Our images of medieval Europe are often shaped more by contemporary popular culture and modern politics than by the historical record.  Scholars, however, have broadened their understanding of the period to incorporate material culture, as well as data from climate science, genetics, and archeology, into their traditional analysis of written documents. This class draws on recent studies of European history between 500 and 1500 to explore how the social practices, ideas, and institutions of the European middle ages developed through interactions with Europe’s neighbors. Themes include: climate change and disease; archeological evidence for everyday life; the relationship between trade and political power; the articulation of religious, ethnic, and gendered differences; intellectual interactions between Christians, Jews, and Muslims; and the formation of empires.

Here’s what we will investigate together:
• important events, people, and places within the medieval millennium (500-1500)
• how interactions with peoples, ideas, and material objects from the Middle East, Asia and Africa shaped medieval European culture
• the documents and material objects that scholars use to study medieval Europe, and how to understand the perspectives of their authors and their audiences
• how historians formulate arguments and conversations
• an understanding of how societies change
 the modern fascination with the medieval past, and ways of understandingcultures different from our own
• how to write and speak more clearly, to articulate your position or argument, and to support it effectively and respectfully.


Readings:
Barbara Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (5th edition). University of Toronto Press, 2018
Articles, translated documents and images will be available on Canvas


Grading:
Midterm  20%
Final Exam 30%
Reading response handouts and class participation 20%
Group research project and oral presentation   30%.  

Our images of medieval Europe are often shaped more by contemporary popular culture and modern politics than by the historical record.  Scholars, however, have broadened their understanding of the period to incorporate material culture, as well as data from climate science, genetics, and archeology, into their traditional analysis of written documents. This class draws on recent studies of European history between 500 and 1500 to explore how the social practices, ideas, and institutions of the European middle ages developed through interactions with Europe’s neighbors. Themes include: climate change and disease; archeological evidence for everyday life; the relationship between trade and political power; the articulation of religious, ethnic, and gendered differences; intellectual interactions between Christians, Jews, and Muslims; and the formation of empires.

Here’s what we will investigate together:
• important events, people, and places within the medieval millennium (500-1500)
• how interactions with peoples, ideas, and material objects from the Middle East, Asia and Africa shaped medieval European culture
• the documents and material objects that scholars use to study medieval Europe, and how to understand the perspectives of their authors and their audiences
• how historians formulate arguments and conversations
• an understanding of how societies change
 the modern fascination with the medieval past, and ways of understandingcultures different from our own
• how to write and speak more clearly, to articulate your position or argument, and to support it effectively and respectfully.


Readings:
Barbara Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (5th edition). University of Toronto Press, 2018
Articles, translated documents and images will be available on Canvas


Grading:
Midterm  20%
Final Exam 30%
Reading response handouts and class participation 20%
Group research project and oral presentation   30%.  

"Ancient Mediterranean World" surveys the major civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Italy from the dawn of the city around 3000 BC through the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 400s AD. Beyond providing a basic historical framework, the course explores the surprising ways in which the various civilizations of the area influenced one another culturally. We will examine interactions between Egyptians, Sumerians, Hittites, Hebrews, Persians, Greeks and Romans, among others. Students will also learn about the different types of evidence, both literary and archaeological, on which knowledge of the ancient world is based. There are two lectures and one discussion section per week.

Carries the Global Cultures flag and fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought course area requirement.

Great Works in the History of Medicine

This course is part of the Thomas Jefferson Center’s Core Texts and Ideas (CTI) program. In keeping with the spirit of Mortimer Adler's Great Books of the Western World and Charles William Eliot's Harvard Universal Classics, this course will thematically examine signature works in the history of medicine. There are numerous reasons for using the great books approach to teaching the history of medicine. In addition to providing professional inspiration, sense of continuity with the past, and an awareness of medicine's unique role in society, this approach can foster a healthy sense of skepticism about the content and durability of medical dogma allowing students to think more critically about the principles and practices of medicine. The great books in the history of medicine provide numerous examples of why one should be prepared to question long-standing views for the sake of progress. Furthermore, the history of medicine can be a "kindly, useful mentor" which not only provides a forum for meaningful exchanges between physicians and historians, but also allows both groups a means to link historical knowledge to contemporary issues in order to reform medicine and bring about change in public policy. The approach taken in this class will be of great use to pre-med students and to students interested in international and public health.

To better understand the unique implications of the different areas of medicine, each week will entail reading a signature work that is representative of a key topic in the history of medicine (e.g. pharmacology, pathology, anatomy, surgery). After performing an analytical reading of the text with respect to its historical context, students will focus on discovering ethical principles in the text that can be used for modern applications.

Flags: The course carries an Ethics Flag and a Writing Flag. Assessment: One long and two short research papers, graded in-class writing activities. No final. Readings: Jacalyn Duffin, History of Medicine: A Scandalously Short Introduction, 2010 ISBN 978-0802095565; all other readings will be available on CANVAS or through the library’s electronic resources.