Topics in Medieval History:
Women in the Middle Ages (Writing Intensive)
History 510:435 Spring 2013
Monday and Wednesday 4:00-5:20 pm
Engelhard Hall 201
Kristin Canzano Pinyan
[email protected]
Office: Conklin Hall 327
Office Hours: Monday 2:30-3:30 pm
and by appointment
Course Summary
This course provides students with an in-depth look at the experience of women in the Middle
Ages, c. 500-1500 AD. The course is divided into several units focusing on different aspects of
medieval women’s experience and illustrating how that experience varied based on an
individual’s marital status, social status and religious vocation.
Students in this writing-intensive course will be guided through the process of writing two major
research papers on subjects related to the course material. Through the submission of preliminary
documents (a research statement, annotated bibliography, first draft), students will learn how to
methodically and effectively produce a longer piece of academic writing. The other main focus
of the course is class discussion. Students will learn how to effectively take notes on readings
and how to engage in critical dialogue about both primary and secondary sources in order to gain
a deeper understanding about the past.
Texts
There is one required text for this course: Shulamith Shahar, The Fourth Estate: A History of
Women in the Middle Ages, revised edition (2003) [ISBN 0415308518]. All of the other course
readings will either be available on the Blackboard course site or as e-resources through the
Rutgers library website.
Course Assignments and Grading
Students will be graded on the following:
Participation and Attendance
Note Checks
Research Papers (2)
Peer Review
40%
10%
40%
10%
2
Participation and Attendance:
Students are expected to attend lecture and participate in class discussions and activities.
Participation means active engagement with the class during discussions and group work.
Students will be graded on their participation during each individual class session. In order to
receive full participation credit for a class session, a student must ask a question or contribute to
the discussion more than once during that session. Students are welcome to contact me at any
time to find out their current participation average in the course.
Attendance at every class session is REQUIRED. Any student who accrues more than three
unexcused absences will have his or her final grade lowered by two points per additional
absence. These three unexcused absences are meant to help the student account for those things
that always come up during a semester: a bad cold, car breakdown, family event, court date, etc.
Use these absences wisely. Rutgers’ official excused absences do not count toward these three.
According to the Rutgers catalog, “the recognized grounds for absence are illness requiring
medical attention, curricular or extracurricular activities approved by the faculty, personal
obligations claimed by the student and recognized as valid, recognized religious holidays, and
severe inclement weather causing dangerous traveling conditions"
(http://catalogs.rutgers.edu/generated/nwk-ug_0608/pg23613.html). If one of these situations
applies, please notify me as soon as you know that you will be absent and provide me with some
sort of documentation of that absence as soon as possible (in the case of a serious illness, bring a
doctor’s note to class the next time you attend). Emergency situations (ex. hospitalization, coma,
extradition) will be handled on a case by case basis. If you do have such an emergency, please
contact me about it as soon as possible. In extreme situations which affect your performance in
all of your courses, you should also get in touch with an academic dean who can help mediate
between you and your professors and get you back on track.
All students are also expected to be on time for every class. Class will begin promptly at 4:00,
and will often begin with important announcements, so every student should make an effort to
arrive on time. Lateness of more than twenty minutes will count as half an absence.
** Any student who misses eight or more sessions through any combination of excused and
unexcused absences will not earn credit in this course. Such students should withdraw to avoid
getting an F. **
Note Checks:
Successful participation in class discussion requires more than just doing the assigned reading
beforehand and bringing it to class – it requires taking notes on those readings to record
important points and to facilitate navigating through the text. A tutorial on note-taking will be
given on the first day of class, after which all students will be expected to take notes on the
readings and bring those notes to class to use during discussions.
To ensure that every student is keeping up with this, and is therefore capable of participating in
discussion, note checks will be held without warning a minimum of four times during the
semester. These checks are intended to deter students from neglecting their reading. I reserve the
right to call them randomly whenever I suspect that the class has not kept up with the reading. If
most students are doing their work and participating regularly, there may only be four note
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checks during the semester; however, if the class is unwilling to participate and seems to be
slacking, note checks may be held during every class session.
Research Papers:
During this course, students will be asked to complete two research papers on aspects of
medieval women’s history. These papers will be approximately 6-8 pages in length and focus
around a specific question in the historiography of medieval women. Preliminary materials –
research statement, annotated bibliography, first draft - will be submitted throughout the
semester and will make up a portion of the final paper grade. Detailed information on these
papers and the writing process is available on the Blackboard course site.
