Unit name | Fear and Loathing |
---|---|
Unit code | HIST20117 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Austin |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Muslims, Christians, witches, Jews, pagans, heretics, the poor: there was no shortage of people to hate in the premodern world. Of course, no analysis of 'fear and loathing' can omit a discussion of its counterparts: interaction, respect and even acceptance.
How did the peoples of the premodern era come to terms with difference - and how did they face up to the considerable challenge of living alongside one another - in an age before modern notions of civility, manners, and liberalism? What motivated the adoption of particular strategies, whether benign or aggressive? Adopting a broad chronological and geographical scope, this unit will explore through a series of case-studies 'fear and loathing' in contexts as varied as the Middle East, Byzantium, the Mediterranean, Middle Age and Reformation-era Europe, and the New World.
Successful students will be able to:
Classes will involve a combination of long- and short-form lectures, class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.
1 x 10-minute Individual Presentation (25%) [ILOs 1, 7]; 1 x Timed Assessment (75%) [ILOs 1-6]
Jonathan Berkey, The Formation of Islam (Cambridge, 2003).
Andrew Rippin, Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, new edition (London, 2005).
George Saliba, Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance (Cambridge MA and London, 2007).
Richard Fletcher, The Cross and the Crescent: Christianity and Islam from Muhammad to the Reformation (London, 2004).
Alexandra Walsham, Charitable Hatred: Tolerance and Intolerance in England, 1500-1700 (Manchester, 2009).
Benjamin J. Kaplan, Divided by Faith: Religious Conflict and the Practice of Toleration in Early Modern Europe (2007).
Peter Brown, Poverty and Leadership in the Late Roman Empire (Brandeis University Press, 2001).