The Medieval World (HIST*2200)

Code and section: HIST*2200*01

Term: Fall 2022

Instructor: Cathryn Spence

Details

Method of Delivery: 

Face-to-Face (in person) - Lectures and discussions will take place in the classroom on Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:30-3:50 pm. 

Course Synopsis:  

This course is a survey of the Middle Ages in Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire to the onset of the European Overseas Expansion, roughly 500-1500. Students should emerge from the course with an understanding of the factors that led to the political rise and decline of the Christian Church; the development of crusading ideologies; some of the defining social structures of Europe in this period and the factors that contributed to the so-called crisis of the late Middle Ages. While primarily focused on Western Europe, Byzantine, Jewish, and Islamic cultures will also be examined. Through small group discussion, students will learn how to read primary source documents in context and connect them to the wider historical developments. Through research and writing, students will learn to formulate and communicate historical arguments.

Methods of Evaluation and Weights:

Document Study Quizzes - 20%    
Bibliography and Essay Outline - 10%      
Research Essay - 40%     
Final examination - 30%    

Texts and/or Resources Required:

Rosenwein, Barbara. A Short History of the Middle Ages, Fifth Edition. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2018.

*Please note: This is a preliminary web course description only. The department reserves the right to change without notice any information in this description. The final, binding course outline will be distributed in the first class of the semester.