Syllabus for 01:510:213/01:685:213 “The Crusades” — Online
COURSE FORMAT
This course is fully online, and is delivered via the Sakai course management
system.
CONTACT INFORMATION
> Instructor: Stephen W. Reinert (Professor)
> Meeting Times: The course content and assessment components (discussion
forums, examinations) are fully delivered online.
> Instructor's Email: [email protected]
> Instructor's Office: Van Dyck Hall, Room 218, College Avenue Campus
> Office Hours: Professor Reinert will be available to meet directly with students,
in his office, on < add day and hours >. In addition discussions via Skype can
be individually arranged.
COURSE OVERVIEW & LEARNING GOALS
Medieval European crusades were a particular expression of sacralized warfare
wherein a military action was sanctioned by the papacy, for papally-defined ends,
and participants engaged as penitents and typically pilgrims, receiving in return
spiritual and temporal rewards authorized by the pope. When crusading
emerged in the late 11th century, the target of military action was defined as
Christian lands in the Balkans and Syria-Palestine recently occupied by the
Turks, and the recovery of Jerusalem was envisioned as the culminating goal of
the enterprise. Subsequently, however, crusading expanded across several
other fronts, and thus the key them of our course is to contrast and compare
these differing expressions of “penitential warfare” down to the early 16th
century.
The four key expressions of crusading activity, from the late 11th through the
early 16th century, which we shall explore are as follows:
(1) crusading targeted to recover and maintain the “Holy Land” (late 11th-late
13th centuries);
(2) crusading targeted to confront and deal with “Christian heretics,”
specifically eastern Greek orthodox and French neo-Manichaeans
(Albigensians) (13th century)
(3) crusading targeted to confront and deal with the Early Ottoman Empire
(late 14th-mid 15th centuries)
(4) crusading visions of two of the greatest and most controversial early
modern explorers — Christopher Columbus (d. 1506) and Vasco da Gama
(d. 1524) — connected with “the New World” and Africa
Upon completion of this course, you can expect to have a clear understanding of
the following, which represent the core “learning objectives” of the course:
(1) how key modern medievalists define the phenomenon of “Crusade” and
how this differs from previous historiographic conceptions;
(2) how the medieval Catholic version of “sacralized warfare,” in the form of
crusade, contrasted and compared with parallels in the medieval Islamic
world (jihad) and Byzantium;
(3) how and why crusading succeeded or failed in attaining the stated papal
objectives, in the four key fronts or “zones” where we shall follow activity;
(4) how these periodic waves of “sacralized warfare” shaped western
Europe’s relationship with the Islamic world, Byzantium, and eventually
“the New Worlds” from the late 11th – 16th centuries;
(5) how crusading functioned, within the boundaries of western Europe, as an
instrument of persecution attempting to eradicate “religious difference”
within the Christian order.
BOOKS & MATERIALS
Required Readings
Students will be required to utilize the following two comprehensive survey works
throughout the course, which are available in hard copy at the Rutgers University
Bookstore (Barnes & Noble). Electronic versions of individual chapters will also
be made available on the Sakai course site.
> Madden, Thomas F. The New Concise History of the Crusades (Critical Issues
in World and International History). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, Inc., 2005. ISBN 978-0742538238 [This is an updated student
edition, and ensure that you study this version, not earlier ones].
> Riley-Smith, Jonathan. What Were the Crusades? Fourth edition [ensure that
you study this edition, not earlier ones]. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2009.
ISBN: 978-1586173609.
Additional required readings on more specialized topics are provided in electronic
format on the course Sakai site, and are listed below in the Course Outline.
These have not, in other words, been placed on order at the Rutgers University
Bookstore.
Recommended Readings
One book has been ordered through the Rutgers University Bookstore which
students are encouraged to utilize for “highly recommended readings,” namely:
> Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0192854285.
An electronic version of this book is available on the course Sakai site, but this is
text only, and does not include the many beautiful illustrations originally
published in the hardback copy.
Other recommended readings, in electronic format, are included throughout the
lessons and students will not need to purchase these.
WEEKLY AGENDA
"Weekly Agenda" refers to the learning and assessment activities that make up
the course, over the normal semester sequence of sixteen weeks. The specific
agenda for each week (including all readings, assignments, advisories, etc.) is
outlined within the Sakai tool "Lessons," and is made available to students the
week in which this agenda is explored. Students will be prompted, on a weekly
basis, where they should be focusing via an announcement from the
instructor. The "Announcements Tool" is the second item in the Sakai course
main menu.
