Medieval Studies – (M.A.)

Contents

This programme offers an excellent chance to study the Middle Ages at an advanced level. It offers you the chance to study a discipline-specific pathway whilst gaining interdisciplinary skills, providing you with a solid grounding for your further studies or future career.

You’ll study these core modules:

* Approaches to Medieval Studies
* Research Skills

You’ll also study one of the following modules, according to the pathway chosen:

* Medieval History: Approaches to Medieval History
* Medieval Literature: Resources and Methods for Medieval Literary Studies
* Medieval Archaeology: Creating Europe: Complex Societies 1000 BC–AD 1000
* Byzantine Studies: Methodologies in Byzantine Studies

You’ll then choose three optional modules. Choice may be limited by disciplinary requirements on some of the pathways, but the list of options will usually include at least three of the following:

* Crusade, Jihad, and Cross-Cultural Encounters on the Medieval Iberian Frontier, c.1031–c.1212
* Medieval Toleration? Attitudes to Diversity in Medieval Europe
* Popular Unrest and Society in Later Medieval Europe
* Aspects of Byzantine History
* Late Roman and Byzantine Archaeology and Material Culture
* Women, Men, and Eunuchs: Gender in Byzantium
* Topics in Medieval Texts, Cultures, and Societies
* Languages, such as Latin, Old English or Old Norse, at an appropriate level

You’ll also complete a 12,000-word dissertation, supervised by a specialist in your chosen field.

Learning and teaching
Birmingham has an outstanding reputation for research and teaching in medieval studies, which it has maintained for well over fifty years. We have been rated highly in all three of the UK’s Research Assessment Exercises (RAE) and our library is one of the leading research libraries in the country, with exceptionally good medieval holdings.

To support your studies we have regular research seminars where visiting and Birmingham speakers present their research. The university’s Centre for the Study of the Middle Ages (CeSMA) acts as a focus for interdisciplinary research projects and events which feed into our teaching. In addition to this we have a large number of postgraduate students in medieval studies so you’ll have a supportive and sociable environment for your studies.