The Middle Ages
HIST 250
Fall/Winter 2012-2013
Wed. 4-5:30 PM
Fri. 2:30-4 PM
Dr. Laura Carlson
Watson Hall # 234
49 Bader Lane
Ext. 78998
Laura. Carlson@queensu. ca
Professor's Office Hours:
Wednesday 1Oam-12ptn
Thursday 1-3pm
And by appointment
T As (Available via etnail & by appointment):
A-D: Kelsea Lawrenson ([email protected])
E-J: J enn Maxwell ([email protected])
K-P: Shyla Pogany (7stnp [email protected])
R-Z: Tabitha Robin Renaud (11 [email protected])
If you have specific questions/concerns for the T As, please contact theTA in charge of your
group (organized according to the first letter of your last nmne ).
Course Themes & Objectives
This course will explore the Middle Ages, prin1arily in Western Europe. The fall setnester will
cover the years c.300-1 050; the winter setnester will cover the years c.l 050-1500.
The autmnn setnester explores the aften11ath of what has been traditionally described as the
decline and fall of the Rmnan Empire. The extinguishing of the "light of Rmne" in the foutih and
fifth centuries has led to descriptions of the subsequent centuries as the "Dark Ages": the
regression of western civilization. But such a nanow view does not adequately describe the
transfonnation that took place. Frmning the period in terms of the "end" of the Rmnan Etnpire
too often itnplies a definitive tnoment in history, an itnage of a descent frmn civilization into
barbaric chaos. But the survival of the Easten1 Rmnan Etnpire, the Persian Etnpire, the origins
and rise of the Islmnic Empire, and finally the "rebirth" of Ron1e in the west with Charletnagne' s
coronation in 800 does not indicate a vacuun1 of political power in the Meditenanean basin, but
rather a surplus.
A Eurasian rather than a limited European scope defines the scope of this course, as topics will
include regions as far east as Persian's Asian frontier, as far south as Africa, as far west as
Ireland, and as far north as Scandinavia and the Vikings. Yet this course will not only etnphasize
the political transformations of early medieval power; students will explore a range of themes
that a11ov.r us to contextualize the post-Roman period. This course 'vill highlight topics of
religion, language, economics, and art; all of which may serve as prisms to understanding the
transformation between \Vhat \Ve tenn the ancient \Vorld to medieval civilization.
This course also will introduce students to the variety of formats and genres of historical sources
and, in so doing, teach students how to choose sources, read them reliably, and use them to
construct relevant narratives about the past. Through the use of material from the late antique and
early medieval period, students will grapple with the question of whether a historian can achieve
objective knowledge of the past. Historical perspective will also be a major thetne of this course,
as the class will discuss how sources are subject to the changing attitudes and interpretations of
each generation of historians.
Course Requirements
The following texts are required for the course:
In the university bookstore
o Barbara Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (fall and winter)
o Kay Slocutn, Sources in Medieval Culture and History (fall and winter)
There are also a nutnber of pritnary sources online. The URLs are provided in the
syllabus.
You should have ea~h day's reading assigmnent cmnpleted by the beginning of class. Each
semester will have one short prin1ary source-based paper, one shorter exmn taken during class
titne, one longer research-based paper, and one longer exmn taken during the exmnination period
assigned by the university. The cmnposition of grades for the fall is as follows:
Sources Paper, Wednesday, Oct. 3rd. 5o/o
Exmn 1, Friday, Oct. 26 1h, 10%
Research Paper, Friday, Nov. 161h, 15o/o
Exan1 2, TBA. 20o/o
Note that these grades only add up to 50o/o; the other 50o/o will cmne frmn the exmns and papers
in the winter setnester.
Makeup examinations are not scheduled except in extraordinary circmnstances: serious illness,
death in the fmnily, etc. If you have an en1ergency that prevents you frmn taking an exmnination,
please contact the instructor. Do *NOT* tnake travel anangetnents until you know the date of
your exmn.
Academic Integrity
It is expected that all work produced for this class will be your own. Queen's University takes academic
integrity very seriously. From the Faculty of Arts and Science Statement on Academic Integrity:
"AcC~demic integrity is constituted by the five core fundamental values of honesty. trust. fairness. respect
and responsibility (see www.academicintegrity.org). These values are central to the building, nurturing
and sustaining of an academic community in which all members of the community will thrive. Adherence
to the values expressed through academic integrity forms a foundation for the !!freedom of inquiry anJ
exchange of ideas" essential to the intellectual life of the University (see the Senate Report on Principles
and Priorities)
"Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the regulations concerning academic integrity
and for ensuring that their assignments conform to the principles of academic integrity. Information on
academic integrity is available in the Arts and Science Calendar (see Academic Regulation 1), on the Arts
and Science website
(see http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/sites/default/files/Academic%20Regulations.pdf), and from the
instructor of this course.
"Departures from academic integrity include plagiarism, use of unauthorized materials, facilitation,
forgery and falsification, and are antithetical to the development of an academic comn1unity at Queen's.
Given the seriousness of these matters, actions which contravene the regulation on academic integrity
carry sanctions that can range from a warning or the loss of grades on an assignment to the failure of a
course to a requirement to withdraw from the university."
If it is discovered that you have plagiarized, cheated, or otherwise violated the Queen's standards of
academic integrity, the instructor \Vill investigate according to University regulations.
All cmnponents of this course will receive nmnerical percentage tnarks. The final grade you
receive for the course will be derived by converting your nmnerical course average to a letter
grade according to Queen's Official Grade Conversion Scale:
Queen's Official Grade Conversion Scale
Numerical
Course
Grade
Average
(Range)
A+
90-100
85-89
A
A80-84
B+
77-79
73-76
B
B70-72
C+
67-69
c
63-66
C60-62
D+
57-59
53-56
D
50-52
D49 and below
F
Course Schedule
Date
Lecture Topic
Wed., Sept.
12
Introduction &
Overview;
Late Antique
Rome
Reading Assign1nents & Deadlines
Rosenwein: pp. 21-25
Slocum:
•
•
The End of an
Empire?
Fri., Sept.
14
•
Aurelius Victor, Lives ofthe Emperors, p. 4
Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, p. 5
Diocletian's Edict on Maximum Prices, p. 6
Online:
•
Amtnianus Marcell in us, The Luxury of the Rich in
Rome, (c. 400 CE)
http://w\V\v.fordha1n.edu/halsall/ancient/mn1nianushistory14.htn11
I
Rosenwein: pp. 25-32
Wed., Sept.
19
Christian
Beginnings
Slocu1n:
•
•
•
The Conversion of Constantine, p. 8
The Edict of Milan, p. 10
The Confessions of Augustine, p. 18
Rosenwein: pp. 40-44
Slocwn:
Fri., Sept.
21
Barbarian
Kingdon1s:
Definitions of
Identity
•
•
•
•
•
Tacitus, Gennania, p. 28
A1nn1ianus Marcellinus, Hist01y ofthe Roman
Empire, p. 30
Treaty with the Vandals, p. 31
The Battle of Adrianople, p. 32
1ordanes, The Origins and Deeds of the Goths,
p. 36
I Slocum:
I
• Cnssiodon1s . .1n Jntroductirm to Di1·inc and Human
Readings, p. 39
• Boethius~ ThtJ Consolation of Philosophy~ p. 41
•
Wed., Sept.
26
Online:
• Origen, On Classical Learning;
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/origen1.asp
Education, Texts,
& Literacy
•
Socrates Scholasticus, The Murder of Hypatia the
Philosopher, (late 4th century)
http://www. fordham. edu/Halsall/ source/h ypatia. asp
Rosenwein: pp. 54-63
Fri., Sept.
