In the Classroom:
Medieval and Renaissance Studies Minor Offers Look at Roots of Today's Society
By Leesha Austin, '02

Alex Haley once said, "Unless we learn from history, we are destined to repeat it. This is no longer merely an academic exercise, but may contain our world's fate and our destiny."

Meredith College students and faculty are exploring the medieval period's lessons—in history, art, language, literature and science, among others. They are exploring how these lessons relate to contemporary society through the 2003-04 convocation theme "Medieval Worlds" and this year's addition of the Medieval and Renaissance Studies minor.

According to Dr. Brent Pitts, professor of foreign languages and literatures, he and Beth Mulvaney, associate professor of art, initiated the minor in consultation with their medievalist colleagues and Dr. Rosalind Reichard, vice president of academic affairs.

"In 1983 we held a very successful campus-wide emphasis on the Middle Ages, and this year again the theme of convocations is 'Medieval Worlds,'" explained Pitts. "In the early 1990s, several Meredith faculty hosted and participated in a regional medieval conference on the Meredith campus." Pitts added that in spite of this interest, very few current Meredith courses deal extensively with the period.

There are several Meredith faculty members who do research and actively publish in the medieval field, according to Pitts, and there is general interest in the Middle Ages among other faculty.

"The corps of teachers for the minor consists of eight specialists in six academic departments," explained Pitts. These departments include English; biology and health science; music, communication and theatre; art; history and politics; and foreign languages and literatures.

Faculty and students are interested in the medieval period, according to Dr. Eloise Grathwohl, associate professor of English, because it reveals a culture that is "strikingly different from ours in many ways and yet familiar in many others."

"The current curriculum tends to focus on diversity across current cultures," according to Dr. Michael Novak, professor of history and politics, "but some of the richest experiences of cultures different from our own are available across time, in the past."

Grathwohl agrees with the value of a cultural comparison across time as well as various disciplines.

"Whether one is considering music, literature, art or legal and social customs, medieval studies offer a fascinating intersection of strangeness and familiarity," she explained. "I think that intersection invites a different kind of analysis than other cross-cultural comparisons."

Students explore these cultural comparisons in the Medieval Renaissance gateway course, MRE 201 Pilgrims, Poets and Prophets, which is taught by Pitts. He is also serving as the coordinator of Medieval and Renaissance Studies through Spring 2007 and advising students in the minor.

Pilgrims, Poets and Prophets, required of all minors, was offered for the first time in Fall 2003 and will be offered again in Fall 2004, according to Pitts. Students are strongly advised to begin the Medieval and Renaissance Studies minor with this course.

According to Pitts, "The pilgrimage route of medieval Europe lends structure to this exploration of the culture and civilization of the Middle Ages." The course focuses on France but also considers England, Italy and Spain.

MRE 201 also explores literature, the study of writing and the production of books, the birth of the university and early forms and programs of academic study and evaluates the clash of Christian and Islamic values.

This clash of values is only one example of why medieval studies is important in relation to today's society because "the roots of our own civilization lie there," according to Novak. "Most of the world today is, like medieval Europe, pre-modern. The close parallels and analogies are striking," he added.

Grathwohl agrees with Novak that there is a lot to learn about our own culture by studying the medieval period, and she believes that we might apply this knowledge to how we study and perceive contemporary cultures that differ from our own.

"We have to acknowledge that our way of looking at things is not the only way to do it-our very own forbears understood 'civilization' very differently than we do," explained Grathwohl. "Once we accept that fact, it may not be such a big leap to approaching other contemporary cultures with a more open mind."

In the Classroom is an occasional series about new or unusual courses at Meredith. To suggest a course for In the Classroom, email In A Nutshell co-editor Melyssa Allen at allenme@meredith.edu

Nutshell Notes

• Nikki Curliss, assistant director of student activities and leadership development, presented a program titled "Student Leadership Assessment" at the American College Personnel Association Convention in Philadelphia, on April 4. Curliss shared the results of an assessment of the leadership skills of Meredith College student organization presidents.

• Susan Fisher, associate professor of human environmental sciences, recently presented a talk on Food Runners, a hunger-reducing collaborative in which she participates, at the annual Southern Gerontological Conference in Atlanta. Her special area of research is geriatric nutrition.

• Charletta Sims, director of commuter life and diversity programs, presented at the 7th Annual Symposium on the Recruitment and Retention of Students of Color, held April 25-27 in Kansas City. Sims presentation was titled "Minority Orientation Programs at Predominately White Institutions: Segregation or Preparedness?"

• Jim Piazza, assistant professor of politics, served as an analyst for WRAL-TV on April 8. Piazza discussed National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice's testimony before the 9/11 commission.

• Doug Spero, assistant professor of communication, attended three broadcasting conferences for the Broadcast Education Association, Radio/TV News Directors Association and the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas, Nev., April 14-21. Spero participated in two panels for the Broadcast Education Association - "The Young & The Restless: What is Happening to the 20-Somethings in TV News?," about burnout among journalists, and in "Shooting Outside the Box" to assist student journalists in developing videography skills.

• Doreen Fairbank, director of the Meredith Autism Program (MAP), was the subject of a Q&A feature in the Monday, April 19 issue of "The News & Observer." Fairbank discussed the Meredith Autism Program as part of Autism Awareness Month. Fairbank was also interviewed by WPTF radio.

• Claire McCullough, assistant vice president of graduate and professional studies, and Jane Barnes, assistant professor of business, both received awards on April 21 from the NC State University Office of Extension and Engagement, based on their work with the Small Business Technology Development Center (SBTDC), Raleigh office, which is part of NC State's extension division. Mike Seibert, SBTDC assistant director, and NC State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, presented the awards. The award recognizes exemplary leadership in business extension and engagement among those who partner with the SBTDC to support and deliver business extension services, to engage faculty and students in entrepreneurship and business development, and to help entrepreneurs meet challenges, manage change, and plan for the future.

• Summer hours for 2004 will begin the week of May 17 and extend through the week of July 26. During those weeks, the college will close at noon on Fridays.

In the next issue…
Look for articles in the June 2004 In A Nutshell on:
• Summer projects at Meredith
• Spotlight on Media Services
• Professor of Music Ellen Williams' new CD
"Grand Larsen-y"

SEND US YOUR NEWS…In A Nutshell invites you to send us your news! Please forward story ideas or news to Melyssa Allen, co-editor of In A Nutshell (allenme@meredith.edu).

Newsletter Staff
Editors - Kristi Eaves-McLennan, Melyssa Allen
Contributing Writers - Andrea Weaver, Leesha Austin, '02, Erin Hege, '04, Kristen Scott, '05
Web Designer - David Timberlake
Photographer - David Timberlake
Production Assistant - Kaye Rains
Interns - Erin Hege, '04, Kristen Scott, '05

<< page 3

Nutshell Archives:
January 04
February 04
March 04
April 04