Minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Program Learning Outcomes for the Minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Upon completing the minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies, students will be able to:

  1. Define and apply appropriate disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary methodologies, vocabularies, concepts, and theories to respond critically to questions within the field of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. 
  2. Demonstrate the ability to define and respond to research questions and scholarly debates within the field, including the ability to analyze primary and secondary sources, draw conclusions from the analysis of these sources, and cite evidence in support of conclusions

Requirements for the Minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Students pursuing the minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies must complete:

  • A minimum of 6 courses (18 credit hours) to satisfy minor requirements.
  • A minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) taken at the 300-level or above.
  • A maximum of 2 courses (6 credit hours) from study abroad or transfer credit. For additional departmental guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab.

The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this minor. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the minor’s academic advisor or, where applicable, the Program Director. (Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the minor's Official Certifier). Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.

Summary

Total Credit Hours Required for the Minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies18

Minor Requirements

Core Requirements
Select 6 courses from the following categories (see course lists below): 1, 218
Anthropology
Art History
Asian Studies
Classical Studies
English
French Studies
History
Jewish Studies
Medieval and Early Modern Studies
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Spanish
Total Credit Hours18

Footnotes and Additional Information

Course Lists to Satisfy Requirements

Anthropology
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF AFRICA
KINGS, QUEENS, AND COMMONERS: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF ANCIENT MESOAMERICA
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF SLAVERY AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
Art History
INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF ART I: ANCIENT TO MEDIEVAL
INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF WESTERN ART II: RENAISSANCE TO PRESENT
A GLOBAL ARCHITECTURE HISTORY I
INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF WESTERN EUROPE
INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTURE: CITIES, MOSQUES, PALACES
THE ARTS OF THE RENAISSANCE IN EUROPE
THE ART OF DEATH IN THE MIDDLE AGES
ARCHITECTURE, TRADE, AND POWER IN EARLY MODERN ISLAMIC EMPIRES
ART, SCIENCE, AND MAGIC IN THE MEDIEVAL WORLD
BUDDHIST AND DAOIST ART AND RITUAL
PERSIANATE ARTS OF THE BOOK
COFFEEHOUSES AND TEAHOUSES: A GLOBAL HISTORY
EARLY MEDIEVAL ART
ART OF THE COURTS
LOOKING AT EUROPEAN PRINTS 1400-1700
RADICAL BODIES IN MEDIEVAL ART
AMERICAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE I: 1620-1800
NORTHERN RENAISSANCE ART
EARLY RENAISSANCE ART IN ITALY
THE HIGH RENAISSANCE AND MANNERISM IN ITALY
MASTERS OF THE BAROQUE ERA
CAPITALISM AND CULTURE
SEX AND MONEY: THE SPECIES DIVIDE
HOW TO READ CHINESE PAINTING
CHINESE ART AND THE WORLD
MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS
ARCHITECTURE AND LITERATURE IN ISLAMIC CULTURES
VISUAL CULATURE OF MEDIEVAL PILGRIMAGE
THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY AND THE ANGLO-NORMAN WORLD
SEEING SEX IN EUROPEAN ART, 1400-1700
MULTICULTURAL EUROPE, 1400-1700
CHINESE BUDDHIST WOODCUTS 850-1450
Asian Studies
TRANSNATIONAL ART AND CULTURE IN ASIA BEFORE THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
ART & WORLD CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES IN CHINA, JAPAN AND KOREA
SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES
A HISTORY OF THE SILK ROADS
RELIGIONS FROM INDIA
BUDDHISM AND SCIENCE
PREMODERN CHINA: HISTORY OF AN OPEN EMPIRE TO 1800
KOREA AND EMPIRES: FROM THE MONGOLS TO THE COLD WAR
ASIAN PHILOSOPHY IN CONTEXT
INTRODUCTION TO TRADITIONAL CHINESE POETRY
TRADITIONAL CHINESE TALES AND SHORT STORIES
INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL CHINESE NOVELS
GENDER AND SOCIETY IN BUDDHISM
EAST ASIAN ORTHODOXIES AND HERESIES: LAW AND SOCIETY IN TRADITIONAL CHINA, KOREA, AND VIETNAM
CHINESE ART AND THE WORLD
WOMEN IN CHINESE LITERATURE
Classical Studies
ELEMENTARY LATIN I
ELEMENTARY LATIN II
INTERMEDIATE LATIN I: PROSE
INTERMEDIATE LATIN II
INTERMEDIATE LATIN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
RECOVERY, REBIRTH, REGENERATION: CLASSICS AND THE EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE
ADVANCED LATIN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
English
BEGINNINGS: BRITISH LITERATURE TO 1800
THE HISTORY OF LOVE
HEAVEN AND HELL
TOPICS IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE AND/OR CULTURE
MEDIEVAL ROMANCE
CHAUCER
ARTHURIAN LITERATURE
SHAKESPEARE ON FILM
SHAKESPEARE
TOPICS IN SHAKESPEARE
RENAISSANCE DRAMA
JOHN MILTON: RADICAL THOUGHT THEN AND NOW
LITERATURE OF THE BRITISH ENLIGHTENMENT
18TH CENTURY BRITISH FICTION
French Studies
FRENCH CULTURE THROUGH THE ARTS
MIDDLE AGES TO ENLIGHTENMENT
SAINTS AND SINNERS
LITERATURE AND CULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES: KING ARTHUR
History
MODERN EUROPE, 1500-1789
WORLD HISTORY SINCE 1492
RACE IN EARLY AMERICA: CREATING RACIAL IDENTITIES IN THE ERA OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
EARLY AMERICA TO THE CIVIL WAR
MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATIONS
MEXICO: AN INTRODUCTION
THE ATLANTIC WORLD: ORIGINS TO THE AGE OF REVOLUTION
MEDIEVAL MEDITERRANEAN WORLD
MEDIEVAL VIOLENCE
THE MIDDLE EAST FROM THE AGE OF MUHAMMAD TO THE ARAB SPRING
GENGHIS KHAN AND THE EMPIRE OF THE MONGOLS
HISTORY OF EARLY AFRICA
LATIN AMERICAN CULTURAL TRADITIONS
NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY: FROM EUROPEAN CONTACT TO THE ERA OF REMOVAL
EARLY HISTORY OF SCIENCE
SLAVERY AND THE FOUNDING FATHERS
HISTORY OF SOUTH ASIA
GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM
FIGHTING THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
THE WORLD OF LATE ANTIQUITY
SEX, GENDER, AND FAMILY IN EUROPE, 1300-1700
JEWS AND CHRISTIANS IN THE MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC WORLD
IMPERIAL PLEASURE GARDENS, A WORLD HISTORY
HISTORY OF ATLANTIC AFRICA
CONFLICT AND COEXISTENCE IN MEDIEVAL SPAIN
MEDIEVAL BORDERLANDS
ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND THE ORIGINS OF AFRO AMERICA
JEWS AND CHRISTIANS IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE
HISTORY OF PREMODERN BRITAIN: TUDORS AND STUARTS, 1485 - 1707
WORLD ECONOMIC HISTORY
EUROPEAN INTELLECTUAL HISTORY: BACON TO HEGEL
JEWISH HISTORY, 1500-1948
PRE-MODERN POLITICAL THOUGHT FROM CICERO TO LOCKE
THE AGE OF ATTILA THE HUN
MUSLIMS, JEWS, CHRISTIANS, HERETICS, AND PAGANS IN THE AGE OF THE CRUSADES
EMPIRE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
A HISTORY OF TRAVEL: FROM MEDIEVAL PILGRIMAGE TO THE HIPPIE TRAIL
MUSLIMS, AMERICA, AND ISLAMOPHOBIA
THE MEDIEVAL CITY, 300-1500
RULING HINDUSTAN: THE TIMURID-MUGHAL KINGS OF INDIA
Jewish Studies
GREAT BOOKS OF JEWISH HISTORY AND CULTURE
Medieval and Early Modern Studies
SPECIAL TOPICS
DIRECTED READING IN MEDIEVAL STUDIES
INDEPENDENT STUDY IN MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN STUDIES
SPECIAL TOPICS
SENIOR THESIS
SENIOR THESIS
Music
EXPERIENCING MUSIC, EXPRESSING CULTURE: AN INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE MUSIC
MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE ERAS
MONSTERS AND BARDS
MUSIC IN WESTERN CULTURE
BAROQUE AND EARLY CLASSICAL ERAS
COLLEGIUM MUSICUM
Philosophy
HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY I
HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY II
HISTORY OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
HISTORY OF ETHICS
HISTORY OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
Religion
INTRODUCTION TO JEWISH MYSTICISM
INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM
INTRODUCTION TO EARLY CHRISTIANITY
THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
QUR'AN AND COMMENTARY
INTRODUCTION TO TIBETAN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURE
MEDIEVAL POPULAR CHRISTIANITY
DEMONS, MENTAL ILLNESS AND MEDICINE
JEWISH PHILOSOPHY: GREAT THINKERS AND THEMES IN JEWISH THOUGHT
REPRESENTING THE DEVIL IN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND ART
PILGRIMAGE AND CRUSADE
CHRISTIANITY AND LATE ANTIQUITY
NEW TESTAMENT / CHRISTIAN ORIGINS
CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY ARABIC TEXTS
VISIONS AND VISONARY PRACTICES: MEDIEVAL TO MODERN
SECOND CENTURY CHRISTIANITIES
THIRD CENTURY CHRISTIANITIES
Spanish
INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN SPANISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE
DON QUIJOTE

