Violence & Toleration in Medieval Europe; IST 3096; RLGN 4507; History-DEPTH; 4 Credits.

Violence & Toleration in Medieval Europe - Spring Term 2017 - Wed. 6-9:30 PM. Class Meets in Iliff Hall Room 202.

COURSE DESCRIPTION :

This course examines a wide range of texts and events from the 11th to the 16th centuries dealing with various forms of violence across the Medieval European world and contrasts these with Medieval European notions of toleration in theological, literary, and political discourse.  Among the topics to be covered will be the Peace of God and the Truce of God, feudal warfare and its legacy, the Crusades and their impact upon the Latin West as well as on the Arab East, anti-Semitism in the Latin West, the Spanish Inquisition, persecution of heretics and witches, Church and State struggles, and the various dialogues of mutual, theocentric edification among Islamic, Jewish, and Christian authors.

COURSE OBJECTIVES :

1) Students will develop systematic research skills related to the religious history of the period covered in the course.

2) Students will develop an understanding of the militaristic legacies of feudalism and the conflict between Church and State that shaped medieval and early modern European imperialism.

3) Students will cultivate critical skills for analyzing primary source documents relating to the treatment of minorities and religious groups in Medieval Europe and across the Medieval Mediterranean basin.

4) Students will develop an understanding of the Crusades, their impact upon the regions of Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean, and the on-going legacy of the Crusades in the popular misconceptions and stereotypes of contemporary Arab and Islamic culture.

5) Students will cultivate an appreciation for the modes of understanding and cultural engagement that informed Medieval European discourses of toleration.

DEGREE LEARNING GOALS in HISTORY (for Iliff Master’s Degree Programs):

Historical Development/Expressions of Religious Traditions (HI) : Demonstrate awareness of religious traditions as historically-situated movements that interacted and changed in relationship to their surrounding cultures and subcultures over time, resulting in various expressions located within and influenced by social structures and institutions, ideologies, historical events, ethnicity and gender, and cultural worldviews.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS :

R. I. Moore. The Formation of A Persecuting Society: Authority and Deviance in Western Europe, 950-1250. Second Edition. Wiley Blackwell Publishers, 2007. [ISBN : 978-1405129640]

Cary J. Nederman. European Discourses of Toleration, c. 1100 – c. 1550. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000. [ISBN: 978-0271020174].

J. Pérez. The Spanish Inquisition: A History. Trans. Janet Lloyd. Yale University Press, 2006. [ISBN: 978-0300119824].

Jonathan Riley-Smith. The Crusades, Christianity and Islam. Columbia University Press, 2011. [ISBN: 978-0231146256].

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READINGS : (Purchasing these books is not required).

David Nirenberg. Communities of Violence: Persecution of Minorities in the Middle Ages. Princeton University Press, 1999. [ISBN: 978-0691058894].

Edward M. Peters. Inquisition. University of California Press; Reprint Edition, 1989. [ISBN: 978-0520066308].

SUGGESTED “BACKGROUND” BOOKS: (Purchasing these books is not required).

The Crusades: The Essential Readings. Thomas Madden, Editor. Blackwell, 2002. [ISBN: 978-0631230238].

Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Vol. I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. Second Edition; Revised and Updated. Harper One, 2010. [ISBN: 978-006185588X].

Madigan, Kevin. Medieval Christianity: A New History . Yale University Press, 2015. [ISBN: 978-0300216776].

COURSE PROCEDURES AND EXPECTATIONS :

• Students are expected to attend all seminar sessions and come to class prepared for seminar discussion and reflection by reading each of the assigned weekly texts.
• Students are expected to participate in class discussions by interacting in both positive and critically thoughtful ways with their peers in the seminar and with the instructor.
• Incomplete Grades will be granted only in the case of documented and verifiable medical circumstances or other personal or family related emergencies.
• Students are reminded to use the Canvas class page for additional required readings and class resources, important announcements, on-line resources and web links, continuing class discussions, and a full copy of the course syllabus.

EVALUATION & REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS :

• CLASS DISCUSSION & PARTICIPATION 20%: Each student is expected to have read the assignments and be prepared to discuss the material for each class session. Regular attendance in class will be factored into this portion of your grade. Excessive absences or tardiness will lower your final grade by at least ten percent or by one letter grade.

• CLASS PRESENTATION – LEADING SEMINAR DISCUSSION 20%: Each student will be responsible for opening a seminar discussion during the course of 10 to 20 minutes duration based upon a summary or overview of a week's given readings, key chapter, or of a portion of that evening's assigned readings/seminar discussion topics. Students may also complete this requirement by selecting an external primary or secondary source and summarizing its particular thesis and point of view. Internet-based resources are acceptable as long as all print and/or internet sources are properly documented and listed at the end of your summary.  In addition to the oral/verbal portion of this assignment, a brief 1 to 2 page written summary that raises two or three questions for critical discussion, with copies provided to the rest of the class (online through Canvas, emailed to the class, or printed and brought to class) by the presenter, is required for successful completion of this assignment.

• FINAL ASSIGNMENT OPTIONS (Choose ONLY One):

Option 1 - Final Exam 60% : Each student who chooses this option will complete and submit a take-home final exam by the due date comprised of comprehensive essay questions on the material covered in the course. Students will be allowed to choose several questions from a list of essay topics and then develop and discuss each answer separately. Students will be expected to write a total of 10 to 12 pages for this final assignment option.  The final exam will be distributed to students by the instructor. The due date for submitting the final exam by email to the instructor will be announced in class and posted to Canvas.

