Dickinson College offers a major and minor in medieval & early modern studies (MEMS). What makes our program unique is the flexibility students have to design their courses of study according to their own interests, enabling them to bring together courses from many different departments—English, history, art, music, philosophy, religion, classical studies and foreign language—around a topic involving European civilization from late antiquity to the 18th century.

MEMS is made up of 18 experienced faculty members, all of whom are accomplished and respected scholars in their fields of study. The major culminates with a senior seminar and a research paper or project developed with two faculty advisors from different disciplines who serve as mentors throughout the capstone experience.

The breadth and rigor of our program will prepare students who would like to continue their studies in graduate school, as well as a variety of other professions in the contemporary workplace. Your MEMS education, grounded in advanced competency in critical thinking, analysis and verbal expression (both written and oral), will be relevant wherever you go beyond Dickinson. 

Contact Info

Chair

Regina SweeneyAssociate Professor of History

Department Coordinator

Michele KarperAcad Dept Coord Art & Art Hist

Phone

717-254-8705

Fax

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Location

2nd Floor, Weiss Mailing Address

Department Features


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Study Abroad
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Current Courses

Student Outcomes

Where Our Students Go From Here

Jobs

  • University of Washington School of Medicine
  • New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
  • Light House for the Blind & Visually Impaired
  • Walnut Street Theatre
  • Thunderbird School of Global Management
  • Dickinson College
  • Chapman University School of Business
  • U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center
  • Taylor & Francis Group, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Graduate schools

  • University of East Anglia
  • Kings College, London
  • San Francisco State University
  • Penn State Dickinson Law School
  • Fordham University
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • University of Washington Medical School
  • New York University
  • University of Toronto
  • Chapman University, School of Business & Economics
  • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • University of Delaware
  • Syracuse University
  • UCLA
Where Our Students Have Interned
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Archives of American Art, Smithsonian
  • State Museum of Pennsylvania
  • Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
  • National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
  • Carlisle Historical Society

Student Perspective

"I didn’t declare until the fall of sophomore year, but probably a week after I found out about MEMS, I knew it was the perfect fit. I have been so happy with MEMS, and every class I’ve taken through the program has reinforced my love of learning and reminded me how happy studying your passion can make you. Making it possible for me to study abroad in Norwich, England, was the best thing Dickinson has done for me. I was able to immerse myself in a town with deep medieval history and authentic sites and a thriving theatre community. I took classes on everything from early modern witches to medieval monsters, and every myth and folk tale in between.”

—Lillian Carver ’21 (medieval & early modern studies, theatre & dance)

"The Department of Medieval & Early Modern Studies is the best of both worlds: As a MEMS major, I didn’t have to decide which department to major in, be it history, art or literature. I get to study all of my favorite areas within the humanities and social sciences in my favorite time period! The cross-disciplinary work and faculty support I receive in MEMS helped me direct my medieval passion into a career after Dickinson. The director and curator of education at Dickinson’s Trout Gallery are two fabulous medievalists who gave me the opportunity to work hands-on with art, programming and curation projects related to my MEMS studies."

—Bizz Fretty ’20 (art & art history, medieval & early modern studies)


Medieval & Early Modern Studies News

All News Department News
Student Snapshot: Lillian Carver ’21

Student Snapshot: Lillian Carver ’21

“Every class I’ve taken through the [medieval & early modern studies] program has reinforced my love of learning and reminded me how happy studying your passion can make you,” says Lillian Carver ’21.

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Student Snapshot: Zoë Jacks ’23

Student Snapshot: Zoë Jacks ’23

After a high-school research project, Zoë Jacks ’23 learned what she can accomplish when following her passion for Renaissance history and culture. Now, she's taking those studies to the next level.

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Student Snapshot: Julia Chandler ’22

Student Snapshot: Julia Chandler ’22

Meet Julia Chandler ’22, an English and medieval & early modern studies double major who is one of six students recently accepted into the Mansfield Visiting Student Program at Oxford.

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Internship Spotlight: Bizz Fretty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Internship Spotlight: Bizz Fretty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bizz Fretty '20 is applying what she's learned as an art & art history and medieval & early modern studies double major to her internship at the Met in New York City.

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Dickinson College Hosts Performance by The Newberry Consort

Dickinson College Hosts Performance by The Newberry Consort

Dickinson artists-in-residence The Newberry Consort will perform “Forbidden Love: The Passion of Héloïse and Abélard," using period instruments, costumed actors and projected art and text.

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A Fresh Look at Petrarch

A Fresh Look at Petrarch's Existential Crisis

The 2017 Medieval & Early Modern Studies Lecture takes a new look at two major Italian Renaissance works and finds an enlightening philosophical thread.

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