Fall 2026 (2027)
Please find below a selection of courses eligible for the PhD Minor in Medieval Studies that will be taught in Fall 2026 (2027). Note that the list is incomplete, and there are many other courses that are eligible.
*Indicates that the course is open to graduate and undergraduate students.
ART HISTORY
Professor Thomas Dale, Art Hist 318/715 Romanesque and Gothic Art and Architecture (Tuesdays/Thursdays 1:00-2:15pm)*
Knights besieging the Castle of Love, shimmering golden reliquaries, soaring, light-filled Gothic Cathedrals, mystical feminized visions of the Apocalypse by Hildegarde of Bingen, macabre images of the Three Living and the Three Dead Kings—these are among the many images that will engage students in the art of the later Middle Ages. This course explores art and architecture as agents and reflections of significant social and religious change, globalization and trade, scientific and technological change that shaped an emergent European identity from the second half of the eleventh century to the beginning of the fifteenth century. Focusing principally on England, France, Germany, Northern Spain and Italy, we will consider such topics as sculpture in relation to the senses and religious experience, the architecture of pilgrimage, monsters, gender, and alterity, portraiture and the commemoration of the dead, female mysticism and devotional images, mappaemundi and cartography, technological innovation and visionary experience in the architecture of Gothic cathedrals, the world of nature in medieval scientific manuscripts, and the macabre arts of late medieval funerary culture. In addition, particular emphasis will be placed on the interaction of Western Europe with the cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean through trade, pilgrimage, conquest and crusade.
Professor Thomas Dale, Art Hist 603/800 (Curatorial Studies Colloquium Exhibition Practice): Illuminating the Word: Image and Story, Ritual and Prayer in Premodern Manuscript Books (Tuesdays 4:30-7:00pm)*
One of the most significant technological innovations in late antiquity was the replacement of the papyrus rotulus (roll) by the parchment codex or manuscript (hand-written book) as principal vehicle for the dissemination of the written word. Habits of reading and organizing knowledge were transformed in ways comparable to the digital revolution in our own time. Script was transformed into art by the introduction of decorated or inhabited letters, and complex image programs offered visual interpretations of the texts they accompanied. Focusing on global manuscript culture of distinct religious traditions, this course will prepare a physical exhibition for UW Special Collections, showcasing the history of premodern books using examples from campus collections and some private collections. The purpose of this class is threefold: 1) to explore the history of the premodern book within multiple cultural and religious traditions, examining the interpretive role of images and script 2) to consider the afterlife of the premodern book in both early printed books and modern recreations and facsimiles 3) to learn the craft of preparing an exhibition of physical objects, including issues of display, accessible label copy, publicity and public programming.
ENGLISH
Professor Martin Foys, Engl 520: Really Old English, (Tuesday/Thursday 1:00-2:15 PM, Van Vleck B 115)*
Old English is the earliest form of English – over 1,000 years old, it is the language of Beowulf and Grendel, of saints and sinners, of farmers, seafarers, and a surprising number of animals and objects that can talk. It is a language that is uncannily strange, alien, yet at the same time the backbone, the muscle, of modern English. This course will teach you an awful lot about the language we use every day: in the first half of the semester, we will study basic pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary, with short translation exercises due in most class meetings; in the second half, we will put the skills you’ve learned to work, reading Old English texts and poems in the original — a rare opportunity. Because this is a principally a language class, no research papers will be required. Instead, there will be translation exercises, quizzes, a midterm exam, and final translation projects. No previous experience required, though some familiarity with studying another language at any level can be helpful.
Professor Martin Foys, Engl 803: Medieval Worldmaking: Race/Wonder/Body/Monster/Element, (Tuesday 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM, HCW 7105)
Designed for specialists and non-specialists alike, this seminar will explore concepts of medieval worldmaking through early and late medieval English literature (all in modern translation, with access to original language for medieval studies graduate students) and theories of race formation, wonder, embodiment, monstrosity and elemental/environmental media. The first half of the course will explore a general survey of early medieval literature (including Beowulf), with an especial focus on representations of various intersections of race, wonder, body, monstrosity, elements, and a parallel strand tracking the early evolution of Western constructions of “the East”. The second half of the term will build upon such groundwork, focusing on works of later medieval / early Modern period (including Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the odd Canterbury Tale), with the continuing strand of Western constructions of the East in relation to the geo-theo-political process of the Crusades, English formulations of Islamic and Judaic subjectivity, and the genre of medieval Romance.
HISTORY
Professor Scott Mellor, Scand/Hist 431, History of Scandinavia to 1815, (Tuesday/Thursday 2:30-3:45 pm, Educ Sci 212)*
This course provides an analytical survey of the Nordic region from the Viking Age to 1815, emphasizing the major political, social, and religious transformations that shaped Scandinavia prior to modern state formation. It begins with the economic structures, external networks, and ideological frameworks of the Viking Age (c. 750–1150) and examines the region’s transition into the medieval period, when stable Scandinavian kingdoms emerged. The course then considers the impact of the Lutheran Reformation on governance, religious culture, and intellectual life, followed by an assessment of the early modern rise of Denmark‑Norway and Sweden as imperial powers and the administrative and military systems that sustained them. It concludes with the Nordic Enlightenment and the geopolitical pressures that led to the dissolution of these imperial formations by 1815.
JEWISH STUDIES
Professor Nina Caputo, Jewish 431 Intermediate Topics in Jewish History – The Jews of Medieval Spain, (Tuesday/Thursday 1:00-2:15 Vilas Hall 4008)*
This course will explore the history of Jewish communities in the Iberian peninsula from the early middle ages through the Expulsion of 1492. We will examine broad questions related to Jewish life and culture during this period, as well as more specific questions about the unique characteristics of Sephardic Jewry. Through a close study of primary sources and recent secondary scholarship, students willanalyze the impact of Muslim and Christian Iberian society on the cultural and religious life of Sephardic Jewry and the role Jews and Judaism played in shaping Spanish society and culture.
SCANDINAVIAN STUDIES
Professor Kirsten Wolf, 407 Introduction to Old Norse, (Tuesday/Thursday 9:30-10:45)*
The course has a linguistic purpose and is designed to give students a reading knowledge of Old Norse through the study of Old Icelandic grammar and selections of Old Norse-Icelandic texts. By the end of the course, students will have a basic understanding of Icelandic phonology and grammar with a focus on nominal and verbal inflection. Students will have sufficient vocabulary to be able to read and understand basic texts in normalized editions and access more challenging texts with the help of a dictionary. The course is open to both undergraduates and graduates.
Professor Kirsten Wolf, 409 Survey of Old Norse-Icelandic Literature, (Tuesday/Thursday 11:00-12:15 pm)*
The course is intended to give students an overview of Old Norse-Icelandic literature from the earliest times until the Reformation. The course is a continuation of 407 Introduction to Old Norse and 408 Intermediate Old Norse and requires familiarity with Old Norse-Icelandic grammar and a basic reading knowledge of Old Norse-Icelandic. By the end of the course, students will have been introduced to the various genres of Old Norse-Icelandic literature. Through translation work, they will have solidified their knowledge of Old Icelandic grammar and expanded their lexicon. The course is open to both undergraduates and graduates.
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