MW 3:15-4:50 (JEM 144)
Office: Library
306/Telephone extension x2318
Office Hours: Mondays, 1-3;
Thursdays, 4-5, and by appointment
Email: gdameron@smcvt.edu
Website:
http://academics.smcvt.edu/gdameron/
Upper and Lower Basilicas of San Francesco (Assisi) Photo
AIMS AND PURPOSES
The purposes of the course are several:
1) to explore the history of Franciscans and the Franciscan Order on an
advanced level, 2) to examine the
complex conflicts between religious ideals (devotion to poverty) and the
realities of institutional pressures emanating from the upper hierarchy of the
Church, 3) to analyze and trace the history and significance of Franciscan
apostolic poverty as a manifestation of the notion of the ideal of the
imitatio Christi, 4) to explore in
depth the primary sources associated with the Franciscan Order and other
mendicant orders, 5) to produce a significant research paper on a topic
associated with medieval Franciscan history, 6) to become acquainted with
examples of recent scholarship on Franciscan history, 7) to use the examples of
Saint Clare and Saint Francis as case studies to explore the role of gender in
the historical development of ideal models of spirituality,
8) to understand the historical context
for the emergence of the mendicants in the early thirteenth century, and 9) to
fulfill the requirements of an upper level seminar for the History major, minor,
and Medieval Studies Minor.
The seminar meets twice a week on Monday and Wednesday afternoons (3:15-4:50).
The format for each seminar is discussion of the assigned readings,
organized around selected questions.
There will be no lectures.
Discussion will focus on the listed of posted (at eCollege) study questions as
well as questions about the readings brought to the seminar by individual
students (who will take turns). At
the end of the semester, students will be responsible to present to the entire
seminar the results of their research.
The pre-requisites of the course are Humanities 101 (Ancient and Medieval
Civilization), or History 109 (Europe in the Early Middle Ages), or History 111
(Europe in the Later Middle Ages, 1000-1400), or History 108 (Medieval Europe),
or permission of the instructor. Students
should have junior or senior standing.
There are several requirements:
1) two (2) two- to three-page typed essays on the two sets of readings
due September 12 and September 26
(20% of final grade, 10% each essay); 2) a thirteen to fifteen (13-15) page
research paper on a topic of the student's choosing (40%), based on research
using primary sources, and due on Wednesday,
December 5 (the last seminar meeting of the semester); 3) a prospectus (one
page) and annotated bibliography (two pages, 12-15 primary and secondary
sources) for the research project (10%), due
October 24); 4) a 10-15-minute oral
presentation of the principal results of the research project at the end of the
semester on December 3 or 5 (Monday
or Wednesday); and 5) participation (attendance, participation in weekly seminar
discussions, quality of seminar presentation, and general involvement in the
work of the seminar), 30%. There is
no final examination.
ATTENDANCE
Students will attend every seminar meeting and come fully prepared, having
completed all the assigned readings.
Students will power off all electronic devices during the seminar.
A student who misses a seminar meetings will write a 2-3 page (ungraded) focus
paper responding to one or more of the study questions for that week.
The essay will be due one week after the missed seminar.
More than one unexcused absence from a seminar meeting will have a
significant impact on the final grade.
Please arrange all travel arrangements so that you will not miss any
scheduled seminar meetings.
The paper is due on Wednesday, December 5.
There will normally be a half a letter
grade penalty (5 points) for every day any of the assigned papers are late.
The seminar paper, 13-15 pages (excluding bibliography and notes), will
follow the required methods of citing primary and secondary sources.
It must also include a formal bibliography.
History department policy requires students to use footnotes or endnotes
in the proper format. Early in the
semester we will have an orientation to online and library resources available
for the research paper. Resources
regarding the proper citation and documentation of sources are available online
at the Saint Michael’s College Library Web site (cite
sources). Guidelines for
research papers for this seminar will be available at my Web site and at the
eCollege site.
Research Resources
Aside from the wide array of print journals available to the student in the
library, there are also
online databases in Medieval Studies, many of which are full text, available
at the library Web site.
There are also a number of Web sites that are relevant to this course.
General Web sites associated with Medieval Studies are available at
my Web site and at the
eCollege site. More specific sites
connected to the Franciscans include
The Franciscan Archive
(resources on Francis and Franciscans), The Franciscan Institute (includes links
to research databases), The Franciscan Web Page, Orb:
The Francisan Order, The Order of the Friars Minor (official Web site of
the Franciscan Order), the Rule of Saint Francis (Internet Medieval Sourcebook),
the official site of the town of Assisi (in Italian), and a site featuring the
Middle Ages in Umbria (includes links to official sites of Umbrian towns and
cities).
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism is a serious academic offense.
According to the
Academic Integrity Policy of Saint. Michael’s College, plagiarism is the
presentation of “another person's ideas as your own, by directly quoting or
indirectly paraphrasing, without properly citing the original source.
This includes inadvertent failure to properly acknowledge sources."
The penalties for plagiarism can range from receiving a failing grade for
the plagiarized assignment to receiving a failing grade in the course.
In some cases plagiarism can result in suspension or expulsion from the
college.
Each student will submit an annotated research bibliography of primary and
secondary sources in proper format (at least twelve to fifteen sources), along
with a one-page prospectus of the paper.
The prospectus will detail the historical problem being addressed, the
primary and secondary sources available, and the projected thesis.
It is due on October 24.
Students should refer to the document,
“Guidelines for Paper Assignments”, which I will post at the eCollege site when
preparing their bibliography and prospectus.
Both periodicals in print (in the library) and in online databases should
be used.
Students with learning differences (documented by the Director of Accessibility
Services—Ms. Toni Messuri) will receive special accommodations where
appropriate. Please see me if you
would like to request such arrangements.
