Undergraduate Models
Medieval/Early Modern Studies
The Medieval and Early Modern Studies model prioritizes study of major classical, continental, and English texts and traditions, while it introduces students to previously neglected or canonically downplayed texts and authors — particularly women writers of late medieval Europe and the productions of popular culture. The model nurtures the use of foundational historical writings and records while it furnishes literacy in the critical methodologies that enjoy full representation in their own area models (see Cultural Studies and Studies in Theory) and that have reshaped all areas in contemporary English Studies. The model fosters foundational skills including linguistic knowledge or the classifying and editing of manuscripts, while it stresses recognition of cultural continuity with other early modern components of English Studies. Therefore, the prescribed course sequence as indicated below attaches heavy significance to courses in early modern British literature. In all, Medieval and Early Modern Studies in English at UF equips students with the means for rediscovering the historical basis of modern culture, and represents one of the fullest ranges of chronological cultural study, methodological deployment, and professional concentration in the major. The model’s faculty produces an important academic publication twice yearly, Exemplaria: A Journal of Theory in Medieval and Renaissance Studies, a journal devoted to the pageant of culture including the classical, the medieval and the early modern.
The following four courses are required for Medieval Studies in English:
- ENG 4060 History of the English Language
- ENL 3210 Medieval Literature
- ENL 4311 Chaucer
- ENL 4220 Renaissance Literature, 16th century or ENL 4333 Shakespeare or LIT 3041 Studies in Drama
Two of the following four courses are also expected for the model:
- ENL 4221 Renaissance Literature, 17th century (Milton)
- LIT 3003 Forms of Narrative (Romance)
- LIT 3041 Studies in Drama (Late Medieval, Renaissance, Early Modern)
- LIT 3374 The Bible as Literature
The following courses are recommended to students in the Medieval Studies model:
- LIN 3010 Introduction to Linguistics
- LIT 4320 Introduction to Folklore
- LIT 4930 Variable Topics (as English faculty deem appropriate)
(ENL 2012 Survey of British Authors I and LIT 2110 Survey of World Literature, Ancient to Renaissance are recommended for lower-division students.)
This model is linked to the Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) minor; see catalogue for description of this program that concentrates study in medieval and early modern history, continental lit, and Romance, Germanic, and Slavic languages, and in the lit and culture of Britain. Suggested courses in other disciplines include LAT 1120 Beg. Latin I or LNW 3490 Medieval Latin; EUH 3121 Early Middle Ages and EUH 3122 High Middle Ages; FRW 4410 Readings in Early French Medieval Lit; and FRW 4412 Readings in Later French Medieval Lit. Students who follow this model may find it helpful to fulfill their foreign language requirement with Latin courses.
Faculty
Department of English faculty who regularly teach courses in this model include:
- James Paxson – Medieval Literature, Critical Theory, Medieval Drama, Literature/Science/Technology
- Peter Rudnytsky –Freud Studies, History of Psychoanalysis, Shakespeare, Renaissance
- R. Allen Shoaf – Medieval Studies, Early Modern Studies, Milton, Literary Theory, Dante