Peer Review:
Twice during the semester, peer review sessions will replace the usual class sessions. Peer
review sessions will be held the day the first drafts of your research papers are due. During these
sessions, students will have the opportunity to exchange paper drafts and review one another’s
work. These sessions have a number of purposes: to help students improve their paper drafts, to
help students learn how to evaluate a piece of written work, and to expose students to subject
areas that may not be covered in the course. I have found that these peer review sessions are
enormously beneficial to students who actively participate in them. To encourage student
engagement during peer review, participation in these sessions will be graded based on my
observation of the session.
Students must bring a draft of their paper to each review session. If a student’s paper draft is not
yet completed, he or she is still required to attend the peer review session, bringing in the paper
at its current stage of completion (whether that is a partial draft, an outline, or something else).
Students who do not bring their paper draft to a peer review session will receive a zero for
that peer review (which counts as 5% of the final grade) and will be counted absent for the
day. Attendance at peer review sessions is mandatory; if a student has an official excused
absence, an alternative form of assessment will be provided, but unexcused absences from peer
review sessions will not be tolerated.
Note on Communication:
Remember that communication is important in any student-teacher relationship. If you are
having any sort of trouble with the course, please do not hesitate to contact me about it. The
longer you wait, the worse it can get. Better to talk with me early so we can set about solving the
problem together than waiting until it affects your final grade.
Course Policies
Conduct: Please refrain from disruptive behavior, such as eating, carrying on conversations,
excessive comings and goings, or inappropriate internet usage. Silence all cell phones and other
noise-making devices during class. Any student whose conduct is disruptive to the class will be
asked to leave and will not be given credit for attendance or participation on that day.
Any student whose conduct is rude and disrespectful will receive negative participation
points for the day (taking away from positive participation during another class session). Rude
and disrespectful behavior includes sleeping, wearing headphones during class, answering phone
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calls in the classroom, doing other homework, or being occupied in any other activity that is
unrelated to the class.
Academic Integrity: Anyone caught cheating on an assignment will be dealt with according to
university policy. The most common form of cheating is plagiarism. If you are not sure what
constitutes plagiarism, ask before beginning your assignment. If there is any evidence that a
student has committed any violation of academic integrity, the matter will be reported to the
Office of Student Conduct, which will determine the appropriate sanctions. Rutgers University’s
full Academic Integrity Policy can be found at this address:
http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/files/documents/AI_Policy_9_01_2011.pdf.
All students are required to sign the Rutgers Honor Code Pledge on every major
assignment. In order to receive credit, the following phrase as well as your signature must be
included with the assignment: “On my honor, I have neither received nor given any unauthorized
assistance on this examination/assignment.”
Written Assignments: All writing is not the same. Much of the writing you find, for example,
on Twitter and Facebook and in online chat rooms is informal. Academic writing is more formal,
expressing ideas in a structured manner according to the rules of American English grammar and
punctuation. Formal writing is expected in all course assignments. Essays should be typed and
double-spaced using 12-point Times New Roman font. Margins should be no larger than one
inch and pages should be numbered. Sloppy, careless work will affect your grade: make sure you
check your paper for spelling and grammar errors before turning it in. Students who need extra
help with the writing process or are non-native English speakers are encouraged to sign up for
tutoring at the Writing Center.
All essays should be submitted electronically to Blackboard. The files must be in .doc, .docx or
.pdf format. Any file not in one of these formats (which I cannot open and read) will be
considered late until the problem is remedied. Late essays will be penalized half a letter grade
per day (meaning that a B+ paper that is one day late will receive a B). An assignment not turned
in within five days of the due date will automatically receive a zero.
Any assignment receiving a grade of C+ or lower is eligible to be rewritten. The grades of the
original assignment and the rewrite will be averaged together. However, any student wishing to
rewrite MUST meet with me in person first in order to go over the assignment and assess the
changes that need to be made.
Syllabus: All students are expected to have read the syllabus in its entirety and agree to abide by
its policies. Likewise, I agree to abide by the syllabus throughout the semester, only adapting or
updating it when absolutely necessary. In order to confirm their acceptance of the syllabus and
the terms of the course, students will be asked to sign a contract at the beginning of the course
indicating that they have read and understood the course requirements as outlined in the syllabus.
