Medieval Studies (MEDVL)Arts and Sciences
Showing 24 results.
Course descriptions provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.
Last Updated
- Schedule of Classes - October 30, 2025 7:09PM EDT
Classes
MEDVL 1101
Course Description
Topics and reading lists vary from section to section, but all will in some way address the subject of medieval culture. Consult the John S. Knight Institute Current Courses webpage to access current year ... view course details
FWS Session.
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Graded(Letter grades only)
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Section Topic
Topic: FWS:Archaeology and Lost Histories
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Class Number & Section Details
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Meeting Pattern
- TR
- Jan 20 - May 5, 2026
Instructors
Bajorek, K
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Additional Information
Instruction Mode: In Person
For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/.
FWS Session.
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Graded(Letter grades only)
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Section Topic
Topic: FWS: Images in the Margin
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Class Number & Section Details
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Meeting Pattern
- TR
- Jan 20 - May 5, 2026
Instructors
Edwards Rentsch, F
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Additional Information
Instruction Mode: In Person
For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/.
FWS Session.
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Graded(Letter grades only)
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Section Topic
Topic: FWS: Worms, Serpents, Dragons, and Maggots
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Class Number & Section Details
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Meeting Pattern
- MW
- Jan 20 - May 5, 2026
Instructors
Kelshaw, C
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Additional Information
Instruction Mode: In Person
For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/.
FWS Session.
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Graded(Letter grades only)
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Section Topic
Topic: FWS: Back to School—Debating in the Medieval Univ
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Class Number & Section Details
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Meeting Pattern
- TR
- Jan 20 - May 5, 2026
Instructors
Nekhaenko, F
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Additional Information
Instruction Mode: In Person
For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://knight.as.cornell.edu/.
MEDVL 1740
Course Description
This course explores the history of imperial China between the 3rd century b.c.e. and the 16th century c.e. with a focus on the following questions: How did imperial Chinese states go about politically ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: ASIAN 2740, CAPS 1740, HIST 1740
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Credits and Grading Basis
4 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
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Class Number & Section Details
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Meeting Pattern
- MW
- Jan 20 - May 5, 2026
Instructors
Hinrichs, T
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Additional Information
Instruction Mode: In Person
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Class Number & Section Details
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Meeting Pattern
- F
- Jan 20 - May 5, 2026
Instructors
Staff
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Additional Information
Instruction Mode: In Person
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Class Number & Section Details
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Meeting Pattern
- F
- Jan 20 - May 5, 2026
Instructors
Staff
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Additional Information
Instruction Mode: In Person
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Class Number & Section Details
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Meeting Pattern
- F
- Jan 20 - May 5, 2026
Instructors
Staff
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Additional Information
Instruction Mode: In Person
MEDVL 2100
Course Description
Romances were, essentially, medieval science fiction and fantasy writing. They were how authors in the Middle Ages imagined things beyond rational understanding that, at the same time, greatly extended ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: ENGL 2100
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 2170
Course Description
This course explores major texts and themes of the Hispanic tradition from the 11th to the 17th centuries. We will examine general questions on literary analysis and the relationship between literature ... view course details
MEDVL 3120
Course Description
Beowulf has received renewed attention in popular culture, thanks to the production of recent movies and riveting new translations. The poem's popular appeal lies in its complex depictions of monsters, ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: ENGL 3120, ENGL 6120, MEDVL 6120
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 3190
Course Description
Chaucer became known as the father of English poetry before he was entirely cold in his grave. Why is what he wrote more than six hundred years ago still riveting for us today? It's not just because he ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: ENGL 3190
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 3200
Course Description
This course aims to familiarize students with the history of Scandinavia, ca. 800-1100 ad. Although well known as a dramatic chapter in medieval history, this period remains enigmatic and often misunderstood. ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Choose one lecture and one independent study. Combined with: HIST 3200, JWST 3200, NES 3200
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Credits and Grading Basis
4 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
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Class Number & Section Details
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Meeting Pattern
- MW
- Jan 20 - May 5, 2026
Instructors
Falk, O
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Additional Information
Instruction Mode: In Person
MEDVL 3210
Course Description
