The Centre d'Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (Centre for Advanced Studies in the Renaissance) is a teaching and research institution which welcomes students and researchers seeking initial or supplementary instruction in all aspects of the Renaissance. It enjoys a double status:

• as a teaching and research unit (Unité de Formation et de Recherche) of the University François Rabelais, Tours
  
• as a combined unit ("unité mixte") of the French national research council (CNRS) and of the University
  

The Centre was initially constituted in 1956 on the basis of a library and a documentary archive, supplemented by a collection of photographs and databases. It is also a venue for multi-disciplinary instruction, which, in association with the various Faculties of the University, has responsibility for the following programmes:

• A specific designation "Renaissance" within the Master "Arts, Lettres, Langues et Civilisations"; this diploma is further distinguished by the research specialisation: "Genèse de l'Europe moderne"

• A professionally oriented specialty, "Patrimoine écrit: histoire et pratique de l'édition [The Written Heritage: History and Practice of Publication]"

• A doctorat in the disciplines represented (History, History of Art, Literature, Languages, Musicology, and Philosophy).
  

Finally, the CESR is a research centre bringing together fifty or so researchers--members of the University and of the CNRS--committed to the investigation of the "civilization of the Renaissance" from Petrarch to Descartes. Conferences, Round Tables, and Study Days are regularly organized.

Instruction

Research Programmes