The Medieval and Renaissance Studies program offers more than 100 courses covering topics ranging across the formative historical period 500 to 1700. Most of these courses are cross-listed with other departments and may be taken toward degrees in both Medieval and Renaissance Studies and in the other departments. Subjects of special topics courses vary from semester to semester.
Majors and minors in the program take two courses to satisfy the Medieval and Renaissance Cultures requirement. Majors distribute eight electives in four course study areas: Fine Arts, History, Language and Literature, Philosophy and Religion. Minors may take any three additional courses as electives.
To see courses offered during a specific semester, please visit DukeHub and select “Class Search”.
| Number | Title | Codes | Cross-Lists |
|---|---|---|---|
| MEDREN 89S | First-Year Seminar | ||
| MEDREN 105 | Old Worlds/New Histories, 500-1500 CE | CCI, CZ, SS | AAAS 134 HISTORY 105 |
| MEDREN 106CNS | Mapping the Cosmos from the Neolithic to Now | ||
| MEDREN 125 | Renaissance & Revolution: Religion, Science, and Politics in Europe, 1400-1800 | CCI, STS, CZ, SS | HISTORY 117 |
| MEDREN 135 | Silk Roads and China, Ancient and Medieval Transformations | CCI, CZ | AMES 207 HISTORY 135 RELIGION 181 |
| MEDREN 145S | Gateway Seminar: Disease in History | CCI, CZ | HISTORY 185S |
| MEDREN 160 | Fantasy: The Borders of Genre, Medium, and Culture | CCI, ALP | ENGLISH 160 GERMAN 160 |
| MEDREN 175 | Scripture: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam | CCI, EI, ALP, CZ | AMES 138 JEWISHST 156 RELIGION 156 |
| MEDREN 176CNS | The Song of the Stars | ||
| MEDREN 190FS | Special Topics in Focus | ||
| MEDREN 190S | Special Topics in Medieval Renaissance Studies | ||
| MEDREN 191FS | Clash of Civilizations: In the Heart of Europe | ALP, CZ | AMES 206FS ICS 116FS JEWISHST 206FS RELIGION 206FS ROMST 204FS |
| MEDREN 201S | Music History I: Antiquity Through Renaissance | CCI, ALP, CZ | MUSIC 255S |
| MEDREN 202S | Music History II: 1600 through Mozart | CCI, R, ALP, CZ | MUSIC 256S |
| MEDREN 215 | Gothic Cathedrals | CCI, R, ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 225 |
| MEDREN 217 | The Body in Art in Early Modern Europe: Power and Limits of Corporeal Representations | CCI, ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 317 DANCE 317 ROMST 317 THEATRST 245 |
| MEDREN 224S | Islam, Art, and Society | CCI, ALP, CZ | AMES 228S ARTHIST 224S HISTORY 193S RELIGION 224S |
| MEDREN 225 | Art in Renaissance Italy | CCI, ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 255 ITALIAN 386 |
| MEDREN 225FS | Art in Renaissance Italy | CCI, ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 255FS ITALIAN 386FS |
| MEDREN 226 | Medieval Castles of Europe | STS, CZ | ARTHIST 227 |
| MEDREN 228 | Art & Architectural History of the Islamic World, 6th-13th c. CE | CCI, ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 229 RELIGION 227 |
