At Carleton, the Medieval and Renaissance Studies program supports students and faculty interested in the peoples and cultures that thrived between ca. 250 CE and ca. 1700 in Europe, the Atlantic World, Africa, the Islamic world, and South and East Asia with both curricular offerings and and extracurricular activities.

To begin their study of this period, interested students may enroll in introductory courses in several different departments, depending on the nature of their interests. F, W, and S refer to the Fall, Winter, and Spring terms.  Almost all of our courses are offered once during an academic year. Some courses (such as Art History I or Shakespeare I) are offered every year; many are offered every two years. If you are interested in a course but are unsure of when to take it, please consult the professor.

If you have questions that are not answered in these pages or would like to discuss something more specific, please do not hesitate to contact MARS Co-director Bill North.

Introductory Courses

Courses in bold are offered in Academic Year 2025-2026.

  • Arabic 185:  The Creation of Classical Arabic Literature (F)
  • Art History 100: Witches, Monsters and Demons (F) A&I
  • Art History 101 & 102: Introduction to Art History (W,S)
  • Art History 165: Japanese Art & Culture
  • Art History 166: Chinese Art & Culture (F)
  • Classics 124: Roman Archaeology and Art
  • English 114: Introduction to Medieval Narrative
  • English 144: Shakespeare I
  • English 210: Medieval and Renaissance Literature
  • European Studies 111: Age of Cathedrals
  • History 100: The Black Death: Disease and Its Consequences in the Middle Ages (F) A&I
  • History 100: Confucius and his Critics (F) A&I
  • History 100: Migration and Mobility in the Medieval North
  • History 131: Saints and Society in Late Antiquity
  • History 136: The Global Middle Ages (S)
  • History 137: Early Medieval Worlds (F)
  • History 139: Foundations of Early Modern Europe
  • History 150: Politics of Art in Early Imperial China
  • Religion 100: The Historical Jesus and the Christ of Faith
  • Religion 120: Introduction to Judaism (S)
  • Religion 121: Introduction to Christianity
  • Religion 122: Introduction to Islam (F)
  • Religion 152: Religions in Japanese Culture (W)
  • Religion 153: Introduction to Buddhism (F)
  • Religion 155: Introduction to Hinduism
  • Religion 162: Religion, the Bible and Christian Origins (S)

Note: If you wish to take an upper-level course in your first year, it is a good idea to speak with the professor about your interest and preparation. You may be ready to take the course. It never hurts to ask!

Language Study

Foreign languages can be a vital part of your study of the period. Languages open doors. Students should use their language skills as often as possible, whether in modern languages (German, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and others) or languages of the period (Latin, Greek, Arabic, and others). The MARS coordinators and your professors are happy to help find suitable materials. Knowledge of another language is a treasure and an achievement. We encourage all students to use their languages as much as possible. Given the global reach of Carleton’s medieval and Renaissance studies program, no language is unimportant, and students considering graduate study are encouraged to begin language study as soon as possible or to continue it. For students of the Mediterranean world and Middle East, Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew will be important; for students interested in Central, South, and East Asia during these periods, Sanskrit, Classical Chinese, and Old and Middle Japanese, and other regional languages will be important. Likewise, instructors are happy to work with you to find scholarly literature in modern European languages that will allow you to put your linguistic skills to work across the curriculum.

At Carleton, you can begin Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Latin, Russian, and Spanish in Fall. Greek and Hebrew begin in Winter terms.

Other Courses

Hugh of St. Victor, a regular canon active as a teacher outside Paris in the early twelfth century, once said: “Learn everything, and you will find that nothing is irrelevant.” We agree. Scholars of the medieval and Renaissance periods around the globe draw on a wide of disciplines for insights and approaches. Students are therefore encouraged to remember that all their course work in the social sciences, arts, and humanities can enhance their understanding of the medieval and Renaissance worlds. For example, in Introduction to Anthropology, the student might read Marcel Mauss’s The Gift, a book that has come to play an important role in how medievalists think about all kinds of exchange in the premodern world.

Departments and programs with particularly strong content or methodological connections to Medieval and Renaissance Studies are Anthropology, Archaeology, Art History, Classics, English, History, Middle Eastern Studies, Philosophy, Religion, Sociology, and many of Carleton’s foreign language and literature departments. But really every course you take will make you a better scholar of these periods (and every interest can find a happy home in these worlds).