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
The University of Dallas recently earned high marks of excellence from leading publications – including moving up to the #2 spot for “Best Value” among U.S. News & World Report’s "Best Colleges" in the West, as well as The Princeton Review’s Best 388 Colleges and “America’s Top Colleges” by Forbes.
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