Freshman Seminar Class
Schedule
The listing of assignments
on this schedule is meant to indicate that you should already have
read the material for a given day by the time you get to class on
that day. Any mention of "Text" is a reference to The New Concise
History of the Crusades, by Thomas F. Madden.
Aug 29—Intro to the Crusades
Sep 2—More introduction--Some general issues. Bring a copy of the
reading to class, either printed or electronic.
Read for this class, "Why Muslims See the
Crusade So Differently From Christians"
https://www.history.com/news/why-muslims-see-the-crusades-so-differently-from-christians
AND read Text, Preface, vii-x.
4—The Medieval European
World--History in the "longue durée" and the short one too
Watch these two pieces of a documentary series by Terry
Jones (formerly of Monty Python):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7YZr1U6jU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8bZRmMCy1U
6--More on
Medieval Europe.
Watch carefully David Macaulay's great exploration of the Gothic
Cathedral. This takes 57 min. Be sure to watch it
in full.
Sep 9—College issues: The
Academic Skills Center.
Sep 11--The Origins of Islamic Expansion.
Read
Historian
Richard Eaton, a
1994 essay on Islamic Expansion.
and
Watch Ollie Bye's quick visual chronology representing the same
period.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I14x4-q_Gj4
13--College issues: Thinking about
Careers!!
Map Quiz No. 1: Europe.
Sep 16--The Medieval World of the Late Islamic Caliphate:
A Sophisticated Culture.
on
the Medieval Islamic Caliphate.
18--College
issues: What is
Plagiarism?
20--Early Medieval Spain
and the Beginnings of Reconquista.
Watch this Youtube video, a bit cheesy, but a very good
overview of the beginnings of the Reconquista
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPXFzb3kk8Y
and watch Ollie Bye's neat visual chronology of the Reconquista
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmtzmqLOAVA
Sep 23—The Byzantine Empire, and Related
Matters.
Read the Wikipedia entry on the Byzantine Emprire, but just the
intro (up to "Contents")
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire
25—Writing a College
Paper, AND prep for our first paper: the Documentary Exercise.
27--The Late Caliphate, the Fatimids,
the Seljuqs, and the Origins of the Crusades.
Read
material on Turkic
and other Medieval Middle Eastern regimes.
Sep 30—The Call to the
Crusades. Text ch. 1.
Oct. 2--No Class. Special events later in
the day. TBA
Oct 4--Documents on the
Crusades: Five versions of the Pope's Clermont speech:
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/urban2-5vers.asp
(Bring the digital or printed text; be ready for an in-depth
discussion of the differences in the versions)
Oct 7—The First Crusade.
Read Text ch. 2
Documentary Exercise due on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 11:59 PM, via Turnitin.com
9--Logistics, Tactics,
and Other Matters
From this anonymous, partly eyewitness accout called Gesta
Francorum, read the brief Intro, No. 4, No. 5, No. 8, and Nos. 10
through 17
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/gesta-cde.asp#godfrey
11--NO CLASS--Fall Break.
Oct 14—College issues: Citations and
Sources
Beginning
of Class--Map Quiz No. 2
16—Midterm
Exam--bring a greenbook, that is, a test booklet, and a
couple of pens, not pencils or anything erasable.
18--College issues: Sources--Primary Documents and the
Internet
(also be reading the
substantial primary sources for the next weeks)
Oct 21—The Latin
Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Second Crusade. Text ch.
3.
Watch this pretty good documentary, only 9 min., on the Second
Crusade:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5c_R9BGDcw
Evening of Oct. 21, meet for a movie.
Required attendance. Popcorn supplied. Bring your own
beverage. 23—The Decline of the Kingdom of
Jerusalem.
Read Text ch. 4
Oct 23--Turks and Mongols
Read Wikipedia on the Mongol Invasions and Conquests, but Intro
and then "West Asia" and "Europe"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasions_and_conquests
25--Middle Eastern
sources
(give these time to download--the files are large. Note that you
will only read a few pages of each volume)
The
Chronicle of ibn al-Athir, pp. 1-4 (pdf pp.
8-10) and pp. 12-22 (pdf pp. 8-20).
Usamah ibn Munqidh, The Book of
Contemplation, pdf pp.
15-27
and read
same guy, An
Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior, pp. 46-59 (pdf
6-16)
Oct 28—Discussion of
Research and Prep for the Second Paper.
Oct 30--European Sources:
(First, download the book Memoirs of the Crusades in pdf:
https://ia802600.us.archive.org/22/items/MemoirsOfTheCrusades/MemoirsOfTheCrusades.pdf
Within this book, read:
Villehardouin Chronicle: 1-20 ( pdf
48-67) and pp. 26-48 (pdf 73-95)
AND
Joinville Chronicle:
173-244 (pdf pp. 220-290)
Nov 1--The
Fourth Crusade.
Text ch. 5.
Nov 4—The
Venetians and Other Italian Participants
Read this fine undergraduate (!!) article:
"A Calculated Crusade: "Venice,
Commerce, and the Fourth Crusade"
6--Internal European "Crusades"
Read Text ch. 6.
8--College issues: More on Plagiarism.
Beginning
of Class--Map Quiz No. 3
Nov 11—The Fifth Crusade: Frederick II Hohenstaufen.
Text ch. 7
AND watch this 38 min. documentary by the Spanish filmmaker Alvaro
Orus on Frederick II.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF1MIGuyn60
13—St.
Louis and his Crusades.
Text ch. 8.
Research Essay due via Turnitin.com, Thursday Nov. 14, 11:59
PM.
15--Modern Middle Eastern interpretations
Watch the first 20 minutes of the 1963 Egyptian movie, Saladin
(al-Naser Salah el Dine)
El Naser Salah el Dine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUtmvv1F8OA
Nov 18—Some
later Crusades.
Text ch. 9.
20—Loose
Ends.
Text ch. 10,
Conclusion
22--College issues: TBA.
Nov 25-29—NO CLASS--Thanksgiving Break.
Dec 2--Thinking About the Crusades.
Read this thoughtful article: "The Crusades:
Consequences and Effects"
https://www.ancient.eu/article/1273/the-crusades-consequences--effects/
4--College issues: Studying for Finals.
Second Draft of
Research Paper due via Turnitin.com on Thurs. Dec. 5, 11:59
PM.
6--Congratulations! Nearly Done!