If the period commonly referred to as the Renaissance marks the beginning of the Early Modern period in European history, it nonetheless exists in profound continuity with the Middle Ages. The two periods share common theses, issues, auctores and institutions and participate in a common enterprise: for they both attempt to forge a union out of the impressive remnants of ancient, but pagan, civilization and the living traditions of thought and piety associated with biblical (Jewish and Christian) religion.
Even when the Renaissance writers do distance themselves from late medieval practices and thinking, often enough what they are doing is reviving the spirit and language of an earlier Middle Ages in preference to more recent developments. Hence the appropriateness of combining the study of the Renaissance with that of the Middle Ages in a single concentration.
Concentrators are free, of course, to emphasize one period more than the other if they choose.
Through a consortium agreement with Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas at Dallas, it is possible for students pursuing the concentration to take courses in medieval subjects not usually offered here but available at the other institutions, with the approval of the Director of the Center.
The concentration requires the completion of six three-credit upper-division courses, in four different fields, from the list below or otherwise approved by the Director and distributed according to the following principles:
ART 5356 Italian Renaissance Art 1300–1600
ART 5365 Medieval Art
ART 5367 Northern Renaissance 1400–1550
DRA 3335 Theater Literature I
ECO 4343 Western Economic History I
ENG 3323 Medieval Literature. ENG 4359. Shakespeare
ENG 4370 Dante
ENG 5312 The English Renaissance
ENG 5320 Arthurian Romance
CLL 3334 Augustine
CLL 3335 Medieval Latin Readings
MFR 3322 Medieval and Renaissance Literature
MFR 5V50 Old French
MGE 3321 German Literary Tradition I
MFR 5V50 Old Occitan
MSP 3320 Spanish Literary Tradition I
MSP 3327 Golden Age Drama/Poetry
MSP 3328 Golden Age Novel
MSP 3338 Medieval Literature in Spain
MSP 3340 History of Medieval Spain
MSP 3341 History of Habsburg Spain
HIS 3307 Medieval Europe I
HIS 3308 Medieval Europe II
HIS 3309 Topics in Medieval History
HIS 3310 The Renaissance
HIS 3311 The Reformation
In the current COVID-19 crisis, the love of Danny Fitzpatrick, BA '13, for Italy, appreciation for his time there, and a creative collaboration with sculptor Tim Schmalz have led to a specific way of rendering aid to the country beloved by so many UD alumni and one-time Romers.
+ Read MoreEdisson Ramos, BA '20, is one of many students receiving assistance from UD's COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, which has currently raised nearly $90,000; the first of the funds were distributed last week to help students make their April rent, and Director of Financial Aid Taryn Anderson, BA '07, is in the process of distributing a second wave to students with housing or food insecurity or in need of Wi-Fi or other resources for online learning.
+ Read MoreIn our current condition, with most of the U.S. sheltering in place and/or learning and working from our homes, it's hard to imagine that just 20 days ago, teachers and those aspiring to be teachers gathered together for the fourth annual Excellence in Education conference at the University of Dallas, organized, run and sponsored by UD's Education Department, but so they did, and so we will all do -- gather together, that is -- some day again.
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