deeply into the Lang Special Collections and Archives, and thanks to Michael Lang ’67, access to the trove is greater than ever.

Contact

Department Name

Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program

Contact Name

Stephanie Bahr, Program Director

Office Location
198 College Hill Road
Clinton, NY 13323

Help us provide an accessible education, offer innovative resources and programs, and foster intellectual exploration.