Faculty of Arts
Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Search : Index : Faculty of Arts

Faculty of Arts

1. Time commitment to study
2. Prerequisites
3. Requirements for a major
4. Ancient and medieval studies
    4.1. Language study component
    4.2. Ancient and medieval studies subjects
5. Diploma in Arts (Ancient and Medieval Studies)
6. Medieval and Renaissance studies
    6.1. Language study component
    6.2. Medieval and Renaissance studies subjects
7. Renaissance and early modern studies
    7.1. Language study component
    7.2. Renaissance and early modern studies subjects
8. Honours entry
9. Honours requirement
10. For more information

Coordinator: Dr Catherine Kovesi Killerby (History)

The ancient, medieval and early modern studies program allows students to shape their subject choices according to an historical period as well as an academic discipline. Students completing one of the ancient, medieval and early modern studies majors will become aware of interdisciplinary links between subjects based in similar periods but in different disciplines. As well as providing a major area of study for BA students, the program also offers an interdisciplinary honours year that focuses on medieval studies, Renaissance studies, or early modern studies that may lead to postgraduate work. The program offers a flexible structure that presents a cluster of three programs within an ancient, medieval and early modern framework. These sub-programs are sufficiently narrow in period terms to reflect a real sense of common interest and intellectual coherence but they are also wide enough to provide a stable group of offerings to students undertaking the major.

Students may complete a major in:

Ancient and medieval studies (1000BC-1400AD)
Medieval and Renaissance studies (600-1600)
Renaissance and early modern studies (1300-1800)

1. Time commitment to study

As well as scheduled contact hours for lectures, tutorial and seminars a considerable additional time committment is needed to complete the academic requirements of each subject.

A subject-specific time commitment to study will be provided by your lecturer or tutor at the beginning of semester to help you schedule your workload and successfully manage your time during the semester. In addition, see general estimates of the total time commitment required to study a 12.5-point single semester subject in the Faculty of Arts (Time commitment to study).

2. Prerequisites

The programs commence at first year and there are no prerequisites for entry at this level.

Students may also enter the programs at second year, counting the completion of 25 points of first year in any area of study as a component of their major.

Certain areas of study have prerequisites which must be satisfied for entry to second/third-year subjects. In case of doubt, consult the full subject entry in the relevant area of study in this Handbook.

3. Requirements for a major

A major usually consists of nine 12.5 point subjects (totalling 112.5 points). It comprises:

two first-year subjects (25 points) which may be taken from the list of recommended first-year subjects below, or from any area of study; and
seven second/third-year subjects from the lists below (totalling 87.5 points).

Students are encouraged to include in their major two subjects of language study (25 points) in the languages specified below. If this language requirement is completed in first year, seven non-language subjects must be taken across the second/third year of the major.

4. Ancient and medieval studies

This interdisciplinary program of studies focuses on the period 1000BC-1400AD. The program offers students the means to develop focused period-based study across a range of disciplines. Students may complete an undergraduate major and an honours degree in this program.

4.1. Language study component

Students undertaking a major in ancient to early modern studies are encouraged to take language subjects in the following languages:

Italian
French
German
Latin
Old and Middle English
Spanish
Old Norse (see Viking Studies)
Swedish

4.2. Ancient and medieval studies subjects

First year

Students are recommended to take two subjects from the following lists of first-year subjects toward their major. The completion of these subjects is not, however, a formal prerequisite for the major.		Semester
	107-102 Pyramids and Princes: Egypt and the East	1
	107-103 Ancient Rome: Myth and Empire	2
	107-104 Ancient Greece: Myth, Art and Text	1
	107-130 Art History A: The Work of Art	1
	107-149 Intensive Beginners Latin	Summer
	131-110 Medieval Europe: Plague, War & Heresy	Not Offered
	131-119 Love and War in Medieval Europe	2
	131-125 Great Civilisations: Egypt to Greece	Not Offered
	131-126 Great Civilisations: Athens and Rome	2
	131-191 Medieval Europe: Heroes and Barbarians	1
	702-131 European Architecture A	Not Offered
	740-138 Discovering Music 1	2

First/second/third-year

	107-155 Roman Elegy	1
	107-156 Roman Biography	Not Offered
	107-159 Roman Historiography	2
	107-160 Roman Oratory	Not Offered
	107-161 Roman Epic	Not Offered
	107-162 Roman Lyric	Not Offered
	107-163 Roman Comedy	Not Offered
	107-164 Roman Satire	2

