COURSE REQUIREMENTS
REQUIRED BOOKS (available for sale at the UNCG bookstore):
Emilie Amt, ed., Women’s Lives in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook (NY: Routledge, 1993). ISBN: 0415906288
Lisa Bitel, Women in Early Medieval Europe (Cambridge, 2002). ISBN: 0521597730.
The Letters of Abelard and Heloise, trans. Betty Radice (Penguin, 1977) ISBN: 0140442979
Mary Erler and Maryanne Kowaleski, eds., Gendering the Master Narrative: Women and Power in the Middle Ages (Cornell UP, 2003). ISBN: 0801488303.
Ruth Mazo Karras, Common Women: Prostitution and Sexuality in Medieval England (Oxford, 1998). ISBN: 0195124987
Online Texts: the URL of such texts will be clearly indicated in the syllabus. Note that if you access the online syllabus (at my web-site), you will be able to click directly on the link to the source in question.
Reserve Room: additional readings will be available in the reserve room of Jackson Library (just inside the front door and to the right). It is up to you to acquire and read those materials. Some will undoubtedly be made available electronically, but not all. If a given reading doesn’t appear on the e-reserve list for the class, you’ll have to go to the reserve room in person in order to read and/or photocopy the article(s).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Presentation of readings
and general discussion
5%
Short Writing Assignments
10%
Debate (your grade
is based on the debate in which you participate orally)
5%
Analytical Essay 1:
Argument
10%
Analytical Essay 2:
Gender as a Tool of Analysis
10%
Analytical Essay 3:
Critical Review of Scholarship
10%
Annotated Bibliography
for Research Paper
5%
Research Paper (10
pp)
25%
Take-Home Final Exam:
20%
1. Presentation of Readings and General Discussion (5%)
I expect participation and discussion of all students. To facilitate
this process, students will be assigned to 4-5 person groups on the first
day of class. Each week, one group will be responsible for introducing
the primary sources assigned for that week. This is to be a collaborative
effort, and should take no more than 15 minutes of class time each day.
In your ‘introduction’ your group shouldn’t summarize the texts, but instead
should comment upon a) the larger theme or analytical point to which the
texts relate; b) what directions the subsequent discussion ought to take;
and c) any questions that need to be resolved by the class. Groups
might wish to meet in advance of class to discuss their ideas and map out
a strategy. It is permissible to assign 2 members of the group to be the
primary introducer of the texts, so long as each member of each group acts
as primary introducer at least once during the semester (in other words,
Kathy can’t take charge each time your group is up for introducing texts;
she can do so once, but the next time someone else will have to lead ).
The remainder of class will consist of discussion of the texts by the entire
class.
NOTE: on the accompanying schedule of classes, groups have been
assigned randomly to discussion days.
2. Short Writing Assignments, 10%
Several (7 to 10) times during the semester I will require students
to address a question derived from ourcommon readings. Your overall grade
will be based on an average of the grades for the individual short writing
assignments.
3. Debate, 5% DATE: either Sept. 25 or Oct. 23
Twice during the semester we will engage in formal debate.
On these occasions, the ordinary small groups will be merged into two ‘sides’,
each of which will take one side of an issue; the two sides will prepare
arguments and assemble specific evidence to support their side of the issue;
finally, we will have formal debate. Half of each team will have
primary speaking responsibility for one debate, while the other half will
take over the second debate. Your debate grade will be based only on that
debate in which you are a primary speaker (although you are expected to
help prepare your overall team for both debates). Grades will be
based on oral performance in the debate. Specific debate guidelines
will be issued during the semester.
4. Analytical Essays (3), each worth 10% of your overall grade (total
30%)
You will write three short essays for the class. You MUST revise the
first one (gender as a tool of analysis) according to the comments I make
on the first draft. You are welcome to revise the others as well.
1. Gender as a Tool of Analysis (Due: September 11)
For this essay I will ask you to explain the concept of gender and
evaluate its strengths and weaknesses as a tool of historical analysis
by considering one of the topics covered in class to this point (Ancient
Legacy; Christian Legacy; Merovingian Queens; or Merovingian Saints). The
essay should be at least three (3) full pages in length.
