The School of Medieval and Neo-Latin Studies: A modular, interdisciplinary, international and digital approach to teaching post-antique Latin
The Latin literature of the Middle Ages and the Early-Modern Period constitutes an important, yet neglected field: important because texts written in Latin significantly shaped all areas of European culture(s) well into the 18th century and thus prove to be relevant for many disciplinary areas ranging from reception studies, philosophy, theology, vernacular philology (e.g. German, English, French, Italian), music history, or legal studies; and neglected because as ‘rare subjects’ (Kleine Fächer) these fields do not command over enough institutional resources to tap into the immense interest and needs from diverse audiences.
The aim of our project is to develop an innovative ‘educational matrix’ to bolster the fields of Medieval and Neo-Latin studies. By rethinking both the audience for these subjects and the means of instruction, we plan to create an internationally unique teaching programme by which students will (a) gain significantly better access to two endangered disciplines and (b) be enabled to engage with these disciplines according to their own specific academic situation, needs, institutional affiliation, and time constraints. In our planned School of ‘Medieval and Neo-Latin’, students at all levels of study will have the opportunity to choose between a Master in Medieval and Neo-Latin Studies, a Certificate in either Medieval or Neo Latin Literature, or the simple enrolment in single courses from our curriculum in order to complement their respective paths of study and curricula.
Fundamental for this educational matrix is the development of a modular, interdisciplinary, and last but not least digital approach to teaching post-ancient Latin literature and culture. Across the Universities of Freiburg, Zürich, and Innsbruck we will develop a consistent, coordinated and structured system of on-line and on-site courses which together form a curriculum that allows for flexible participation from students from our universities and beyond: a strategy of blended learning that will include a variety of approaches, ranging from traditional classroom teaching to a variety of e-learning formats (videocasts, webinars, self-standing online courses etc.).
A successful funding bid in the World Knowledge programme of the VolkswagenStiftung allows us to realize this project starting from 1 January 2022. We hope to make our rare disciplines a leader in the larger development of academic cooperation and digitization, and to contribute to realizing the historical and interdisciplinary potential of Medieval and Neo-Latin Studies.
For more details see: http://portal.volkswagenstiftung.de/search/projectPDF.do?projectId=9781