The Development of Medieval Europe: High & Late Middle Ages, 1000-1450 (332-2-20)
Instructors
Robin Kathryn Pokorski
Robin Pokorski studies late medieval nuns. She hopes to convince you that the study of medieval Europe is worthwhile in our fast-paced twenty-first-century world.
Meeting Info
Harris Hall L06: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
Perhaps the phrase "the Middle Ages" calls to mind a period where society was in thrall to a repressive, superstitious church and violence ran rampant: a dark age, indeed. But it might also call to mind Gothic architecture like the Sainte Chapelle in Paris, full of light and exquisite stained glass. Spanning the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries, the High and Late Middle Ages are a study in contradiction. It is a period of both vibrant life and innovative change as well as violence and disillusionment. Cities grew, universities flourished, and new forms of spiritual life helped people engage directly with Christianity. At the same time, the Crusading movement fostered violence against Muslims, Jews, and people who were perceived as heretics. Famine in the early fourteenth century followed by the Black Death dealt suffering across the continent. Misogyny and other forms of discrimination increased as the medieval millennium drew to a close. How did medieval Europeans respond to these tensions and societal changes? We will examine a variety of ways to answer this question by focusing on the cultural history of the period. The course will be divided into thematic units rather than taking a straight chronological approach. Class time will blend lectures and discussion activities designed to allow you to engage with primary sources and "do history." Assignments will be written opportunities to deepen your thinking on course themes and sources; there will be no in-class exams. This class will help you think about how narratives about the past are arguments, as well as how the kinds of sources we use as historians shape the kinds of narratives we can tell.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to: 1. Explain the major events and characteristics of European society, life, and culture in the period c. 1000-1500; 2. Interpret a wide range of primary sources, placing them in their historical context; 3. Evaluate historical arguments made by other historians; 4. Engage in scholarly historical conversations; 5. Produce a work of original research for a defined audience.
Evaluation Method
40% three short papers (primary source analysis or similar); 40% multi-part final project (final project itself worth 20%); 20% class participation/engagement
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Distro Area