| MEDREN 229A | Renaissance and Baroque Art History | CCI, ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 255A |
| MEDREN 233 | Michelangelo | CCI, ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 259 ITALIAN 261 |
| MEDREN 236 | Pilgrimage and Tourism | CCI, EI, W, ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 336 RELIGION 260 VMS 336 |
| MEDREN 240 | Drawing Foundations in Early Modern Europe | ALP | ARTHIST 265 VMS 256 |
| MEDREN 241 | Early Modern Architecture: Europe and the United States, 1400-1800 | ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 287 |
| MEDREN 245S | Women in Visual Arts, 1400-1800: Theory and History | ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 245S GSF 245S |
| MEDREN 246 | Italian Baroque Art | CCI, ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 256 ITALIAN 256 ROMST 256 |
| MEDREN 247S | Musical Shakespeare | CCI, ALP | ENGLISH 229S MUSIC 245S THEATRST 244S |
| MEDREN 248S | Women and Power in the Renaissance | EI, W, CZ | GSF 258S HISTORY 258S ROMST 258S |
| MEDREN 250FS | Gendering the Renaissance | CCI, EI, CZ | GSF 251FS ITALIAN 208FS ROMST 208FS |
| MEDREN 253S | Cross-Cultural Encounters | CCI, CZ | AMES 235S HISTORY 243S ICS 297S RELIGION 235S |
| MEDREN 254 | Europe in the Middle Ages: Rome to Renaissance | CCI, CZ | HISTORY 254 |
| MEDREN 255 | The Caribbean, 1492-1700 | CCI, CZ | AAAS 218 HISTORY 318 |
| MEDREN 268 | Global Islam | CCI, EI, CZ | AMES 122 CULANTH 256 HISTORY 210 ICS 217 RELIGION 217 |
| MEDREN 269 | Islamic Civilization II | CCI, EI, CZ | AMES 185 CULANTH 257 HISTORY 211 RELIGION 376 |
| MEDREN 270 | Aztecs and Mayans | CCI, EI, R, ALP, CZ | HISTORY 370 |
| MEDREN 275 | Tudor/Stuart Britain | R, W, CZ | HISTORY 269 |
| MEDREN 281 | Religion, Reform, and Violence in Early Modern Europe | CCI, CZ | HISTORY 257 |
| MEDREN 287 | Magic, Religion, and Science since 1400 | CCI, EI, STS, CZ | HISTORY 260 SCISOC 260 |
| MEDREN 287D | Magic, Religion, and Science since 1400 | CCI, EI, STS, CZ | HISTORY 260D |
| MEDREN 290-1 | Topics in Medieval Art and Architecture | ARTHIST 290-1 | |
| MEDREN 290S | Special Topics in Medieval and Renaissance Studies | ||
| MEDREN 290S-1 | Special Topics in Medieval and Early Modern Literature | ENGLISH 290S-1 | |
| MEDREN 291 | Independent Study | ||
| MEDREN 292S | The Atlantic Slave Trade | CCI, R, CZ | AAAS 217S HISTORY 316S ICS 209S |
| MEDREN 293 | Research Independent Study | R | |
| MEDREN 294S | Art of Renaissance Politics | CCI, EI, CZ | HISTORY 294S |
| MEDREN 303 | Ancient and Medieval Epic | CCI, ALP | CLST 204 |
| MEDREN 304 | The Problem of Love in Western Literature | CCI, R, ALP, CZ | ITALIAN 225 LIT 205 ROMST 205 |
| MEDREN 304S | The Problem of Love in Western Literature | CCI, R, ALP, CZ | ITALIAN 225S LIT 205S ROMST 205S |
| MEDREN 305 | The Viking Age | CCI, EI, ALP | GERMAN 261 HISTORY 256 |
| MEDREN 305S | The Viking Age | CCI, EI, ALP | GERMAN 261S HISTORY 256S |
