Interdisciplinary Learning about the Renaissance
Introduction
The undergraduate modules are open to all students in their second and third years at Warwick. Aysu reflects on the advantages of including students from across Warwick:
“I think that's something we would like to encourage because any interdisciplinary module actually benefits from students taking it from different disciplines and contributing their own interests.”
Not only do the modules benefit from this, but students from different programmes can discover new interests and “it gives them areas that they didn't necessarily think about before that they can integrate into their own work.” Aysu shares an example of a student from Physics who then went on to complete the MA at the Centre: “Her dissertation received an amazing mark....she really found what she wanted to do.” Aysu says that the MA also leads to an “interdisciplinary approach to further postgraduate work as well....so everything builds on one another.” In the MA core module, students begin by looking at religious and political cultures, but they then move on to exploring everything from medicine and travel to material culture such as architecture and the arts through a “thematic approach.”
Dr Aysu Dincer Hadjiantasis
Principles of Practice
Bringing in Perspectives Beyond Warwick
Aysu comments that the Renaissance can often be seen as an “elite topic.” To break this perception, the Centre tries to expose students to different perspectives from the community. Through the Renaissance Society, students go on trips to places in the region that have a connection to the Renaissance, such as “National Trust Houses, some of which are treasuries for manuscripts.” The Centre has also started to organise Community Days, which are “one-day events where people outside of the university can join.” Finally, the Centre connects internationally with organisations and community partners in their modules offered on-site in Venice.
Connecting with Staff Across Warwick
The Centre invites staff from across the Faculty of Arts to bring their knowledge and expertise to the modules and courses offered. Aysu describes the benefits of being invited to guest teach on an interdisciplinary module. She says that for staff it is “an opportunity to think about a topic that may not be in your daily teaching routine, but something that you are really interested in and passionate about.” Not only are staff able to talk about a topic that aligns with their pursuits, but they talk to “students who are passionate about the Renaissance” as well. Aysu enjoys putting staff members “in touch” with one another, and particularly for new staff members it can help them to feel part of the Warwick community.
Moving Forward
Aysu says that taking in student feedback is essential to continue developing the modules. Aysu also notes that while the Centre tries to virtually advertise its courses, sometimes talking to students directly gives it that “personal touch.” However, Aysu shares that students still have a lot to “navigate” when it comes to looking for modules and the Centre would still benefit from further visibility such as advertisement through a module fair. Aysu notes that one potential barrier for further study (for example at Masters or PhD level) is language as some postgraduate students might need to work with Latin texts. To address this challenge, the Centre has developed beginner, intermediate and advanced language modules in Latin. Finally, Aysu hopes to see the undergraduate modules and opportunities with the Centre offered to “students from other universities too.”
