The Medieval Studies program was founded in 1971 to promote the interdisciplinary study of the Middle Ages through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Fordham. By the late 1970s, the program had grown to include an undergraduate element and was housed in the Center for Medieval Studies, which has become one of Fordham’s most active and well-known centers of advanced study. The integrated interdisciplinary approach to the Middle Ages is a natural extension of Fordham’s long-standing commitment to the study of this crucial historical period, which has attracted some of the University’s most distinguished faculty and students. The emphases on intellectual diversity, depth of study, and rigorous scholarship that underlie the degree and outreach programs of the Center resonate strongly with Fordham’s Jesuit tradition and institutional goals, particularly with its dedication to teaching and to close student-faculty interaction, with its devotion to scholarship and ethical values, and with its stress on critical thinking and communication. Through such activities as its lecture series, annual conferences, web sites, newsletters, regular social gatherings, and participation in the New York City Doctoral Consortium, the Center for Medieval Studies provides a community of scholarship for all those interested in the middle ages.
