Early Europe Major

The University of Arizona's doctoral field in Early Europe offers a rich array of emphases and approaches to the history of Europe, reaching from the ancient Mediterranean through the High and Late Middle Ages, to the Renaissance, the Reformation and the seventeenth century, in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain. The graduate program in Early Europe encourages building a strong foundation in intellectual, political and religious history, offering as well a variety of courses in the history of gender, women and the family. Our interests also stretch beyond the European landmass, to foster interdisciplinary and comparative approaches to the study of gender, discourse, belief, and the structures of power in collaboration with other caucuses and other programs across the campus, including Classics, Women's Studies, Latin American Studies, and Religious Studies. The Division for Late Medieval and Reformation Studies is a particular institutional strength, offering scholarly resources and opportunities for graduate students beyond the History Department.

Alison Futrell and Steve Johnstone focus on the symbols, rituals and language of power in the Graeco-Roman world, with strong research interest in how human social and political dynamics have been shaped and enacted through performance in different venues, from the Colosseum to the courtroom.

Helen Nader works on education, humanism, legal theory, and absolutism in Spain from 1350 to 1700, with special attention to the voices of men and women caught in the moral contradictions between the publicly stated norms of society and their own immediate needs.

Susan Karant-Nunn now follows in the directorial footsteps of Founding Director of the Division for Late Medieval and Reformation Studies, Heiko A. Oberman, who passed away in April 2001. She will continue to lead the Thursday-evening seminars that form the backbone of the Division's graduate program, conversing on varying topics in early modern European history. Her work concentrates on the religious and social culture of early modern Germany, including matters of gender, and her courses feature such themes as ritual, the European family, sexuality, and deviance.