2. Argument Essay (Due: September 30)
Following the first debate (on the Theutberga case), students will
write a 3-4 page analytical essay arguing for one of the two sides of the
case. You must use solid historical evidence to back up your argument (ie.,
don’t write solely from emotion). You need not argue the case that your
team debated orally. This means that if you had to defend Theutberga orally,
but really think Lothar had the better case, you can argue for Lothar in
writing. I am looking here for well-constructed, well-organized arguments
that flow logically and are well-supported with evidence.
3. Critique of a Secondary Source (Due: October 28)
This essay is actually part of your research project (see below). For
it, you must read an article-length secondary source related to the topic
of your research (article-length means either a journal article, an article
in a book of essays, or a chapter from a book). Then, in a minimum of 3
full pages, you need to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. Look particularly
at the question it asks and at its argument (does it hold? why or why not?),
at its sources (of what type? sufficient or not? problems with them?),
and at its utility for other researchers. Your essay should not merely
summarize what the article said; instead, it should analyze it.
5. Bibliography, 5% (Due October 28)
Bibliographies will vary in length according to students’ individual
research topics. Still, a rough guideline is at least 1 major primary source
(and hopefully several) and 2-5 scholarly secondary sources. For
your bibliography you should list the sources in proper bibliographic format
and you should provide a 1-2 sentence evaluation of its value for your
project. Note: try to acquire the most up-to-date and scholarly works
on your subject. This means, for instance, that Uppity Women of the Middle
Ages (as fun as it is .... and I should know, since I own it!) is not an
appropriate source for your research. If you’re having difficulties evaluating
the quality of a source, come talk to me.
6. Research Paper (25% of your grade)
For this course each student will conduct a research project
on an aspect of the history of medieval women. I strongly suggest
that each of you pick a medieval woman (see the list attached to this syllabus)
and research her life and/or writings. Remember that this project is NOT
merely a biography; you must come up with an analytical point to frame
your inquiry into this woman’s life. If someone wishes to write a
different sort of research paper (say, on a concept or a text rather than
on an individual), I will be happy to listen to your thoughts, but you
must decide quickly and I must approve the project.
a. choice of topic
and preliminary analytical question. Due: September 9
Here you are only choosing a topic and posing a very rough and probably-subject-to-change
question.
b. Bibliography: Due
October 28 (see above)
c. Evaluation of a
Secondary Source: Due October 28 (this is Analytical Essay 3, see above)
d. Research Paper
First Drafts DUE: Tuesday November 25
Final Drafts DUE: with Final Exam
The paper should be 8-12 pages in length, with foot- or endnotes, and
a bibliography. It should also argue a clear point (and thus should not
merely report facts). You will turn in a polished first draft the Tuesday
before Thanksgiving; I will comment extensively on that draft and return
it to you on December 2. You then have until the Final to revise the paper
according to my comments.
7. Take-Home Final Exam (20% of your overall grade) DUE: date TBA
This will be a comprehensive written synthesis of the themes of the
course. I will distribute questions during the last week of classes, and
will expect a total of 6-10 pages of typed answers to a combination of
short-answers and a longer essay.
THE LEGAL STUFF
1. In case later consultation should prove necessary, students are
asked to keep copies of all graded assignments until at least the end of
the semester.
2. All course requirements must be completed to receive a grade for
the class. This means that you can’t decide to skip the bibliography and
source analysis, hoping that I’ll only reduce the final grade by 10%.
3. I have no formal attendance policy. Still, experience has
shown that it is very rare for a student who misses significant numbers
of classes to achieve a high mark in the course. I will require a doctor’s
note (or the equivalent) if a student has to miss one of his/her scheduled
oral presentations (ie., group presentation of readings or either debate).
4. Plagiarism is a serious academic crime that occurs when someone
- whether knowingly or not - uses the words or ideas of someone else without
giving that person credit for those words or ideas with a formal citation.
I therefore expect that all written (and oral) work will be your own.
Should I find evidence to the contrary, I will consider any and/or all
of the punitive sanctions made available to me by the university.
When in doubt, cite your source. If you are not aware of what constitutes
plagiarism, please see me in my office - I’m happy to explain it.