Centre for Medieval Studies


Faculty List

Professor and Director
E. Brilli, PhD

Professor and Associate Director
J. Ginther, PhD

Associate Professor and PhD Coordinator
J. Purtle, PhD

Professors
A. Andree, PhD
D. Black, PhD
N. Everett, PhD
J. Haines, PhD
P. King, PhD
J. Magee, PhD
M. Meyerson, PhD
M. Pickave, PhD
M. Stock, PhD

Associate Professors
I. Cochelin, PhD
S. Ghosh, PhD
Y. Iglesias, PhD
D. Kullmann, PhD
B. Miles, PhD
W. Robins, PhD
J. Ross, PhD

Assistant Professors
A. Bolintineanu, PhD
C. O’Hogan, PhD
A. Walton, PhD

Introduction

The Centre for Medieval Studies provides a course in the thousand-year period from the Fall of Rome to the Fall of Constantinople, and beyond. Students can expect to cross the disciplinary boundaries of history, art, literature, philosophy, religion, and history of science, focusing not only on Europe but on the broader Mediterranean and North Sea regions. These courses open up the Centre for the first time to undergraduate students and provide a valuable humanities breadth experience for students who want to experience the culture, poetry, and art of the Middle Ages, as well as medieval music, drama performance and manuscript studies.


Centre for Medieval Studies Courses

MST201H1 - Getting Medieval: Myths and Monsters

Hours: 24L/12T

Introduction to the sound, sight, and touch of the distant past, telling the story of the Middle Ages through objects from animal skin parchment to enameled icon. Lectures are complemented by hands-on learning in weekly tutorials featuring text- and narrative-oriented digital methods, along with medieval drama and music performance.

Exclusion: MST200Y1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

MST202H1 - Getting Medieval: Place and Space

Hours: 24L/12T

From world maps to tales of pilgrimage, trade, and exploration, from imagined other worlds to historical cityscapes, this course tells the story of the Middle Ages through the places and spaces that defined medieval culture. Lectures are complemented by hands-on learning in weekly tutorials featuring network visualization and digital mapping.

Exclusion: MST200Y1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

MST300H1 - Alexander the Great in the Middle Ages

Hours: 24L/12T

Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE), king of Macedon, was one of the most successful military campaigners the world has ever seen. By the time he was thirty, he had established a vast empire stretching from Greece in the west to India in the east. Fantastic stories and legends about Alexander the Great circulated throughout the medieval world, from Iceland to Iran and from Ethiopia to England. In this course, we explore what different representations of the same figure can tell us about the range of medieval cultures. Through the use of digital tools, students and the instructor work together to explore this rich material. We trace the transmission of Alexander’s legend using digital maps. We compare different versions of the same story using text analysis tools. And we curate a small selection of the lavishly-illustrated manuscripts of the Alexander Romance in a digital exhibition.

Prerequisite: MST201H1, or MST202H1, or Permission of Instructor
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

MST399Y1 - Research Opportunity Program

Credit course for supervised participation in faculty research project. Details at https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/academics/research-opportunities…. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

MST404H1 - Languages in Medieval Studies: Palaeography I

Hours: 24L/12T

The course is designed as a practicum in the transcription of scripts from the late Roman Empire to the twelfth century. The goal is to offer students the opportunity to participate in a graduate course in manuscript studies where comparable offerings at the undergraduate level are unavailable.

Prerequisite: Level One Latin pass, permission of the instructor, 8.0 credits
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

MST405H1 - Languages in Medieval Studies: Palaeography II

Hours: 24L/12T

Study of Latin Scripts from 1200 to 1600, with attention to background of Gothic writing, physical characteristics of manuscripts, library practices and bibliographical resources. The goal is to offer students the opportunity to participate in a graduate course in manuscript studies where comparable offerings at the undergraduate level are unavailable.

Prerequisite: Level One Latin pass, permission of the instructor, 8.0 credits
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

MST410H1 - Languages for Medieval Studies: Old Norse

Hours: 24L

Introduction to Old Norse language and literature, focusing on basic instruction in Old Norse grammar and short readings from poetic and prose texts. The goal is to offer students the opportunity to participate in a graduate course in medieval languages where comparable offerings at the undergraduate level are unavailable.

Prerequisite: 8.0 credits, permission of the instructor
Recommended Preparation: Previous language study
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

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