Phone: 
641-269-3173
Western European Studies Concentration Grinnell College, 1210 Park Street, Grinnell, IA 50112-1670
Mailing Address: 
Western European Studies Concentration Grinnell College, 1210 Park Street, Grinnell, IA 50112-1670

Susan Strauber, Chair

Understanding something so rich and complex as Western Europe calls for an interdisciplinary approach to the study of its history, languages, and cultures. WES concentrators, in consultation with their program adviser and subject to the approval of the WES committee, tailor a course of studies that fits their particular interests in one of three tracks: the Classical Heritage, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, or Modern Europe.

The culminating experience of the concentration is the public dissemination of the results of a four-credit independent research project. Dissemination of the concentrator's findings can take a number of forms. Most often, concentrators circulate a final paper to outside readers or make a presentation.

Recent projects have ranged from economic policy to prehistoric population movements, from riddles to medieval manuscripts, from peasant rebels to fools. A few of the titles are:

  • "Forms of Peasant Political Action" (Sarah Slack '98 adviser: William Patch)
  • "'Yet my fool's cap will not come off': Visions of Folly in Late Medieval England" (Emily Price '00, adviser: Marci Sortor)
  • "Heritage and Tourism in Britain" (Jane Cherry '01, adviser: Doug Caulkins)
  • "Prospects for the Modern Welfare State" (Sarah Eagan '98 adviser: William Patch)
  • "Problematical Imagery in Decorated Initials in Romanesque Manuscripts" (Molly Gallogly '01, adviser Timothy Chasson)
  • "Exeter Riddles in Old English" (Andrew Rabin '99, adviser: George Drake)
  • "Dating Dilemma: When did the Greeks arrive in Greece?" (Allison Foley '01, adviser: Gerald Lalonde)
  • "Late 19th-century Art" (Rahul Agarwal '95, adviser: Susan Strauber)
  • "Economic Reconstruction After the Two World Wars" (Julian Kriege '91, adviser: William Patch)

Participation in approved off-campus study is strongly encouraged; up to 8 credits in such a program may, with the approval of the committee, count toward satisfying the requirements of the concentration (please consult the requirements of the track that you wish to pursue). Required independent work in the third and fourth year may not be used to fulfil any departmental major requirement.

Western European Studies Concentration
Grinnell College, 1210 Park Street, Grinnell, IA 50112-1670
Phone: 641-269-3173, Fax: 641-269-4985