Jon Carey
Equinox Staff
A new minor has been instituted into the Keene State College academic catalog which engages students in the studies of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period.
Medieval and early modern studies, an interdisciplinary program involving faculty from English, history, and art history, combines several academic fields in order to enhance the new minor.
Meriem Pages, associate professor of English and director of the program, said the program is intended to give interested students the opportunity to engage in a focused study on the Middle Ages or the Early Modern period.
“Myself and other faculty members in the history and art department started talking about the proposed minor and adding it to the KSC curriculum last spring, when we submitted the proposal for acceptance,” Pages said.
The minor consists of five preliminary classes and because the program covers topics pertaining to multiple fields, professors from English, history, and art history came together to organize the new interdisciplinary minor to make it more beneficial to students.
“One of the most exciting aspects of the new medieval and early modern studies minor is its interdisciplinary nature,” Nicholas Germana, assistant professor of history, said.
“With faculty from three different disciplines, the English, history, and art history departments, students will be exposed to a wide variety of cultures, time periods, and approaches.”
Pages said that students who are enrolled in the class can look forward to learning specifically about the medieval past and the era of the Renaissance as well as in-depth analysis of medieval art and literature.
“The most important part to this minor is the interdisciplinary factor; you can’t be a student of medieval studies and not understand history,” Pages said. “That’s why we include different fields that connect within the minor so students can be exposed to the diversity of modern history.”
The importance of combining fields for the major, according to both Pages and Germana, is so the program can expand and cover multiple topics so students obtain a broader work of study.
“I think this program is important also because it really did come about as a result of student interest. Each of the faculty members that helped put this minor together have had a number of students who wanted to pursue their interests in these fields at a deeper level and in a more comprehensive way,” Germana said.
Pages mentioned how the idea of integrating fields of study can truly engage students academically who aspire to go deeper within their specific area of studies.
“If more staff were hired in different departments we would see that department expand in the curriculum and be more beneficial to students,” Pages said. “It would be great if other departments who had no connection with the minor got involved with the program.”
Currently there are only a handful of students enrolled in the new minor, but Pages said setting up an official website for the major will advertise it to students who are interested in the program.
“We missed out on the last major’s fair held by the college and that’s our first step when trying to gather more attention from students, but we are hoping to assemble a website and possibly hold on-campus events to raise awareness,” Pages said.
Germana said the integration of this new minor can really benefit students who are looking for an in-depth look at modern history and receive credit at the same time.
“This is a great opportunity for students to approach the humanities from different angles and viewpoints,” Germana said. “Most of the classes in the minor already existed, but now students can benefit from a more organized course of study and receive credit for it.”
One KSC student, who is not enrolled in the class, said the idea of integrating different fields into a minor is something the college should become more familiar with.
“If my classes for my minor were connected with another field it would be more interesting and I probably would get more out of the class then I currently am now,” KSC senior Kelly Thompson said. “I think once students take the class and see what it’s about, it will attract interest just because it covers multiple fields.”
Students are required to take at least one course in each time period as numerous course offerings provide an international and multicultural focus.
“It’s only five courses which are integrated with different studies and the program itself if truly interesting and a whole lot of fun,” Pages said.
Jon Carey can be contacted at jcarey1@ksc.mailcruiser.com.