MMW 12
Prof. Janet Smarr
winter 2015
225 Galbraith Hall, 4-3104, [email protected] , office hrs Wed 2-4 or by apptmt.
Lecture topics and assigned readings. Unless otherwise specified, all numbered readings are in the packet.
Assigned readings are followed by some questions to guide your reading of the primary documents.
Mon Jan 5 introd
I: From the Ancient World to the Early Middle Ages (c.100 B.C.- c.600 A.D.)
Wed Jan 7 Rome: how it became a Republic and then an Empire
Read: Bentley & Ziegler 5th ed. [=B&Z] 212-218 (through "Pax Romana"); 3 accounts of Emperor
Augustus: Tacitus [in B&Z,p.220] in packet: 1)Suetonius, 2)Augustus
These are 3 different accounts of Augustus, including one by himself. How do they differ? What is each one trying to accomplish?
Fri Jan 9 Roman society and its contributions
Read: B&Z, 218 ("Roads") -225,
3) from Ovid, The Art of Love Bk I, 4) from Petronius, Satyricon 5) Pliny the Elder
What do these pieces from Roman literature of the 1st century A.D. tell you about life in Rome at that time? How familiar or
strange does that world seem to you, and in what ways? What are these Romans proud of? critical or making fun of? What
are their social values?
M Jan 12 Intro to Christianity
Read: B&Z 225-227 (through "Early Followers"); in Bible: Gospel of Matthew (Warning: this is long;
you have through Wed for it.)
Posted on TED: Rodney Stark,“Reconstructing the Rise of Christianity: The Role of Women” Sociology
of Religion, 56: 3 (Autumn 1995), 229-244, to discuss in section this week as one model of a research paper.
W Jan 14 Christianity for the Jews:
Read: [no B&Z] Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew presents both a narrative about Jesus and long
speeches purportedly by Jesus; pay special attention to Jesus’s speeches. What is his message? To whom is he speaking?
What is the relation of his message to the Jewish religion? Who supports or opposes him, why? Of what is he accused? Of
what does he accuse the Pharisees? (What are Pharisees?) What are they arguing about? How does the narrative present
him: as human, supernatural, divine? how so? What does it find important about him? What would a Roman (Rome ruled the
Middle East) think about Jesus’s message if he heard him speak? What does Jesus say (if anything) about the Roman govt.?
F Jan 16 Christianity for the Greeks and Romans : Paul
Read: B&Z 211-12, 227-29. Bible: Paul Galatians (whole); Romans chaps 3 &13; I Corinthians 7;
Acts chaps 9-11 (=about Paul).
What is Paul’s message? Where is he getting it from? To whom is he
speaking? What is his relation to the Jewish community in Palestine? to the disciples? to Jesus? to the Jewish religion? How
is he interpreting the Hebrew Bible? Is his message compatible with the message of Jesus? of Matthew? What does Paul say
about the Roman government? Who and where are the first group to call themselves “Christians”?
M Jan 19 NO CLASS [catch up on reading!]
W Jan 21 Roman responses to Christianity
Read: B&Z 250 ("Cultural change") -252; [Don’t panic: these are all short:] 6)Pliny-Trajan letters 7)
Eusebius “The Conversion of Constantine” 8) from Julian “Against the Galileans” 9) from Zosimus,
Historia 10) Gregory the Great.
How do the Emperor Trajan and his official Pliny view the new Christians? What are their concerns as heads of Roman
government? What motivates the conversion of the Emperor Constantine? What does Christianity seem to mean to him? The
Emperor Julian converted back to paganism; why? What does he criticize about Christianity? How does Zosimus see religion
affecting history? What is Pope Gregory advocating as a method of encouraging the wider adoption of Christianity? What might
be some effects of this policy?
F Jan 23 Romans and Barbarians: the making of medieval Europe
Read: B&Z p.247 col. 2 – p.250; 11)Tacitus, from Germania 12)Ammianus on the Huns, on the Goths
13)Jordanes on the Huns & Goths, 14) Gregory of Tours on the situation around him
How do these Roman accounts of the northern “barbarian” tribes differ? What attitudes do they express? To what extent are
those differences due to the differences among tribal cultures, and to what extent are they due to the different situations at the
times of writing? Are these representations doing the same or different "work"? What do these accounts show us about why and
how these tribes came into Roman territories? What changes might these immigrations bring? How did Romans react? What
has happened to Roman civilization in Europe by the 6th century, when Gregory of Tours is writing?
