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Medieval Literary Studies
The Medieval Area is flourishing within the Department of English. Whereas most English
Departments have at best three specialists in the Middle Ages, Purdue's English Department has five professors who regularly teach and publish in that area. Their strengths are complemented by faculty members in related areas within English (historical linguistics, early modern drama and romance, and nineteenth-century medievalism) as well as by Medieval Studies faculty members in other Departments within the University.
In 1992 the External Review Team singled out the faculty in the area for special praise for their "distinguished scholarship" and "national prominence." The 1996 External Review Team for Interdisciplinary Programs termed the Medieval Studies Program, in which English faculty members in Medieval and Renaissance participate, a "mature program" with youthful "enthusiasm and commitment."
Graduate students within the program have distinguished themselves by writing outstanding dissertations. In the last seven years, six doctoral students specializing in the English Middle Ages have been awarded highly competitive dissertation fellowships. One dissertation by a Purdue student was published in 2002 in the Routledge Press outstanding dissertation series. The graduate students in the medieval area have taken the leadership in founding Comitatus, the Medieval Studies student organization at Purdue. In the spring of 2003, they organized the first Medieval Studies student conference. Students regularly participate with faculty members in read aloud sessions, in which such works as the Middle English Pearl and tales by Chaucer are performed in their entirety. Several readings by students have been professionally recorded.
English doctoral students whose primary area is Medieval can take their preliminary exams in one of three areas: Old English Language and Literature, Middle English Language and Literature, and Old and Middle English Language.
Graduate students interested in English medieval language and literature take in sequence the following core courses: Engl 611: Old English Language, Engl 612: Old English Literature, Engl 615: A Reading of
Beowulf, Engl 613: Middle English Language, Engl 614 Middle English Literature, and Engl 541 Chaucer. We offer, in addition, Engl 510: History of the English Language, Engl 563: Historical Linguistics, Engl 616: Introduction to Old Norse, and Engl 527: Medieval Drama. There are occasional seminars, special topic courses, and independent studies. Recent variable title offerings include: Medieval Fables, Medieval Outlaws, Malory and Gender, Chaucer and Gender, Fabliaux and Animal Lore, Medieval Women Mystics, Medieval Rhetoric and Poetics, and Medieval Arts of Love.
In addition to Old and Middle English studies, courses in Middle Welsh, Old Irish, Old Norse, Old Saxon, Medieval Latin, and Old French have been offered recently on campus, many of these courses taught by faculty members in English. There is also an ongoing Latin reading group.
Ph.D. students in the Medieval Area are encouraged to take appropriate Medieval Studies classes in other departments, such as History, Philosophy, and Languages & Cultures. Latin and German are recommended for Old English students, while Latin and French are recommended for Middle English students. Students are given guidance about the selection of a secondary area of study within English. Renaissance literature and Historical Linguistics are highly recommended secondary areas.
Students have at their disposal the materials belonging to the Bodleian Slide Collection, as well as large video and tape collections. Purdue is a member of the Newberry Library Consortium. Students therefore have easy access to the holdings of the Newberry Library and can participate in its seminars, meetings, and activities. Annual nearby conferences include the CAES Conference, the IMA Conference, the MAM conference, and the International Medieval Congress.
The Medieval Studies Program hosts visiting speakers for its annual September Symposium and on other occasions as well. Faculty and students participate in the "Medieval Mondays" brownbag lunch series (six meetings per semester). Some also participate in the Icelandic Reading Group, which meets at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
To visit Purdue's Medieval Studies Interdisciplinary Program click here.
