Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "HS 236"
COURSE NAME: "Europe Before Nations: From the First Crusade to 1453"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2016

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Fabrizio Conti
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 7:30 PM 8:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS:
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course explores the major political events, changes, and cultural achievements of the High Middle Ages from the era of the Crusades through the mid-fifteenth century. Topics covered may include the effects of the arrival of the Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor, the Crusades (including their impact in Europe and the wider Mediterranean), the Spanish reconquista, the rise and culture of the Italian city states, the development of Slavic states in the Balkans, the arrival and impact of the Mongols, the “Black Death,” and the end of the Byzantine Empire.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

This course focuses on the examination of societies, cultures and politics in medieval Europe between 1000 and 1500. We will consider comparatively the three main civilizations of the medieval world: Byzantium, the Islamic World and the medieval West, although our main focus will be on Western Europe. Some of the topics we will explore include: the development of the high and the late medieval Papacy, the Crusades, the European appeal of St. Francis of Assisi, the monastic and religious reforms, kingship in Europe, the creation of a ‘persecuting society’ (Jews, lepers, witches and other minorities), the ‘Black Death’ in the 14^th century, the Italian city states and Humanism, the rise of the Ottoman Empire

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

The aim of this course is not only to guide students through the discovery of the main events and persons in Medieval Europe from the 10^th century to the 15^th century. This course will also and especially give students a firm idea of the multifaceted ways in which cultures, societies and mentalities developed through the medieval era. Moreover, students will acquire basic skills in methodologies involved in historical research, writing, and communication, particularly when working with primary sources.

Course Procedure: Students are given reading assignments prior to the lectures on a given topic. This should enable them to participate actively in discussions during and after lectures. They are expected to keep up with the assigned readings.

Plagiarism

Students must provide appropriate footnotes and a bibliography of ALL sources (both primary and secondary) used in their written term paper in order to avoid plagiarism. Students may consult the internet (e.g. Wikipedia et al.) only for their own information. General information found on the internet is not acceptable as a source for academic papers. However, students are encouraged to research academic databases, such as J-Store or Academic Search Premium, or medieval primary sources published on the internet. Students should feel free to discuss the acceptability of specific internet resources with me should they have any questions on the matter. Cases of intentional or unintentional plagiarism will be dealt with in accordance with the university policy. Students may fail the paper or the entire course depending on the gravity of the situation.

If you have questions about how to cite material properly, refer to the appropriate sections of the MLA Style Manual or Chicago Manual of Style (or make an appointment to speak with me). There are copies of both in the reference section of the library downstairs.

Please note that your papers may be submitted to turnitin.com to check their content for plagiarism

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
A Short History of the Middle Ages, Vol. II: from c. 900 to c. 1500	Barbara Rosenwein	University of Toronto Press	9781442606173
Reading the Middle Ages, Volume II: Sources from Europe, Byzantium and the Islamic World, c. 900 to c. 1500	Barbara Rosenwein (Ed.)	University of Toronto Press	9781442606081

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments
The Formation of a Persecuting Society	R.I. Moore	Blackwell Publishing	9781405129640

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
2 Short Reaction Papers	These are essays/analysis (reaction papers) based on the reading of a primary source or a scholarly article. You will be given a list of topics, among which you will pick the one you prefer and develop it in about 1500/2000 words. The relevant sources and the questions which serve as guidelines for the analysis will be posted on MyJCU. All written assignments should be submitted to me electronically by 2pm of the due date at the latest. No late assignments will be accepted.	30% (15% each)
Oral Presentation	It will be a 10/15 minutes presentation on a topic of your choice, which can be either based on a scholarly article or a primary source. A list of available sources/articles will be provided. The article/source to be presented must be agreed upon with the professor during the 3rd week of the course.	5%
Attendance and Participation	This means that you: a) are in class; b) have done the readings and thought about them; c) express your views and questions orally in class and are able to make connections with the topics that have been already covered. I assume that occasionally students will have less to say than usual; nevertheless, persistent absence or having failed to do the reading will affect your participation grade. Late arrivals will be noted and will affect your grade. Students cannot leave the classroom before the end of the lecture. Please note that behaving in ways that create distractions for other members of the class (messaging, checking social networks, catching up on e-mail and so on) will lower your participation grade.	10%
Mid-Term Exam	The exams will be in-class written exams composed of short answer and essay questions. Your grade on these exams will depend upon the analytical strength and persuasiveness of your arguments as well as the factual accuracy of your answers. More information about these exams will be provided as their dates near.	25%
Final Exam	The exams will be in-class written exams composed of short answer and essay questions. Your grade on these exams will depend upon the analytical strength and persuasiveness of your arguments as well as the factual accuracy of your answers. More information about these exams will be provided as their dates near.	30%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Course Schedule (NB: Changes may occur. Any updates will be made to the on-line syllabus)

