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History B351 Mr. Blumenshine CM 201 (Phone: 481-6696 [office] or 481-6686 [History Department]) Office Hours: TR 3:00-4:15 p.m. and R 10:50-11:50 a.m. Graduate Student Book Analysis Required Texts
Goals and Expectations A student who successfully
completes the academic requirements for History B351: Barbarian Europe: An
Introduction to European Unity will understand the interplay of
historical forces at work during the transformation of the Late Roman World
into the Germanic, feudal and Catholic world of the early Middle Ages. The
student will learn: (1) to evaluate the strengths
and weaknesses of the late Roman social and political system, and the
newness, vigor and power of the Christian Church during its early centuries; (2) to trace the evolution of
thinking about church and state in late ancient documents and controversies;
and (3) to
understand the dominant role of Germanic and Celtic customs, practice and
values, influenced by paganism, in the society of early medieval history. In this course the student will
also become aware of (4) the long hold of the
Hellenistic culture of the New Rome, (5) the
decisive place in history of the emergence of Islam during the seventh
century. Students in Barbarian Europe
will be exposed directly to cultures driven by religious concerns, and, in
studying documents and modern scholarship about this period, they will be
expected (6) to
reflect on the role of religion, especially monotheism, as a force that shaped
and transformed culture through monastic, missionary, and educational
activity and through self-conscious reform of cultural and social
institutions. Students will also meditate on: (7) the
long process by which social, political and military dependence became
established in feudal and manorial categories during the early middle ages. Finally, students will be forced
to confront: (8) the
historiography of late ancient and early medieval history through a
discussion of the factors that define the early middle ages as an historical
epoch. In sum, the course is about the political and cultural consequences of
monotheism. Grading and Pedagogical
Procedure The class will operate largely
through discussion of assigned readings in the text and sources. Please bring
your Sources to class each day and be prepared for discussion by doing
the reading in advance. Grading will be based on six assigned tests and
papers, each one valued at 15% of the grade.
During the semester the course
should cover about eleven chapters in the textbook and its accompanying
sources and readings. The material is descriptive and should present no
difficulties for conscientious students. However, all assigned class work
must be completed to pass the class. There is no taping of lectures in the
History Department except under special circumstances. Assignments Weekly assignment should be
approximately as follows:
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