28
Slocum:
• The Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian, p. 57
The Eastern
Empire:
Byzantium
I
Online:
• Procopius, The Plague (542)
http://www. fordham.edu/Halsall/source/ 542procopius
-plague.asp
*Primary Sources Paper Due*
Rosenwein: pp. 70-80 & 108-114
Wed., Oct. 3
Fri., Oct. 5
The Birth of
Islan1
Dark Age
Econmnics:
Urban and Rural
Enviromnents
Slocutn:
• The Night of Destiny: Ibn Ishaq, p. 67
• How the Qu 'ran was assetnbled, p. 69
• The Founding of the Caliphate, p. 73
• The Accession Speech of Abu Bakr, p. 75
Rosenwein: pp. 45-4 7 (until the section on tnonasteries ), 6470 & 80-85
Online:
• Gregory ofTours, Opposition to Royal Taxation (c.
575)
http://www.fordhatn.edu/Halsall/source/580Royaltax.
asp
• The Farmer's Law (i 11 -8th century)
http://www.fordhmn.edu/Halsall/source/farn1erslaw.a
sp
• Accounts of the Routes of the Jewish Merchants to
the East (84 7)
http :1lwww. fordhmn. edu/Halsall/ source/84 7radani te. a
sp
I Rosenwein: pp. 4 7 -54~ 97-100
Organizing the
Early Church:
~1onks Popes
'
'
and Saints
Wed., Oct.
10
I
'
Slocum:
•
.i
The Early Franks:
Merovingians &
Gregory of Tours
Fri., Oct. 12
Pope Leo I and the Petrine Theory, p. 21
The Election of Bishops, p. 22
The Life of St. Antony by Athansius, p. 23
The Rule of Saint Benedict, p. 24
•
•
•
Rosenwein: (see genealogy of Clovis on p. 84), pp. 85-87 &
118-119
Slocum:
•
The Conversion of Clovis, Gregory of Tours,
History of the Franks p. 46
• Excerpts from the Salic Law p. 48
Rosenwein: pp. 87-90
Slocum:
Wed., Oct.
17
I
•
•
Anglo-Saxon
Influences & the
Irish Anmnal y
•
Beowu!f, p. 50
Bede, A History ofthe English Church and
People, p. 52
Jonas, The Life ofSt. Columban, p. 55
Online:
•
Rules for the Celi De
http://celticchristianity.org/library/culdee.htlnl
Rosenwein: pp. 90-97 & 114-117
Fri., Oct. 19
The Iberian
Peninsula: Before
and After 711
Wed., Oct.
24
A New Rmne?
Charletnagne &
the Carolingians
Slocmn:
•
The Visigothic Code: Provisions Concerning
W mnen, p. 45
The
Muslitns conquer Iberia, p. 76
•
• A Christian Monarch in Iberia: Sancho Abarca,
King ofNavane, p. 161
Rosenwein: pp. 120-123, 126-138
Slocmn:
•
•
•
Fri., Oct. 26
EXAM
Einhard: The Coronation, p. 94
De Litteris Colendis (On the Study of Letters),
p. 108
Dhuoda, A Carolingian Mother's Advice to Her
Son,p. 112
I Rosenwein; pp. 123-126
I
Slocum•:
Wed., Oct.
31
Why It Couldn't
Last: The End of
the Carolingians
The Treaty ofVerdun (843), p. 113
I
Online:
Agobard of Lyons: On the Division of the Empire
http://www. fordham. edu/halsall/ source/83 Oagobar
d.html
Rosenwein: pp. 152- 155
•
Fri., Nov. 2
Wed., Nov.
7
Slocum:
•
•
•
•
•
The Last Invaders
of the West: The
Magyars and
Vikings
Slow Steps
towards Unity:
England before
the Norman
Conquest
The Annals of St. Bertin, p. 113
The Annals ofXanten, p. 114
The Annals of St. Vaast, p. 115
An Account of Liudprand of Cremona, p. 116
Apostolic King: A Letter from Pope Sylvester II to
King Stephen of Hungary, p. 176
Rosenwein: pp. 161-164
I
Online:
• Asser's LUe ofA(jred
http://www.fordhmn.edu/Halsall/source/asser.asp
•
Alfred and Guthrum's Peace
http://www.fordhatn.edu/Halsalllsource/guthrmn.asp
•
Aethelred the Unready, The Laws a./London
http://www.fordhatn.edu/Halsall/source/978ethelredlondonlaws.asp
Rosenwein: pp. 101-104, 139-151
Slocun1:
•
Fri., Nov. 9
Eastern Powers:
Byzantiutn,
Islam, and the
Rus
•
Olga "the Beautiful": A Tenth-Century Russian
Ruler, p. 180
Preface to On Ceremonies by Etnperor
Constantine VII, p. 183
Online:
• The Niz<:hnu'l Mulk: On the Courtiers and Fmniliars
of Kings (11th century)
http://www.fordhmn.edu/Halsall/source/nizmncourtiers.asp
I Rosenwein: pp. 156-161
I
1
\Ved., Nov.
14
Feudalism & The I
Long 1oth
Century
Slocun::
•
The Homage Ceremony, p. 133
Feudal Aids, p. 124
Online:
• Ralph Glaber, On the First Millenium
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/glaber1000.asp
*Research Paper Due*
Rosenwein, pp. 188-190
Fri., Nov. 16
Religious Reform
Slocum:
• Foundation Charter for the Abbey of Cluny: p. 188
• The Truce of God proclaitned by the Archbishop of
Arles (1 035-41 ), p. 128
Online:
•
The Discovery of the Head of John the Baptist
from the Chronicle of Adetnar of Chabannes
http:// urban.hunter.cun y. edu/~thead/ ade1nar.htn1
Rosenwein: pp. 164-174
Wed., Nov.
21
The New
Monarchies:
Rituals of Power
Fri., Nov. 23
Land, Language
and Men1ory:
Constructing the
Past
Slocutn:
• The Election of Hugh Capet as King of France, p. 154
• Liutprand of Cre1nona, p. 162
• The Chronicon of Thiehnar of Merseburg, p. 164
Online
• Sale & Transfer of an Estate, 704
http://www.fordhmn.edu/Halsall/source/704landsale.a
sp
• Charles the Bald, A Renewal of the Privileges ofa
Monastery, 874
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/874Monkpriv
.asp
• En1peror Henry IV, Exchange ofan Estate for a
Forest (1 059)
http://www.fordhmn.edu/Halsall/source/l 059Forexch
.asp
• Count Albetio of Tuscany: An Oral Grant of
Inheritance ( 121 0)
http://www.fordhmn.edu/Halsall/source/121 Oalbertowill.asp
I
I Rosenwein. see images on pp. 3:2-40. 104-1 OR. 130-13:2. 167-
1168, 171
Wed., Nov.
28
Art, Architecture,
and Manuscripts
Slocwn:
• Hagia Sophia & Procopius, p. 58
• Al-Azhar Mosque & Documents, p. 80
• The Palatine Chapel at Aachen & Descriptions, p.
104
•
Ivory Book Cover & Descriptions by Theophilus, p.
109
Fri., Nov. 30
Review Session
Primary Source Report
The source reports are short assignments designed to give you experience with close analysis of
primary sources. You may choose any source listed below; however, you may *not* use any text
listed as reading for class (although in some cases you *may* use another section/chapter a
source used in class). If you have any questions regarding the appropriateness of your source, do
not hesitate to ask me via email or during office hours. The reports are to be no more than 1000
words in length. Final drafts in hard copy (email submissions will not be accepted) are due by the
end of class on Wednesday, October 3 rd. Late subtnissions will be penalized by a 1Oo/o deduction
per day.
