About Medieval and Medievalism Studies at Laurier

Medieval and Medievalism Studies at Laurier is a relatively new and innovative program, poised to develop along a number of exciting paths. The discipline is international, influential and growing. Laurier's program is rich, rigorous, flexible, popular and genuinely interdisciplinary. It is also global in coverage, reaching well outside of Europe and the Mediterranean world.

Laurier is unique in North America for its strong emphasis on Medievalism, that is, the attitudes of people in later periods in history toward the Middle Ages. Medieval and Medievalism Studies thus links to contemporary attitudes toward myths, heroes, magic, fantasy, science fiction, crafts and role-playing clubs, films such as the Harry Potter series, television series such as Game of Thrones, and video games such as  Skyrim.

All faculty at all levels of the program are known for the high quality of their teaching and for their helpful and altruistic attitudes toward students. Our researchers have international reputations in the areas of medieval history, colonialism, images of saints, sermon studies, gender studies, Latin literature, archaeology, spirituality, and Old English, Middle English, Old Norse, and fantasy literature. Much of this research has been continually funded by significant and prestigious government grants.

Your Experience and Career Guide

Make the most out of your university career by taking advantage of all that Laurier has to offer you. Explore the Medieval and Medievalism Studies experience and career guide to learn ways you can extend your classroom experience into the world and the career opportunities available to you.

Periodic Reviews of the Medieval Studies Program

Since the interdisciplinary Medieval Studies program was founded in 2002, it has undergone two extensive periodic program reviews (2010-11 & 2018-19), both of which were very positive. Such reviews represent an important opportunity for Laurier's academic programs to assess their standards, review their development, and develop plans for the future. Here is a quotation from the summary of our more recent review (2019):

“Medieval and Medievalism Studies has effectively established itself as a distinctive program and has positioned itself well in the context of Laurier’s strategic plan. It provides students with a good range of traditional and innovative courses in both areas, taught by well-qualified and enthusiastic faculty. Courses are well subscribed by both majors and elective students. The program has a tradition of innovations in both content and assessment: it combines the study of medieval texts with modern books, tv, movies and games and effectively use assignments which develop digital and multi-media skills alongside traditional research papers. It has also taken an early and enthusaiastic role in working with the Career Development Centre to emphasize the ways in which traditional Humanities skills are transferable to a variety of work contexts, thus providing a new model for thinking about experiential learning. It engages both the broader Laurier community and the KW community through activities such as residence learning communities and Medieval Day. At the same time, it provides a warm and supportive learning environment for its majors, and has clearly earned the gratitude of its alumni.”