Second/third year

	106-013 Beowulf	2
	106-015 Backgrounds to English Literature	1
	106-024 Introduction to Old English A: Prose	1
	106-029 Introduction to Old English B: Poetry	2
	106-038 Medievalism in Contemporary Culture	1
	106-053 Chaucer and the Canon	Not Offered
	106-213 Art, Ideology and Doctrine, 400-1000	2
	107-004 Age of Heroes: the Aegean Bronze Age	1
	107-009 The Great Archaeologists	Not Offered
	107-048 Art, Society & Ritual in Medieval Italy	Not Offered
	107-149 Intensive Beginners Latin	Summer
	107-211 Egypt Under the Pharaohs	1
	107-213 Imperial Insanity: Mad Emperors of Rome	2
	107-215 Pompeii	2
	107-217 The Ancient Greeks: Home and Away	1
	107-219 Early Christian and Byzantine Art	Not Offered
	107-220 Medieval Art: Celtic to Gothic	1
	107-221 The Epics of Homer	Not Offered
	107-222 Classical Athens	Not Offered
	107-231 Greek Tragedy and Roman Farce	1
	107-232 Interpreting the Past	Not Offered
	107-233 From Villages to Cities	Not Offered
	107-236 Yoga and Asian Art	Not Offered
	107-237 From Cyrus to Alexander the Great	Not Offered
	107-245 Underworld and Afterlife	2
	107-249 The Art of Classical Greece	1
	107-273 Sex and Gender in the Ancient World	2
	107-274 New Kingdon Egypt and the World Beyond	2
	126-068 Viking Studies A: Culture and Influence	1
	126-069 Viking Studies B: Society and Language	2
	131-035 Pirates and their Enemies	Not Offered
	131-042 Roman History: 500 Years of Oligarchy	Not Offered
	131-043 Roman History: Three Centuries of Empire	Not Offered
	131-046 Great Empires of Islamic Civilisation	2
	131-069 God Through History	Not Offered
	131-075 The Graeco-Roman City in Antiquity	Not Offered
	131-233 Civil War and Revolution in Britain	2
	131-237 The Crusades	Summer
	131-238 Early Medieval Europe: Cultures of Power	Not Offered
	131-241 Medieval Ireland: Conflict and Conquest	1
	161-019 Greek Philosophy	Not Offered
	161-023 Medieval Philosophy	Not Offered
	161-031 Philosophy of Christianity	1
	740-304 Music of the Manuscript Tradition	Not Offered
	740-312 Notation and Music Editing	Not Offered

Third/fourth year

Students may take the following subjects at third year level to count towards a major on the condition that they satisfy individual subject prerequisites.		Semester
	116-418 To Hell with Dante	1
	116-419 Dante 2	2

5. Diploma in Arts (Ancient and Medieval Studies)

The Diploma in Arts (Ancient and Medieval Studies) is only available to students who are currently enrolled in a degree course at the University of Melbourne. It consists of a three-year sequence of study, and adds one year to the duration of your degree.

Students must complete 25 points of first-year Ancient and Medieval Studies subjects and 75 points of second/third-year Ancient and Medieval Studies subjects selected from the lists above.

6. Medieval and Renaissance studies

This interdisciplinary program of studies focuses on the period 600-1600. The program offers students the means to develop focused period-based study across a range of disciplines. Students may complete an undergraduate major and an honours degree in this program.

6.1. Language study component

Students undertaking a major in medieval and renaissance studies are encouraged to take language subjects in the following languages:

Ancient Greek
Italian
French
German
Latin
Old and Middle English
Spanish
Old Norse (see Viking Studies)
Swedish

6.2. Medieval and Renaissance studies subjects

First year

Students are recommended to take two subjects from the following lists of first-year subjects toward their major. The completion of these subjects is not, however, a formal prerequisite for the major.		Semester
	107-130 Art History A: The Work of Art	1
	107-149 Intensive Beginners Latin	Summer
	131-110 Medieval Europe: Plague, War & Heresy	Not Offered
	131-111 Renaissance and Reformation Europe	Not Offered
	131-119 Love and War in Medieval Europe	2
	131-191 Medieval Europe: Heroes and Barbarians	1
	136-101 History of Astronomy	1
	702-131 European Architecture A	Not Offered