Before you begin writing, you will want to read the source carefully and to find out as much as
you can about it from the introduction to it by its moden1 editor, and from reference works (see
below for a list) such as the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, though you will be
assessed on the quality of your reading of the text, and not on the quality of your research. Here
are smne questions you will need to answer:
·
A. The Text
• When and where was the text written? By whmn? How long is the text?
• Give a brief, accurate, content sun1n1ary of the text, highlighting any especially
significant details.
B. The Writer
• What is the writer's relationship to the events in question? Is s/he a participant? An eyewitness? A later historian? Is there a difference between what we know about the writer
and what s/he CLAIMS to be (i.e. pseudepigraphy)?
• What can you say about the lens through which the writer interprets the story s/he wishes
to tell?
• Where relevant, can you reconstruct an alternate point of view to that of the writer?
Primary Source Options
Collections of Primary Sources (Choose one text within these)
M. Maas (trans.), Readings in Late Antiqui(v: A Sourcebook (2000)
J. N. Hillgarth (trans.), Christiani(v and Paganisn1, 330-750: the conversion a,[ Western Europe
( 1986)
P. E. Dutton (trans.), Carolingian Ci1'ilization: A Reader (1993, 2nd revised ed 2004)
A. C. Munay, From Roman to Mero1'ingian Gaul: A Reader (2000): dip into chapters 1-8, e. g.
extracts frmn the chronicles, on Attila, and the letters of Sidonius Apollinaris (key source for
understanding Rmnan elites)
P. Fouracre and Richard Gerberding (trans.), Late Merovingian France: history and hagiography
640-720 (1996): collection of politically interesting saints' lives with illmninating cmntnentary
Individual Prin1ary Sources (In many cases, you 1nay pick a section or individual life \vi thin
these sources)
Jordanes, The Gothic History (selections translated in P. Geary (ed.), Readings in Medieval
History (1st ed. 1992~ 2nd ed. 1997), or trans C. C. Mierow, 1915)
Cassiodorus, Variac: edited collection of goven1n1ent docun1ents, frmn 507-11 and 523-37; some
trans. S. J. B. Barnish (1992)
Boethius, Consolation ofPhilosophy (trans in Penguin, and in Loeb series): esp Book 1
Isidore of Seville, History of the Goths, Sueves and Vandals (tr. B. Donini and G. Ford, 1970)
J. Moorhead (trans.), Victor of Vita: History of the Vandal Persecution (1992)
A. T. Fear (trans.), The Lives of the Visigothic Fathers (1997)
B. Croke (trans.), The Chronicle ofMarcellinus (1995)
R. W. Thomson (trans.) and J.D. Howard-Johnston (ed.), The Armenian Hist01y Attributed to
Sebeos (2000)
Liber Pont~ficalis (lives of the popes, perhaps initially cmnpiled in the 530s; the lives becmne
(near) contemporary fro111 around 630): translated by R. Davis, The Book of the Pont(ffs
(1989), The Lives of the Eighth Century Popes (1992) and The Lives of the Ninth Century
Popes (1995). See the introductions on the history of the text.
A. Pahner (ed./trans,), West Syrian Chroniclesfor the Seventh Century (1993)
Lupus ofF errieres' letters, trans. G. W. Regenos, The Letters of Lupus ofFerrieres (1966)
Sedulius Scottus, On Christian Rulers, trans. E. G. Doyle (1983)
W. M. Hutchins, l\fine Essays ofa!-Jahiz (1989): esp. i.The Virtues of the Turks' and perhaps
'Boasting Match over Maids and Youths'
Eugippius, Vita Se1·erini, transl. George Robinson as The L~fe o_f"Saint Se1'erinus by Eugippius
( 1914 ), online at http://vvww .tertu] lian.org/t~1thcrs/index.htm#Sevcrinus
Charles H. Robinson, Anskar, The Apostle o_fthe North (1921 ), also online in the Inten1et
M ed iev al Sourcebook at ht.1.12.J.i~-~Y.~Y.~. :E2I~H:m.!.l1.~. ~~ln!.h.~l~.~.lll.P..n_~i&_nnlik.m:J.l1n11
J. McCann (ed./transl.), The Rule o.f St Benedict (1952): crucial, but see also David Knowles,
'The Regula Magistri and the Rule of St Benedict', in his Great Historical Enterprises
(1963), 139-94
Hugeberc, Hodoeporicon o.f St Willibald, transl. C. H. Talbot, T. Noble and T. Head in Soldiers
o_fChrist, edd. Noble and Head (1995), 141-64
Vita Domnae Balthildis, transl. with con1n1entary in P. Fouracre and R. A. Gerberding, Late
Merovingian France: Histo1~y and Hagiograph.v 640-720 (1996), 99-132
Einhard, Translation and Miracles o_fMarce!linus and Peter, book 2, trans. in P. E. Dutton
( ed./transl. ), Charlemagne's Courtier: the complete Einhard ( 1998), Chapter 5
See also the Internet Medieval Sourcebook, at http://www.fordhatn.edu/halsall/sbook.htlnl
Reference works
-The Oxford Dictionmy of the Christian Church (3rd edn. 1997) is the Inost accessible relevant
work of reference. The following 1nay also prove useful for patiicular areas:
-Encyclopedia o_fthe Early Church, ed. A. de Berardino ( 1992)
-Dictionary o_fthe Middle Ages, ed. J. Strayer (1986)
-A. Catneron and P. Garnsey (eds), Cambridge Ancient History vol. XIII. The Late Empire AD
337-425 (1998) and A. Cmneron, B. Ward-Perkins and M. Whitby, Cambridge Ancient Hist01y
vol. XIV Late Antiquity: Empire and Successors AD 425-600 (2000)
-P. Fouracre (ed.), The New Cambridge Medieval History val. 1: c. 500-c. 700 (2005) and R.
IvlcKitterick (ed. ), The JVew Cambridf.{e JI;Jedieval History val. II: c. 700-c. 900 ( 1995)
Research Paper Assignment
This paper will be an analysis of an overarching theme or people that we have looked at this
semester (e.g. the Vikings, the rise of Islam, the role ofwomen, the status of education, etc.).
Discuss how your chosen topic fits into an overall image of the early medieval period, placing it
within a specific historical context. Be sure to develop a strong thesis or argument within the
paper. Consider what factors led to the e1nergence or development of your topic. Explore the
various pri1nary sources that address your topic. Explore the authors and potential audiences for
the1n. How trustworthy are these sources? Do they depict cmnplementing or contrasting images
of your topic? What are the limitations for historians in learning In ore infonnation about your
topic, based on available source material?
The paper 1nust be approximately 15-20 pages in length (between 3,500 and 5,500 words),
double-spaced, and employ both primary and secondary sources. Proper citation (footnotes) must
be used throughout the paper and it 1nust also include a bibliography of at least three pri1nary and
ten secondary sources. Any acceptable reference style 1nay be used for both the footnotes and
bibliography (MLA, Chicago, etc.); however, this style should be used consistently throughout
the paper. A hard copy of the paper will be due by the end of class on Friday Nov. 16r11 • Etnail
subn1issions will not be accepted. Late subtnissions will be penalized by a 1Oo/o deduction per
day.
I will be happy to answer any questions regarding the overall assigmnent or specific research
topics via e1nail or during office hours.
