MWF, 1-2:05/Jeanmarie 279
Office: Library 306/Telephone extension x2318
Office Hours: M 11-12, W 2:30-4:30, and by appointment.
Email: gdameron@smcvt.edu
Website: http://academics.smcvt.edu/gdameron/
San Gimignano/George Dameron/copyright 2006
The purposes of the course are several: 1) to examine selected topics in the history and culture of early and later medieval Italy in an inter-disciplinary manner; 2) to improve the ability of the student to think critically and analytically through a close examination of primary and secondary source materials (economic documents, paintings, literature); 3) to familiarize the student with the wide variety of primary sources available for the study of medieval Italy, 4) to present an overview of the major historiographical issues and historical issues associated with the study of Italian history during those centuries, 5) to instill in the student a desire to learn more about the Italian medieval past, 6) to expose the student to recent research in the field of medieval Italian history, and 7) to explore the complex interrelationship between society (class, economy, gender, social structure, politics) and culture (literature, fine arts, political theory) in human history by using medieval Italy as a case study.
The class is a seminar, and students must be fully prepared before each meeting on Tuesday afternoons. Weekly meetings will focus on the discussion of assigned readings, and we will use the list of posted study questions as well as questions students will bring to seminar as our guide for discussion. At the end of the semester, students will be responsible to present to the entire seminar the results of their research for their seminar paper. The seminar meets once a week for two hours and forty-five minutes (165 minutes), and there is a 15-minute break in the middle of each meeting.
The pre-requisites of the course are Humanities 101 (Ancient and Medieval Civilization) or History 111 (Europe in the Later Middle Ages, 1000-1400), 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 January 31 and February 14 (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 May 4 (the day before the last day of the semester); 3) a prospectus and annotated bibliography for the research project (10%), due February 28); 4) oral presentation of the principal results of the research project at the end of the semester (10%) on May 2; and 5) class participation in weekly seminar discussions (20%). Because the course is a seminar, there will be no final exam.
ATTENDANCE
Students will attend every seminar meeting and come fully prepared, having completed all the assigned readings. To miss a single meeting is equivalent to missing an entire week of classes. More than one unexcused absence from a seminar meeting will have a severe impact on the final grade. As a courtesy, students should inform me in advance of any anticipated absence. Please arrange all travel arrangements so that you will not miss any scheduled seminar meetings.
The paper is due on May 4 (a Thursday) at my office. There will be a half a letter grade penalty (5 points) for every day any of the assigned papers are late. The seminar paper will follow the required methods of citing primary and secondary sources, and it must also include a formal bibliography. History department policy requires students to use footnotes or endnotes in the proper format. The focus papers and the two essays on assigned readings do not need to be footnoted and do not need to include a bibliography. Early in the semester I will provide for the seminar an orientation of the online and library resources available for the research paper, and we will visit the library to explore research resources. Resources regarding the proper citation of sources are available online at the Saint Michael’s College web site (citation guide).
Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. According to the Academic Integrity Policy (St. Michael’s College Policy on Academic Integrity), 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 on will submit to me an annotated research bibliography of primary and secondary sources in proper format (at least 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 February 28.
Students with learning disabilities (documented by the Office of the Coordinator of Academic Compliance—Ms. Toni Messuri) will receive special accommodations where appropriate. Please see me if you would like to request such arrangements.
Required books for purchase:
David Abulafia, editor. Italy in the Central Middle Ages (Shorter Oxford History of Italy) (Oxford 2004). 0199247048
Alighieri, Dante. Edited and translated by John Ciardi and in paper (New American Library). The Purgatorio (ISBN 0451627148)
Cristina La Rocca, editor. Italy in the Early Middle Ages (Short Oxford History of Italy) (Oxford 2002). 0198700482
Dino Compagni’s Chronicle of Florence. Translated Daniel Bornstein (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986).
Hubert Houben. Roger II of Sicily (Cambridge 2002). 0521655730.
R. W. B. Lewis, Dante (penguin 2001) ISBN 0670899097
James Stubblebine. The Arena Chapel Frescoes (Norton 1996). 0393314065
On Reserve and/or online:
Boccaccio, The Decameron (Dell 1962). Two other editions are on reserve as well.
Samuel K. Cohn, Jr. and Steven A. Epstein, editors, Portraits of Medieval and Renaissance Living (Michigan 1996).
George Dameron, Florence and Its Church in the Age of Dante (Pennsylvania 2004).
Anne Derbes and Mark Sandona, “’Ave Charitate plena’: Variations on the Theme of Charity in the Arena Chapel,” Speculum 76 (2001), 599-637.
Rachel Jacoff, editor, The Cambridge Companion to Dante (Cambridge 1993).
Augustine Thompson, O. P., Cities of God: The Religion of the Italian Communes, 1125-1325 (Pennsylvania State, 2005).
Philip Ziegler, The Black Death (Sutton 1991).
In Reference Section
Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia, edited by Christopher Kleinhenz (New York: Routledge, 2003).
COURSE PLAN:
Introduction to Course
Film and discussion (Pier Paolo Pasolini, Il Decamerone) January 17
Italy in the Early Middle Ages, 600-1000
Politics and the Church
La Rocca, chapters introduction, 1-5 January 24
Economy, Society, and Culture
La Rocca, chapters 6-11/**First Essay Due** January 31
Italy in the Later Middle Ages, 1000-1400
Politics
Abulafia, introduction, chapters 1, 3, 4, 10, 11 February 7
Compagni/**Second Essay Due**/library orientation February 14
**February Break** February 21
Abulafia, chapter 2; Houben, chapters intro, 1-3/**Prospectus, Bibliography**February 28
Society and Economy
Houben, chapters 4,5, 6; Abulafia, chapters 5-8, conclusion March 7
**Spring Break** March 11-19
Culture and Society
Lewis March 21
Abulafia, chapter 9; Dante, cantos 1-11 March 28
Dante, 12-23; Dameron, chapter 4; Thompson, chapter 10 April 4
Dante, 24-33; Jacoff, chapter 12 (on reserve) April 11
**Easter Recess** April 14-17
Stubblebine, 1-132; Derbes and Sandona (on reserve) April 18
Italy in the Wake of the Black Death
“Black Death”, Boccaccio (encyclopedia); Boccaccio, Decameron (on reserve),
author’s preface and introduction, stories 1.1, 2.5, 3.1, 4.5, 6.10, 9.2,
9.10, 10.10; Ziegler, chapter 3 (on reserve); Cohn, “Inventing Braudel’s Mountains,”
in Portraits (on reserve), 383-416. April 25
**Student presentations ** May 2
Paper Due May 4