Fall 2024 | Harvard University
Introduction to the study of medieval history and to the literature basic to the examination field for doctoral students. Readings include both canonical works as well as recent studies. Though designed for specialists in medieval European history, the course welcomes all non-specialists interested in exploring large issues of comparative history and chronological depth.
General
Course Description
This proseminar provides a survey of recent historiography of high and later medieval Europe. Graduate students in all fields and departments are very welcome, as are highly motivated undergraduates. For doctoral students in History, this course provides essential preparation for the qualifying exams. Weekly readings focus on recent works in selected areas of medieval history. To explore and understand deeper trends in the field, members of the class will take turns researching and writing historiographical essays that will be shared and discussed by the whole class. Students needing to do a research seminar should talk to Dan before class to see whether assignments can be adjusted to accommodate their needs.
Course Rhythm
Following Week 1, this course is divided into six modules, each of which features two recent books by established as well as up-and-coming scholars. For the first week of each module, we shall read and begin our discussion of the two books in question. For the second week of the module, we will revisit the two featured books via further discussions based on student-authored historiographical essays as well as oral reports summarizing the critical reception of the books.
Assignments
6 Response Papers (ca. 500 words each). These are due before the first class of each module. Respond to the two featured books any way you see fit, treating them either separately or together. Post the papers on the Slack channel by 5 p.m. each week.
2 Bibliographic Essays (ca. 4,000–8,000 words each, including bibliography). Your essays, due before class on the second week of each module, will focus on the historiographical context of the featured books for that week. They should be at least 4,000 words for single-authored essays and up to 8,000 words for co-authored essays. Collaborative research and co-authoring with another member of the class is warmly encouraged. We will divvy up the assignments during the first week or two of class. For each essay, identify a historiographical theme or set of themes raised by the common readings for that week. Reading widely in English and European languages—ca. 10–15 items per essay, with your bibliography including at least 5 books or articles in languages other than English—and highlighting major authors and turning points, explore that theme as far back into the literature as you choose to go.
Authors must share their essays with the rest of the class by 5 p.m. on the Friday before Monday's discussion. Use the appropriate Slack channel.
All students: read the essays and start or respond to discussion threads.
2 Reviews of Reviews. For each book you choose to review, which cannot be the books featured in your essays, read all the book reviews of the featured book and track down as much internet discussion and online reviews and chatter as you care to find. For the second week of the module, prepare an oral report (ca. 8–10 minutes in length) summarizing the critical response. Post any especially interesting reviews in a Slack channel.
Course Aspirations
The purpose of this course is not to read books simply to judge whether they are good or bad. Instead, the goal is to use the common readings and bibliographic explorations to reflect on the (changing) nature of academic priorities and commitments; modes of historical explanation; the use of evidence; the influence of both explicit and implicit theories; and the intended audience, among other topics. Please bring ideas on these subjects to class discussions each week.
Readings
September 9: Introduction
Introductions and course format
Common Reading: Medieval Studies in North America, Then and Now
Note: These readings are designed to give you a quick overview of the last century of medieval history and medieval studies, primarily in North America. The recent readings focus on the challenges of race, diversity, and global history.
George R. Coffman, “Medieval Academy of America” (1926)
Strayer, “Future of Medieval History” (1971)
Freedman and Spiegel, “Medievalisms Old and New” (1998)
Gluckman, “A Debate about White Supremacy” (2017)
Holmes and Standen, "Introduction: Towards a Global Middle Ages" (2018)
Berend, "Interconnection and Separation: Medieval Perspectives on the Modern Problem of the 'Global Middle Ages'" (2023)
Workshop: Writing a good historiographical essay
Read or review the first chapter of Peter Brown’s Cult of the Saints focusing on the historiographical section that begins on p. 13. How did Brown leverage past intellectual trends in order to justify his study?
Identify a book or article in your field of study that provides a clear overview of historiographical trends and frameworks. Be prepared to discuss the piece in class.
Browse the syllabus. Come to class prepared to select themes and books for your essays.
September 16 & 23: Slavery
Common Readings
Blumenthal, Enemies and Familiars (2009)
Barker, That Most Precious Merchandise (2019)
Post response papers by 5pm on the day before class.
Week 2
Before class, read student-authored essays on each of the two featured books (due 2 days before class)
Presentation by authors; discussion of essays
Student presentations of book reviews of the two featured books
September 30 & October 7: Jews and Christians
Common Readings
Barzilay, Poisoned Wells (2022)
Dorin, No Return (2023)
Post response papers by 5pm on the day before class.