A selective survey of Western philosophical thought from the fourth to the 14th century. Topics include the problem of universals, the theory of knowledge and truth, the nature of free choice and practical ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: PHIL 3210, RELST 3150
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 3316
Course Description
Old Norse is a collective term for the earliest North Germanic literary languages: Old Icelandic, Old Norwegian, Old Danish, and Old Swedish. The richly documented Old Icelandic is the center of attention, ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: LING 3316
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 3448
Course Description
Sufism, popularly understood as Islamic mysticism, is a loose name given to a broad and diverse collection of beliefs, practices and groups that range and vary across time and space. Going from a small ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: HIST 3448, HIST 6448, MEDVL 6448, NES 3448, NES 6448, RELST 3448, RELST 6448
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 3775
Course Description
This course will introduce students to the relationship between modern fantasy fiction and the Middle Ages. What kind of world is the world of quests and secret love affairs, swords and sorcery? We'll ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: FREN 3775
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 4305
Course Description
A comparative and interdisciplinary seminar whose focus is the visual world created by the pan-Mediterranean (Iberian Peninsula, Maghreb, France, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and Persia) culture of Courtly Love ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: ARTH 4305, ARTH 6305, MEDVL 6305, NES 4795
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits GradeNoAud(Letter grades only (no audit))
MEDVL 4471
Course Description
The premodern world played a crucial role in the formation of postmodern theory. ‘Biblical exegesis’, ‘negative theology’, ‘inner experience’, and other premodern concepts and practices were taken up by ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: COML 4471, GERST 4471, GERST 6471, MEDVL 6471
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 4754
Course Description
This seminar provides a higher-level general introduction to, and survey of, contemporary theories, methods, and approaches in the archaeology of the Mediterranean world. Rather than focusing on a specific ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: ANTHR 4254, ANTHR 7254, ARKEO 4254, ARKEO 7254, ARTH 4754, ARTH 6754, CLASS 4754, CLASS 7754, MEDVL 6754, NES 4654, NES 7654
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Graded(Letter grades only)
MEDVL 6020
Course Description
Reading and translation of Latin philosophical texts. view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: LATIN 7262, PHIL 6020, RELST 6020
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Credits and Grading Basis
1-2 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 6102
Course Description
This course is an introduction to and survey of Latin scripts from Roman antiquity through the early Renaissance, with an emphasis on the identification, localization, and reading of scripts. Class meetings ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: LATIN 7222
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 6120
Course Description
Beowulf has received renewed attention in popular culture, thanks to the production of recent movies and riveting new translations. The poem's popular appeal lies in its complex depictions of monsters, ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: ENGL 3120, ENGL 6120, MEDVL 3120
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 6210
Course Description
Graduate seminar covering a topic in medieval philosophy. view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: PHIL 4215, PHIL 6210, RELST 4215, RELST 6210
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 6305
Course Description
A comparative and interdisciplinary seminar whose focus is the visual world created by the pan-Mediterranean (Iberian Peninsula, Maghreb, France, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and Persia) culture of Courtly Love ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: ARTH 4305, ARTH 6305, MEDVL 4305, NES 4795
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits GradeNoAud(Letter grades only (no audit))
MEDVL 6448
Course Description
Sufism, popularly understood as Islamic mysticism, is a loose name given to a broad and diverse collection of beliefs, practices and groups that range and vary across time and space. Going from a small ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: HIST 3448, HIST 6448, MEDVL 3448, NES 3448, NES 6448, RELST 3448, RELST 6448
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 6471
Course Description
The premodern world played a crucial role in the formation of postmodern theory. ‘Biblical exegesis’, ‘negative theology’, ‘inner experience’, and other premodern concepts and practices were taken up by ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: COML 4471, GERST 4471, GERST 6471, MEDVL 4471
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
MEDVL 6754
Course Description
This seminar provides a higher-level general introduction to, and survey of, contemporary theories, methods, and approaches in the archaeology of the Mediterranean world. Rather than focusing on a specific ... view course details
Regular Academic Session. Combined with: ANTHR 4254, ANTHR 7254, ARKEO 4254, ARKEO 7254, ARTH 4754, ARTH 6754, CLASS 4754, CLASS 7754, MEDVL 4754, NES 4654, NES 7654
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Credits and Grading Basis
3 Credits Graded(Letter grades only)
MEDVL 8010
Course Description
This course gives students the opportunity to work with a selected instructor to pursue special interests or research not treated in regularly scheduled courses. After getting permission of the instructor, ... view course details
MEDVL 8020
Course Description
This course should be used for an independent study in which a small group of students works with one member of the graduate faculty. After getting permission of the instructor, students should contact ... view course details
Regular Academic Session.
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Credits and Grading Basis
1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)
Regular Academic Session.
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Credits and Grading Basis
1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt(Letter or S/U grades)