Ancient, Medieval, & Renaissance Studies

Introduction to the Program

In the interdisciplinary Ancient Studies, Medieval Studies, and Renaissance Studies Program, you may select courses from English, Fine Arts, History, Classics, Comparative Literature, Music, Philosophy, Religion, and World Languages & Cultures. Most OWU students choose to combine this major with another in English, History, or Classics.

Together with your adviser, you select one of the program's three tracks (Ancient, Medieval, or Renaissance) and choose three foundation courses, six core courses, and two electives from history, literature, languages, religion, art, or philosophy. You will complete an interdisciplinary capstone project during your senior year.

The major permits great flexibility, and you may tailor the program to your specific interests. You might choose to focus on a specific period in history, or explore themes across time periods, such as the concept of the holy man, the status of single women, the development of ideas on slavery, or the architectural debt of the Renaissance to Etruscan and Roman art.

Program Features

• Students are encouraged to travel to Florence, Paris, London, or Athens for a semester or year's credit, and to get on-site experience in the art, archaeology, and topography of European lands. Many Mediterranean and Northern European archaeological digs may welcome you as a summer intern; departments and the University-funded Theory-to Practice grants offer funding to support travel.
• Students have access to an extensive collection of rare books, artifacts, and manuscripts in the Rare Books Archive of the Beeghly Library.
• Students may study abroad through programs such as Syracuse University's Florence Campus, University College Cork, and Newberry Library at the University of Chicago. Internships are also available at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a College Year in Athens.