History 390: Health and Happiness in Early ~lodern England, 1500-1800
Fall-Winter 2012-13
Instructor: Samantha Sandassie
Email: [email protected]
Office: Watson Hall, Rm. 106
Office Hours: Tuesday 10:30-1 :00 and by appointment
Course Description and Objectives
From sex, suicide, and social diseases to witchcraft, plague, and power politics. Health
and happiness, in the early modem period, incorporated far more than just the human
physical and emotional state. The years 1500-1800 were tumultuous, marked by major
religious upheavals, civil wars, and imperial adventures. Throughout this course, we will
examine how early modem Britons felt about, and functioned within, their changing
world.
By the end of the course, it is my hope that seminar participants will have learned not
only "what happened," but also have some grasp of the realities of early modem English
life and thought. Perhaps most important, students will be encouraged to think critically
about history and historical scholarship, and will be expected to demonstrate this both
orally in class and in written assignments. Major written assignments include a first term
historiographical essay and a second term research essay.
Grade Distribution
Participation- 25o/o
Historiographical Essay- 25o/o
Research Proposal - 10°/o
Research Essay- 30%
Paper Presentation - 1Oo/o
Assignment Descriptions
Participation in class discussions constitutes a full quarter of the final grade. Active
participation is measured both by the frequency and the quality of comments made.
Thoughtful comments and questions, the ability to build on the thoughts of others and to
explore creatively the issues under examination will be necessary to attain an A grade in
this component.
Historiography is defined as study of how history is 'done.' Rather than examining a
particular historical occurrence, a historiography examines the body of literature on the
occurrence. It asks questions about the assumptions, methods, and evidence underpinning
texts and examines the conclusions reached. It asks questions about how scholars have
interpreted the past, it identifies trends and explains why these have developed. Papers
shou1d he approximate1y 10 rlages p1us bih1iogmphy. Topics need to he apprO\Td hy the
instructor by October 24. Paper Due: November 28 2012.
The research paper proposal is an opportunity for you to build upon the historiography
paper topic and build towards your final research paper. Here, students are encouraged to
think about the specific way into which they want to engage with their chosen topic.
Proposals should be 2 pages in length, detailing the topic, questions you will pose, a
working thesis, and some idea of how your thesis will be argued. In addition, an
annotated bibliography including a minimum of 5 primary sources directly related to your
topic should be appended. This is a short assignment that is a vital part of the planning
phase of any good primary research paper. Proposal Due: January 23 2013.
The primary research paper should be related to the topic addressed in the term 1
historiography. In completing a research paper of this length, seminar participants will
have the opportunity to analyze primary material and present their own findings in a
polished, academic format. Papers should be between 18-20 pages plus bibliography.
Paper Due: 3 April 2013.
The last three weeks of class are reserved for paper presentations. Students are expected
to give a 10 minute presentation on their research papers. An additional 5 minutes is
allotted for answering student and instn1ctor questions.
Late Penalties, Seminar Ahsences and Marking Process
Late papers will be penalized 3% per day (including weekends).
Seminar absences can have a drastic effect on final grades. If you are unable to make it
to class and would like the opportunity to make up the lost grades, please contact me
ASAP and provide a doctor's (or equivalent) note. You will be required to write a 2 page
precis of that week's readings and hand it in to me on your return to class.
I will be marking using the new '"Numbers In, Letters Out'' system. All assignment
marks are communicated to students as numerical grades (letter grade equivalent will also
be given), and those numbers are used to calculate final course averages. Translation of
final averages into letter grades, using the Queen's Official Grade Conversion Scale,
happens at the end of the course. Only the letter grade, after the final conversion at the
end of the course, is used in calculating G PA and in determining the student's academic
status. Percentage averages no longer form any real part of the official marks scheme.
Where Are My Readings?
Weekly readings are: the Keith Thomas text, the library reserve readings (R), e-books (E)
and journal articles available through the library website. Primary documents will be
posted on Moodie and marked (M).
2
for weeks~ anJ lU we vvill reaJ the vvhok ofDanid Defue·s.l Juunzul ufllzc Pluguc
Year. The text is available online, for free, through Google Books. A particularly clear
copy can be found here: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.auld/defoeldanielld31j/
All assigned readings are available readily through the library.
journal article or access Moodie please contact me ASAP.
Ifyou cannot find a
Academic Integrity:
Academic integrity is constituted by the five core fundamental values of honesty, trust,
fairness, respect and responsibility. These values are central to the building, nurturing and
sustaining of an academic community in which all members of the community will
thrive. Adherence to the values expressed through academic integrity forms a foundation
for the "freedom of inquiry and exchange of ideas" essential to the intellectual life of the
University (see the Senate Report on Principles and Priorities)
Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the regulations concerning
academic integrity and for ensuring that their assignments conform to the principles of
academic integrity. Information on academic integrity is available in the Arts and Science
Calendar (see Academic Regulation 1), on the Arts and Science website (see
http://www .queensu.ca/artsci/acadc1nics/acadcmic-intcgrity), and from the instructor of
this course.
Departures from academic integrity include plagiarism, use of unauthorized materials,
facilitation, forgery and falsification, and are antithetical to the development of an
academic community at Queen's. Given the seriousness of these matters, actions which
contravene the regulation on academic integrity carry sanctions that can range from a
warning or the loss of grades on an assignment to the failure of a course to a requirement
to withdraw from the university.
Readings
September 12: Introduction
What is health? How do we define happiness? What assumptions do we hold about these
topics? How does one "do" history? Can we do a history ~[health and happiness? ffso,
how?
Keith Thon1as, "Introduction" and '"Chapter 1: Fulfilment in an Age of Limited
Possibilities,'~ The Ends ~f L(fe. Oxford: Oxford University Press (2009), p. 1-43.
September 19: Religious Life
Cressy and Ferrell once wrote that "religion permeated every aspect ~f English society
in the 16th and 17th century. "How accurate is their statement? What was the religious
at1nosphere on the eve ~f the Reformation? Was there evidence ~fa decaying or corrupt
3
Cothn!ic Church.? Hnw rompont wos ontic!C?ricn!ism.? Hnw sustnine?d wC?rC? C?nrh' English
Protestant movements? What is historiography?
(R) A.G. Dickens, "The Wycliffite Prelude," The English Reformation (2nd edition).
London: B.T. Batsford (1989), p. 46-60.
(R) Eamon Duffy, "How the Plowman Learned his Paternoster," The Stripping of the
Altars: Traditional Religion in England, c. 1400-c. 1580. New Haven: Yale University
Press (1992), p. 53-87.
G. W. Bernard. "The Making of Religious Policy, 1533-1546: Henry VIII and the Search
for the Middle Way," The Historical Journal41, 2 (1998), p.321-349
(M) Read at least 4 of these primary documents.
September 26: Exploration, Colonization and Empire
How did the English view the inhabitants of the New World and Africa? How did they
conceptualize colonization/empire?
(R) Anthony Pagden, "Conquest and Settlement," Lords of All the World. Ideologies of
Empire in Spain, Britain, and France, c. 1500-1800. New Havens: Yale University Press
(1998), p. 63-102.
Sowande' Mustakeem, '"I Never Have Such A Sickly Ship Before': Diet, Disease, and
Mortality in 18 1h-Century Atlantic Slaving Voyages," The Journal ofAfrican American
History 93,4 (2008), p. 474-496.
(M) See online primary documents.
October 3: Self and Other Within
Did a "British" national identity exist? How did the English vievv the Irish, Scots, and
Welsh? How did the early modern English view those "d~fferent "fi~om their accepted
norm?
(E) David Armitage, "The Empire of Great Britain," The Ideological Origins of the
British Empire. Cambridge (2000), p. 24-60.
