teaching with writing

History 3613/Medieval Studies 3610: History of the Crusades

Course URL: http://cla.umn.edu/courses/hist3613

Course Description:

The Crusades represent one of the most fascinating, odd, troubling, and astounding episodes in the history of the Middle Ages (ca. 500-1500). In this intensive summer class, our primary aim will be to study the crusading phenomenon by engaging with the documentary remains of the period. Through studying these documents, and the context in which they were produced, we will try to develop answers to the following central questions: Why did people go on Crusade? The Holy Land was a distant destination, about which medieval men and women knew very little. How did the Papacy come to view attacks on the Muslims as not merely justifiable violence, but deserving of great spiritual reward? How did Muslim and Jewish communities respond to the violence? How did contact between all three religious groups change relations among Christians, Muslims, and Jews? The Crusades also raise larger questions about the relationship between violence and religion, a subject much on our minds in these times. We must also consider the legacy of the Crusades. Were they a precursor to later European expansion? Did they set the stage for modern violence in the Middle East? To address these questions we will develop an understanding of what the Crusades actually were, how they were carried out, the motives of the actors on all sides of the conflicts, and the interpretations offered by different historians.

Books:

All books will be available in West Bank Bookstore. If you have trouble finding the books, please contact me at once. I will discuss the different books on the first day of class.

• Thomas Madden. A Concise History of the Crusades
• The First Crusade. E. Peters, editor.
• Arab Historians of the Crusades. F. Gabrielli, editor.
• Christian Society and the Crusades. E. Peters, editor.
• Joinville and Villehardouin. Chronicles of the Crusades

Course Requirements:

Formal Writing Assignments:

As stated above, learning to interpret primary documents is among the most important purposes of this course. To further this end, you will have two textual interpretation exercises to complete. The first, 775-825 words long, will be due at the beginning of the second week. The second, also 775-825 words long, will be due at the beginning of the fourth week. Late exercises will be marked down by one FULL grade (from A to B, B- to C-, etc.) for each day. Due June 24 and July 8.

Examinations:

1. Mid-term Examination at the end of the second week on June 27.

2. Final Examination on the last day of class on July 12.

Informal Writing Assignments:

You will need to complete 5 informal writing assignments. Late assignments will not be accepted.

• June 18: Write a paragraph summarizing the argument of one version of Pope Urban's sermon announcing the First Crusade. (Versions will be assigned in class.)
• June 20: Based on your readings of Fulcher of Chartres and Madden, as well as the maps in Madden and on this Web site, make a map of the 10 geographical features (rivers, mountains, cities, etc.) that you believe had the greatest impact on the course of the First Crusade.
• June 26: Write a paragraph addressing the following questions: What qualities, in the eyes of the Arab authors, make Saladin an ideal ruler and an ideal Muslim?
• July 2: Write a paragraph addressing the question: Were the Crusades launched to places other than the Holy Land and against targets other than the Muslims perversions of the original crusade ideal?
• July 11: Write a paragraph arguing whether the Crusades were successful, partially successful, or a failure.

Class Participation and Attendance

Each day of class is the equivalent of a week's worth of material in a fall or spring semester course. If you miss a day of class, it's as if you skipped a whole week. If you miss two days, two weeks, and so forth. I will set no rigid attendance policy, but notice that class participation is a full quarter of your grade. You cannot participate if you are not present. Missing classes will severely affect your grade.

Of course, class participation requires more than merely showing up. To participate, you need to have done the reading and digested it, and be ready to talk about the material. You need to listen to lectures and to each other actively, respond to questions bravely (even if you are not sure), engage in discussions, and complete the informal assignments to use as a basis for discussion. If you have any confusion about how to participate, or what active participation means, please come talk to me.

The Grade:

Textual Analysis Exercise #1: 10%
Textual Analysis Exercise #2: 10%
Mid-term Exam: 15%
Final Exam: 30%
Informal Writing Assignments: 10%
Class Participation: 25%

Course Policies: Late Work.

No assignment under any circumstances will be accepted by fax or e-mail. Late assignments will be marked down one full letter grade for each day it is late. Assignments are due at the beginning of class, and will be counted as a day late any time after class begins. Late informal writing assignments will not be accepted.

