Saint Louis University
Hist 304-01
THE MIDDLE AGES TO 1100
Fall 2009
MWF 2:10-3:00
Beracha Hall 218
Father Steven A. Schoenig, S.J. Office: Humanities 115
Department of History Office Phone: 314-977-2909
Office Hours: MWF 10-11, or appt.
Mission Statement: The mission of Saint Louis University is the pursuit of truth for the greater glory of God and for the service of humanity. The university seeks excellence in the fulfillment of its corporate purposes of teaching, research, health care, and service to the community. It is dedicated to leadership in the continuing quest for the understanding of God’s creation, and for the discovery, dissemination, and integration of the values, knowledge, and skills required to transform society in the spirit of the Gospels. As a Catholic, Jesuit university, this pursuit is motivated by the inspiration and values of the Judeo-Christian tradition and is guided by the spiritual and intellectual ideals of the Society of Jesus.
Course Description and Goals: This course surveys the history of the West from late antiquity to the great changes occurring after the turn of the millennium. While it is not hard to find praise of the Roman Empire or of the High Middle Ages, the period between them is often dismissed as the “dark ages,” a time of societal collapse, cultural stagnation, and backwards barbarity. In fact, these centuries witnessed dramatic transformations and creative impulses as cultures mixed and the three great civilizations of Europe, Byzantium, and Islam arose. The foundations were being laid for the Western world we know today. If the sources preserved from this period are fewer than before or after, it only makes the historical detective work more challenging and exciting.
This course aims to introduce not only the peoples and cultures, ideas and institutions of the Early Middle Ages, but also the discipline of history and the techniques of the medieval historian. As a result, learning the framework of what happened and the great themes of this part of human history is only the beginning. We will also devote substantial time to hearing early medieval voices and interpreting the original sources, which is the bread and butter of historical work. In a number of special sessions, finally, we will delve into particular skills used by historians, specific subjects of historical study, and significant debates among scholars.
Course Texts:
· Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, 3rd ed., vol. I: from c. 300 to c. 1150 (Univ. of Toronto Press, 2009). [SH]
· Barbara H. Rosenwein, ed., Reading the Middle Ages: Sources from Europe, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, vol. I: from c. 300 to c. 1150 (Broadview/Univ. of Toronto Press, 2007). [RMA]
· David Ganz, trans., Einhard and Notker the Stammerer: Two Lives of Charlemagne (Penguin Classics, 2008). [TLC]
· Maureen C. Miller, Power and the Holy in the Age of the Investiture Conflict: a Brief History with Documents (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005). [PH]
· Occasional photocopies handed out in class or emailed. [HO]
Recommended Books and Websites:
· Rosamond McKitterick, ed., The Early Middle Ages: Europe 400-1000, Short Oxford History of Europe (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2001).
· Roger Collins, Early Medieval Europe, 300-1000, 2nd ed. (New York: St. Martin’s, 1999).
· Brian Tierney and Sidney Painter, Western Europe in the Middle Ages, 300-1475, 6th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999).
· http://labyrinth.georgetown.edu/
· http://www.the-orb.net/
· http://www.euratlas.com/time1.htm
Course Requirements:
· Regular attendance and active participation (10%)
· Short responses (10%)
· Midterm exam (20%)
· Final exam (25%)
· Term paper (35%)
You must turn in the term paper and take both exams in order to pass the course. There will be no opportunities for extra credit.
Attendance and Participation. This course relies heavily on material presented and discussed during class. As a result, arriving on time, attending class, and participating to the best of your ability are essential to getting the most out of it. An attendance sheet circulates during class, and it is your responsibility to sign the roster. Absences (unless excused due to a documented medical, family, or personal emergency) hurt your grade, and more than six absences will result in failure of the course (AF). Participation is measured by your questions and comments during class, primarily during discussions. Failing to contribute suggests that you are not engaging the material, or are taking from the rest of the class without giving in return; this too will hurt your grade.
Short Responses. The key to successful participation is preparing the assigned readings (listed below and due on the dates they are mentioned). Giving them a close reading is necessary, but without further action you will probably remember only the most general (and least interesting) strokes of the picture when it comes time for discussion. I recommend that you annotate them as you read—i.e. jot down marginal notes about the topic of each paragraph, questions that occur to you, and points that seem significant. In addition, writing a brief response to the original sources can help you to focus and digest the material. Thus, for each (B) session, and for select (C) sessions, you should turn in a thoughtful reaction—just a paragraph long, hand-written or typed—that reflects on an aspect of one or more of the assigned readings that you find to be significant. These responses are due at the beginning of the discussion classes, and cannot be handed in late.
Exams. Examinations are meant not only to test your comprehension, but also to help you tie together a large amount of material and reflect on its wider significance. They cover both the assigned readings and the material presented and discussed in class (not all of which can be found in the readings!). Each exam will consist of terms (people, places, events, ideas) to be identified, excerpts from primary sources to be commented on, and essays to elucidate larger patterns and analyze broader themes. One essay on the final exam will be comprehensive. Except in the case of a documented medical, family, or personal emergency, no makeup exams will be given.
