Classical and Medieval Studies

Professors Baker (Religious Studies), Federico (English), Maurizio (chair), and O’Higgins; Assistant Professors Boomer (Art and Visual Culture, Classical and Medieval Studies, and Religious Studies), Brent, Ianni, Lynch (Classical and Medieval Studies and History), and Tizzoni (Classical and Medieval Studies and History); Senior Lecturer Walker.

The Program in Classical and Medieval Studies combines a uniquely interdisciplinary study of cultural history with an emphasis on empowering students to read and assess texts in relevant ancient and medieval languages.

The Bates program is distinctive in its scope because it links the study of classical antiquity with that of the Middle Ages and embraces the global context of ancient and medieval societies, from northern Europe and Scandinavia to Central Asia, and from North and West Africa to the Indian Ocean. It considers the many diverse cultures and communities in North Africa, the Near East, Crete, and Sicily, constituting ancient "Greece" and "Rome." Its definition of the medieval period encompasses the civilization of Islam, the Byzantines, and the Latin and vernacular cultures of Western Europe, from Visigoths and Vikings to Middle English poets and builders of Gothic cathedrals. This broad chronology, coupled with an extensive geographical and cultural range, encourages students to examine the long track of history to see how humans act and react with each other, their environments, their pasts, and their futures.

The program centers questions about power, oppression, and the constructed nature of culture, identity, and the past itself. Students explore these questions through different lenses: art, archaeology, architecture, drama, literature, philosophy, religion, rhetoric, and social and cultural history. Students learn ancient and medieval languages to engage directly and authoritatively with textual evidence. Because no study of the past is complete without understanding its material culture and how people communicated through it, students are encouraged to study abroad to experience ancient and medieval visual and material culture in various contexts of display. They also interrogate how representations of the ancient and medieval pasts have been used to support cultural, political, and artistic projects, whether in the sixteenth century or more recently. By pursuing their passion for the past in these various ways, students develop critical skills necessary to meet the challenges of the present day.

More information is available on the Classical and Medieval Studies program website.