University of Minnesota Policies:

"All persons shall have equal access to U of M programs, facilities and employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, handicap, age, veteran status, or sexual orientation."

Students with disabilities creating special needs have a right to have them accommodated. Please inform the instructor.

"Scholastic dishonesty is any act that violates the rights of another student with respect to academic work or that involves misrepresentation of a student's own work. Scholastic dishonesty includes (but is not limited to) cheating on assignments and examinations, [and] plagiarizing (misrepresenting as one's own anything done by another)." The College of Liberal Arts recommends a failing grade on the assignment for a first offense, and a failing grade for the course for a second offense. If you are uncertain what plagiarism means, ask your TA or the instructor.

Schedule of Classes, Readings, and Assignments

All reading assignments are due on the date for which they are listed. Please have read them before you come to class.

Week 1: Introduction, The idea of the Crusade, The First Crusade

June 17 - Introductions

• Assignments Due: None. Readings Due: None

June 18 - Origins and Beginnings

• Assignments Due: Informal Writing Assignment #1 - Urban's Sermon.
• Readings Due: First Crusade, 25-37, 42, 52-53. Madden, 1-14.

June 19 - First Responses and First Steps

• Assignments Due: None.
• Readings Due: First Crusade: 102-151. Madden: 17-21

June 20 - From Constantinople to Jerusalem

• Assignments Due: Informal Writing Assignment #2: Geography
• Readings Due: First Crusade: 47-96, 213-221, 283-297. Arab Historians: 3-12. Madden: 26-36.

Week 2: Aftermath to the First Crusade, The Second Crusade, The Third Crusade

June 24 - The Crusader States

• Assignments Due: First Textual Analysis Exercise.
• Readings Due: Madden 39-53. First Crusade: 281-2. Arab Historians: 73-84.

June 25 - The Second Crusade

• Assignments Due: None.
• Readings Due: Madden: 54-63. Arab Historians: 41-72.

June 26 - Saladin and The Third Crusade

• Assignments Due: Informal writing Assignment #3 - Saladin.
• Readings Due: Madden: 70-97. Arab Historians: 87-246.

June 27 - Mid-term Exam

• Mid-term Exam
• Cecil B. DeMille's The Crusades.

Week 3: The Thirteenth Century Crusades

July 1 - The Fourth Crusade

• Assignments Due: Prepare for debate on Fourth Crusade.
• Readings Due: Chronicles 29-126. Christian Society ix-xxii, 1-24 (skip Villehardouin as you will be reading him in the Chronicles). Madden: 99-122. Extra readings may be given in class for the debate.

July 2 - The Expansion of the Crusades

• Assignments Due: Informal Writing Assignment #4 - Expansion.
• Readings Due: Christian Society: 25-47. Madden: 123-141.

July 3 - The Fifth Crusade

• Assignments Due: None.
• Readings Due: Christian Society: 48-145, Madden: 143-155, Arab Historians: 255-266.

Week 4: The Later Crusades, the Legacy of the Crusades

July 8 - Frederick II and Crusading Literature

• Assignments Due: Second Textual Analysis Exercise Due.
• Readings Due: Christian Society: 146-170. Arab Historians: 267-283. Madden: 155-165.

July 9 - Louis IX

• Assignments Due: Informal Writing Assignment #5 - Louis IX.
• Readings Due: Chronicles: 163-330. Madden 167-186. Arab Historians: 284-306.

July 10 - Later Crusade Endeavors, the Fall of the Crusader States, and the Mongols

• Assignments Due: None.
• Readings Due: Madden: 187-215. Arab Historians: 307-350.

July 11- The Legacy of the Crusades

• Assignments Due: Informal Writing Assignment #5 - The Legacy.
• Readings Due: None.

July 12 - Final Exam

Source:

Perry, David. Syllabus, History 3613/Medieval Studies 3610. 15 June 2002. History Department, University of Minnesota. 22 Jan. 2003. <http://www.cla.umn.edu/courses/ hist3613/syllabus.htm>.