| MEDREN 314 | Introduction to Spanish Literature I | CCI, FL, ALP | SPANISH 332 |
| MEDREN 315 | The Legend of King Arthur in Literature and Film | CCI, ALP | ENGLISH 286 GERMAN 275 |
| MEDREN 320S | Chaucer I | CCI, R, ALP | ENGLISH 332S |
| MEDREN 321 | Chaucer II | CCI, R, ALP | ENGLISH 333 |
| MEDREN 322S | Dwarves, Dragon-Slayers, and Werewolves: Germanic Myths and Legends | CCI, FL, ALP, CZ | GERMAN 323S |
| MEDREN 323S | Muhammad: The Prophet of Islam | CCI, W, ALP, CZ | AMES 223S RELIGION 223S |
| MEDREN 329 | Introduction to Spanish-American Literature: 16th - 18th C. | ||
| MEDREN 330 | Shakespeare | EI, W, ALP | ENGLISH 235 THEATRST 222 |
| MEDREN 331 | Shakespeare through 1600 | EI, R, ALP | ENGLISH 336 THEATRST 336 |
| MEDREN 332 | Shakespeare After 1600 | EI, R, ALP | ENGLISH 337 THEATRST 337 |
| MEDREN 334S | Late Medieval Literature and Culture | CCI, EI, ALP, CZ | ENGLISH 331S |
| MEDREN 335S | Don Quixote for Beginners | EI, ALP, CZ | HISTORY 337S LIT 337S ROMST 336S |
| MEDREN 336S | Shakespeare's Nature | EI, ALP | ENGLISH 236S THEATRST 237S |
| MEDREN 337S | Milton | EI, R, ALP | ENGLISH 338S |
| MEDREN 338S | Boccaccio's Decameron | CCI, R, ALP, CZ | ITALIAN 338S |
| MEDREN 341 | Dante's Divine Comedy: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise | CCI, EI, ALP, CZ | HISTORY 253 ITALIAN 281 LIT 245 RELIGION 262 |
| MEDREN 342A | Dante and the Art of Hell | R, ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 342A ITALIAN 342A LIT 342A |
| MEDREN 343S | The Acoustic Image in the Renaissance | CCI, ALP, CZ | ITALIAN 343S ROMST 343S THEATRST 343S |
| MEDREN 344S | Shakespeare Studio | ALP | THEATRST 246S |
| MEDREN 346 | The History of the Book | R, ALP, CZ | CLST 360 HISTORY 367 ISS 360 |
| MEDREN 348S | Medieval Latin | FL, ALP, CZ | LATIN 376S |
| MEDREN 351 | Rumi: Mysticism and Poetry | CCI, R, ALP, CZ | AMES 321 RELIGION 381 |
| MEDREN 352S | Andalusia: Muslim, Jewish, Christian Spain | CCI, ALP, CZ | AMES 319S JEWISHST 319S RELIGION 214S ROMST 319S |
| MEDREN 353 | The Seven Deadly Sins: Representing Vice and Virtue in Christian Tradition | CCI, EI, W, ALP, CZ | ENGLISH 330 ETHICS 318 RELIGION 325 |
| MEDREN 354 | From History to Fantasy: Medieval Religions in Film & Fiction | CCI, EI, ALP, CZ | ENGLISH 254 GSF 261 HISTORY 244 RELIGION 261 |
| MEDREN 355S | Augustine's City of God | CCI, EI, ALP, CZ | CLST 230S ETHICS 230S POLSCI 396S RELIGION 231S |
| MEDREN 356 | Loot: Who owns the past? | EI, CZ | ARTHIST 217 CLST 252 RELIGION 218 |
| MEDREN 359S | Love, Spirit, and Mysticism: The Path of Love in Middle East and South Asia | CCI, W, ALP, CZ | AMES 209S RELIGION 209S |
| MEDREN 370S | Understanding the Qur'an | CCI, EI, CZ | AMES 126S RELIGION 370S |
| MEDREN 374S | Islam & the Meaning of Life | EI, CZ | AMES 324S ETHICS 235S RELIGION 374S |
| MEDREN 390 | Topics in Medieval and Renaissance Studies | ||
| MEDREN 390-1 | Topics in Renaissance Art | ARTHIST 390-1 | |
| MEDREN 390S | Seminar in Medieval and Renaissance Studies | ||
