About
Over twenty distinguished faculty members, in seven different departments, actively participate in the interdisciplinary fields of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the University of Missouri. We offer both an undergraduate and a graduate minor in Medieval and Renaissance Studies and have student organizations designed to link students from different departments.
The University of Missouri has a longstanding and vibrant tradition in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. It is a member of the Newberry Library Consortium for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and the Medieval Academy’s Committee on Centers and Regional Association (CARA), and its scholars and students participate in national and international organizations in their fields.
Scholarly Resources include the extraordinary Ellis library, which together with affiliated campus libraries has over 3 million volumes and 6 million microforms, including collections of significant medieval manuscripts and early printed works, including the printed-works portion of the Bibliotheca Palatina. We have a growing collection of digital resources, including Early English Books Online, the Dictionary of Old English and Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, the Middle English Compendium, the Princeton Index of Christian Art, and the locally produced Fragmenta Manuscripta collection, part of the Digital Scriptorium. The Rare Book collection, some 35,000 volumes, supports interest in the history of books and printing. Highlights include manuscript and print editions of Ovid's Metamorphoses, herbals, illustrations of the Dance of Death, the Howey Collection of political and religious tracts, and emblem books (See Special Collections). Areas of collection strength in English literature from Middle English forward, Medieval art and archaeology, Medieval and Reformation history, British history, Russian history, and Early Church history are augmented by other collections in the statewide MOBIUS consortium, most notably those of Saint Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis. Most materials from these libraries can be delivered to MU within days. Rare collections, such as the Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library which houses reproductions of about three quarters of the Vatican Library's Greek, Latin, and Western European manuscripts, are within easy reach. The MU Libraries are members of the Center for Research Libraries, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Greater Western Library Alliance.
The Museum of Art and Archaeology houses a number of medieval and Renaissance works of art, including holdings in the Samuel H. Kress Study Collection of European Paintings.
The MU Graduate Association for Medieval/Renaissance Studies (MUGAMS) promotes Medieval and Renaissance studies across disciplines. It works to create an informed professional network on campus which provides support for research projects and allows students to communicate effectively across academic disciplines. MUGAMS hosts workshops to help graduate students propose abstracts for conferences, helps prepare practice conference presentation forums and helps to convene reading groups to keep scholars updated about recent scholarship both on campus and in the wider profession. For more information please contact Eric Scott: eosbn4@mail.missouri.edu.