Medieval and Renaissance Studies
- Degree Type Bachelor of Arts
- Department Interdisciplinary
- Academic Division The College
- Offerings Major Minor
The Medieval and Renaissance Studies (MRST) program offers both a major and a minor. This interdisciplinary program allows students to complete work in a variety of subjects and fields, including art history, religion, literature, history, music, philosophy and Classics, while gaining an in-depth knowledge of Medieval and Renaissance culture.
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Medieval and Renaissance Studies offers students a chance to experience interdisciplinary inquiry at its best. Cultures do not follow strict divisions between fields and neither does our program. Students will get a 360-degree view of medieval and Renaissance culture, culminating in an independent capstone or thesis on a topic of the student’s choice. Students work closely with faculty mentors in a variety of departments, with study abroad and research opportunities strongly encouraged. Students will gain skills in cultural analysis, research and writing that will serve them in multiple career paths.
MRST prides itself on its strong core faculty drawn from across the College. With the help of our students, MRST faculty conduct exciting international research projects, including several prominent digital humanities projects supported by competitive national funding. Our students often study abroad, and many choose to complete honors theses on a related topic.
Opportunities
We offer paper prizes for the best work in introductory and advanced coursework. Our students often study abroad and conduct summer research with faculty. They are often candidates, finalists and winners of nationally competitive fellowships.
Outcomes
MRST students go on to careers in law, academics, medicine, teaching, museum curatorship, government service and business. The study of medieval and Renaissance culture is a versatile humanities major that will prepare students for a variety of careers.
W&L History Professor Authors New Book and Appears in WIRED Online Video
Mikki Brock wrote her second book and recently answered questions on her specialty – witches, witchcraft and witch hunts.
W&L History Professor Receives Fellowship at the Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities
Mikki Brock will perform research leading to a new book at the Wellesley College-based academic center this year.
W&L Outcomes: Lucy Donahue ’24
After graduation, Donahue is working as a financial analyst at Amazon and pursuing her CPA.
W&L English Professor Publishes New Book
Holly Pickett’s book explores the stories of several serial converts in early modern England.
Wan-Chuan Kao Hosts Virtual Book Launch Event
‘White before whiteness in the late Middle Ages’ will launch via Zoom on Jan. 25 from 5-6:30 p.m.
Rebecca Benefiel to Deliver Endowed Professorship Lecture
Benefiel’s talk “Uncovering the mysteries of Pompeii” will be held on Nov. 10.
W&L’s Elyssa McMaster ’22 Awarded Fulbright to Italy
McMaster has been awarded a Fulbright research grant to Italy to complete a hybrid art history and computer science project.
Lauren Hoaglund ’22 has parlayed her passion for medieval and Renaissance history, literature, classics and theater into a busy but rewarding four years at W&L.
W&L’s Muensterman Awarded Prestigious Beinecke Scholarship
Kathryn Muensterman ’22 has won a $34,000 Beinecke Scholarship to help fund her graduate studies.
Melissa Yorio ’21 has received support from many corners during her college career, so when the pandemic broke out, she found a way to give back within her hometown community.
Christopher McCrackin ’20 Earns Prestigious Beinecke Scholarship
Christopher McCrackin ’20 has won a $34,000 Beinecke Scholarship to help fund his graduate studies.
W&L a Charter Member of American Shakespeare Center’s New Academic Leadership Consortium
The partnership will bring the company’s national tour and on-site workshops to W&L’s campus.
Meet the Faculty
At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
Wan-Chuan Kao
Associate Professor of English; Head of the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program
- P: 540-458-8345
- E: kaow@wlu.edu
Professor Kao’s teaching and research interests include medieval literature, especially Chaucer; whiteness studies; critical theory; race and ethnicity; gender and sexuality; queer studies; hotel theory; affect; and cute studies.
Kameliya N. Atanasova
Assistant Professor of Religion
Atanasova researches the intersection of religion, law and politics by studying the social role of Sufism in the early-modern Ottoman Empire. She teaches Islamic Civilization, Sufism, Islam in America, and Muslims in the Movies.
Matthew Bailey
Professor of Romance Languages
- P: 540-458-8160
- E: baileym@wlu.edu
Bailey teaches Spanish language, culture and literature. His research interests include medieval Spanish literature and culture, and more specifically, medieval epic narrative.