M Jan 26 Asceticism and monasticism
Read: B&Z .343-45, 15) Jerome, 16) from Augustine’s Confessions , 17) Rule of St. Benedict
Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin, was preaching in Rome.Where is Jerome getting these values? from Jesus? How
does he suggest women live? Compare this to the life of Roman women described by Ovid. What might make Jerome’s invitation
appealing to Roman women? What kind of life does Benedict establish for his monastic community? What values does this way
of life express? To what extent does this life seem to fulfill the teachings of Jesus? Does it add anything new? If so, what? What
is the appeal of this kind of life? Augustine was a well educated Roman from North Africa, who converted in his 30s and became
a huge influence on Christianity. What are the implications of what he is saying here? Do these ideas relate more closely to what
Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew or to what Paul said?
Paper #1 due Tu Jan 27 or Wed Jan 28 in your discussion section.
W Jan 28 India: Gandhara and Buddhism,
Read: B&Z Bactria: 172 col.2 -173 col.1, Mahayana Buddhism: 181-82 ; 18) Travels of Fa-hsien
Fa-hsien went from China to India to learn about Buddhism. What was Buddhism like around 400 A.D.? How had it changed from
the original teachings of the Buddha? How was it functioning? How do the Buddhist monastic communities compare with
Benedict’s, in their internal manner of living and in their relationships with others outside the monastery?
Jan 30 India: Guptas and HinduismRead: B&Z Guptas: 173 col.2 – 177 col.1, Hinduism: 182 col.2- 185 col.1; 19)from the Kama Sutra.
What do these chapters from the Kama Sutra tell us about life among the comfortably well off in northern India during the early
centuries A.D.? What is a good life? How do these values compare with what we have seen elsewhere? What do we see here
about the options for women and their social relationships to men? What sort of person is writing this?
M Feb 2 China: Late Han
Read: B&Z 159 col.2 -166 20) poems
These poems offer the subjective experience of historical events: the giving of women in marriage to northern tribes to create an
alliance; the building of the Great Wall. What relationships do we see between Chinese and other cultures? What other glimpses
of life do these poems offer?
W Feb 4 China: era of divisn and introduction of Buddhm into China
Read: B&Z 239 ("Spread of Buddhism") -240 bott. of col.1; 294 ("Cultural Change") -296;
21) “Cultural Differences between N & S,” 22) poems of the N & S, 23) Buddhist Doctrines and
Practices, 24) Mou Tzu “The Disposition of Error”
What are some of the differences between northern and southern cultures in China? What do the poems produced in each region
reveal about those cultural differences? Are these differences typical of other north-south divides? (e.g. northern and southern
Europe? northern and southern U.S.?) or specific to China? As the Chinese learned more about Buddhism, what was their
understanding of it? What were their concerns about it? How readily could Buddhist ideas be adopted into Chinese culture?
Where were the problematic conflicts with Chinese values? In what ways is Buddhism being changed by Chinese adaptations?
F Feb 6 International trade in the ancient world: the silk road, the sea routes [slideshow in class].
Read: B&Z 234 col.2- 239 col.1 (note map on 237)
M Feb 9 MIDTERM
II: Middle Ages (c.600 A.D. – c.1200 A.D.)
W Feb 9 Reunification of China: Sui and Tang dynasties
Read: B&Z 282-285 middle of col.2, poem on p.286, 288 col.2- 289 bott. of col.1, 293 ("Cosmopolitan"end of page)
25)Taizong on effective government (advice to his son) 26) Po Chü-I’s advice to Emperor Taizong
What advice does the Tang Emperor Taizong give his heir? Why does he think this important? Po Chü-i offers the emperor a
ground-level view of things going on in the government. What are his concerns? Du Fu’s poem in B&Z p.286 gives you one view
of the Tang wars of expansion. Who might share this view? What problems does it indicate?
F Feb 11 Tang China: Emperor Wu – China’s only female emperor; the exam system
Read: B&Z 290 "Wu Zhao" 27) Ban Zhao’s “Lessons for women;” 28) “mother of Mencius,”
29) examination anecdotes;
The first two items are from the Han era, but indicate long-lasting Confucian views of women’s proper behavior. How are women
supposed to behave? How much agency, influence, or power does a women like Mencius’s mother have? How does she speak
about herself? Emperor Wu made the examinations extremely important for obtaining a government job. What do these
anecdotes convey? What work are they doing?
