Planning

Get to Know Your Professors. The more you interact with your professors, the better sense you will have of their interests and approach, which are important considerations in selecting an advisor. In turn, professors are more likely to take you on as an advisee if they know your work. Flunch with a professor whose course has gotten you excited about a topic. Or just visit the professor during office hours to talk further about a topic and get suggestions for extra reading.

Explore Historical Research. To write a thesis, you’ll need to conceptualize a historical problem or literary/artistic issue; identify primary sources that can help you answer the problem or explore the issue; contextualize and assess the evidence contained in those sources; and construct an effective analytical argument based on that evidence. Taking an R-coded MEDREN course would give you an opportunity to learn about historical and interpretive methodology and write a research paper of limited scope before entering into an honors project.

Study Abroad and Discover a Topic. Many MEDREN majors develop honors topics while studying abroad and being exposed to a whole new world with close ties to the premodern past. One student noted that studying abroad “gave me a tactile, firsthand experience that brought to life my historical understanding.” Before you go, you might schedule an appointment with one of the Medieval and Renaissance Studies specialist librarians, Heidi Madden (at Perkins) or Lee Sorensen (at Lilly), to get pointers on taking maximum advantage of archives and resources you could encounter. Then, while abroad, take time to explore archives, museums, and architectural sites that might become a historical source you can explore in depth later.

Develop Competency in a Foreign Language. Many prospective thesis writers in Medieval and Renaissance Studies would like to tackle a historical problem concerning the non-English speaking world. In many cases, students without extensive foreign language skills are able to do just that, either by relying on English-language sources, sources translated into English, or some combination of the two. But your range of options will be far greater if you come into the senior year with a solid ability to read a foreign language.