Portland State has a requirement for all graduating seniors to take what they call a "senior capstone" course that basically allows you to take your discipline out into the community.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that among the listed courses was one course involved with objects from the medieval period in various collections in and around Portland! This will include working with medieval manuscripts at the Multnomah County Library.

Best of all, between the library and the art museum, I'll be keeping fairly close to campus. Some senior capstone courses are much more far-flung (a few are even held in other countries).

I snagged a seat immediately. It's more in the art history track but it meshes well enough with my intentions of going to grad school to study medieval history that I couldn't pass this up.

Incidentally, there are a handful of medieval texts at the PSU library. The special collections had an open house a few months back and I got to hold a 15th century book of hours in my hands. The feeling it left me with was such a strange one, the way vellum felt between my fingers and the way the light caught the subtle textures in the fine illustrations felt so familiar and right. I would love nothing more than to fully immerse myself in that feeling for a few hours a week and I am profoundly thankful that the chance has presented itself.