BOOKS REQUIRED FOR PURCHASE
Burr, David.
The Spiritual Franciscans (Penn State
2003). ISBN-10: 0271023090
The Cambridge Companion to Francis of Assisi,
ed. Michael Robson (Cambridge 2012)
Francis and Clare: the Complete
Works,
ed. Regis Armstrong and Ignatius Brady (Paulist Press, 1986).
ISBN-10:
0809124467 or ISBN-13: 978-0809124466.
Mueller, Joan.
The Privilege of Poverty:
Clare of Assisi, Agnes of Prague, and the Struggle for a Franciscan Rule
for Women (Penn State, 2008). ISBN-10: 027102769X; ISBN-13:
978-0271027692
Robson, Michael.
The Franciscans in the Middle Ages
(Boydell 2009). ISBN-10:
1843835150.
Thompson, Augustine.
Saint Francis of Assisi:
A New Biography (Cornell 2012).
ISBN-10: 0801450705 ISBN-13: 978-0801450709
ON LIBRARY RESERVE:
·
Rosalind B. Brooke, The Image of St.
Francis: Responses to Sainthood in
the Thirteenth Century (Cambridge 2006).
·
Lezlie Knox, Creating Clare of Assisi:
Franciscan Female Identities in Later Medieval Europe (Brill, 2008).
·
John Moorman, A History of the Franciscan
Order: From Its Origins to the Year
1517 (Franciscan Herald Press, 1988)
·
André Vauchez, Francis of Assisi:
The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Saint (Yale 2012).
·
André Vauchez, The Laity in the Middle
Ages: Religious Beliefs and
Devotional Practices, edited by Daniel Bornstein (Notre Dame:
University of Notre Dame Press, 1993).
ONLINE RESOURCES
The Internet Medieval
Sourcebook
(contains many primary sources on Francis and the Franciscan Order for the
research paper)
REFERENCE SECTION
Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia,
edited by Christopher Kleinhenz (New York:
Routledge, 2003).
COURSE PLAN:
Week One: Introduction to Seminar
·
August 27: overview of syllabus;
“Francesco” (film, first half, Liliana Cavali, Director, 2004)
·
August 29: film (“Francesco,”
conclusion and discussion); Thompson, introduction and chapter 1; Robson,
The Franciscans, introduction and
chapter 1
Week Two: The Life and Writings of
Francis of Assisi
·
September 3: Thompson, chapters 2-4
(also peruse relevant sections of Part II, organized by chapter, paying
particular attention to pp. 149-170);
Sources:
Francis and Clare, 103; 44-5, 62-5,
146-8, 49-51, 52-3, 54, 55-73, 77-8, 107-135
·
September 5: Thompson, chapters
5-8; Sources:
Francis and Clare,
136-145, 161, 74-6, 66-73, 79, 99-100, 37-9, 55-61, 164, 40-41, 46, 160, 153-8,
159, 162
Week Three: The Life and Image of
Saint Francis
·
September 10: Brooke, chapters 1-2;
Moorman, chapters 1-5
·
September 12: Brooke, chapters 3-4;
Moorman, chapters 6-9 (First
Essay Due)
Week Four: The Life and Legacy of
Clare of Assisi
·
September 17:
o
Steven Botterill, “Clare, Saint,” in
Medieval Italy, volume 1, 230-231 (in reference section);
o
Cambridge Companion,
chapter 7;
o
Sources:
Francis and Clare
(Clare of Assisi: Introduction and
The Writings, 169-234)
·
September 19:
o
Lezlie Knox, Creating Clare of Assisi,
introduction and chapters 1-3
Week Five: Clare of Assisi and
Agnes of Prague
·
September 24: Mueller, chapters 1-3
·
September 26: Mueller, chapters,
4-6 and epilogue (Second
Essay Due)
Week Six: The Franciscans in the
Thirteenth Century
Week Seven: Francis and The
Franciscans in the Thirteenth Century
·
October 8:
Cambridge Companion, Part 1 (chapters
1-6, 8-9)
·
October 10: Vauchez, “Female
Sanctity in the Franciscan Movement” (at eCollege); Vauchez, “’Ordo
Fraternitatis’: Confraternities and Lay Piety in the Middle Ages” (at eCollege);
Orientation
to Library Resources
Week Eight: The Heritage of Francis
of Assisi
·
October 15: No Seminar (October
Break)
·
October 17:
Cambridge Companion, Part 2
Week Nine: The Franciscans in the
Fourteenth Century
·
October 22: Moorman, Part III
·
October 24: Robson,
The Franciscans, Section Two;
Prospectus and Bibliography Due
Week Ten: The Spiritual Franciscans
·
October 29: Burr, preface and
chapters 1-4
·
October 31: Burr, chapters 5-9
Week Eleven: The Fifteenth Century
·
November 5: Burr, chapters
10-conclusion
·
November 7: Robson, Section Three;
Moorman, Part IV (chapters 35-37)
Week Twelve: The Fifteenth Century;
A New Assessment of Francis
·
November 12: Moorman, Part IV (chapter 38-43); Vauchez,
Francis of Assisi, preface and
chapter 1.
·
November 14: no seminar meeting
Week Thirteen: A New Assessment of
Francis (continued)
·
November 19: Vauchez,
Francis of Assisi, chapters
2 and 3
·
November 21: No Seminar
(Thanksgiving Break)
Week Fourteen: A New Assessment of Francis (continued)
·
November 26: Vauchez,
Francis of Assisi, chapters 4, 5, 6
·
November 28: Vauchez,
Francis of Assisi 7, 8, 9, 10, and
Conclusion
Week Fifteen: Seminar Presentations
and Conclusion to Seminar
·
December 3: Student Presentations
·
December 5: Student Presentations
and Research Paper Due