Second/third year

	106-013 Beowulf	2
	106-015 Backgrounds to English Literature	1
	106-024 Introduction to Old English A: Prose	1
	106-029 Introduction to Old English B: Poetry	2
	106-037 Shakespearean Worlds	Not Offered
	106-038 Medievalism in Contemporary Culture	1
	106-053 Chaucer and the Canon	Not Offered
	106-210 Elizabethan Texts	1
	106-213 Art, Ideology and Doctrine, 400-1000	2
	107-009 The Great Archaeologists	Not Offered
	107-020 Art of the Italian Renaissance	Not Offered
	107-021 The Age of Michelangelo	Not Offered
	107-032 Venetian Renaissance Painting	1
	107-033 Northern Renaissance Art 1480-1600	Not Offered
	107-048 Art, Society & Ritual in Medieval Italy	Not Offered
	107-149 Intensive Beginners Latin	Summer
	107-220 Medieval Art: Celtic to Gothic	1
	107-236 Yoga and Asian Art	Not Offered
	116-224 Rome: Fact or Fiction	Summer
	126-068 Viking Studies A: Culture and Influence	1
	126-069 Viking Studies B: Society and Language	2
	131-035 Pirates and their Enemies	Not Offered
	131-041 The Renaissance in Italy	1
	131-044 Renaissance Nuremberg & Central Europe	2
	131-046 Great Empires of Islamic Civilisation	2
	131-085 Witches and Witch Hunting in Europe	1
	131-232 Elizabeth I: Power and Patriarchy	1
	131-233 Civil War and Revolution in Britain	2
	131-234 Violence and Gender in Europe, 1400-1900	2
	131-237 The Crusades	Summer
	131-238 Early Medieval Europe: Cultures of Power	Not Offered
	131-241 Medieval Ireland: Conflict and Conquest	1
	740-304 Music of the Manuscript Tradition	Not Offered
	740-310 Court, Church and Urban Music 1450-1600	Not Offered
	740-312 Notation and Music Editing	Not Offered

Third/fourth year

Students may take the following subjects at third-year level to count towards a major on the condition that they satisfy individual subject prerequisites.		Semester
	107-449 Architecture and the Visual Imagination	2
	107-467 Renaissance and Baroque Rome 1450-1750	Not Offered
	116-418 To Hell with Dante	1
	116-419 Dante 2	2
	116-462 Sex and Power in the Renaissance	Not Offered
	740-409 Early Music Theory and Practice	2

7. Renaissance and early modern studies

This interdisciplinary program of studies focuses on the period 1300-1800. The program offers students the means to develop focused period-based study across a range of disciplines. Students may complete an undergraduate major and an honours degree in this program.

7.1. Language study component

Students undertaking a major in renaissance and early modern studies are encouraged to take language subjects in the following languages:

Italian
French
German
Latin
Spanish

7.2. Renaissance and early modern studies subjects

First year

Students are recommended to take two subjects from the following lists of first-year subjects toward their major. The completion of these subjects is not, however, a formal prerequisite for the major.		Semester
	107-130 Art History A: The Work of Art	1
	107-149 Intensive Beginners Latin	Summer
	131-103 Age of Revolution: American Revolution	1
	131-111 Renaissance and Reformation Europe	Not Offered
	136-101 History of Astronomy	1
	702-131 European Architecture A	Not Offered
	740-138 Discovering Music 1	2