Week 2
Before class, read student-authored essays on each of the two featured books (due 2 days before class)
Presentation by authors; discussion of essays
Student presentations of book reviews of the two featured books
October 21 & 28: Materiality
Common Readings
Lambourn, Abraham's Luggage (2018)
French, Household Goods and Good Households (2021)
Post response papers by 5pm on the day before class.
Week 2
Before class, read student-authored essays on each of the two featured books (due 2 days before class)
Presentation by authors; discussion of essays
Student presentations of book reviews of the two featured books
November 4 & 11: Race and Identity
Common Readings
Jordan, The Apple of His Eye (2014)
Heng, The Invention of Race (2018)
Post response papers by 5pm on the day before class.
Week 2
Before class, read student-authored essays on each of the two featured books (due 2 days before class)
Presentation by authors; discussion of essays
Student presentations of book reviews of the two featured books
November 18 & 25: Beyond Europe
Common Readings
Gomez, African Dominion (2018)
Favereau, The Horde (2021)
Post response papers by 5pm on the day before class.
Week 2
Before class, read student-authored essays on each of the two featured books (due 2 days before class)
Presentation by authors; discussion of essays
Student presentations of book reviews of the two featured books
December 2 & 9: Environment and Ecology
Common Reading
Agresta, The Keys to Bread and Wine (2022)
Kehnel, The Green Ages (2024)
Post response papers by 5pm on the day before class.
Week 2
Before class, read student-authored essays on each of the two featured books (due 2 days before class)
Presentation by authors; discussion of essays
Student presentations of book reviews of the two featured books
Bibliography of Common Readings
Agresta, Abigail. The Keys to Bread and Wine: Faith, Nature, and Infrastructure in Late Medieval Valencia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2022.
Barker, Hannah. That Most Precious Merchandise: The Mediterranean Trade in Black Sea Slaves, 1260-1500. The Middle Ages Series. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019.
Barzilay, Tzafrir. Poisoned Wells: Accusations, Persecution, and Minorities in Medieval Europe, 1321-1422. The Middle Ages Series. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022.
Berend, Nora. “Interconnection and Separation: Medieval Perspectives on the Modern Problem of the ‘Global Middle Ages.” Medieval Encounters : Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Culture in Confluence and Dialogue 29, no. 2–3 (2023): 285–314.
Blumenthal, Debra. Enemies and Familiars: Slavery and Mastery in Fifteenth-Century Valencia. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009.
Brown, Peter Robert Lamont. The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity. Haskell Lectures on History of Religions ; New Ser., No. 2. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981.
Coffman, George R. “The Mediaeval Academy of America: Historical Background and Prospect.” Speculum 1, no. 1 (January 1, 1926): 5–18.
Dorin, Rowan. No Return: Jews, Christian Usurers, and the Spread of Mass Expulsion in Medieval Europe. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2023.
Favereau, Marie. The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2021.
Freedman, Paul, and Gabrielle M. Spiegel. “Medievalisms Old and New: The Rediscovery of Alterity in North American Medieval Studies.” The American Historical Review 103, no. 3 (1998): 677–704.
French, Katherine L. Household Goods and Good Households in Late Medieval London: Consumption and Domesticity after the Plague. The Middle Ages Series. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021.
Gluckman, Nell. “A Debate About White Supremacy and Medieval Studies Exposes Deep Rifts in the Field.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 18, 2017
Gomez, Michael A. African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa. Princeton: University Press, 2018.
Heng, Geraldine. The Invention of Race in the European Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
Holmes, Catherine, and Naomi Standen. “Introduction: Towards a Global Middle Ages.” Past & Present 238, no. suppl_13 (2018): 1–44.
Jordan, William C. The Apple of His Eye: Converts from Islam in the Reign of Louis IX. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019.
Kehnel, Annette. The Green Ages: Medieval Innovations in Sustainability. Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press, 2024.
Lambourn, Elizabeth. Abraham’s Luggage: A Social Life of Things in the Medieval Indian Ocean World. Asian Connections (Series). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
Strayer, Joseph. “The Future of Medieval History.” Medievalia et Humanistica: An American Journal for the Middle Ages and Renaissance n.s. 2 (1971): 179–88.
Symes, Carol. “Medievalism, White Supremacy, and the Historian’s Craft.” American Historical Association (blog), November 2, 2017.