Option 2 – Final Research Paper 60% : Each student who chooses this option will write a research paper based upon his/her proposed research topic. Papers should not exceed a total of 12-15 pages in length for MA, MA-SC or MA-SJE, MA-PSC, MTS, and M.Div. students. J.D.P. students will be allowed to write papers up to a maximum of 20 pages in length. All final research papers will be submitted by email to the instructor by the assigned deadline. The due date will be announced in class and posted to Canvas.

NOTE-WELL : If you are graduating this June, your final assignment for this course will be due one to two weeks before the rest of the class. The due date for graduating students will be announced in class and posted to Canvas.

ACCESSIBILITY AND THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (A.D.A.):

Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs.  Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.  The Advising Center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146.

COURSE CONTENT/OUTLINE & SCHEDULE OF READINGS :

Wednesday - March 29 :

I.   Course Introduction: Objectives, Evaluation, Texts/Contexts.

II.  Overview of Course Themes and Topics:

• Persecution of Religious Minorities in the Middle Ages;
• Islam & Medieval Christendom: Conflict or Coexistence?
• Discourses of Toleration in Medieval Civilization;
• “ All past is present …” Current Events & the Medieval Legacy.

READINGS: Hernández, “The Crusades & Religious Toleration in Medieval Christianity” (E-article from M.U.P.W.J. ). Entire article available on Canvas.

Wednesday - April 5th: Violence and Toleration in Medieval Europe

• Feudalism & the Medieval Respublica Christiana ;
• Feudalism: Contract & Kinship vs. Warfare & Expansionism;
• Church versus Feudal Lords;
• The Medieval Economy, c.950 to c.1492;
• The Peace of God and the Truce of God;
• Medieval Warfare and the Beginnings of “Crusading;”

READINGS: Cary Nederman, European Discourses of Toleration, pp.1-23.

Wednesday - April 12th: The Crusades – Part I:

• Pope Urban II preaches the First Crusade: Nov. 1095;
• The Spanish Reconquista: Spain and Portugal on the Iberian Peninsula, 711-1492;
• The Fall of Islamic Toledo: 1085;
• The Fall of the Crusader Kingdom at Acre: 1291.

READINGS: Jonathan Riley Smith, The Crusades, Christianity and Islam (entire text).

Wednesday - April 19th: The Crusades – Part II:

• Rise of Modern Nation-States: Spain, Portugal, England, and France;
• Italian City-States vs. the Holy Roman Empire;
• The Albigensian Crusade: Montsegur and Catharism, March 16, 1244;
• The Fall of the Caliphate of Granada: January 2, 1492;
• Reflections on al-Qaeda & the “Post-Andalusian Age”

READINGS: Jonathan Riley Smith, The Crusades, Christianity and Islam (entire text); Anouar Majid, Chapter T.B.D. from Freedom & Orthodoxy: Islam and Difference in the Post-Andalusian Age. (2004) – available on Canvas.

Wednesday - April 26th: Persecution and Conversion in the Middle Ages:

• Christian Heretics and Reformers;
• Accusations of Witchcraft or Sorcery;
• Anti-Semitism in Medieval Europe;
• The “Matter of Araby” in the Medieval Imagination.

READINGS: R. I. Moore. The Formation of A Persecuting Society: Authority and Deviance in Western Europe, 950-1250. Second Edition: 2007 (entire text).

Wednesday - May 3rd: The Spanish Inquisition, 1478–1834:

• The Debates of 1391 in Spain;
• National Identity, Race, and National Messianism;
• New Moors, New Converts in the “New World.”

READINGS: Joseph Perez, The Spanish Inquisition: A History (entire text).

Wednesday - May 10th: Medieval Discourses of Toleration, Part I:

• Dialogues of Mutual Edification;
• Christian Exclusivity on the Divinity of Christ;
• Theocentric Visions among Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Writers;
• Anselm, Peter Abelard, and Rabbi Abulafia

READINGS: Nederman, European Discourses of Toleration, pp. 25-84: Also, Primary Source Readings from St. Anslem and Rabbi Abulafia; to be made available on Canvas – T.B.D.

Wednesday - May 17th: Medieval Discourses of Toleration, Part II:

• Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival (c.1200);
• Ibn al-Arabi on Religious Diversity & the Holy Quran (c.1230);
• Ramon Llull on Religious Diversity and Toleration: The Book of the Gentile and the Three Wise Men (c.1300).

READINGS: Nederman, European Discourses of Toleration , pp. 85-123; Also, Brief Primary Source Readings from each of the above; to be made available on Canvas – T.B.D.

Wednesday - May 24th: Medieval Discourses of Toleration, Part III:

• Francis Meets the Sultan of Egypt (c.1219);
• Religious Dissent and the Apostolic Poverty Controversy;
• The Spiritual Franciscans vs. The Papacy (c.1226-1345).

READINGS: Short Excerpts from Primary and Secondary Source Readings about each of the above historical examples; to be made available on Canvas – T.B.D.

Wednesday - May 31st:  Final Discussion Closing Reflections

• Medieval Legacies of Violence and Toleration;
• Latent Medievalism in Current Regional and Global Conflicts;
• Christianity and The "Other"
• What Have We Learned?