Introducing the Middle Ages
Seminar Questions
- What are some commonly held misconceptions about medieval life and society? What are the effects of these misconceptions?
- How have interpretations of the medieval period changed over time, and why?
- How do historians define the boundaries of the medieval period? What are the implications of this periodisation?
- What are the uses and limitations of the term 'medieval'?
- What are the challenges of comparing medieval Europe with other contemporary societies in terms of governance, religion, or social structures?
- Is “global” a useful term to conceptualise the Middle Ages?
Sources
Bring to class a source (this could be an image, a text or an object) that reminds you of the medieval period. Be prepared to talk about why you have chosen this source.
Seminar Readings
Marcus, Bull, 'Popular Images of the Middle Ages' in Thinking medieval : an introduction to the study of the Middle Ages (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), pp.7-41.
Kathleen Davis and Michael Puett, 'Periodization and 'the Medieval Globe': A Conversation' The Medieval Globe: Vol. 2: No. 1, Article 3.
In our first seminar, we are going to think about the ways in which the medieval period has been represented in historical writing and in popular media. What assumptions do we bring to the study of the Middle Ages? What is behind the enduring appeal of this period? Why does the medieval period continue to capture our imagination in art, politics, or popular culture?
Recommended Reading
Nora Berend, 'Interconnection and Separation: Medieval Perspectives on the Modern Problem of the “Global Middle Ages”', Medieval Encounters, 29;2-3 (2023), pp.285-314.
Peter Frankopan, 'Why We Need to Think about the Global Middle Ages', Journal of Medieval Worlds, 1;1 (2019), pp.5–10.
Monica H. Green, 'Taking the Pandemic Seriously: Making the Black Death Global', in Pandemic Disease in the Medieval World: Rethinking the Black Death, ed. Monica H. Green, The Medieval Globe 1 (2014), pp. 27–61.
Valerie Hansen, The Silk Road: A New History (Oxford, 2015)
Geraldine Heng, 'A Global Middle Ages', in A Handbook of Middle English Studies, ed. Marion Turner (Chichester – Malden, MA – Oxford, 2013), pp.413–429
Catherine Holmes and Naomi Standen, 'Defining the Global Middle Ages', Medieval Worlds 1 (2015), pp.106–117
Bruce Holsinger, The Premodern Condition: Medievalism and the Making of Theory, (London: Chicago, 2005)
David L Wagner, 'The Middleness of the Middle Ages: Periodizing European History', Essays in Medieval Studies, vol. 5 (1988)
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