Joep Leerssen, "Wildness, Wilderness, and Ireland: Medieval and Early Modem Patterns
in the Demarcation of Civility," Journal of the Histmy o.f Ideas 56,1 (Jan 1995), p. 25-39.
(E) Prys Morgan, "Wild Wales: Civilizing the Welsh from the Sixteenth to the
Nineteenth Centuries," Civil Histories: Essays Presented to Sir Keith Thomas, Oxford:
Oxford University Press (2000), p. 265-284.
4
October 10: Sex and Gender 1- \\ Oinen/Feinininity
HoH' do the authors depict women in early modern England? How did a1vomrm 's role
change during her life cycle? Can one speak of a jemale sub-culture?
(R) Sara Mendelson and Patricia Crawford, "Female Culture," Women in Early Modern
England. N.Y.: Clarendon Press, 1998, p. 202-255.
Wendy Churchill, "The Medical Practice of the Sexed Body: Women, Men, and Disease
in Britain, circa 1600-1740," Social History ofMedicine 18,1 (2005), p. 3-22.
Andrea Brady, "'Without welt, gard, or embroidery': A Funeral Elegy for Cicely
Ridgeway, Countess of Londonderry," Huntington Library Quarterly 72,3 (2009), 373395.
(M) See online primary documents.
October 17: Sex and Gender II - Men/Masculinity
What did it mean to be "manly"?
Keith Thomas, "Military Prowess," The Ends of L~fe, p. 44-75.
Michael McKeon, "Historicizing Patriarchy: The Emergence of Gender Difference in
England, 1660-1760" Eighteenth-Century Studies 28,3 (1995), p. 295-322.
(R) Philip Carter, "James Boswell's Manliness," In Tim Hitchcock and Michele Cohen,
eds., English Masculinities, 1660-1800. New York: Longman (1999), p. 111-130.
(M) See online primary documents.
October 24: Children
Ho·w -vvere children raised/treated?
(R) Helen Berry and Elizabeth Foyster, "Childless Men in Early Modem England," The
Family in Early Modern England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2007),
p.158-183.
Hannah Newton, '"Very Sore Nights and Days': The Child's Experience of Illness in
Early Modem England, c.1580-1720," Medical History 55 (20 11 ), p. 153-182.
Margaret Pelling, "Child Health as a Social Value in Early Modem England,''
Social Hist01y o.f Medicine, 1 (1988), p. 135-164.
5
Terence R. l\1urphy. "'\Vofu1 Chi1dc ofP8rents R8gc': Suicide ofChi1drcn 8nd
Adolescents in Early Modem England, 1507-1710," The Sixteenth Century Journal17,3
(1986), p. 259-270.
October 31: Early Modern English Environment
How did the early modern English conceptualize the environment and its relationship to
man?
Very few environmental histories of early modern England are accessible to the nonspecialist reader. Instead of secondary sources, most of our class time will be spent
analyzing and discussing primary documents.
(R) Andrew Wear, "Making Sense of Health and the Environment in Early Modem
England" Medicine in Society: Historical Essays. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press (1992) p. 119-147.
(M) See online primary documents.
November 7: Professionalizing Medicine?
Medical practitioners were a diverse group. What was the d~fference between a
sanctioned practitioner and a mountebank? How did a medical practitioner gain
patients? Was there a medical profession? Discuss the growth of medical ethics.
Harold J. Cook, "Good Advice and Little Medicine: The Professional Authority of Early
Modem English Physicians," Journal o_f British Studies 33,1 (1994), p.1-31.
Patrick Walls, "Plagues, Morality and the Place of Medicine in Early Modem England,''
English Historical Revie-w 121,490 (2006), p. 1-24.
Bruce Boehrer, "Early Modem Syphilis," Journal o_fthe Hist01y of Sexuality 1,2 (1990),
p. 197-214.
Kevin Siena, '"The •Foul Disease' and Privacy: The Effects of Venereal Disease and
Patient Demand on the Medical Marketplace in Early Modem London," Bull. Of the Hist.
o.l Medicine, 75 (200 1), p. 199-224.
November 14: Plague (NO CLASS THIS WEEK)
There will be no class this week. Instead, read the first half of Daniel Defoe's A Journal
Available online: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/d/defoe/daniel/d31j/
o.l the Plague Year.
6
~oven1ber
21: Plague (CLASS RESL"'lES THIS
\\"EEl~)
Finish reading A Journal of the Plague Year tor this \:Veek. We will discuss the whole
book. Think of the book in broad terms ofgender, religion, and class. Is the human
response to epidemic disease universal?
November 28: Food and Food Culture
What can food history tell us of early modern life and social practices? What and how
did people eat and dri11k? How was one 'sfood and drink socially or culturally
determined? How important was the alehouse, coffee house, or salon ,to intellectuall~fe?
Steve Pincus, "'Coffee Politicians Does Create': Coffeehouses and Restoration Political
Culture," The Journal ofModern Histmy 67,4 (1995), p. 807-834.
Felicity Heal, "Food Gift, the Household and the Politics of Exchange," Past and Present
199 (2008), p. 41-70.
(R) Peter Clark, "The Alehouse and the Popular Community 1550-1600," The English
Alehouse: A Social HistOJy 1200-1830. New York: Longman Group Ltd. (1983), p. 145160.
(R) Brian Cowan, "Penny Universities?'' The Suciul L~fe of Coffee: The Emergence of the
British Coffeehouse. New Haven: Yale University Press (2005), p. 89-112.
HISTORIOGRAPHY PAPERS DUE BY 4PM TODAY
TERM2
January 9: Leisure and Pleasurable Pursuits/GAME DAY
What did the early modern English doforfim and 1vhy? What were the social limits set
on leisure? Could money buy happiness?
Keith Thomas, "Wealth and Possessions,'' The Ends
ofL~fe,
p. 110-146.
Elaine McKay, '"For Refreshment and Preservinge Health': the Definition and Function
of Recreation in Early Modem England," Historical Research 8,211 (Feb 2008), p. 5274.
(M) See online primary documents.
January 16: Sex in the Seventeenth Century
Early modern sexual identities were not quite as cut and dry as one may think. How do
these readings redefine your assumptions?
7
P~trjcj~ Cr~wford ~nd s~r~
\1endelson.
"Sexu~l
Tdentjtjes jn
E~rly
\1odem
Engl~nd:
The
Marriage ofTwo Women in 1680," Gender and History, 7 (1995), p. 363-377.
(R) Sarah Toulalan, "'What A Fountain of Joys': Reproduction and Sexual Pleasure,"
Imagining Sex: Pornography and Bodies in Seventeenth-Century England. Oxford:
Oxford University Press (2007), p. 62-91.
Peter Bartlett, "Sodomites in the Pillory in Eighteenth-Century London," Social & Legal
Studies 6,4 (1997), p. 553-572.
(R) Cristine M. Varholy, "'But She Woulde Not Consent': Women's Narratives of
Sexual Assault and Compulsion in Early Modem England," Violence, Politics, and
Gender in Early Modern England. New York, Palgrave Macmillan (2008), p. 41-66.
January 23: Taboos?
Why does something bec01ne .. taboo"?
Patricia Crawford, "Attitudes to Menstruation in Seventeenth-Century England," Past
and Present 91 (1981), p. 47-73.
David Stevenson, "Recording the Unspeakable: Masturbation in the Diary of
William Drummond, 1657-1659" Journal ofthe History of Sexuality 83 (2000),
p. 223-239.
Richard Sugg, '"Good Physic by Bad Food~: Early Modern Attitudes to Medicinal
Cannibalism and its Suppliers," Social History o_f'Medicine 19,2 (2006), p. 225-240.