Term Paper. The term paper will be an original analysis of one or more primary sources, of almost any genre and concerning almost any topic within the scope of this course. In the process of writing the paper, you will become familiar with an aspect of medieval life, but you will also learn firsthand how a historian works. For these reasons, it is perhaps the most important part of the course. Your approach to this task should be as follows:
· Choose a text or texts to work on, and read. SH may offer some ideas, and references such as the Dictionary of the Middle Ages are good places to browse. I will also provide a bibliography of early medieval sources in English translation. You may even choose to work on a text or texts from RMA that we do not cover in class. Come to see me sometime before Fall Break, so that we may discuss your interests and identify some appropriate texts. The most important thing is to find a topic that interests you.
· After you have read well into your chosen text(s), define a historical question or problem. This is a slightly different task than coming up with a thesis to prove, but it more accurately reproduces the process of writing history. “Miracles were said to occur when relics were translated (moved)” is an observation, not a historical problem. “Why were particular kinds of miracles said to occur when relics were translated?” is better. Make it source-specific: “What is the significance of the kinds of miracles described in Theoderic’s Translation of St. Conrad?” Comparative questions will result in equally interesting papers: “How does the role of miracles differ among various accounts of relic translations in eleventh-century Lotharingia?” You are encouraged to consult with me when formulating your question or problem.
· Write a two-paragraph paper proposal. The first paragraph should state the text(s) with which you are working and explain the question or problem that you have chosen to examine. The second paragraph should analyze a single passage from the text as an example. You should also provide a footnote for the passage and a bibliographical entry for the source(s): use The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (2003). This assignment is due by Thursday, November 5, at 4:00 pm. Failure to hand in a proposal on time, unless because of a documented medical, family, or personal emergency, will result in a loss of one grade fraction (+/-) on the term paper grade.
· Write the paper. Describe the problem, analyze the text(s), and draw conclusions. There should be ideas supported by evidence drawn from your text(s). You should also make use of at least three secondary sources. I want to help you learn to write well (one of the most important skills you can develop in life). I am willing to read drafts given to me by November 26; thereafter, drafts will be read on a time-available basis. Take advantage too of the SLU Writing Center (www.slu.edu/x13305.xml). A hard copy of the paper is to be turned in to me by Thursday, December 3, at 4:00 pm; in addition, an electronic copy is to be submitted to www.turnitin.com by the same time. Unless because of a documented medical, family, or personal emergency, a late paper will be penalized one grade fraction (+/-) per 24-hour period after the due date and time. Extensions will be granted for reasonable grounds (e.g. several papers due on the same day), but you will know these things ahead of time; no extensions will be granted after November 23.
· Since we are social creatures who must communicate, content matters little apart from form, and so all written work will be assessed on style (including spelling, grammar, and syntax) as well as substance. Proofread (on paper)! Don’t trust spellcheckers and grammar-checkers. The paper should be double-spaced, with 1” margins, in a standard font (such as Times New Roman 12 pt). It should have footnotes and a bibliography formatted according to Chicago style. In length it should be c. 15-20 pp.
Classroom Decorum: In order to ensure the best learning experience for everyone, please conform to the following expectations: silence and put away cell phones and other electronic devices; do not use laptops, except to take notes only; do not carry on conversations on the side; and, most importantly, treat everyone in the room with respect. If you cannot abide by these expectations, you may be asked to leave.
Academic Honesty: Students are expected to be honest in their academic work. The university reserves the right to penalize any student whose academic conduct at any time is, in its judgment, detrimental to the university. Such conduct shall include cases of plagiarism, collusion, cheating, giving or receiving or offering or soliciting information in examinations, or the use of previously prepared material in examinations or quizzes. Violations should be reported to your course instructor, who will investigate and adjudicate them according to the Policy on Academic Honesty of the College of Arts and Sciences. If the charges are found to be true, the student may be liable for academic or disciplinary probation, suspension, or expulsion by the university.
Special Needs: Any student who feels that he or she may need academic accommodations in order to meet the requirements of this course – as outlined in the syllabus – due to the presence of a disability should contact the SLU Disabilities Services Office. Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries.
Keeping in Touch: Feel free to stop by my office, call me, or email me if you have questions or problems relating to the course. Please understand that I cannot answer all emails immediately. Ordinarily you can expect a reply within 24 hours, excluding weekends.
Schedule of Activities and Assignments:
Almost all the classes fall into groups of three.
1. The (A) session is a lecture (though with conversational give and take) covering an important topic or theme in the period under consideration. Because this lecture will not attempt to cover the period exhaustively, a reading from SH (and sometimes PH) is assigned to provide background and fill in the gaps.
2. The (B) session is a discussion of several primary sources relating to the topic of the week. You should prepare these texts carefully and write a brief response (see above), to be handed in at the beginning of class. In general, these texts will require more time and thought than the readings for the (A) session. Remember to bring to class the sources to be discussed!
3. The (C) session, also related to the topic of the week, is a “wild card.” Sometimes I will present a mini-“crash course” in a particular subject or area (“Focus”) or in a particular historical sub-discipline (“Skill”). At other times we will discuss important or controversial scholarly literature (“Scholarship”) or try our hand at analyzing cryptic sources (“Interpreting Sources”). We will also take a trip to the library to look at medieval manuscripts. For some of these (C) sessions, assignments are given; for others, not. For a few of these sessions (marked with *), a brief response will be due as for a (B) session.
Anything covered in any session, whether (A), (B), or (C), is fair game for the exams!