Discontinued Major Review: Medieval Studies

Welcome back to Discontinued Major Review! Today’s discontinued major is the interdisciplinary program in Medieval Studies from the 1987-1988 Reed academic catalog, which can be found in the library’s digital archives along with a host of other Olde Reed paraphernalia. I encourage readers to peruse the archives for themselves. 

The Medieval Studies major was described as “[a] major for the student interested in European culture in the Middle Ages.” It had an explicitly cross-disciplinary focus, and was “designed for those whose interest in the period transcends disciplinary bounds and who seek to study the literary, artistic, musical, religious, linguistic, and historical dimensions of the Middle Ages.” The major was administered by a committee of faculty, and although its disciplinary composition is not specified, courses in medieval subject matter were offered in the Art, English, History, French, German, Philosophy, and Religion departments (the archive’s search function appears to return false negatives, so it is possible there were more I missed). The catalog’s authors were proud enough to highlight the Medieval Studies major, with a line meant to illustrate Reed’s academic breadth stating that “[t]he medieval scholar and the political activist flourish alongside the chemist and the calligrapher - sometimes embodied in the same person.” 

The Medieval Studies major had a diverse but open-ended array of requirements. Students were required to take second-year Latin or its equivalent, with the possibility of substituting another relevant language by approval of the committee. The major required two units of medieval history, and six units “chosen from among ‘core courses’ in the medieval field.” At least three of the core courses were to be chosen from two of literature, art, music, and “one unit of religion/philosophy,” the last two departments apparently merged because their sole medieval course was cross-listed. After students were admitted to the major by approval of the committee, the Junior Qualifying Exam consisted of a written examination and discussion of a proposed thesis topic. Students were also recommended, but not required, to take what was then Hum 210 (Early Modern Europe) or Hum 220 (Modern Humanities). 

By the 1994-1995 academic year, the next year with a digitized catalog available, the Medieval Studies major no longer existed. The Alumni Directory lists a grand total of eight Medieval Studies majors (including one Biology/Medieval Studies major), with graduation years between 1970 and 1992. With an average of one major every 2.75 years, it is possible that Medieval Studies’ relative lack of popularity contributed to its downfall. 

I rate Medieval Studies as a 6.5/10 major. The Discontinued Major Review scale is now based on five criteria, each rated between 0 and 2 points: Breadth, Depth, Coherence, Completeability, and Je Ne Sais Quoi. This allows clarification of the scale while still keeping rankings completely arbitrary and subjective since none of the criteria can actually be quantified. Medieval Studies receives 1.5 points for Breadth, 1.5 points for Depth, 0.5 points for Coherence, 1 point for Completeability, and 2 points for Je Ne Sais Quoi. It loses points for the narrow regional focus on Western Europe, lack of thematic unity in requirements beyond time and place, reliance on the apparently all-powerful committee for completion, and the relatively narrow distribution of medieval subject matter courses across disciplines. It gains points for stepping further outside the traditional liberal arts curriculum than Reed generally tolerates and allowing students to develop interests in a fascinating niche.
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