Please note that every Lesson includes a sequence of PowerPoint Videos
which are meant as equivalents for what students would experience in traditional
“in-class lecture.” These constitute the professor’s presentation for the theme of
the week, and collectively are the equivalent of two eighty-minute lectures. Since
these are delivered asynchronously, students may access and review them on
any schedule they find most effective. They represent, to repeat, the “lecture
core” of the course and will be included in examinations.
The "Weekly Agenda" is currently envisioned as follows:
> Week 1 (add dates): Introduction & Navigating the Course Online
> Week 2 (add dates): Developing Theology of Sacralized Violence: 9th-11th
Centuries
> Week 3 (add dates): Quest for the Holy Land: “The First Crusade”
> Week 4 (add dates): Quest for the Holy Land: Crusader Society in the Levant
> Week 5 (add dates): Quest for the Holy Land: Struggles to Preserve the
Conquests (Second & Third Crusades)
> Week 6 (add dates): Quest for the Holy Land: Failure & Legacy (1291+) !
> Week 7 (add dates): Assessment Week #1
> Week 8 (add dates): Heresy in Thirteenth Century Europe & Interface with
Crusade
> Week 9 (add dates): Crusading Against “Greek Heretics” — Fourth Crusade
> Week 10 (add dates): Crusading Against “Internal Heretics” — Albigensians
> Week 11 (add dates): Assessment Week #2
> Week 12 (add dates): Crusading Against the Ottomans — The 14th Century
> Week 13 (add dates): Crusading Against The Ottomans — The 15th Century
> Week 14 (add dates): Crusading in “New Worlds” — Christopher Columbus
> Week 15 (add dates): Crusading in “New Worlds” — Vasco Da Gama
> Week 16 (add dates): Assessment Week #3
REQUIREMENTS & GRADING WEIGHTS
Students are expected to work through the assigned reading etc., in each weekly
lesson, on a regular and disciplined basis. Students should recognize that
successfully navigating an online course is academically challenging, since they
will accomplish virtually all of their work on an independent basis. This will
require a significant time commitment, involving digesting of assigned materials,
becoming familiar with Sakai protocols and tools, engaging in five online forum
discussions, and taking three cumulative online examinations.
The components of the course grade are as follows, and each is weighted as one
hundred (100) points:
> 25% = Examination #1
> 25% = Examination #2
> 25% = Examination #3
> 25% = Five Graded Discussion Forums
Letter grades will be calculated on the following scale:
>A =
> B+ =
>B =
> C+ =
>C=
>D=
>F=
90-100%
85-89%
80-84%
75-79%
70-74%
65-69% >
64% and below
DISCUSSION FORUMS
All students are expected to participate in a total of six Sakai Discussion Forums,
five of which will be graded. The exact discussion topics will be directly related to
readings, online presentations, and resources or media assigned as part of the
"Weekly Agenda."
Discussion forum activities will take place the following weeks of the course:
> Week 1 (add dates): a practice forum (“Icebreaker), which will not be
graded. This forum remains open the entire course.
> Week 4 (add dates): first of five, Wednesday-Friday time frame, graded
forums.
> Week 6 (add dates): second of five, Wednesday-Friday time frame, graded
forums.
> Week 9 (add dates): third of five, Wednesday-Friday time frame, graded
forums.
> Week 11 (add dates): fourth of five, Wednesday-Friday time frame, graded
forums.
> Week 14 (add dates): fifth of five, Wednesday-Friday time frame, graded
forums.
The first non-graded practice forum (“Icebreaker”) opens < add date >, and will
remain open for student postings throughout the course. Students are
encouraged to use this forum to continue "community building" discussion.
Each of the five graded discussion forums will open at 10:00 AM on
Wednesday of the respective week and continue through 11:50 PM the
following Friday evening. Within this fixed time frame, students are expected
to enter at least three posts — once on Wednesday as an opener, and then twice
more in response to what others in their Forum group are posting. Work in the
discussion forums is worth 25% of the overall course grade.
