Version A: “Conflict and Contact in the Medieval Mediterranean”
In this course, built primarily on seminar-style discussion, we will explore comparatively three movements of people critical to the history of the medieval Mediterranean: the barbarian migration of the fifth and sixth centuries, the Arab conquest of the Levant and North Africa in the seventh and eighth centuries and the Byzantine reaction, and the Norman take-over and administration of southern Italy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and especially the reign of Roger II. These three events are watersheds – some more highly recognized than others – that put new peoples in contact and created conflict through the imposition of one group over another.
The outcomes of this course will be both a broad understanding of these migrations as historical events, but also how they were perceived by those contemporary to them. In particular, we will address how we can interpret a variety of often conflicting perspectives, how we can look beyond written evidence, and how we might come to a consensus on the impact of these events for all participants and their position in the larger scope of medieval history.
Version B: “Ravenna between East and West, North and South (400-1200)”
In this course, built primarily on seminar-style discussion, we will explore the history of one city, Ravenna, pulled between the Latin West and the Greek East, between local Italians and immigrant Germans, within the larger framework of the Early Middle Ages. We will frame the history of Ravenna against the collapse and transformation of the Roman Empire, the Barbarian migration of the fifth and sixth centuries, the Byzantine reaction of the seventh and eighth centuries, and the arrival of the German dynasties in the ninth through eleventh centuries, and the reform movements of the twelfth. These events were watersheds across medieval Europe – some more highly recognized than others – that put new peoples in contact and created conflict through the imposition of one group over another.
The sources we will use in Ravenna between East and West build a broad understanding of Ravenna and its role in the transition into the middle ages. In particular, we will address how we can interpret a variety of often conflicting perspectives, how we can look beyond written evidence, and how we might come to a consensus on the impact of these events for all participants and their position in the larger scope of medieval history.
The course will be divided into three sections. In the first, we will primarily focus on the broader historical background of the early medieval Mediterranean through modern scholarship and review the historiography of the period; in the second, we will carefully examine primary sources (both written and material) from the fifth through eleventh century along with the key secondary literature; in the third, we will present the findings of our own investigations into the history of Ravenna.
Version C: “Monks and Monasticism”
In this course, built primarily on seminar-style discussion, we will explore the early texts related to the birth and evolution of Christian monasticism in the Middle Ages and modern reflections on this topic. This course is experimental in nature, using new and unpublished research, a wide range of primary and secondary sources, and interactions scholars and members of religious communities to build a broad understanding of monasticism from Anthony of Egypt to Benedict of Nursia, Francis of Assisi to Pope Francis.
In Monks and Monasticism, Students will engage with primary and secondary source material in order to produce scholarly or creative studies and projects which explore the tension inherent in medieval and modern monasticism between leaving the secular world and the desire to improve it.
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to analyze and interpret primary sources from the medieval world through discussions, written assignments, and oral presentations; will be able to explain various aspects of medieval religion, culture and society and their development from the end of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance; will be able to synthesize, analyze, and convey complex historical information by means of a final project.
The content for this course will be divided into three sections. In the first, we will primarily focus on the history and primary texts of monasticism in the medieval world, broadly conceived. In the second, we will explore the ways in which monasticism is understood and expressed through literature, film, and the experiences of those who have chosen to lead their lives according to monastic rules. In the third we will share the findings of our own investigations into the work of monasticism, medieval and modern.
Edward M. Schoolman 