M Feb 16 NO CLASS
Tu Feb 17/ Wed Feb 18 PAPER #2 due in your discussion section
W Feb 18 Tang China: An Lushan’s rebellion and its aftereffects
Read: B&Z 285 col.2-286, 297 col.1-top col.2; 30) Bo Ju-yi "Song of Everlasting Sorrow"; 31) “A
Pilgrim’s Visit”; 32a) Han Yu against Buddhism: “Memorial on the Bone ” and “What is the True
Way?”; 32b) Imperial Edict of 845
What does the famous ballad tell us about the overthrow of the emperor? Does it explain why that happened? What work is it
doing?. What does “A Pilgrim’s Visit” tell us about relationships between the imperial government and the monasteries? How
wealthy are these monasteries? How Buddhist is that? Why are they so wealthy? How is Han Yu attacking Buddhism? How
does the Edict of 845 present or explain what it is doing? Do you see any influence of Han Yu’s ideas in the Edict? Can you
imagine what effects this edict might have?
F Feb 20 Sung/Song dynasty: a modern world of technology and commerce
Read: B&Z 286 "Song Dynasty"-top of 288; 290 col.1, and "Technol."- 293 col.1; 33) “Longings for the
North” 34) “Attractions of the Capital”
During the Sung era, the Chinese were driven out of the north. What kinds of feelings or attitudes do the poems express about
the historical situation? What is life like in the southern capital? How strange or familiar does it seem to you? In what ways? What
seem to be the values of this society?
M Feb 23 Origins of Islam:
Read: B&Z 260-64; 35) al-Kalbi on pre-Islamic Arabia 36) Ibn Ishaq, Life of Mohammed.
What do we learn about Arab religion before Islam? How is Mohammed (Muhammad) presented in his biograpy? e.g. as a normal
human or supernatural? flawed or idealized? What kind of model does he offer, compared with the Buddha or Jesus or Paul? In
the biography of his early years,to whom is he primarily speaking? Do we see what causes individuals to accept or oppose his
message, or is that not explained? What does this biographer want to accomplish?
W Feb 25 Message of Islam
Read: [no B&Z] 37) Koran/Qur’an selections
What is the basic message? What are core beliefs? What practices does the Qur’an promote? What values are important? What
does it mean to be a good person? How similar or different is that from the good person or good life of other religions? What is the
status of Jesus in the Qur’an? of Abraham? How does the Qur’an relate itself to the Hebrew and Christian Bibles? How are Jews
and Christians to be thought of? treated? Compare the criticisms against Christianity with those of Julian. How are women to be
thought of? treated? (What’s the good news and the bad news?) How does this compare with Confucian ideas? Buddhist?
Christian? Roman? Indian?
F Feb 27 Arguments among the early Muslims; “the 4 righteous caliphs” and the Umayyad dynasty
Read: B&Z 264 col.2- 266; 38) al-Tabari, Patriarchal and Umayyad caliphate , 39) religious issues [these
are all very short] What do these documents reveal about the government of the early Muslim community? What are
the rulers’ position, duties, limitations? On what does their authority rest? To what do they appeal? What do we see about how
rulers are selected or gotten rid of? What tensions arise between the message of the Qur’an and political or religious developments?
M Mar 2 A new era of Islam: the Abbasid dynasty –“the Golden Age”
Read: B&Z 266-top of 270, "women" 272-3. 40) Abbasid caliphate : a) Islam and govt, b) advice to
caliph Harun ar-Rashid, c) Abu Nuwas poem, d) an anecdote about Harun ar-Rashid
What guidance does the Qur’an, or the hadith, offer re government? What kind of advice is Harun ar-Rashid receiving? According
to this advice, what kind of model do the early caliphs offer? Compare this to the tone of Harun’s court as revealed in literature
(the poem, the anecdote). How is Harun like or unlike the early caliphs who are held up as models for him? How do you think the
anecdote views Harun? Is it complicit or disapproving? Is there any way to tell? Abu Nuwas, the poet, was a close companion of
Harun; what does that indicate about Harun’s attitudes?
W Mar 4 Abbasid commerce
Read: B&Z 270-72; 41) “Sinbad the Sailor”; 42) Ibn-Fadlan on Vikings
What can we learn about popular culture in the Arab/Persian world from these tales? How good a muslim is Sindbad? How
important is religion to him? What are his values? Are they presented as good or problematic? What anxieties do these tales
express? What vision do they present of the good life? the good man? How does a real Muslim trader represent the Vikings?
What does this reveal about their cultural differences? Compare this account to the Roman accounts of northern barbarians.
What constitutes being more or less “civilized”?