January

Week 1

18 M Intro: this course, History, and Christian/Medieval perceptions of time

- Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Book XI, Chapters 10 to 13 ONLY (link on MY JCU)

- Marc Bloch, The historian's craft (ch. 'History, Men, and Time'), pp. 17-24 ONLY (shared file on MY JCU)

20 W The medieval world c. 900-c. 1050

- Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, CHAPTER 4

- Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, document 4.5 (‘The Peace of God’)

Week 2

25 M Christianity in the 10^th-11^th Centuries

- Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, documents: 4.12 (Hungary: King Stephen, Laws);
4.15 (The Russian Chronicle); 4.19 (The Jelling Monument)

- Burchard of Worms, Decree (on superstitions) (shared file on MY JCU)

27 W The expansion of Europe (c. 1050-c. 1150)

- Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, CHAPTER 5, pp. 155-170 only ("The First Crusade" excluded) [A Short History, 2004 ed.:
pp. 167-181]

- Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, documents: 4.3 (Cluny’s Foundation Charter – pp.
175-77 ONLY); 5.4 (Henry IV, Letter to Gregory VII); 5.5 (Gregory VII, Letter to Hermann of Metz)

- The Dictatus Papae (link on MY JCU)

February

Week 3

1 M Institutional developments

- Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, CHAPTER 5, pp. 170-78 (from "The First Crusade" included to "New Forms of
Learning..." excluded) [A Short History, 2004 ed.: pp. 181-190]

- Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, documents 5.9 (Martyrs in the Rhineland); 5.10
(Stephen of Blois, Letter to His Wife); 5.11 (Ibn al-Athir, The First Crusade); 5.15 (The Bayeaux Tapestry)

3 W Intellectual life and monastic reforms

- Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, CHAPTER 5, pp. 178-92 [A Short History, 2004 ed.: pp. 190-205]

- Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, documents 5.20 (St. Bernard, Apologia); 5.21
(Peter the Venerable, Miracles)

Week 4

8 M Developments in government (c. 1150-c. 1250)

- Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, CHAPTER 6, pp. 197-213 ("Culture and Institutions in Town..." excluded)
[A Short History, 2004 ed.: pp. 207-223]

- Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, documents: 6.2 (The Fourth Crusade); 6.7 (Doing
business: A Genoese societas)

10 W Urban cultures and everyday life

- Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, CHAPTER 6, pp. 213-228 ("Worldly Concerns in and Out of Church" excluded)
[A Short History, 2004 ed.: pp. 223-231]

-          Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, document 6.18 (A troubadour love song: Bernart
           de Ventadorn, When I see the larck)

-         Marriage and procreation according to Peter Lombard (shared file on MY JCU)

Week 5

15 M Church and religiosity

- Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, CHAPTER 6, pp. 228-37 [A Short History, 2004 ed.: pp. 239-246]

- Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, document 6.23 (Decrees of Lateran IV)

- The case of St. Guinefort, the ‘holy’ greyhound, 3 pp. (shared file on MY JCU)

17 W Francis of Assisi between art, religion, dissent and orthodoxy

- Giotto’s frescoes in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi: images projection and debate

- Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, documents 6.24 (Peter Waldo); 6.26 (St.
Francis, The Canticle to Brother Sun)

Week 6

22 M The Medieval religious/monastic experience: features and differences

- Projection of two videos and debate

- The Little Flowers of St. Francis (Chps. VIII and XXX ONLY) (link on MY JCU)

- Statutes of the Carthusian Order (Book 1: chps. 2, 4, 5; Book 4: ch. 34) (link on MY JCU)

24 W First Reaction Paper Due

Discordant harmonies: political and institutional developments (c. 1250-c. 1350)

- Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, CHAPTER 7, pp. 241-258 ("The Church Militant..." excluded)
[A Short History, 2004 ed.: pp. 251-265]

-          Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, documents 7.2 (A Mongol Reply to the Pope); 7.9
           (The Ghibelline Annals of Piacenza); 7.10 (The Hanseatic League: Decrees); 7.17 (The
           commons participate: Summons to Parliament)

Week 7

29 M Church and society

- Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, CHAPTER 7, pp. 258-279 [A Short History, 2004 ed.: pp. 265-285]

- Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, documents 7.14 (Procedures for isolating Lepers:
the Sarum Manual); 7.19 (Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam)

March

2 W Mid-Term Exam

4 F (make-up day for April 25) The licit and the illicit: heresy and demonology

- Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, documents 7.13 (Inquisition: Jacques
Fournier, Episcopal Register); 7.22 (Scholasticism: Thomas Aquinas, Summa)

- Bernard Gui, The Inquisitor’s Guide (shared file on MY JCU); Thomas Aquinas, Summa, 'On superstition' (link on MY JCU)

Week 8

7 M The Black Death, wars and revolts (14th Century)

- Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, CHAPTER 8, pp. 283-301 ("The Church Divided" excluded)
[A Short History, 2004 ed.: pp. 287-304]

-          Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, documents 8.1 (A Medical View: Nicephorus
           Gregoras); 8.3 (Prayers at York: Archbishop William); 8.4 (Blaming the Jews: Heinrich von
           Diessenhoven); 8.8 (Before the Fall: Patriarch Anthony); 8.12 (Jeanne d’Arc, Letter)

9 W The Avignon Papacy, The Western Schism and the Council of Constance

- Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, CHAPTER 8, pp. 301-304 ("Defining Styles" excluded)
[A Short History, 2004 ed.: pp. 304-307]

- Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, documents 8.15 (The Conciliarist Movement: Jean
Gerson); 8.17 (The Hussite Program)

- The Council of Constance Decrees, selected documents (link on MY JCU)

Week 9

14 M Fifteenth-century mentalities and sensibilities

- Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, CHAPTER 8, pp. 304 ("Defining Styles") - 324
[A Short History, 2004 ed.: pp.307-323]

- Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, documents 8.18 (Re-evaluating antiquity: Cincius
Romanus); 8.19 (A New Theory of Art: Leon Battista Alberti)

16 W Fifteenth-century mentalities and sensibilities cont.

-        Reading the Middle Ages, ed. by Rosenwein, document 8.20 (Defending Women: Christine de
         Pizan)

-        Lauro Martines, Power and Imagination: City-States in Renaissance Italy (Ch. "Humanism: A
         Program for Ruling Classes") (shared file on MY JCU)

Week 10

21 M Reforms, elites, popular culture

- James D. Mixson, “Religious Life and Observant Reform in the Fifteenth Century”, History
Compass 11/3 (2013): 201-214 (shared file on MY JCU)

- Gabor Klaniczay, “The ‘bonfires of the vanities’ and the Mendicants”, pp. 31-59 (shared file on MY JCU)

23 W FOCUS: Issues of social, economic and cultural relevance at the end of the Middle Ages

- Images projection

- Fabrizio Conti, Witchcraft, Superstition, and Observant Preachers: Pastoral Approach and

Intellectual Debate in Renaissance Milan, selected pp. (shared file on MY JCU)

28 March – 1 April Spring Break

April

Week 11

4 M Social and cultural boundaries

- R.I. Moore, The Formation of a Persecuting Society, Ch. 1

6 W Social and cultural boundaries cont.

- R.I. Moore, The Formation of a Persecuting Society, Ch. 1

Week 12

11 M Medieval persecutions: classification

- R.I. Moore, The Formation of a Persecuting Society, Ch. 2

13 W Second Reaction Paper Due

Purity and danger

- R.I. Moore, The Formation of a Persecuting Society, Ch. 3

Week 13

18 M Power and reason

- R.I. Moore, The Formation of a Persecuting Society, Ch. 4

20 W A Medieval 'persecuting society'?

- R.I. Moore, The Formation of a Persecuting Society, Ch. 5

Week 14

25 M No class: national holyday (make-up day: Friday, March 4)

27 W Course review and conclusions

Final Exam