Renaissance in France, its history and its literature : an interdisciplinary study

Abstract

The trend toward interdisciplinary study is becoming well-established, despite inevitable conflicts arising from our traditional university divisions. The development of a course or seminar attempting to draw parallels between the political and literary behavior of a given period and country might well have been opposed by either or both of the departments of history and language, not to mention curriculum committees. New structures, however, now facilitate such investigations, both within and outside existing terms and programs. Thus, during the regular term, General Studies, Honors Classes, or similar relatively recent additions to the curriculum roster offer courses created by groups of instructors or even by students and instructors. Interim Terms, on the other hand, as a sort of pause in the academic calendar, more easily lend themselves to the pooling of students and instructors wishing to widen their experience in particular subjects or periods without draining the staff or equipment necessary for the maintenance of operating programs.