Policies for the Minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Program Restrictions and Exclusions

Students pursuing the minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies should be aware of the following program restriction:

  • As noted in Majors, Minors, and Certificates, i.) students may declare their intent to pursue a minor only after they have first declared a major, and ii.) students may not major and minor in the same subject.

Transfer Credit 

For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. Requests for transfer credit must be approved for Rice equivalency by the designated transfer credit advisor for the appropriate academic department offering the Rice equivalent course (corresponding to the subject code of the course content). The Office of Academic Advising maintains the university’s official list of transfer credit advisors on their website: https://oaa.rice.edu. Students are encouraged to meet with the applicable transfer credit advisor as well as their academic program director when considering transfer credit possibilities. 

Program Transfer Credit Guidelines

Students pursuing the minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies should be aware of the following program-specific transfer credit guideline:

  • No more than 2 courses (6 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice may apply towards the minor.

Distribution Credit Information

The determination of distribution credit eligibility is done initially as part of the new course creation process. Additionally, as part of an annual roll call coordinated each Spring by the Office of the Registrar, course distribution credit eligibility is routinely reviewed and reaffirmed by the Dean’s Offices of each of the academic schools.  

Faculty and leadership in the academic schools are responsible for ensuring that the courses identified as distribution-credit-eligible meet the criteria as set in the General Announcements. Students are responsible for ensuring that they meet graduation requirements by completing coursework designated as distribution-credit-eligible at the time of course registration. 

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the Medieval and Early Modern Studies website: https://medieval.rice.edu/.

Opportunities for the Minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Academic Honors

The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate’s academic history at Rice. For information on university honors, please see Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) and Distinction in Research and Creative Work. Some departments have department-specific Honors awards or designations.

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the Medieval and Early Modern Studies website: https://medieval.rice.edu/.