Medieval and Renaissance Studies - Hamilton College Clinton

Medieval and Renaissance Studies from Hamilton College Clinton is a Campus Bachelor Area Studies degree that prepares you for a Liberal Arts career. WHEN AND HOW DID THE MODERN WORLD EMERGE? It is a question that has attracted generations of thinkers as they seek to illuminate the past and, with it, the present. The conventional answer has been to mark an imaginary line through the 14th century. On the far side lies the "darkness" of the Middle Ages. On the near side lies the "light" of the Renaissance ? empirical science, the printing press, the growth of cities and trade, and the revival of classical models of thought, art and architecture. Scholars now challenge that view, however. They point out that the past is far too complex to fit such a simple pattern. And that has led them to explore the very ways in which history is told and recorded. At Hamilton, the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program examines these crucial periods in our development from a variety of perspectives by focusing on their similarities, their differences and their implications for what has followed. Medieval and Renaissance studies at Hamilton is a truly interdisciplinary program, combining coursework in art, literature, history and music. Interested students may choose to minor in this field of study. The minor consists of five courses taken in at least three departments. Within this broad framework, students in the program focus on one of the two epochs, but they are encouraged at every turn to explore the continuities between them as well. RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES Research is at the center of the Hamilton liberal arts philosophy ? a way of encouraging each student to integrate classroom learning with a larger individual vision and intellectual journey. Student projects are carried out with the close supervision of faculty members, and often with their collaboration. Many students have the opportunity to do graduate-level research and co-author scholarly papers for publication in scholarly journals or presentation at professional conferences. THE SENIOR PROGRAM The Senior Program serves as an integrating and culminating experience for Medieval and Renaissance Studies by requiring students to use the methodology and knowledge gained in their first three years of study. Each student works closely with at least one faculty member during the course of the program. RESOURCES The College's Burke Library offers a strong collection of texts and periodicals on many aspects of the medieval and Renaissance epochs. The library also houses a rare copy of The Nuremburg Chronicle, one of the monumental works of early European book publishing. Printed in 1493 in Germany and illustrated with 1,600 woodcuts, this remarkable precursor of the encyclopedia depicts a medieval world on the threshold of the Renaissance. It is joined in the Burke collection by several other important early German volumes as well as the Beinecke Lesser Antilles Collection, regarded as the world's finest collection of 16th- to 19th- century materials on this region of the West Indies. View more details on Hamilton College . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Area Studies courses.