IUPUI
FALL 2012
Dr. E.L. Saak
CA 503N
Office Hours: Mon. and Wed.: 11:00-12:00
(and by appointment)
Phone: 274-1687
Email:
History B351/H509
Early Medieval Europe, 200-1000
Section 30784/10668
MW 1:30-2:45 p.m.
CA 235
Goals and Perspectives
One of the major transformations of the western cultural, political, social, religious, and intellectual traditions was the transition from Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. No other period in history experienced as great a fundamental change as did the period during which the Roman Empire gave way to Christendom. Beginning in the third century, we can recognize the increasing impact of Germanic tribes on the Roman Empire in the West, until finally, in the late fifth century, the Western Roman Empire succumbed to the rule of Germanic Kingdoms. Following quickly upon the Christianization of the Empire was the Barbarization of the Empire, though the line demarcating the 'Barbarian' from the 'Roman' was increasingly thin. Romans were barbarized as much as the 'Barbarians' became 'Romanized'. What emerged was the Christian Empire of the Carolingians and the Ottonians, centered in Northern Europe. The idea of Rome remained, even as the 'Holy Roman Empire' of the early Middle Ages was as un-Roman as was the continuance of the Eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople. Yet it was the idea of Rome that gave Europe its identity, especially in the face of the new 'barbarians', the new invaders from without—the Vikings and the spread of Islam. The adjectival use of the terms 'barbarian', 'medieval', and 'Byzantine' have all assumed negative constructions, indicating a distance from the culture of classical Rome. Yet it was precisely the 'barbarization' of the West that produced the foundation of European culture. This transformation is the subject of this course.
The goals of the course are as follows:
1. To foster the IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learning through extensive reading and writing assignments, as well as in class discussion;
2. To give students an in-depth understanding of the transition of the Western tradition from late antiquity to the Middle Ages;
3. To give students an in-depth understanding of the formation of medieval Europe and the impact thereof onthe development of European culture; and
4. To give students insight into the art and practice of the discipline of History.
Required Texts:
Roger Collins, Early Medieval Europe, 300-1000, 2nd edition, Palgrave 1999.
Augustine, City of God, trans. and ed. R. Dyson, Cambridge, 2003.
Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, trans. Lewis Thorpe, Penguine Classics, 1974.
Grading and Requirements
This course is both an undergraduate, upper-division course, and a graduate course. As such, it is "two courses in one". There are, however, commonalities, and the intent is that the undergraduate and the graduate component of the course will be mutually beneficial. All students are required to attend the lectures and participate in the class discussions. The final grade will be determined based on the following:
Undergraduates:
Midterm Exam20%
Two Examinations on the sources 20% (10% each)
Terms paper20%
Participation10%
Final30%
Graduates:
Term Paper50%
Final50%
Guides for the term papers for both graduates and undergraduates will be posted on Oncourse; the same applies for guides to reading the sources, and study guides for all exams.
Attendance
I expect each and every student to attend each and every lecture. More than three unexcused absences will result in a loss of a full grade; more than six absences will result in a loss of an additional full grade. Excused absences must be cleared with me. Only the most extraordinary of circumstances will excuse more than three absences.
Policy on Cheating
Please note that I will not tolerate cheating, and will punish any student caught cheating with the full severity allowed me by IUPUI regulations, which could include being suspended permanently from the course and automatically assigned an ‘F’ as a final grade, as well as further disciplinary measures. Please refer to the IUPUI handbook for Student Conduct. I view cheating any of the following: 1) Plagiarism of any kind, by which I mean: copying all or part of another student’s paper; handing in papers written for you by someone else; failure to properly footnote direct quotations, paraphrased passages, or opinions of other scholars (including authors of Cliff Notes and other such study aids) in essays written outside of class. Plagiarism also consists of using material from the WWW without using quotation marks and proper citation. Plagiarism is easy to detect. Do not do it! If you have any questions whether you are plagiarizing material, please ask me about it before hand! Once a paper is turned in, it is too late and the paper, if plagiarized, is subject to the penalties mentioned above; 2) collaborating on any in-class exam; 3) copying the answers of any other student during an in-class exam In short, DO NOT CHEAT AND DO NOT PLAGIARISE! YOU WILL BE CAUGHT AND PUNISHED!
Schedule of Lectures
Week 1
M Aug. 20: Introduction: In Search of the Barbarians
WAug. 22: The Roman Empire
Readings: Collins, Early Medieval Europe, 300-1000, Preface, Introduction, and ch. 1 (herafter cited as Collins)
Week 2
MAug. 27: The Myth of Rome
WAug. 29: The Rise of Christianity
Week 3
MSept. 3: Labor Day—No Class
WSept. 5: Constantine and the Establishment of Christianity
Readings: Colllins, chs. 2-5
Week 4
MSept. 10: Theodosius and the Triumph of Christianity
WSept. 12: Augustine of Hippo I
Readings: Augustine, The City of God
Week 5
MSept. 17: Augustine of Hippo II
WSept. 19: Source workshop: Augustine, City of God (bks 1-5)
Week 6
MSept. 24: Source workshop: Augustine, City of God (bks 6-10)
WSept. 26: Source workshop: Augustine, City of God (bks 11-16)
Week 7
MOct. 1:Source workshop: Augustine, City of God (bks 17-22)
WOct. 3: The Goths and the Germanization of the Empire
Week 8
MOct. 8: Exam: City of God
WOct. 10: The Fall of Rome
Readings: Collins, ch. 6
Week 9
MOct. 15: Fall Break—No Class
WOct. 17: Midterm Exam
Week 10
MOct. 22: Monasticism
WOct. 24: Bede, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Irish
Readings: Collins, chs. 7-11 and 14
Week 11
MOct. 29: The Franks
WOct. 31: Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks
Reading: Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks
Term Paper Proposal Due in class Wed., Oct. 31
Week 12
MNov. 5: Source workshop: Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks
WNov. 7: Source workshop: Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks
Week 13
MNov. 12: Exam: History of the Franks
WNov. 14: The Carolingian World: Christendom and the 'Other'
Week 14
MNov. 19: No Class
WNov. 21: Thanksgiving—No Class
Week 15
MNov. 26: The Carolingian Renaissance
WNov. 28: Power, Politics, and the Papacy
Reading: Collins, ch. 12-13,15-17
Week 16
MDec. 3: The Holy Roman Empire
WDec. 5: Renaissance and Renewal
Readings: Collins, chs. 18-20
Week 17
MDec. 10: So What?
Term paper due in class on Monday, Dec. 10
FINAL EXAM: Monday, December 17, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.