Second/third year

	106-019 Blake	Not Offered
	106-037 Shakespearean Worlds	Not Offered
	106-052 Gothic Fictions	2
	106-058 Scandal, Sex and Sentiment	2
	106-210 Elizabethan Texts	1
	106-211 Restoration Writing	2
	107-009 The Great Archaeologists	Not Offered
	107-020 Art of the Italian Renaissance	Not Offered
	107-021 The Age of Michelangelo	Not Offered
	107-023 Baroque Art	2
	107-031 Art and the Market: Then and Now	2
	107-032 Venetian Renaissance Painting	1
	107-033 Northern Renaissance Art 1480-1600	Not Offered
	107-063 Watteau and 18th Century Art 1700-1770	Not Offered
	107-149 Intensive Beginners Latin	Summer
	107-236 Yoga and Asian Art	Not Offered
	107-263 Visions of Paradise: Art of the Garden	Not Offered
	116-019 French Theatre: Workshop/Performance	Not Offered
	116-033 Classical and Enlightenment France	1
	116-224 Rome: Fact or Fiction	Summer
	131-035 Pirates and their Enemies	Not Offered
	131-041 The Renaissance in Italy	1
	131-044 Renaissance Nuremberg & Central Europe	2
	131-046 Great Empires of Islamic Civilisation	2
	131-085 Witches and Witch Hunting in Europe	1
	131-232 Elizabeth I: Power and Patriarchy	1
	131-233 Civil War and Revolution in Britain	2
	131-234 Violence and Gender in Europe, 1400-1900	2
	136-038 The Scientific Revolution	1
	161-217 Kant's Metaphysics of Experience	2
	740-304 Music of the Manuscript Tradition	Not Offered
	740-310 Court, Church and Urban Music 1450-1600	Not Offered
	740-312 Notation and Music Editing	Not Offered

Third/fourth year

Students may take the following subjects at third-year level to count towards a major on the condition that they satisfy individual subject prerequisites.		Semester
	107-402 Attribution, Expertise & Connoisseurship	Not Offered
	107-449 Architecture and the Visual Imagination	2
	107-467 Renaissance and Baroque Rome 1450-1750	Not Offered
	116-462 Sex and Power in the Renaissance	Not Offered
	740-409 Early Music Theory and Practice	2

8. Honours entry

The prerequisite for entry to fourth-year honours are:

completion of all the requirements for the BA; and
completion of a major in ancient and medieval studies, medieval and Renaissance studies, or Renaissance and early modern studies; and
an average grade of H2B or higher in the second/third-year subjects within the major.

For information on how to apply see Applying for Honours.

Students wishing to enrol in a thesis in the Department of History must complete either 131-084 Historical Theory and Research or 121-503 Research Methods and Design prior to enrolling in honours.

9. Honours requirement

Students undertaking honours in ancient and medieval studies, medieval and renaissance studies, or Renaissance and early modern studies must complete:

a thesis subject (37.5 points)
a research methods subject (12.5 points)
elective subjects (totalling 50 points)

Ancient and medieval studies

Thesis		Semester
	A 37.5-point (12,000 word) thesis (year long)

One of the following research methods subjects:
	121-503 Research Methods and Design	Summer
	106-401 Research Principles and Practices (for students enrolled in the English or Cultural Studies thesis)	1, repeat 2
	107-549 (for students enrolled in the Art History thesis)
	131-418 Historical Theory and Research (for students enrolled in the History thesis)	2

Elective subjects to total 100 points:
	106-405 Anthologies of Anglo-Saxon Poetry	Not Offered
	106-414 Medieval Representations	2
	106-467 Latin Paleography and Codicology	1
	107-155 Roman Elegy	1
	107-156 Roman Biography	Not Offered
	107-159 Roman Historiography	2
	107-160 Roman Oratory	Not Offered
	107-161 Roman Epic	Not Offered
	107-162 Roman Lyric	Not Offered
	107-163 Roman Comedy	Not Offered
	107-164 Roman Satire	2
	107-404 Myth and Mythmaking in Euripidean Drama	1
	107-410 Roman Religion: Current Issues	1
	107-412 Myth and Reality in Barbarian Europe	Not Offered
	107-415 Cities of Greece and Rome	1
	107-419 Olympic Games to Alexander the Great	2
	107-428 The Book in Medieval & Renaissance Art	Not Offered
	107-435 The Epic Cycle and Homeric Hymns	2
	107-441 Ethnic Identity in the Greco-Roman World	2
	107-456 Roman Didactic Poetry	1
	107-457 Roman Novel	2
	107-482 Advanced Ancient Greek C	1
	107-483 Advanced Ancient Greek D	2
	116-418 To Hell with Dante	1
	116-419 Dante 2	2
	131-408 The Medieval Body	2
	131-430 Historians & Autobiography	Not Offered
	131-434 Reading Course	1, repeat 2
	131-451 Historians and Ritual	Not Offered
	131-472 Forbidden Pleasures: Europe 1450-1550	2
	131-475 Celtic Ritual and Culture	2
	131-550 Memory and History	1

