Medieval and Early Modern Studies effective date of concentration: Fall 2000 | previous requirements (MARC) 1029 Tisch Hall 435 South State Street (734) 763-2066 (phone) (734) 647-4881 (fax) Professor Michael Schoenfeldt (English), Director Executive Committee Babayan (Near Eastern Studies), Brown (Romance Languages and Literatures), Brusati (History of Art) Hughes (History), McCracken (Romance Languages and Literatures), Schoenfeldt (English) Simons (History of Art), Squatriti (History), Trautman (History), Wintroub (History) May be elected as an interdepartmental concentration program Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) is an interdisciplinary Honors concentration administered by the History Department. MEMS offers cross-listed courses at all levels in history, philosophy, religion, history of art and architecture, archaeology, literature, law, music, anthropology, and sociology pertinent to the period from late Antiquity through early modern times in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. MEMS develops awareness of cultural connections among the diverse cultural zones of the pre-industrial world. The MEMS concentration is a liberal arts concentration that allows students to exploit the extraordinary richness of courses about this time period at the University of Michigan. MEMS fosters geographic and cross-cultural breadth of its concentrators, but also allows them to specialize their learning, especially through the senior thesis. By focusing on a defined historical period, but requiring interdisciplinary study of it, the MEMS concentration has both the coherency and the breadth necessary to advance students in the humanities and social sciences. The MEMS concentration will often be selected as part of a double concentration. It is designed to accommodate study abroad, either at University of Michigan programs or elsewhere; one of this program's goals is to provide an education that will make study abroad an especially rewarding experience. The required courses are intended to deepen familiarity with pre-modern history, art, and literature, while leaving to concentrators the ability to focus on the discipline they prefer (literary studies, archaeology, etc.). The requirement includes the obligation to reach beyond a single geographical zone, and to develop understanding of the medieval and early modern period in three cultural areas. Students will be induced to see connections between major cultures of this time period, as well as singling out original developments. The required courses will contribute to the breadth of their comprehension and to the subtlety of the understanding of individual cultures. The requirement that students take a course each in history and art history, combined with the literature prerequisite, will encourage organic visions of past cultures as wholes, rather than the fragmentary vision which ensues from isolating a single aspect of past cultures for study (only art, or only literature). Prerequisites to Concentration Successful completion of two three- or four-credit introductory courses from a long, interdisciplinary list (for example, AAPTIS 262, 296, 473; Anthropology, 222; Asian Studies 220, 221, 222, 223, 224; Classical Archaeology 221, 222; Classical Civilization 101, 102; English 267, 350, 367, 370; Great Books 191, 192, 201; History 121, 151, 152, 210, 211, 213, 220, 225, 250, 263, 286, 287; History of Art 101, 102, 103, 240, 250, 251, 284; Near Eastern Studies 100; Judaic Studies 270; MHM 239; Philosophy 230, 263; Residential College Humanities 310, 311; Studies in Religion 308). Language proficiency (4th term college-level) in a language directly pertinent to the geographic area on which students choose to focus (for example, Latin, French, Arabic, Hebrew for Europe and the Middle East; Chinese, Sanskrit, or Japanese for Asia) by the beginning of the senior year; plus two upper-level literature courses in that same language or a related one. The Concentration Program . Eight (8) three- or four-credit courses in the medieval and early modern periods. A minimum of five must be 300-level or higher. Geographic courses. Select one course from three of the five areas listed below: At least three credits in African cultures. At least three credits in American cultures. At least three credits in Asian cultures. At least three credits in European cultures. At least three credits in Middle Eastern cultures. Disciplinary courses. At least three credits in historical studies. At least three credits in art historical or archaeological studies. The MEMS Thesis. In the Fall term of the senior year, the MEMS concentrator is required to register for MEMS 491. A senior thesis of at least 30 pages, written under the direction of an appropriate faculty member, is due at the end of the student's final term. The MEMS director serves as the second reader. If the MEMS Director is the thesis director, another faculty member will be asked to serve as second reader. This requirement obliges students to delve into individualized projects of research on subjects of their fashioning. They thus develop data-retrieval and data-analysis skills, and develop their own approach to one aspect of medieval or early modern cultures. Working with a specialist in their chosen field, and receiving advice also from the program director, ensures that timely progress is made and that the work is carried out according to exacting standards of scholarship. Honors Concentration. Concentrators who maintain a 3.0 GPA overall, and a 3.5 in the MEMS concentration courses, are eligible to be considered for graduation with Honors. The grades of Highest Honors, High Honors, and Honors are determined by the Director (and faculty advisors when appropriate) on the basis of grade-point average in the college, grade-point average in MEMS, and the grade on the thesis. Advising. MEMS Honors concentrators will have academic advising by the program director (Prof. Michael Schoenfeldt) to support their individually constructed programs of study. A full-time administrator, housed in the department of history, will be the primary point of contact for students in MEMS. Study Abroad. Students are encouraged to study abroad, and one of the program's goals is to provide an education that will make this experience especially rewarding. The concentration advisor works with each student to determine what courses can be counted for concentration. Because of MEMS' historical and interdisciplinary identity, most study-abroad programs offer a wide variety of courses that can be counted for a MEMS concentration. Double Concentration. Students often willcombine concentration in MEMS with concentration in another department or program — in the natural sciences as well as in the social sciences and humanities. Students who plan a double concentration should see the concentration advisor early to work out a plan for completion of requirements. Student Associations. The MEMS Society is student run and cooperates with the Program in planning academic and social events. There is a social gathering of all MEMS concentrators and friends near the beginning of each term in which general policy questions are discussed. 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