Robert Hole, "Incest, Consanguinity and a Monstrous Birth in Rural England," Social
History 25,2 (2000), p. 183-199.
January 30: Bodily Difference
How was bodily ddf'erence thought ofand displayed?
Katherine Park and L.J. Daston, "Unnatural Conceptions: The Study of Monsters in
Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century France and England,~' Past and Present, 92 ( 1981 ),
p. 20-54.
Roger Lund, "Laughing at Cripples: Ridicule, Deformity and the Argument From
Design," Eighteenth-Century Studies 39,1 (2005), p. 91-114.
(E) Ruth Gilbert, "Seeing and Knowing: Science, Pornography and the Hermaphrodite,"
Early Modern Hermaphrodites: Sex and Other Stories. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan (2002) p. 136-157.
8
(1\tlJ See online pri1nary :;oun.:e:;.
February 6: 'Vitchcraft
How have scholars approached the study of this phenomenon? Can we explain the rise
and fall of witchcraft? How are male and female practitioners described?
(E) Alan Macfarlane, "Witchcraft and the Social Background," Witchcraft in Tudor and
Stuart England. N.Y.: Harper and Row (1970), p. 147-207.
Clive Holmes, "Women Witnesses and Witches," Past & Present 140 (1993), p. 45-79.
(R) Keith Thomas, "Cunning Men and Popular Magic," Religion and the Decline of
Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in 16-17th Century England. London: Weidenfeld and
Nicholson (1971), p. 252-300.
(E) Lauren Kassel, "Magic and Medicine," Medicine and Magic in Elizabethan London:
Simon Forman: Astrologer, Alchemist, and Physician. Oxford University Press (2005), p.
209-225.
(~1)
Sec online primary documents.
February 13: l\1adness and l\1elancholy
What were the gendered and class-based dynamics of mental illness?
Jonathan Andrews, "In her Vapours ... [or] indeed in her Madness? Mrs. Clerke~s Case:
An Early Eighteenth Century Psychiatric Controversy." History o.lPsychiatry 1,1 (1990),
p. 125-143.
Angus Gowland, "The Problem of Early Modern
(2006), p. 77-120.
Melancholy,'~
Past & Present 121
(R) Katharine Hodgkin, "Mad Unto the World: Spiritual and Mental Disturbances,''
Madness in Seventeenth-Century Autobiography. New York, Palgrave Macmillan (2007),
p. 86-101.
Roy Porter, "The Voice of the Mad," Mind-Forg'd Manacles: A History o.f'Madness in
Englandfi,.om the Restoration to the Regency. Harvard University Press (1987), p. 229273.
February 20: Reading Week
February 27: Honour, Shame and Social Stigma
How important was one's reputation? Was there a gendered aspect to honour?
9
Keith Thomas. "Honour and Reputation." ThC' F:nds n( ri(C'. p. 14 7 -186.
Tim Reinke-Williams, "Women's Clothes and Female Honour in Early Modem London,"
Continuity and Change 26,1 (20 11 ), p. 69-88.
Elizabeth Foyster, "Male Honour, Social Control and Wife Beating in Late
Stuart England," Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 6th series, 6
(1996), p. 215-224.
Martin Ingram, "Ridings, Rough Music and the "Reform of Popular Culture" in Early
Modem England" Past & Present No. 105 (1984), p. 79-113.
March 6: Death and Dying
How do you ''do" the history of death and dying? How did one die well?
Keith Thomas, "Fame and the Afterlife," The Ends of L~fe, p. 226-268.
Lucinda Becker, "The Absent Body: Representations of Dying Early Modem Women in
A Selection of Seventeenth-Century Diaries," Women's Writing, 8 (200 1), p. 251-262.
Richard Wunderli and Gerald Broce, "The Final Moment before Death in Early Modem
England," The Sixteenth Century Journal20,2 (1989), p. 259-275.
Rosemary Greentree, "Thoughts From Concentrated Minds: Some Verses Written Before
Execution," Neophilologus 93 (2009), p. 723-740.
(R) Michael MacDonald and Terence R. Murphy, "Motives for Suicide," Sleepless Souls:
Suicide in Early Modern England, Oxford, Oxford University Press ( 1990), p. 259-300.
March 13-27: Paper presentations
RESEARCH PAPERS DUE APRIL 3rd BEFORE 4PM
fin
10
The Making of the Muslim Middle East (550-1450)
History 296/305A (Muslim Societies)
Dr. Adnan Husain (Department of History, Queen's University)
Fall2012, Tu 4-5:30pm/Thu 2:30-4pm Ellis Auditorium
Xt. 74367; email: [email protected]
Office Hrs. at 229 Watson Hall: Tue, 2-3:45pm
Course Description
This course surveys the process by which the Middle East became predominantly Muslim while
maintaining a cosmopolitan and plural social order-what I call "Islamicate" societies. The
story begins with the Late Antique world and the advent of Islam and continues until the
aftermath of the devastating Mongol invasions, before the emergence of the Ottoman empire in
the fifteenth century. The course will examine the myriad political, social, religious, cultural and
intellectual transformations of the region through the Arab conquests, the establishment of a new
Muslim empire on the foundations of ancient Near Eastern polities, and the process of forging a
Muslim society and culture from its classical efflorescence through its medieval elaboration and
extension from al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) to Central Asia. It will introduce students to Islamic
civilization through a broad, interdisciplinary range of topics: political formations including
empires, "slave" states, and Turkic tribal confederacies; the historical development of Islamic
religious institutions, practices, doctrines, and literatures, their relationships to political authority
and its legitimation, and the manifold sectarian and mystical movements of the region, including
the challenge of Shi'ism to Sunni Islam and the spiritual aspirations of Sufism; social structures
and their evolution; the historical content and context of intellectual and cultural productions
including philosophy, theology, mysticism, literature, art and architecture; and the problem of
medieval encounters with Christendom in the Levant and the Maghrib (the Muslim West in
North Africa).
Course Requirements
2 short papers (3-4 pages), 25% each; 2 in-class exams, 25% each.
Note: Attendance is crucial. Wireless computing is BANNED--IT IS NOT ONLY
DISTRACTING YOU BUT THOSE AROUND YOU AND YOUR INSTRUCTOR!!
Always perform the text book readings readings BEFORE Tuesday lecture as I will assume
familiarity with those materials; make sure to read the primary source selections BEFORE
Thursday class as we will discuss these works.
Short Paper on Primary Source Readings: Each week are assigned primary source readings~----ou-­
Tuesday October 2nd in class, Paper 1 is due. It will involve interpreting and analyzing
historically the primary source selections assigned weeks 2 and 3, namely on pre-Islamic Arabia
and on the Qur'an and the Prophet's career. On Tuesday November 13, paper 2 is due. It will
deal with the primary sources assigned for weeks 8 and 9 on governance/the patrimonial state
and medieval urban culture and society
Please submit one copy of each assignment to the course Moodie site AND ALSO an
cledronk copy that sante Jay in .Jocx/.rtf/or .pdf fonnat as an attadunent in an c1nail
from your Queen's University email account to: [email protected] Make your
filename start according to the following format: netid-paperl or paper2. For example:
6pd9-paperl or 7jh9-paper2. (This is as an archived backup).
Midterm Exams are scheduled in class on Tuesday October 30 and Thursday November
29.
Further information about course assignments will be given in class and provided on the course
Moodie site.
The grading scheme for all assignments follows the Arts and Science "grade-in/grade-out"
method. This means you will receive grades (rather than numerical marks) for each assignment
that will be computed into a final grade according to the formula and standardized numerical
values established by the Faculty.