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Schedule
Unit One: Introduction to Medieval History
W
1/22
Course Introduction and Early Medieval Europe
M
1/27
High Medieval Europe
W
1/29
Late Medieval Europe
M
2/3
Gender in Medieval History
 Shahar, p. 1-22
 Judith Bennett, “Medieval Women in Modern Perspective”
(2000) [Blackboard]
Unit Two: Women’s Experience by Social Rank
W
2/5
Peasants
 Shahar, p. 220-250
 Excerpts from Manorial and Coroners’ Rolls [Blackboard]
RESEARCH PAPER 1 – CHOICE OF TOPIC DUE
M
2/10
Townswomen
 Shahar, p. 174-219
W
2/12
Townswomen II: Gendered Expectations
 Claire Sponsler, “The English How the Good Wijf Taughte Hir
Doghtir and How the Wise Man Taught His Sonne” (2009)
[Blackboard]
RESEARCH PAPER 1 – ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
M
2/17
Noblewomen
 Shahar, p. 126-173
 Christine de Pizan, “Advice for Noblewomen” [Blackboard]
W
2/19
Noblewomen: Women and Power
 Joanna H. Drell, “Aristocratic Economies: Women and
Family” (2013) [Blackboard]
 Kimberly LoPrete, “Gendering Viragos: Medieval Perceptions
of Powerful Women” (2005) [Blackboard]
M
2/24
Peer Review Day
RESERCH PAPER 1 – FIRST DRAFT DUE
W
2/26
Queens
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

Pauline Stafford “Powerful Women in the Early Middle Ages:
Queens and Abbesses” (2003) [Blackboard]
John Carmi Parsons, “The Queen’s Intercession in ThirteenthCentury England” (1995) [Blackboard]
Unit Three: Women’s Experience by Marital Status
M
3/3
Girls and Childhood
 Kim Phillips, “Maidenhood as the Perfect Age of a Woman’s
Life” (1999) [Blackboard]
 John Carmi Parsons, “The Aristocratic Teenaged Female:
Adolescent or Adult?” (2002) [Blackboard]
W
3/5
Married Women
 Shahar, p. 65-125
 Gratian, “Canon Law on Marriage” [Blackboard]
RESEARCH PAPER 1 DUE
M
3/10
Married Women II
 Jo Ann McNamara and Suzanne Wemple, “The Power of
Women Through the Family in Medieval Europe, 500-1100”
(1988) [Blackboard]
 Heath Dillard, “Wives, Husbands and the Conjugal
Household” from Daughters of the Reconquest (1984)
[Blackboard]
W
3/12
Widows
 Barbara Hanawalt, “Widowhood” from The Ties that Bound
(1988) [Blackboard]
 Patricia Skinner, “The Widow’s Options in Medieval Southern
Italy” (1999) [Blackboard]
M
3/24
Singlewomen
 Judith Bennett and Amy Froide, “A Singular Past” (1999)
[Blackboard]
Unit Four: Women’s Experience by Religious Involvement
W
3/26
Early Medieval Women and Christianity
 Lisa M. Bitel, “Gender and the Initial Christianization of
Northern Europe (to 1000 CE)” (2013) [Blackboard]
 Excerpts from Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks
(paragraphs 28-31)
RESEARCH PAPER 2 – CHOICE OF TOPIC DUE
M
3/31
Nuns
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
Shahar, p. 22-65
W
4/2
Nuns II
 Albrecht Diem, “The Gender of the Religious: Wo/Men and
the Invention of Monasticism” (2013) [Blackboard]
 Caesarius of Arles, “Rule for Nuns (c. 512-534)” [Blackboard]
M
4/7
Saints
 Miri Rubin, “Cults of Saints” (2013) [Blackboard]
 Excerpt from the “Life of Christina of Markyate” [Blackboard]
RESEARCH PAPER 2 – ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
W
4/9
Saints II
 Catherine Moony, “Voice, Gender and the Portrayal of
Sanctity” (1999) [Blackboard]
 Dyan Elliott, “Authorizing a Life: The Collaboration of
Dorothea of Montau & John Marienweder” (1999)
[Blackboard]
M
4/14
Pious Laywomen
 Anneke B. Mulder-Bakker. “Devoted Holiness in the Lay
World” (2013) [Blackboard]
 Excerpt from the Book of Margery Kempe [Blackboard]
W
4/16
Pious Laywomen II
 Carol Neel, “The Origins of the Beguines” (1989)
[Blackboard]
 Description of the Beguines of Ghent [Blackboard]
M
4/21
Peer Review Day
RESEARCH PAPER 2 – FIRST DRAFT DUE
Unit Five: Women on the Margins
W
4/23
Prostitutes
 Ruth Mazo Karras, “Prostitution in Medieval Europe” (1996)
[Blackboard]
 Sources on prostitutes in late medieval London [Blackboard]
M
4/28
NO CLASS (Professor at conference)
W
4/30
Heretics
 Shahar, p. 251-268
 John H. Arnold, “Heresy and Gender in the Middle Ages”
(2013) [Blackboard]
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M
TBA
5/5
Witches
 Shahar, p. 268-280
 E. William Monter, “The Pedestal and the Stake: Courtly Love
and Witchcraft” (1977) [Blackboard]
 Laura Stokes, “Toward the Witch Craze” (2013) [Blackboard]
RESEARCH PAPER 2 DUE