| MEDREN 401S | Renaissance Architecture in Italy: Brunelleschi to Michelangelo | ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 349S ITALIAN 349S |
| MEDREN 421S | Art & Environment in the Islamic World | ||
| MEDREN 425S | Capstone: Medieval Trials & Ordeals | CCI, R, CZ | HISTORY 403S |
| MEDREN 436 | Colonial North America | CCI, CZ, SS | HISTORY 336 |
| MEDREN 443S | Capstone Seminar: History of Torture | EI, R, W, CZ | HISTORY 483S |
| MEDREN 458 | Suspicious Truths and Alternative Realities: Spanish Literature of the Renaissance and the Baroque | CCI, FL, ALP | SPANISH 410 |
| MEDREN 459 | Golden Age Literature: Cervantes | CCI, FL, ALP, CZ | SPANISH 411 |
| MEDREN 473 | What Machiavelli Really Says | EI, R, ALP, CZ | HISTORY 405 ITALIAN 483 LIT 483 POLSCI 483 |
| MEDREN 491 | Independent Study: Thesis | ||
| MEDREN 493 | Research Independent Study: Thesis | R | |
| MEDREN 506S | Renaissance Art: A Critical Assessment | ALP, CZ | ARTHIST 506S |
| MEDREN 507S | Live Images: Ancient and Medieval Representations of the Divine | CCI, W, ALP, CZ | CLST 558S RELIGION 552S VMS 533S |
| MEDREN 524 | Music in the Baroque Era | R, ALP | MUSIC 553 |
| MEDREN 550 | Early to Late Medieval Christianity | CZ | |
| MEDREN 551 | Early Modern, Modern and American Christianity | CZ | |
| MEDREN 554S | Columbus: A Global History | CCI, R, W, CZ | CULANTH 527S HISTORY 526S RELIGION 524S ROMST 526S |
| MEDREN 576S | Microhistory | CCI, R, W, CZ, SS | HISTORY 520S |
| MEDREN 590 | Advanced Topics in Medieval and Renaissance Studies | ||
| MEDREN 590S | Advanced Seminar in Medieval and Renaissance Studies | ||
| MEDREN 590S-3 | Special Topics Seminar I | ENGLISH 590S-1 | |
| MEDREN 600S | Ghostly Statistics: Revenge Tragedies and Natural Language Processing | ALP, QS | CMAC 520S ISS 520S |
| MEDREN 603 | Dante's Divine Comedy: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise | CCI, EI, ALP, CZ | ITALIAN 582 LIT 582 |
| MEDREN 608S | Medieval and Renaissance Latin | CCI, FL, ALP, CZ | LATIN 508S |
| MEDREN 618S | Boccaccio Studies | CCI, R, ALP | ITALIAN 584S LIT 584S |
| MEDREN 620S | Don Quixote in the Real World: From Escapism to Engagement | CCI, FL, R, ALP | ETHICS 520S LIT 538S SPANISH 520S |
| MEDREN 632S | Special Topics in Renaissance Prose and Poetry: 1500 to 1660 | R, ALP | ENGLISH 538S |
| MEDREN 637S | Shakespeare & Co.: English Renaissance Drama | CCI, R, ALP, CZ | ENGLISH 537S |
| MEDREN 642S | Premodern Times: A User's Manual | CCI, ALP | ARTHIST 532S FRENCH 530S HISTORY 508S LIT 541S ROMST 531S |
| MEDREN 645S | Epic and Exile: Classical Themes, Renaissance Variations | CCI, ALP | ITALIAN 545S LIT 585S ROMST 545S |
| MEDREN 647S | Latin Palaeography | FL, ALP, CZ | LATIN 584S |
| MEDREN 665S | Islamic Philosophy & Mysticism (Sufi's Approach to Philosophy) | CCI, EI, CZ | RELIGION 665S |
| MEDREN 690S-2 | Topics in Renaissance Studies | ITALIAN 590S-1 | |
| MEDREN 890S | Topics in Medieval and Renaissance Studies |