Accommodations Policy
Late assignments will not be accepted. Accommodations will be made for documented medical
illnesses and for students with registered disabilities who inform the instructor by Thursday
September 27th so that arrangements can be made for alternative test-taking arrangements.
Statement on Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is constituted by the five core fundamental values of honesty, trust, fairness,
respect and responsibility (see http://www.academicintegrity.org/fundamental values project/index.php). These values are
central to the building, nurturing and sustaining of an academic community in which all
members of the community will thrive. Adherence to the values expressed through academic
integrity forms a foundation for the "freedom of inquiry and exchange of ideas" essential to the
intellectual life of the University (see the Senate Report on Principles and Priorities)
Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the regulations concerning academic
integrity and for ensuring that their assignments conform to the principles of academic integrity.
Information on academic integrity is available in the Arts and Science Calendar (see Academic
Regulation 1), on the Arts and Science website (see
http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/academics/academic-integrity), and from the instructor of this
course.
Departures from academic integrity include plagiarism, use of unauthorized materials,
facilitation, forgery and falsification, and are antithetical to the development of an academic
community at Queen's. Given the seriousness of these matters, actions which contravene the
regulation on academic integrity carry sanctions that can range from a warning or the loss of
grades on an assignment to the failure of a course to a requirement to withdraw from the
university.
Copyright of Course Materials
The material on this Moodie website is copyrighted and is for the sole use of students registered
in I liST 296/JOS. The n1aterial on this v-,;ebsite 111ay be downloaded for a registered student's
pcr::>unal u~c:, but shall nut be JistributeJ or Jisse1ninateJ w anyone other than stuJenls registered
in HIST 296/305. Failure to abide by these conditions is a breach of copyright, and may also
constitute a breach of academic integrity under the University Senate ·s Academic Integrity
Policy Statement.
Course Materials and Readings
All course books for purchase have been ordered and are available at the Campus Bookstore
Alternatively, course books are on reserve at Stauffer Library.
The 3 required course texts are: Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples; Richard
Bulliet, Islam: The View from the Edge; and William McNeill and Marilyn Waldman (eds.), The
Islamic World.
Any additional readings are available on the class Moodie site (HIST 296/305), are online
resources linked with web address, or are available electronically through Stauffer library
catalogue, QCAT.
Course Outline
I. The Founding of Islam and the Muslim Community (c.SS0-692)
1. Orientations: Geography, History, and Terminology
(September 11/13)
Introducing the course and its central themes, approaches to history and thinking historically, the
history of Islamic studies and Orientalist approaches, and an introduction to the geography and
environments of the core Islamic lands of North Africa and the Middle East.
Readings:
Hourani, pgs. xix-4
Bulliet, pgs. 1-12
McNeill/Waldmann, pgs. v-xiv
2. The World Before Islam: Confessional Empires and Pagan Arabia
(September 18/20)
Part 1: Societies, Empires, and Religions of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East in late
antiquity-Judaism, Eastern Christianity, Zoroastrianism. What relationships developed
between monotheism, confessional religion, and political empire in the late antique world? What
patterns existed for religious identity and practice, for conventions of political rule, for social
order and economic life in the greater Mediterranean and Persian world?
Part II: Pre-Islamic pagan, tribal Arabia and the Mecca of Iv1uhammad
\Vhat distinguished Arabia from the ancient Near East? How was it cormected to that world?
The social order and culture of tribal Bedouin, the economy of camel nomadism and caravan
trade, and the politics of pagan shrine cults. Jews and Christians in Arabia.
Readings:
Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, pgs. 5-14
McNeill/Waldmann, pgs. 6-13:
Thabit, "The Death of Rabia"
Khansa, "A Sister's Grief'
Ibn al-Kalbi, from The Book of Idols
3. The Revolution of Revelation: Muhammad, the Qur'an, and the Advent of Islam
(September 25/27)
Biography and career of the Prophet and central themes of Qur'anic revelation, first in the
context of Meccan tribal society and pagan idolatry and, second, in the context of a multireligious and independent community at Medina. How was Arabian society transformed by the
message of Islam? What vvas the relationship betvveen Islam and previous revealed religions?
What was the nature of the early Muslim community? How do we understand this period
historically and assess the in1portance of these specific events for that tilne as well as for
Muslims in our age?
Readings:
Hourani, pgs. 14-21
Bulliet, "Chapter 2: Prophet, Qur'an, and Companions," pgs. 23-36
McNeill/Waldmann, pgs. 14-27, 29-67:
Ibn Ishaq, selections from Sirah: Biography of the Messenger of God
Qur' an, selections
II. The Formation of Islamic Tradition and Muslim Polities (692-c 950)
4. Absolutism and Opposition: Religious Politics and Authority in the Caliphal
Empires
(October 2/4)
Paper 1 is due by 3:45pm October 2! (remember to send an electronic copy
with the required info to [email protected])
Part I: The Muslim polity's challenges and divisions after the Prophet's death political and
religious authority contested in Shi' i, Sunni and Khariji orientations: \Vho should lead and why'?;
ivlusli1n conquests, settle1nent, and conversion in the Nile to Oxus regions-\Vas lslan1 .. spread
by the sword" or only Muslim political power and rule? Why were the conquests so successful
and lasting?
Part II: Islam and Empire under the Umayyads and the Abbasid revolution: what were the
consequences of conversion, when/how was Islam universalist?, non-Arab and non-Muslim
communities and their status, the culture war: mosque vs. caliphal court.
Readings:
Hourani, pgs. 22-58
Bulliet, "Chapter 3: The View from the Edge" and "Chapter 4: Islamic Urbanization," pgs. 37-80
Imam Ali, Sermon 3 and Sermon 40, Nahj ul-Balagha (the Peak of Eloquence), electronic
resource: http://www.nahjulbalagha.org/SermonDetail.php?Sermon=3· and
http://www .nahj ul balagha.org/SermonDetail. php ?Sermon=40
McNeill/Waldmann, pgs.71-4, 79-81, 111-122, 143-150:
Baladhuri, "The Christians ofNajran", from Opening up of the Lands
Hasan al-Basri, Letter to Umar II
Jahiz, selections from "adab" works
Tabari, "Afshin", fro1n The History of Prophet's and Kings
5. The Rise of the Scholars: Interpreting and Elaborating Islamic Law
(October 9/11)
The development of the religious sciences historically and its social, cultural, and political
contexts. How did these contexts inform the concepts and conclusions derived from the study of
the Qur'an, sirah, hadith, andjiqh? What was/is the Shari 'ah, how was it understood, who
should represent it and from which authoritative sources? What is ijtihad? What were the
debates within the expanding Muslim community and how were they resolved? What did ulama'
believe constituted the proper Muslim life?
Readings:
Hourani, pgs. 59-72
Bulliet, "Chapter 5: Question and Answer," pgs. 81-100.
"The Sunnah", selections ofHadith, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/sunnah-home.asp
McNeill/Waldmann, pgs. 136-142: Al-Shafi'i, from The Treatise
6. Experiencing Faith: Currents of Muslim Devotion and Spirituality
(October 16/18)
rviuslin1 piety~ devotional practice, and spirituality. Vlhat lneanings did Islan1 have for rviuslin1S
and how did they express then1? Sufism, its major practices and concepts in the earliest periods;
and development into a coherent and orthodox mysticism. Traditions of Shi'i piety and reverence
for the imams. How did Muslims conceive and experience the personal relationship between
their souls and God as a living reality? How was sacred history invested with spiritual meaning
among the Shi'i faithful?
