Break out your doublet and hose and crack open those Old English epics, for thou art about to enter the kingdom of medieval knowledge.
You may have read your Chaucer, and you might even be able to recite the casualty reports from the Battle of Hastings. You may even have built a trebuchet in your backyard as a kid, but thanks to recent approval by the Oregon University System, you will be able to get a four-year degree for it.
History Professor John Nicols said that for the past eight years there has been talk of making medieval studies its own major, but until this summer, the paperwork had not been submitted. Now that it has, University students can start taking classes from a new, independent Medieval Studies Program in the fall.
For the past decade, the University has offered medieval studies both as a minor and a focus in the humanities majors.
Associate Professor of English Martha Bayless said the plan has always been for medieval studies to become an independent program. It started as a subdivision of humanities, because the smaller program was easier to handle administratively. The program has proved popular, prompting officials to spin it off as an independent major, Bayless said.
Bayless said the primary difference students will see immediately is that their transcripts will show their major as “medieval studies” rather than “humanities with a emphasis on medieval studies.” Bayless said this is important, because the former designation led to of confusion from graduate schools and possible employers.
An independent Medieval Studies Program will also have a higher national profile than the previous designation, which will likely attract more students from a wider variety of places, Bayless said. This will attract better faculty, which will attract more funding, which will allow the University to build an even better program, she added.
Nicols said that at present,
medieval studies majors fall into one of two groups. Some are straight humanities majors with an emphasis in medieval studies, but many are double-majors, often in English or history.
“It’s pretty typical for humanities students to double-major,” said Nicols.
Medieval studies majors study many aspects of history and culture from the period 500 to 1500 A.D. Focuses include literature, art history, religion and music.
Bayless said the University’s program is unusual in that students are not restricted to the study of Europe. Students can also take classes on medieval China and Japan, as well as other cultures.
Sophomore anthropology major Suzanne Wisesaid she is happy to see medieval studies become its own major. Wise also said the program will be a boon to students not majoring in medieval studies, because it will provide the opportunity to take a broader range of history and culture classes.
“It’s really great for those people who want to follow that course of study,” she said.
At present, there are no plans for a doctoral program for medieval studies, but the University does offer a “Structured Emphasis in the Medieval Period” doctoral program through the English department that has attracted many students, Bayless said. Students can also earn an interdisciplinary master of artsin the medieval periods.
“We offer quite a lot of options after the B.A.,” Bayless said.

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