Humanities. Medieval Studies and Renaissance Studies. STANFORD vs. BERKELEY

[matecocido]

Hello everyone:

 

I would like to start a thread on a topic very much neglected, i.e. Medieval and Renaissance Studies. I see with pleasure that there are many prospective grad students in fields such as French, German, Spanish and Italian and I am sure that many of them share my interest in the field or will encounter these subjects while making their way through the graduate program. 

 

I would like to assess which Cal institution is better in these fields because I will have to make a choice between them very soon and there are many pro's and contra's in each case. California Budget Crisis is not helpful at all and I am looking for a competitive and stimulating environment to write my dissertation. My focus is Late Medieval Intellectual History (Middle-Latin and Italian mainly) but I have been trained in Romance Philology so I am looking for a place where Medieval Latin, Italian and French (particularly Old French) are  well cultivated as long as other romance traditions (from Spanish to German lit). Diversity is very important in my choice.

 

Please feel free to include your experience of other programs, such as those on the East Coast, from Yale to Notre Dame, or from Columbia to Johns Hopkins. I am just trying to spark an interesting and informative conversation.

 

Ciao!

 

Matecocido

 

 

[matecocido]

RECTIUS: *are well cultivated as well as other romance traditions (from Spanish to Portuguese lit.) and German.