Readings:
Hourani, pgs. 72-5
Ahmet Karamustafa, Sufism: The Formative Period, pgs. 1-7, 15-26,38-51, 56-71 (electronic
book available through Stauffer Library catalogue)
al-Hallaj, excerpts from his mystical poetry: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/all-hallajguotations.asp
"The Miracle Play of Hasan and Husain," p. 100-104, electronic online resource:
http:/I archive. org/stream/miracleplayofhasO 15 706mbp#page/n 107 /mode/2up
Al-Isfahani, "Abu Yazid al-Bastami", from Hilyat al-Awliya (on Moodie)
Al-Kalabadhi, "Sufi Sayings" from Doctrines of the Sufis (on Moodie)
7. God's Caliph? Political and Religious Authority in the Debate over Reason and
Revelation
(October 23/25)
Part I: Is there such a thing as Islamic orthodoxy or Muslim heresy? How was doctrinal
consensus achieved, if at all? An introductory exploration of the intellectual traditions of Islamic
theology (kalam) and philosophy through their principal questions and debates in this formative
era for Muslim thought. Three major areas of attention: political theology and sectarian division
(i.e. what is the nature of political and religious authority-do we need an Imam? Who is a
Muslim, what does it require to be a member of the ummah? Is rebellion a sin and obedience a
duty?); reason and revelation in the Muslim creed (i.e. what is the nature of God, the status of his
attributes, and the status of Qur'anic revelation? Does it have to make sense rationally?);
interreligious apologetics and polemics (i.e. how do we know which religion, claims of
prophethood, beliefs are true? How can one defend the doctrines of Islam against competing
religious and philosophical systems?).
Part II: The mihna, sometimes called the "inquisition", the attempt by Caliphs to assert religious
authority and control over the ulama'. How did a class of (ulama emerge and how was their
religious authority understood, established, and developed in opposition to Caliphal power?
What consequences did this and other factors have for the shape of the developing Islamic
scholarly tradition?
Readings:
Hourani, pgs. 75-82
Bulliet, "Chapter 6: Ulama," pgs. 101-114
McNeill/Waldmann, pgs. 152-171:
Al-/:~::;hari, frun1 The Elu(;iJuiiun uflslum ·s FuunJuiiun
Al-Farabi, from The Attainment of Happiness
III. The Creation of Muslim Societies in the Middle East_( c. 950-c. 1350)
8. Military States and Dynastic Politics
(October 30/ November 1)
Midterm Exam, Tuesday, October 30th (bring a blue or black pen)
The Fragmentation of Empire, the challenge of Fatimid Shi'i North Africa and Egypt, and
establishment of Turkish and Berber military hegemony in the Muslim East and West,
respectively. How did the new political rulers, Sultans and their Amirs, legitimize their power
and what role did the ulama' play in the political states and social system? How did political
disunity paradoxically lead to the expansion of Muslim rule into Sub-saharan Africa, Central
Asia and the Indian Subcontinent?
Readings:
HouranL pgs. 83-108, 130-146
Bulliet, "Chapter 7: Caliph and Sultan," pgs. 115-128
Nizam al-Mulk, "Advice to Governors", from Siyaset Nameh (on Moodie)
9. Culture and Society in the Islamicate City
(November 6/8)
The world of the Thousand and One Nights, the flowering of "secular" and "religious" culture in
the arts, literature, science, and philosophy under new dynastic patronage in Muslim cities and
courts. Family structure, neighborhood institutions, mercantile exchange in the bazaar, and
urban life in a majority Muslim society. What was daily life like in a medieval city? What was
distinctive about Muslim cities of this age? Cosmopolitanism and multireligious society in
Toledo and Cordoba in al-Andalus, Baghdad.
Readings:
Hourani, pgs. 109-129, 189-208
Bulliet, "Chapter 8: Cities in Crisis," pgs. 129-144
Thousand and One Nights, excerpt, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/1 00 l.asp
Ibn Hazm, "Anxiety", from A Philosophy ofCharacter and Conduct (on Moodie)
Ibn Khaldun, "Group Solidarity", from al-Muqaddimah (on Moodie)
McNeill/Waldmann, pgs. 126-134: Jahiz, selections.
I 0. l\lcdicYal Religious Culture I: Sunni Orthopraxy and the Culture of the 'Ulama'
(November 13/15)
Paper 2 is due by 3:45pm on November 13! (remember to send an electronic
copy with the required info to [email protected])
The development of a Sunni legal-Sufi spiritual-'Ashari theological synthesis as the
dominant/orthodox consensus. The concept of shari'ah as social order in majority Muslim
society. The defining role of al-Ghazali's career and thought. The development of institutions
like the madrasah for Islamic sciences and the khanaqah for emerging Sufi brotherhoods. The
systematizing of Islamic law and crystallization of the four "schools of law" (madhhab). Was
there a "Sunni Revival" or was this just the beginning of a true Sunni consensus? What were the
consequences of all of these parallel developments during this period of consolidation and
institutionalization? Did the bab al-ijtihad (the gate of independent legal reasoning and
judgment) really close?
Readings:
Hourani, pgs. 147-171
Bulliet, ""Chapter 9: Iranian Diaspora", pgs. 145-168
Karamustafa~ Sufism: the Formative Period, pgs. 83-4, 87-108 (electronic book available
through Stauffer Library catalogue)
McNeill/Waldman, pgs. 207-239: Al-Ghazali, from That Which Delivers from Error
11. Medieval Religious Culture II: Ecstasy and Passion--Alternatives to "Normative" Islam
(November 20/22)
Dissident Shi'i and Khariji movements (Nizari Ismai'ili, Zaydi, Qarmati, Ibadi, Azraqi),
"Ecstatic" and antinomian Sufism of the Qalandars, the mystical theosophy of Ibn Arabi and
Rumi, and the radical Hanbalism of Ibn Taymiyya. How did the normative consensus inform the
shape of dissident, radical religious alternatives? What social and cultural currents did these
forms of religion give expression to?
Readings:
Hourani, pgs. 172-188
Bulliet, "Chapter 10: New Center, New Edges," pgs. 169-184
McNeill/Waldmann, pgs. 241-47: Rumi, from Divan-i Shams-i Tabriz
12. Franks and Other "Barbarians": Crusades, Mongol invasions, and the post-Caliphal
aftermath
(November27/29)
Final Midterm, Thursday November 29 (Bring a blue or black pen)
Part I: What were the consequences of the Crusades of the Franks and the Mongol invasions for
Muslim identity and experience, how did Muslim society respond? How did these events alter
relations between Muslims and other religious groups within and without the dar al-Islam? How
did Muslims respond to non-Muslim rule in the Muslim West (Spain, Sicily) and the East
(Palestine, then Iran/Iraq/Central Asia under the Mongol Ilkhans)? Salah al-Din to Baybars, the
Jihad as counter-crusade, Mongol invasions and conversions.
Part II: Creative chaos after Mongol collapse (1320's), the new paradigms of religious and
political authority and legitimacy-religious charisma as political force; the politics of wujudism
and social mobilization of the sufi brotherhoods. Radical messianic shi'ism, apocalyptic
movements and syncretic "heresies" (the ghulat). How did these movements reflect a new
synthesis between religious and political authority?
Readings:
Adnan Husain, "Radical Pieties: Sufism and Ghuluww" (Moodie)
Ahmet Karamustafa, Sufism: The Formative Period, pgs. 114-134, 143-155, 172-77
(electronic book available through Stauffer Library catalogue) ,
McNeill/Waldmann, pgs. 185-206, 249-272:
Usamah b. Munqidh, from The Book of Learning by Example
Ibn al-Athir, "The Outbreak of the Tartars into the Lands of Islam"
Juvaini, from History of the World-Conqueror