Name of course: MA in Cultural and Intellectual History 1300-1650

Institute responsible for the course:
The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London

Aims of the Programme:
The course is intended as an introduction to interdisciplinary research in the cultural and intellectual history of Western Europe from the late Middle Ages to the Early Modern period, and is in large part focused on the legacy of classical antiquity. It is designed to give students a solid grounding in the field, largely through the study of primary source material in the original languages. It is also meant to equip students to undertake research, and to give them experience of such research through the writing of a short dissertation. Although it is a qualification in its own right, the MA also serves as an introduction to further research at doctoral level.

Programme outcomes:
Knowledge and understanding
Students will acquire knowledge of aspects of cultural and intellectual history seldom covered in any depth in undergraduate courses: Renaissance philosophy, iconology, rhetoric, dialectic and history, as well as two more specialised areas of study. The main emphasis is on Italy, but consideration is also given to the rest of Western Europe. In addition, students will be introduced to current scholarship in these areas. They will receive training in reading medieval and Renaissance Latin, Italian and French, in Latin and Italian palaeography, and in the description of manuscripts and early printed books.

Skills and other attributes
Students will acquire the ability to understand and comment on primary source material, to read critically scholarly publications in a variety of European languages, to undertake research of their own and write up the results in a persuasive and rigorous way, to improve their language skills, to make effective use of electronic resources, and to familiarise themselves with the principal sources of information in various historical disciplines.

Teaching, learning and assessment strategies:
The normal format for classes is a small weekly seminar, in which students usually discuss texts in their original languages. In most courses, students also give short presentations of their own research, which are not assessed. The emphasis is on helping students to acquire the skills necessary to interpret philosophical, literary and historical documents as well as works of art. All students are required to submit two essays of 5000-6000 words, one by the first day of the second term, the other by the first day of the third term. A dissertation of 20000-25000 words, on a topic agreed by the student and supervisor, has to be submitted by 30 September. The course is examined on these three pieces of written work, and on two written examination papers sat in the third term. One is a translation paper: three passages from two or more languages, of which one must be post-classical Latin, have to be translated into English; the use of dictionaries is permitted. In the other paper, three questions must be answered from a selection dealing with the courses given that year. Students are allocated a course tutor and, in addition, are encouraged to discuss their work with other members of the academic staff. Because of the small numbers involved, students have unusually frequent contact, formal and informal, with their teachers.

Programme structure:
The course begins in early October with a Foundation Week, in which students are introduced to the main topics and themes to be covered over the year. All students take four core-courses and two options. In addition, there is a regular series of classes throughout the three terms on Techniques of Scholarship. Subjects dealt with include palaeography, printing in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, editing a text, preparation of dissertations, object-based research and photography. Some of these classes are held outside the Institute in locations such as the Wellcome Library, the British Library and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Students are given the opportunity to examine early printed books and manuscripts. Reading classes in Latin, Italian and French are provided and are intended to help acquire the necessary familiarity with those languages as written in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Students are also expected to attend the Director's weekly seminar on Work in Progress and may participate in any of the other regular seminars held in the Institute which are of interest to them. These at present include Maps and Society and the History of Scholarship from the Renaissance Onwards. The third term and summer are spent in researching and writing a dissertation, under the guidance of a supervisor from the academic staff.

The core-courses are spread over two terms and deal with:

Rhetoric and Dialectic: Humanist education and the use of language and its implication for Renaissance Culture and discourse.
Italian History: Aspects of late medieval and/or Renaissance social and political history
Iconology: Mythological painting, allegorical figures, historical subjects, altarpiece
Philosophy: The influence of classical philosophy in the Renaissance studied through commentaries, dialogues and letters, as well as popular works

The optional subjects, which often reflect the research interests of the teachers, most of whom are permanent members of the academic staff, may vary from year to year. Recently offered topics include:
Sin and sanctity in the Reformation; Art and devotion in the Renaissance; Renaissance material culture; perceptions of Islam in Early Modern Europe, the transmission of the classical tradition in Dante, Music and the arts and sciences in the Renaissance, Encyclopedias and the shaping of knowledge (1300-1650).

Assessment:
The weighting of the marking of the four assessed components of the course is as follows: dissertation 50%, essays 5% and 15%, translation paper 10%, question paper 20%. In order to pass the course, students must obtain an overall mark of at least 50 on each assessed component. A distinction is awarded to students who obtain an overall mark of 70 or over, including a mark of 70 or over for the dissertation.

Support for learning:
Library resources
The library of approximately 350,000 volumes, almost all of them open-access, and the photographic collection, with some 300,000 images categorised by subject, are both recognised as scholarly resources of international importance. Students can also make use of the British Library, the University of London Library and the other libraries of the School of Advanced Study. As a consequence, the research resources available for the range of topics covered by the course are unmatched anywhere in the world.

Computers
Students have access to computers, with email and internet connections.

Language training
Classes in Latin, French and Italian are organised throughout the year, and student progress is closely monitored. In addition, classes are sometimes available in Hebrew and Arabic.

Admission requirement:
The normal minimum entry requirement is a good second-class honours degree from a British university, or an equivalent qualification from a foreign institution, in any discipline in the humanities which is related to the course. A reading knowledge of one European modern language apart from English and some knowledge of Latin are required. An understanding of Italian is particularly useful.