F Mar 6 Islam: reason and faith
Read: B&Z 273-78 (skip Al-Muqaddasi); 43) rational Islam: Alfarabi, Ibn Sina/Avicenna, Ibn Rush/
Averroes 44) mystical Islam: the Sufi, 45) al- Ghazali “Deliverance from Error”
What is the rational understanding of Islam produced by the influence of Greek philosophy? What is the mystical version of
Islam? Why does al-Ghazali decide that the mystics are closer to the truth than the philosophers? How does he criticize the
philosophers? What impact might his influence have on the culture? How does Averroes defend rational theology?
M Mar 9 Feudal Europe, the impact of the Islamic Empire; Charmlemagne and the Franks
Read: B&Z 326 –top329; 332 ("Rise of Franks") -34; look at maps on 329 & 336 ;
47) from Einhard, Life of Charlemagne 48) from Usama’s Memoirs -about the Franks
Charlemagne is contemporary with Harun; how similar or different are their lives? their kingships? their characters? Compare
the way Einhard writes about Charlemagne with the way the Roman historians wrote about Augustus: do they comment on the
same kinds of things? Do they value or criticize the same qualities? How is Frankish culture seen from the inside vs from the
outside: how does the Syrian Ibn Munqidh represent the Franks? What does he criticize or find surprising? Compare these
accounts to Ibn-Fadlan’s description of the Vikings: do the Franks seem uncivilized to the Muslims? What constitutes being
(un)civilized?
Tu Mar 10/ Wed Mar 11 PAPER #3 due in your discussion section
W Mar 11 Church & State. Europe reestablishes institutional government; rediscovers Roman law
Read: B&Z 394 -404 col.1 (skip Pegolotti on 401); re Crusades: 410 col.2-412; [no packet readings]
F Mar 13 Europe rediscovers Greek and Arabic science & reason, and establishes universities;
the Eurasian world around 1200.
Read: B&Z “Schools” 404-05; Turks and Mongols: 357 col.2-361 col.2 ; note maps on 359 & 362.
48) John of Salisbury, 49)Abelard, 50) Bernard of Clairvaux vs Abelard 51) from Thomas Aquinas,
Summa Theologica. Compare the Bernard vs Abelard conflict with that of al-Ghazali vs Avicenna and Averroes.
Compare the views of John of Salisbury with those of al-Farabi. Compare the style of Thomas Aquinas with that of Paul or
Matthew’s Jesus. Compare the Christianity of Paul, Constantine, Charlemagne, Abelard & Aquinas: what is happening to
European culture? to the meanings of Christianity?
FINAL EXAM Wednesday March 18 at 11:30-2:30 in our lecture hall
Grading for this course:
Midterm 15%
Final exam 30%
3 papers: 8%, 12%, 15% =35%
Participation in discussion 10%
Clickers 10%
Books ordered for MMW3 –Prof Smarr:
•course packet by University Readers
www.universityreaders.com
What grades mean:
A = honors, standing out above the average good work
B = good, solid work; possibly minor problems
C= some major problems but partly ok
D= worse problems and not much redeeming merit
Previously required books still in use this quarter:
• Bentley & Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters
• New Oxford Annotated Bible (other editions = ok)
• D. Hacker & N. Sommers, A Writer’s Reference
Course Policies for all sections of MMW: read this!
Attendance is required at lectures and section meetings. You are expected to complete the readings
in time for the lecture, at which you will be asked clicker questions on them, graded for both participation
and right answers. Answering red clicker questions is the equivalent of taking a quiz; cheating for or from
another student will be dealt with accordingly.
If you miss a lecture or section, you are responsible for content you missed. Note that participation
in your section’s discussions is part of your grade.
All assignments must be submitted on time and must be your own original work (do we really need to
say this?). You must complete all assigned work in a timely fashion to pass the course. An Incomplete will
be given only in cases of health or family emergencies during the last week of class. Requests for an
Incomplete for medical reasons must be supported by a slip from the doctor.
Standard disciplinary action for plagiarism is an “F” for the course and a disciplinary letter placed in
your file. We catch cases every quarter. Don’t just copy and paste text from the internet! When you use
someone else’s work, whether printed or electronic, cite your sources. If you have questions about what
consititutes plagiarism, consult your TA or the Writing Program Office. When in doubt, cite your sources.
NOTE: Education is not a commodity that you buy; it is a process of self-development that requires
work. Just as you cannot get stronger by paying a gym but only by using the equipment to exercise,
you cannot get an education by paying the university but only by using the assignments to exercise
your mind and develop your skills.