In scoring discussion performance, we follow the model established by Professor
Rudolph Bell in his online courses: “Your contributions to the discussion are
graded each week on a scale of 0 to 20. For maximum scores, please sign in at
least three times during the 54-hour time bloc when the discussion is open,
posting intelligent interventions that respond in a meaningful way to what your
fellow students are posting, and that exhibit your knowledge of the
relevant assignments and readings. This is an asynchronous discussion format
and you need to think about how to communicate effectively and interactively in
such an online environment. Repeating what already has been said counts for
little. Also not good are three quick sign-ins and postings that talk to
yourself. Instead, aim for an opening post on Wednesday, a responsive entry on
Thursday that reflects and deepens what others already have contributed, and a
final entry on Friday that moves you forward to an intellectual place beyond
where you started on Wednesday. The key is to go deeply into the week’s
materials while you learn from the observations of your fellow students. (You may
bring additional materials to the discussion, beyond assigned readings and
materials, but there is no expectation that you will do so and if you do, you should
connect the additional material to what has been assigned for the week.)”
How do you find out what group you belong in? Go to the main Sakai menu
and find the tool "Site Members" (third one up, from "Help" at bottom). When you
get to "Site Members," click the button for "Group Membership." When you are
on that page, you can select "ungrouped" for an alphabetical list of students and
group assignments, or you can select "grouped" for a listing by the numbered
groups.
ONLINE ASSESSMENTS OR EXAMINATIONS
Three weeks of the course will be designated "assessment weeks." During each
of those weeks, you will be required to take an online test, via our Sakai course
website, which comprehensively tests your understanding of material covered
throughout the lessons preceding the test date. An advisory will be provided the
preceding week highlighting factual information that will be important for you to
review and master to perform effectively on the exam.
The assessment or examination weeks will be:
> (add dates), covering Lessons 1-6
> (add dates), covering Lessons 7-11
> (add dates), covering Lessons 12-15
Students are expected to take each examination as scheduled. No "make up"
opportunities will be offered. Students for whom these scheduled dates present
a legitimate conflict must contact the instructor as early in the semester as
possible to work out alternative arrangements, if such are warranted.
WEEKLY WORKFLOW & TIMETABLES
The "Weekly Agenda" or "Weekly Lesson" will be opened at 9:00 AM on
Sunday of the respective week. In addition students will receive, from the
instructor, a "navigator update" announcement orienting them to the key tasks of
the week.
The six Discussion Forums will take place the following weeks of the course:
> Week 1 (add dates): a practice forum (“Icebreaker), which will not be graded
> Week 4 (add dates): first of five graded forums
> Week 6 (add dates): second of five graded forums
> Week 9 (add dates): third of five graded forums
> Week 11 (add dates): fourth of five graded forums
> Week 14 (add dates): fifth of five graded forums
The first non-graded practice forum (“Icebreaker”) opens < add date >, and will
remain open for student postings throughout the course. Each of the five graded
discussion forum will open at 10:00 AM on Wednesday of the respective week
and continue through 11:50 PM the following Friday evening. Within this fixed
time frame, students are expected to enter at least three posts — once on
Wednesday as an opener, and then twice more in response to what others in
their Forum group are posting.
The three Assessment or Examination Weeks are scheduled for:
> (add dates), covering Lessons 1-6
> (add dates), covering Lessons 7-11
> (add dates), covering Lessons 12-15
ONLINE & ON TIME
Some online courses offer substantial flexibility regarding completion dates for
assignments, but "The Crusades" does not. The deadlines for participation in the
discussion forums and online exams are not negotiable. If, for whatever reason,
this policy does not suit your needs, you should not take this course.
SPECIAL NEEDS
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, abides by the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments (ADAA)
of 2008, and Sections 504 and 508 which mandate reasonable accommodations
be provided for qualified students with disabilities and accessibility of online
information. If any student has a disability and may require some type of
instructional accommodation, please contact the instructor early in the semester
so that he can provide or facilitate in providing accommodations
needed. Students with disabilities will need to register with the Office of Disability
Services, the designated office on campus to provide services for students with
disabilities. The Office of Disability Services is located in the Lucy Stone Hall,
Livingston Campus, 54 Joyce Kilmer Ave., Suite A145. For further information
and contact numbers visit the website http://disabilityservices.rutgers.edu .
PLAGIARISM & ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Cheating on tests or plagiarizing in assigned work deprives you of the
educational benefits of preparing these materials appropriately. It is also
personally dishonest and unfair because it gives you an undeserved advantage
over your fellow students who are graded on the basis of their own
work. Following the Rutgers History Department policy on these matters,
cheating and plagiarism will be treated as the serious offenses they
are. Suspected cases will be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs and will be
punished with penalties that are appropriate to the gravity of the infraction.
For comprehending this policy, please SEE THIS VIDEO.