This course examines the development of the western intellectual tradition from the fall of the Roman Empire through the High Middle Ages. Our basic premise will be that the triumph of Christianity in the west was not the inevitable outcome it appears from hindsight. Our attention will therefore be focused not only on the development of Christian thought and practice, but on its challengers as well. Particular emphasis will be devoted to northern paganism, the rise of Islam, Byzantine orthodoxy, indigenous heretical movements, and the ambiguous position of Jews in European society.
This course is centrally focused around a set of core readings in medieval history and thought. It is essential for all students to come to class prepared each week to discuss the reading in depth. You may find it very helpful to make notes on the reading in advance so that you have a way of organizing the large amount of material we will cover. Participation in class discussion is a major component of your final grade and can only be avoided at your peril. In addition, each student, in conjunction with another student, will be expected to lead the discussion for one class session. This will involve preparing and distributing a one page list of discussion topics or questions at the beginning of class and responsibility for getting the discussion started. This is not intended as a forum for a formal presentation. Each student will also be expected to complete one substantial research paper on a topic of their choosing. These papers may take one of two forms. They can either be based on an original reading of primary materials, or they may be a well-developed historiographical essay which reviews the literature on a particular topic in depth. In either case, these papers should be on the order of 15-20 pages -- and absolutely no longer than 25. Preliminary bibliographies will be due by March 18, and a five page presentation of the major issues in the literature is due on April 15th. The final draft of the paper is due by May 15 and this draft can incorporate wholly the text written for the April assignment. Students may choose to submit a draft of their papers earlier in May and I will be happy to comment on them.
Students' grades are based on the following criteria:
60% Final paper--of which 5% reflects bibliography and 10% reflects first presentation.
25% Participation in weekly discussion, demonstrating mastery of the assigned reading.
15% Leadership of class discussion
Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated. Students caught using plagiarized material in their written work for this course will receive an automatic grade of F for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action. If you are at all unsure of what constitutes plagiarism please consult either myself, or the MIT Libraries which will be happy to help you clarify any ambiguities.
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