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Syllabus Spring 2007 |
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William Caraher |
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Office: Merrifield 209 a/b Office Phone: 777-6379 |
Introduction:
Hello! Welcome back, and I hope you had a good holiday
break. The following syllabus outlines
the philosophy, procedures, and standards for this class. Most of the course material will be posted on
the class web site on Blackboard including readings, assignments, and general
news and notes that will keep you up to date on the progress of the class.
The class itself will be organized as part lecture, where
I will do most of the talking, and part seminar where we will discuss common
readings which will form the basis for the exams and occasional papers. It is vital, then, that we all keep up on the
reading, engage it thoughtfully, and be open to a wide variety of
opinions. Weekly reading assignments in
addition to a research paper will make this a busy semester! In the end though,
you will have acquired a whole array of basic research skills and knowledge.
This course will reward in equal measure
creativity and discipline.
Course Goals:
The goal of this course is to familiarize you broadly
with the history and significance of Byzantine Civilization. While the class will be structured
chronologically along the lines of a political narrative, the course will be a civilization course. This means that the class will emphasize
religious, social, artistic, and cultural definitions of
1)
To
continue to develop your skills as historians – particularly your ability to
read and write critically and carefully.
2)
To
understand construct from primary and secondary sources a sophisticated narrative
of Byzantine political, cultural, and religious history.
3)
To
develop a broader understanding of the complex heritage of the West and the
legacy of the Byzantine world.
Assignments and Grading:
Primary
Source Assignments (3-5 pages, double spaced, Times New Roman font)
Each week we will explore a primary
source reading and consider how it served to shed light on some aspect of
Byzantine society. The key issue will
always be: “what is the significance of this document?”; that is: what does it
tell us about Byzantine society?
It is important to recognize that primary sources are not simply “factual
accounts” of the past. Nor are primary
sources simply the “raw materials of history” to be mined for “facts”. In fact, it is important to recognize that all primary sources lie, tell half
truths, or offer only one particular perspective on an event. Therefore, to say that a source is “biased”
tells us almost nothing. What is of interest
to a historian is (a) how a source is biased, (b) what evidence for the bias is visible, and, perhaps most important, (c) what can this bias tell us about the individual who wrote the source
and his or her broader social, political, or religious context. Keep these questions in mind when you read
these sources, and make them the focus of your primary source analyses. In class discussion will shape your
analysis. These analyses will be due any
time throughout the semester, but before the midterm (for assignment 1) and
final (for assignment 2).
20%
Assignment 1 – Select any source or set of sources from before the midterm.
20%
Assignment 2 – Select any source or set of sources from after the midterm.
20%
Critical Book Review (5 pages, double spaced, Times New Roman font)
There is a rich tradition of
scholarship on Byzantine history.
Unfortunately, almost none of this exists in our library. The goal of this assignment is for you to
examine critically a recent (since 1975) monograph (that is short book (>300
pages) on some topic in Byzantine history.
The best books to select are listed in the “Further Reading” sections of
the History of Byzantium, Byzantine Art, or Byzantine Christianity textbooks.
In almost all probability, will need to fill out an interlibrary request
form (available
online) to get the book and you will need all the various library related
information for the book. You can find
this out by searching for the book on WorldCat
or talking to a reference librarian at the Chester Fritz. This will be due before the final exam.
20%
Midterm
20%
Final
The midterm and final will require
you to know not only basic “factual” information but also identify, analyze,
and interpret primary sources. The exam
will include, then, two sections. One
section will focus on a particular primary source or type of primary source
that we have used in the course and ask you to evaluate its significance to our
understanding of Byzantine history. The
second section will focus on a major theme in Byzantine history and require you
to critique it by marshalling not only a strong “factual” background but also
the primary sources that we have discussed and analyzed in class. It will be an essay exam.
Weekly
This course will require a considerable amount of
reading. It is, therefore, essential
that you keep up or even ahead of the weekly reading. You will inevitably come
across concepts, names, places, or titles that you do not recognize. Part of the process of becoming a
“professional historian” is developing the ability to confront and solve problems
which you encounter in a primary source. Byzantine history can be highly politicized
and deeply enmeshed in national identities particularly in
Secondary Sources:
History of
Byzantine Art = R. Cormack, Byzantine Art.
