leidenmedievalistsblog

Medieval Studies

Medieval Studies in the BA programme at Leiden University

Students interested in pursuing courses in Medieval Studies at the undergraduate level at Leiden University can follow the minor programme 'De Middeleeuwen en de vroegmoderne tijd'; this minor consists of three mandatory courses (worth 15 EC) and a selections of other tracks (each 15 EC). You can find more information about the minor 'De Middeleeuwen en de vroegmoderne tijd' in the e-Prospectus.

Medieval Studies in the MA programme at Leiden University

Whichever Master’s programme you pursue at Leiden, you can choose from a variety of elective optionsand this will allow you to give your MA programme a medieval twist. Since 2017, the Leiden MA programme offers two options for specialisation: 'Medieval Studies' and 'Early Modern Studies' (more info here).

MA Core Course Medieval Studies and Early Modern Studies

The core course ‘Medieval Studies and Early Modern Studies’ will be led by a diverse group of Leiden researchers The courses begin together, taking up the crucial question: what is the extent of the traditional distinction between the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period? To answer this question, this section of the courses focuses on writers, artists, scientists, philosophers and rulers who lived between 500 and 1800. As such, students will explore what shifts are discernible in this period and whether there really was a fracture around 1500—traditionally seen as the peak of the Renaissance. During the first six weeks, students, led by two lecturers, will question this traditional periodisation from an interdisciplinary perspective, looking at innovation in the Middle Ages and tradition in the Early Modern period. In the second part of the semester, the medievalists and early modernists separate to pursue seminars that go in-depth into their chosen area of study. As such, this core course forms the starting point for the new MA options in Medieval Studies and Early Modern Studies. More information about the core course can be found in the e-Prospectus.

The core course is listed as part of the curriculum of the following MA programmes:

  • MA Arts and Culture: Research + Art and Architecture before 1800
  • MA Classics and Ancient Civilizations: All sub-programmes
  • MA History: Europe 1000-1800
  • MA Literary Studies: All sub-programmes, except Literature and Society
  • MA Neerlandistiek: Oudere Nederlandse letterkunde

N.B. For all other MA programmes, the core course will be available as an ‘elective’

MA electives in Medieval Studies and Early Modern Studies at Leiden University

N.B. Additional admission requirements may apply, see the e-Prospectus for more info and availability. The courses listed below are for the academic year 2019/2020.

(Res) MA Arts and Culture: Art and Architecture before 1800:

  • Gothic Architecture, In and Out of Time (10 EC, sem. 1)
  • The Visual and Material Culture of Exchange in Asia and Europe, 1500-1800 (10 EC, sem. 1)

MA Asian Studies:

  • Material Culture, Memory and Commemoration along the Silk Roads in Central Asia (10 EC, sem. 1)
  • Culture and Conquest: the Impact of the Mongols and their Descendants (ResMA) (10 EC, sem. 1)
  • The Visual and Material Culture of Exchange in Asia and Europe, 1500-1800 (10 EC, sem. 1)

MA History: Europe 1000-1800:

  • Current Debates in Medieval and Early Modern History I (10 ec, sem. 1)
  • Current Debates in Medieval and Early Modern History II (10 ec, sem. 1)
  • Making sense of epidemics in Europe, 1500-1800 (10 EC, sem. 1)
  • (Re)framing Past and Present in Narrative Sources from the Low Countries (c. 1250-c.1800) (10 EC, sem. 1)
  • Slavery in Europe’s Frontier Zones 1300-1800: Networks, Knowledge and Labour (10 EC, sem. 2)

MA Literary Studies: All tracks:

  • The Epic Course: A Pre-Modern Genre in the Modern Digital Realm (10 EC, sem. 1)

See also the electives of various tracks of the MA Literary Studies

MA Literary Studies: English Literature and Culture:

  • Magic and Medicine in Early Medieval England: Charms, Cures and Curses (10 EC; sem. 1)
  • La Querelle des Femmes: Gender and Textual Revolution in Medieval England and France (10 EC; sem. 1)

MasterLanguage: Engels: (for MasterLanguage courses see www.masterlanguage.nl) for Teachers (5 EC, sem. 1, taught in Amsterdam)

  • Shakespeare for Teachers (5 EC, sem. 1, taught in Amsterdam)
  • Language variation and change from Old to Middle English (5 EC, sem. 1, taught in Utrecht)
  • Medieval English Literature in the Classroom: Beowulf, King Arthur and Poetry (5 EC, sem. 2, taught in Leiden)

MA Literary Studies: French Literature and Culture:

  • La Querelle des Femmes: Gender and Textual Revolution in Medieval England and France (10 EC; sem. 1)
  • Littérature et pédagogie du Moyen Age aux Temps modernes (10 EC, sem. 2)

MA Middle Eastern Studies:

  • From Inkwell to Internet: Text and Transmission in the Muslim World (5/10 EC, sem. 1)
  • Culture and Conquest: the Impact of the Mongols and their Descendants (10 ec, sem. 2)
  • Culture and Society in the Medieval Muslim World (10 ec, sem. 2)
  • Social and Cultural History of the Middle East: the Ottoman Empire (1300-1922) (10 ec, sem. 2)

MA Neerlandistiek: Oudere Nederlandse Letterkunde:

  • Nederlandse dialogen van de dertiende eeuw tot nu: geschiedenis en gebruik (10 EC, sem. 1)
  • Another path: literary perception of the Dutch Revolt in the Southern Low Countries, 1585-1621 (10 EC, sem. 1)
  • Literatuur en auteurschap in de Middeleeuwen en de Vroegmoderne Tijd (10 EC, sem. 2)
  • Literatuur en burgerschap. Nederlandse identiteit van de vroegmoderne tijd tot vandaag. (10 EC, sem. 2)

MA Russian and Eurasian Studies

  • Old Church Slavic Language and Culture (10 EC, sem. 1)

Student Association for Medieval Studies and Early Modern Studies at Leiden University: M.S.V.L. Floris V

Find out more about the student association associated with the BA minor 'De Middeleeuwen en de vroegmoderne tijd' and the MA tracks Medieval Studies and Early Modern Studies here: https://msvlflorisv.wordpress.com/