HIST 335: Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (EU) (WI)
Prerequisites: Three hours of HIST at 100 level.
Credit Hours: (3)
A study of the political, socio-economic, and cultural development of the areas encompassed
by, or adjacent to, the Roman Empire from its waning days ca. AD 300 to the aftermath
of the First Crusade, ca. 1125, that examines the development and interaction of the
three distinct cultural spheres (Byzantium, Islam, and Latin Christendom) that lay
at the foundation of the modern West.
Note(s): Humanistic or Artistic Expression designated course.
Detailed Description of Course Content
I. Course Introduction
A. Rome and Its Empire
B. Rome’s Neighbors
C. The Crisis of the Third Century
II. Roman Recovery Under the Dominate
A. Diocletian and the Reorganization of Empire
B. Constantine and Christianity
C. The Christian Empire
III. Fifth-Century Transformations
A. Barbarian Migrations
B. Germanic Kingdoms
C. Survival of the Eastern Empire
IV. The Byzantine Synthesis
A. The World of Justinian
B. State and Society
C. Byzantium Besieged
V. Dar al-Islam
A. Muhammad and His Faith
B. Muslim Conquests
C. Umayyad Caliphate
D. Islamic Sectarianism
E. The Abbasid Caliphate
VI. Latin Christendom
A. The Roman Church
B. The Carolingian World
C. The Celtic Fringe
D. Anglo-Saxon Britain
VII. The Movement of Peoples: Impact and Response
A. Slavs, Bulgars, and Muslims—Political and Religious Response in Byzantium
B. Turkic-Speakers—Shifting Power in the Dar al-Islam
C. Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims—Political Reorganization in the Latin West
VIII. Latin Christendom Quickens
A. The Empire and the Church
B. The Kingdom of France
C. The Kingdom of England
D. New Christian States
E. Fragmentation in Italy
F. Ecclesiastical Reform
IX. The Eleventh Century
A. Turkish Dominance in the Near East
B. Byzantine Resurgence and Disaster at Manzikert
C. Clash of Church and State in the West
X. The First Crusade
A. Antecedents: Italy and Spain
B. The Expedition
C. The Latin East
D. Cultural Interactiont
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
The class meets three hours per week. The course is taught primarily using a lecture
format and includes time dedicated to the discussion of sources and further elaboration
of themes introduced in lectures and readings. Students are required to read extensively
from textbooks and material distributed in class. Class discussion of assigned material
is an important element of the course.
Goals and Objectives of the Course
i. Students will practice thinking critically and analytically about historical issues, acquire a broader knowledge and deeper understanding of pertinent historical events and processes, and cultivate a familiarity with the concepts of historical argument and interpretation.
ii. Students will develop disciplinary research skills by designing strategies to locate and analyze primary and secondary source evidence, processing and organizing the resultant data, and composing proper citation and bibliographical entries.
iii. Students will apply their critical thinking, research, and compositional skills to the creation and presentation of thesis driven essays that discuss, for example, historical social, economic, political, and/or cultural developments and that address issues such as the causes and consequences of historical change and continuity.
iv. Students will study the late Roman world and the successor cultures that arose
in the regions that comprised the erstwhile empire in order to develop an awareness
of the complexity of cultural interaction and historical development. In particular,
students will demonstrate an understanding of the multicultural nature of development
in the Mediterranean littoral, Western and Eastern Europe, and the Near East as the
influence of classical Roman civilization went into decline and a new cultural synthesis
began to take shape.
Assessment Measures
Knowledge and understanding of the material covered in this course will be measured
using an array of assessment tools that may include, among other things, class attendance
and participation, written examinations, formal writing assignments of various types,
and informal writing assignments. All exercises are designed to expand the student's
ability to evaluate historical events and to develop his or her ability to compose
persuasive arguments.
Other Course Information
None
Review and Approval
April, 2019
March 01, 2021