Medieval and Renaissance studies

Thesis		Semester
	A 37.5-point (12,000 word) thesis (year long)

One of the following research methods subjects:
	121-503 Research Methods and Design	Summer
	106-401 Research Principles and Practices (for students enrolled in the English or Cultural Studies thesis)	1, repeat 2
	107-549 (for students enrolled in the Art History thesis)
	131-418 Historical Theory and Research (for students enrolled in the History thesis)	2

Elective subjects to total 100 points:
	106-405 Anthologies of Anglo-Saxon Poetry	Not Offered
	106-414 Medieval Representations	2
	106-467 Latin Paleography and Codicology	1
	107-402 Attribution, Expertise & Connoisseurship	Not Offered
	107-403 Fine Arts 4A	1, repeat 2
	107-406 Readings in Caravaggio	Not Offered
	107-428 The Book in Medieval & Renaissance Art	Not Offered
	107-438 Women in 16th & 17th Century Italian Art	Not Offered
	107-442 Netherlandish Painting:van Eyck to Bosch	Not Offered
	107-449 Architecture and the Visual Imagination	2
	107-456 Roman Didactic Poetry	1
	107-457 Roman Novel	2
	107-467 Renaissance and Baroque Rome 1450-1750	Not Offered
	107-482 Advanced Ancient Greek C	1
	107-483 Advanced Ancient Greek D	2
	116-418 To Hell with Dante	1
	116-419 Dante 2	2
	116-462 Sex and Power in the Renaissance	Not Offered
	131-407 Life and Death in Britain 1500-1800	Not Offered
	131-408 The Medieval Body	2
	131-430 Historians & Autobiography	Not Offered
	131-434 Reading Course	1, repeat 2
	131-451 Historians and Ritual	Not Offered
	131-454 Art, Family & Politics: The Renaissance	Not Offered
	131-472 Forbidden Pleasures: Europe 1450-1550	2
	131-475 Celtic Ritual and Culture	2
	131-550 Memory and History	1
	136-517 Science in the Classical World	Not Offered
	740-409 Early Music Theory and Practice	2

Renaissance and early modern studies

Thesis		Semester
	A 37.5-point (12,000 word) thesis (year long)

One of the following research methods subjects:
	121-503 Research Methods and Design	Summer
	106-401 Research Principles and Practices (for students enrolled in the English or Cultural Studies thesis)	1, repeat 2
	107-549 (for students enrolled in the Art History thesis)
	131-418 Historical Theory and Research (for students enrolled in the History thesis)	2

Elective subjects to total 100 points:
	106-407 Pope and His Enemies	Not Offered
	106-455 Urban Entertainments 1700-1800	Not Offered
	107-402 Attribution, Expertise & Connoisseurship	Not Offered
	107-403 Fine Arts 4A	1, repeat 2
	107-406 Readings in Caravaggio	Not Offered
	107-438 Women in 16th & 17th Century Italian Art	Not Offered
	107-442 Netherlandish Painting:van Eyck to Bosch	Not Offered
	107-449 Architecture and the Visual Imagination	2
	107-456 Roman Didactic Poetry	1
	107-457 Roman Novel	2
	107-467 Renaissance and Baroque Rome 1450-1750	Not Offered
	116-462 Sex and Power in the Renaissance	Not Offered
	131-407 Life and Death in Britain 1500-1800	Not Offered
	131-430 Historians & Autobiography	Not Offered
	131-434 Reading Course	1, repeat 2
	131-451 Historians and Ritual	Not Offered
	131-454 Art, Family & Politics: The Renaissance	Not Offered

10. For more information

Dr Catherine Kovesi Killerby
Department of History
Third Floor, John Medley Building
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010
Tel: 61 3 8344 8160
Email: c.kovesi@history.unimelb.edu.au
Web: http://www.history.unimelb.edu.au

Associate Professor David Marshall
School of Art History, Cinema, Classics and Archaeology
Elisabeth Murdoch Building
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010
Tel: 61 3 8344 5565
Email: david.marshall@unimelb.edu.au
Web: http://www.ahcca.unimelb.edu.au

Professor Stephanie Trigg
Department of English
Second Floor, John Medley Building
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010
Tel: +61 3 8344 5506
Email: sjtrigg@unimelb.edu.au
Web: http://www.english.unimelb.edu.au