The Ohio State University Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Current and Upcoming Courses

Current and Upcoming Courses

Autumn 2026 CMRS Course Listings:

 

Science and Technology class

MedRen 2610 - Science and Technology in Medieval and Renaissance Culture

Instructor: Prof. Sarah Neville, T TH 2:20 - 3:40PM, 082 University Hall, Class Number: #36706

This GE course will read primary and secondary texts to explore the history of science and technology in antiquity and the pre-modern world, supplementing our investigations where possible with studies of historical objects. In our considerations of topics like medicine, anatomy, alchemy, cartography, natural history, mechanics, war craft, astronomy and navigation, we’ll investigate how cultural, social and religious factors influenced the theory and practice of science. Each week, students will read translations of historical texts that help reveal how the science and technology we now take for granted (Forks! Clockwork! Gunpowder! Calculus!) began with studies and discoveries long ago. 

GE Theme (New): Foundation: Historical and Cultural Studies

GE (Legacy): Cultures and Ideas

Required Materials: 

Ede, Andrew and Lesley B. Cormack, eds. A History of Science in Society, Volume I: From the Ancient Greeks to the Scientific Revolution (4th ed.). University of Toronto Press, 2022. ISBN: 978-1487524647

 

Early modern woodcut of witches and devil coming toward a woman

MedRen 2666 - Magic and Witchcraft in the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Instructor: Prof. David Brewer, T TH 12:45-2:05 PM, 300 Journalism Building, Class Number: 26391

This course will investigate the history of magic and witchcraft in Europe and its colonies from antiquity up through the early eighteenth century, when religious skepticism and the beginnings of modern science supposedly disenchanted the world (“supposedly” because belief in magic is still very much with us). We will be particularly attentive to three questions: how people thought about magic and what it could do, how people who could supposedly practice magic were regarded and treated by those who could not, and how magic relates to what scholars have long regarded as the principal other ways of understanding and engaging with the world: religion and science. Most of us probably don’t believe (or at least wholly believe) in magic, yet billions of people in the past who were every bit as smart as us did. We’ll try to understand how and why that belief might have made enough sense in their world that some of them turned to magic to improve their lives or harm their rivals and others felt so compelled to oppose magic that they were willing to hunt down, prosecute, and execute those they regarded as witches.

GE Theme (New): Foundation: Historical and Cultural Studies

GE (Legacy): Cultures and Ideas; Diversity: Global Studies

Required Materials: 

Copenhaver, Brian P., ed. The Book of Magic: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment. Penguin Random House, 2017. ISBN: 978-0141393148

Kieckhefer, Richard. Magic in the Middle Ages (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press, 2021. ISBN: 978-1108796897

 

MedRen 5610 - Manuscript Studies

Illuminated Bible manuscript

Instructors: Prof. Eric Johnson and Prof. Leslie Lockett, T TH 12:45 - 2:05 PM, 150A Thompson Library, Class Number: #35965 (UG), #35966 (G)

This course introduces students to the pre-print culture of the European Middle Ages and trains them in the fundamental skills required to read and understand handwritten books, documents, and scrolls from ca. 500-1500 CE. Students will work with manuscripts held in the OSU library’s Special Collections and will benefit from numerous guest lectures. Knowledge of Latin and other medieval languages is NOT a prerequisite for enrollment. 

Required Materials: 

Clemens, Raymond and Timothy Graham. Introduction to Manuscript Studies. Cornell University Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0801487088

 

MedRen Colloquia

Medren 7899 - Med/Ren Colloquia 

Instructor: Prof. Christopher Highley, F 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM, Room: TBD (Varies - please consult the CMRS Events page for additional info), Course Number: 18340 

MEDREN 7899 will consist of 1 credit hour per semester for attending CMRS lectures, faculty colloquia and subsequent discussions. This will amount to: 4 1-hour+ lectures by visiting professors and at least 1 internal lecture and subsequent discussion (total 3 hours per event); at least one lunch with visiting faculty member (2 hours); active involvement with the Medieval and Renaissance Graduate Student Association and its activities; and meetings with the center director (one hour once per term). With permission of the director, other professional activities (such as attendance at appropriate conferences, on or off campus) may be substituted.

Prereq: Grad standing. Repeatable to a maximum of 3 cr hrs. This course is graded S/U.

Summer 2026 CMRS-Affiliated Courses

Spring 2026 CMRS-Affiliated Courses

Autumn 2025 CMRS-Affiliated Courses

Summer 2025 CMRS-Affiliated Courses

Past CMRS-Affiliated Courses