Medieval Studies Graduate Courses

Summer and Fall 2026 | Past Courses

Summer 2026

MVST 5225 L11 (4) Old French Languages and Literatures| Reilly
T/R 9:30 - 12:30 | 17060
This graduate seminar offers an introduction to the Old French language through an in-depth study of a literary work. We will explore that work both linguistically and materially, including its paleographical and codicological contexts. Through our systematic study of Old French grammar, syntax, and vocabulary, students will also gain proficiency in reading texts from a variety of genres, whether literary, historical, or documentary. No prior knowledge of Modern French or Latin is required. Graduate students from any disciplinary background interested in the Francophone Middle Ages are welcome. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

MVST 5095 R21 (4) Medieval Pilgrimage| Bruno
M/W 9:00 - 12:00 | 17059
Pilgrimage will be conceptualized broadly, entertaining a variety of aims for travel and also considering the pilgrimage form as a purely conceptual exercise as well as a journey with more practical aims. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

HIST 5204 V32 (4) Medieval Environmental History| Bruce
ONLINE | 17050
This seminar is intended to familiarize graduate students with current themes and trends in medieval environmental history. Weekly reading assignments comprise historical monographs and scholarly articles in English. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction

LAT 5093 V21 (3) Latin for Reading| McGowan
M/W 1:00 - 4:00 | 15080
A course designed for graduate students seeking a reading knowledge of Latin in their discipline. Some prior study of Latin is desirable but not necessary.

LAT 5090 V11 (3) Ecclesiastical Latin| McGowan
M/W 1:00 - 4:00 | 15081
This course is a study of the grammatical structure, form, and vocabulary of Church Latin, focusing on the Bible, the Church fathers, and medieval thinkers.

Fall 2026

MVST 5071 (4) Sources, Archives, and Materials for Medievalists | Commuzzi
M 2:30 - 5:00 | 17060
This course will introduce students to many of the most important sources for the study of the medieval world. Drawing on the diversity of expertise among Fordham’s faculty and the rich resources of New York City, the course will introduce students to a variety of handwritten sources (including manuscripts and other documents), as well as coins and seals, and the specialized skills used to understand and interpret these sources. The course will also feature discussions of the processes whereby libraries and archives were developed and maintained, and how scholars use these sources in the digital era. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

THEO 6014 (4) Ancient Theological Controversies | Fiano
T 1:00 - 3:30 | 17059

PHIL 5012 (3) Introduction to St. Augustine | Pini
T 12:00 - 2:00 | 17050
This seminar provides a systematic survey of the main themes of St. Augustine's philosophy and theology. Topics will include faith and reason, divine ideas, time, eternity, and creations, the theology of the Holy Trinity, the nature of the soul, the freedom of the will and divine predestination, good and evil, original sin and divine grace, and the human history as the history of salvation. The unifying theme of the discussion will be a synthetic account of St. Augustine's Neoplatonic Christian anthropology, occasionally contrasted with St. Thomas Aquinas' Aristotelian Christian anthropology. The discussion will be organized around student presentations and two term papers on topics other than one's presentation topics.

PHIL 6130 (3) Animals in Medieval Philosophy| Somma
W 12:15 - 2:15 | 15080

ENGL 5111 (3) Race, Religions, Monstrosity in Medieval Literature | Yeager
T 11:30 - 2:00 | 15081
The medieval taste for the exotic has introduced many audiences to a range of monstrous beings, from ferocious giants and dog-headed men to the peace-loving sciapod. Medieval studies of monstrosity have often been linked solely to theorize the different human "races" found there. Yet the medieval language of monstrosity was not always limited to travel narrative, nor to the pejorative, for it was used to describe heroes, saints, even the Christian deity in far more familiar contexts than many would imagine. In this course we will examine the discourse of monstrosity as a complex critical lens through which premodern writers asked important questions of race, religion, civic virtue, and human morality. We will read from Pliny, Augustine, the Beowulf Manuscript, medieval romance, and Mandeville's account.

HIST 6078 (4) Crusaders States: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem 1099-1291 | Paul
TH 2:30 - 5:00 | 15080
This course charts the social, political, and cultural history of the feudal principalities that were established by Latin Christians in the Eastern Mediterranean in the wake of the First Crusade. Students will be introduced to the narrative and documentary sources through which the history of the Latin Kingdom has been constructed, as well as the archaeology and art of the Levant during the period of Frankish occupation and settlement. In addition, we will engage with the major historiographical debates concerning the constitutional organization of the Latin kingdom, the relationship between the Frankish crusaders and Muslim and eastern Christian populations over whom they ruled, and the "colonial" character of the Latin settlements. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

DAHU 6000 (3) Data Humanities | Reilly
F 11:30 - 2:15 | 15081