Byzantine Christianity = D. Krueger, Byzantine Christianity.
Resources:
A. Kazdan
ed. et al., Oxford Dictionary of
Byzantium (3 vols.).
K. Turabian, A Manual for Writers
of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.
6th ed.
W. Strunk et al.,
Elements of Style. 4th ed.
New York 2000.
Primary Sources
Various primary sources will
be linked directly to this syllabus or found in the “Course Documents”
folder. Those documents that are not
HTML links to websites, will be PDF format.
Some of these documents are quite long – book length, in fact – and,
consequently, I strongly recommend that you download them over a high-speed
internet connection. I have checked the
PDF files on numerous computers, and they all work. If you are having problems downloading the
files, it is because the computer that you are using has a problem.
Reading List:
This reading list is subject to modification over the
course to semester. The best way to keep
on top of the required readings is to attend class or keep in touch with the
instructor.
Week 1:
January 9
Tuesday: Introduction
January 11
Thursday: City, Empire, and Christianity
(These are two generic links; any version of
these books will do.)
Week 2:
January 16
Tuesday: Diocletian,
History
of
January 18
Thursday: Eusebius and the Constantinean System
Week 3:
January 23
Tuesday:
History
of
Byzantine
Art, Chapter 1
January 25
Thursday: The Family of Theodosius
History
of
Week 4:
January 30 Tuesday: Pagans and Christians
Pagan and Christian Tombstones of
Mark the Deacon,
The Life of St. Porphyry of Gaza
Marinos
of Samaria, Life of Proclus
History of
February 1
Thursday: Christology and Early Byzantine Spirituality
Gregory of Nyssa, Life
of Macrina
Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History (selections)
St. Athanasius, The Life of St. Anthony
Week 5:
February 6
Tuesday: Justinian
History
of
Byzantine
Art, Chapter 2
Procopius,
The Buildings, Book 1 (read all
three parts of Procopius)
February 8
Thursday: Byzantine Spirituality: Liturgy and Saints
Byzantine
Christianity, Chapters 1-3
John Moschos, The Spiritual Meadow
The
Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
Week 6:
February 13 Tuesday: Heraclius and the Loss of the East
History
of
February 15
Thusday: The Dynasty of Heraclius
Theophanes Confessor, Chronicle
The Life of St.
John the Almsgiver
Week 7:
February 20
Tuesday: Icons and Iconoclasm
History
of
Byzantine Art, Chapter 3
February 22
Thursday: Iconoclasm and the Sources
Theophanes, Chronicle,
Saints Lives, Various
Icondule Saints.
Week 8:
February 27 Tuesday: Catch-up Day
March 1 Thursday: Midterm
Week 9
March 6 Tuesday: The Macedonian Dynasty
History
of
March 7 Thursday:
Byzantine Values and Literature
Digenes Akritas
Spring Break March 12-16
Week 10:
March 20 Tuesday:
Macedonian Renaissance
Byzantine
Art, Chapter 4
March 22
Thursday: The Height of Byzantine Power
Michael
Psellos (Books 1-6)
Week 11
March 27 Tuesday: Middle Byzantine Spirituality
Byzantine
Art, Chapter 5
Byzantine
Christianity
March 29 Thursday: Monasticism
Byzantine Monastic Documents (selections)
Week 12
April 3 Tuesday: The
History
of
April 5 Thursday: The First Crusade
Anna
Komnena (selections)
Week 13
April 10 Tuesday: The Fourth Crusade
History
of
April 12 Thursday:
Niketas Choniates
Week 14
April 17 Tuesday: The Late Byzantine Revival
History
of
April 19 Thursday The Intellectual Life of Late
Gregory Palamas, Triads
Week 15
April 24 Tuesday: The Fall of
History
of
April 26 Thursday: The Last Romans
Week 16
May 1 Tuesday: The Byzantine Legacy
Byzantine
Art, Chapter 6
History of
May 3 Thursday: Review