Rebecca Benefiel
Abigail Grigsby Urquhart Professor of Classics
Benefiel teaches classics and Latin courses such as Pompeii, Classics in a Digital Age, Roman Religion, and The Poetry of Ovid. Her research focuses on Pompeii, Latin epigraphy, and Roman social and cultural history.
George Bent
Sidney Gause Childress Professor in the Arts
- P: 540-458-8863
- E: bentg@wlu.edu
Bent teaches courses on medieval art, Renaissance art and gothic art. He has researched Italian art extensively and recently taught a course called Digital Florence in which students helped to digitally reconstruct the city.
Michelle D. (Mikki) Brock
Professor of History
- P: 540-458-8780
- E: brockm@wlu.edu
Brock teaches courses on British and Atlantic history, the Reformation, witchcraft and the devil, and the history of poverty. Her research focuses on the supernatural and religious beliefs and identities in early modern Scotland.
Alexandra R. Brown
Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor in Bible
On Sabbatical 2024-2025
- P: 540-458-8789
- E: browna@wlu.edu
Brown teaches courses on the New Testament and other ancient Christian texts, Bible and film, gender and religion, Christian mysticism, and theory and method in the study of religion. Her primary research is in New Testament, particularly the Pauline letters.
Roger Crockett
Professor of German
Crockett teaches courses on German literature and business.
Genelle Gertz
Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives and Thomas H. Broadus Professor of English
- P: 540-458-8763
- E: gertzg@wlu.edu
Gertz teaches courses on Milton, the Tudors and the Bible. She is currently working on methods of social network analysis as they apply to our understanding of the rise and fall of women mystics in English literary history.
Sarah Horowitz
Professor of History
Horowitz teaches courses on modern European history and specializes in French history and the history of gender in Europe. She is writing a book on the politics of gender and sexuality in the Steinheil Affair of 1908-1909.
Jemma Alix Levy
Associate Professor of Theater
- P: 540-458-8005
- E: levyj@wlu.edu
Levy teaches courses on acting, directing, Shakespeare and theater history. She is a professional director with critically-acclaimed national and international credits, and for 10 years ran Muse of Fire Theatre Company.
Timothy Lubin
Jessie Ball DuPont Professor of Religion
- P: 540-458-8146
- E: lubint@wlu.edu
Professor Lubin teaches courses on Asian religions and comparative study of religion and law. He researches Hindu religious history, law in ancient Asia, and texts and inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Old Javanese and Old Tamil.
Ellen Mayock
Ernest Williams II Professor of Spanish
- P: 540-458-8816
- E: mayocke@wlu.edu
At Washington and Lee, Mayock has taught courses in Spanish, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her research focuses on gender and its intersections in literature and film, feminist theories and practice, and representations of conflict and violence. Mayock also writes poetry and creative nonfiction.
Stephen P. McCormick
Medieval and Renaissance Studies; Associate Professor of French and Italian
McCormick heads W&L’s Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program and teaches courses on French language and culture. He also supervises the French study abroad program. He has researched old French epic and medieval/early modern Italian cartography.
Holly Pickett
Department Head and Associate Professor of English
- P: 540-458-8078
- E: picketth@wlu.edu
Pickett teaches courses on Shakespeare, early modern drama and contemporary drama. Her research interests include religion and drama, history of the senses, and early modern religious identities and controversies.
Debra Prager
Department Head, Associate Professor of German
- P: 540-458-8830
- E: pragerd@wlu.edu
Prager teaches courses in German language and literature.
Dominica Radulescu
Edwin A. Morris Professor of Comparative Literature
Radulescu teaches upper-level French and Francophone literature, theater, and the representations of women, gender, and sexuality in literature. She researches feminist theater and is an award-winning novelist/playwright.
Melissa Vise
Associate Professor of History, Head of the Italian Studies Faculty Cohort
On Leave 2024-2025
- P: 540-458-8249
- E: mvise@wlu.edu
Professor Vise teaches courses on Medieval European history, violence, crime and punishment, law, and religion and culture. Her research interests are Medieval European intellectual, cultural, and religious history with special attention to the Italian peninsula.
