Unit name | The Medieval World |
---|---|
Unit code | HIST10042 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | C/4 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Professor. Smith |
Open unit status | Open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will introduce students to the vibrant history and culture of the Middle Ages. The main focus will be on Europe (incl. the British Isles) in the period between 1000 and 1300, known as the ‘high’ or ‘central’ Middle Ages, supplemented by selected examples from other areas and earlier and/or later periods. The Middle Ages were an age of immense variety and complexity, marked by both continuity and dramatic changes. The vital significance of these changes for the long-term development of Europe and the wider world is not always appreciated, even though they continue to shape the landscape, built environment, socio-political institutions and cultural concepts of our society today.
Assuming no prior knowledge, this unit offers an overview of the key political, social, economic, religious and intellectual developments of the medieval period. Lectures, seminars and workshops explore, amongst other themes, the ordering of society, changing relationships between religion and state, and the Church and ordinary believers, key issues in the educational, governmental, commercial and religious ‘revolutions’ of the period, and ways in which medieval men and women understood themselves, their world and their place within it.
The unit aims to:
•offer an introductory grounding in medieval history;
•provide an awareness of the main issues at stake in undertaking historical analysis in the period;
•give an introduction to the use of medieval texts as source material;
•create an opportunity for students to discuss various issues in medieval history and to work on texts in a small-group context.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Weekly:
2 x one-hour lecture
1 x one-hour workshop
1 x one-hour seminar
1 x 10-minute presentation (50%) (ILOs 1-5)
1 x two-hour summative exam (50%) (ILOs 1-4)