General Information:

(1)  Course title:   Western Civilization in Medieval Times
(2)  Semester:  Fall, 2008
(3)  Professor:  L. J. Andrew Villalon  (Dr. V; Mr. V)
(4)  Course number(s):  HIS 309K; AHC 310
(5)  Course section:   Section taught by Professor Villalon
(6)  Days/Time of Class Meeting:   M-W-F/2-3:00 p.m.  
(7)  Classroom:    UTC 3.102
(8)  Campus Office: GAR 4.120
(9)  History Departmental Office: First Floor of GAR (Right of the Buildings Main Entrance)
(10)  Office Phone:  (512) 475-8004
(11)  Departmental Phone:  (512) 471-3261
(12)  Office Hours:  W: 3-5:00; F: 3-5:00.  (5-6 by appointment; limited access to the 4th floor at this time requires phoning the professor's office upon arrival).
(13)  Email Address:  avillalon@austin.rr.com
(14)  Webpage URL for this course: 
    http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9507/c-MedHist-index.html
(15)  Website on which this material appears:  WIRE PALADIN  (If one URL does not work, try the other.)
    Current URL:  http://www.geocities.com/wirepaladin/geo
    Former URL:  http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9507

(If you do not have available the URL to my website, you can still find it easily by typing into Google "Andrew Villalon Wire Paladin."  The website should come up as the first entry on the list.  You can then click through to it.)

Course Description:

This course will introduce students to the history and culture of that long and vibrant period in the western history known as the Middle Ages, a period extending from roughly 400-1500 A.D./C.E.  After briefly considering the Roman and Christian background, it will explore the fall of the Roman Empire in the west, then survey the primary heirs of Roman Society--the Byzantine Empire, Islam, and the Germanic successor kingdoms that gained control of Western Europe.  The course will examine the development of a medieval lifestyle and the changes within it tthat eventually pointed toward the modern world.  Throughout the approach will be broad-based, treating such diverse topics as the organization of medieval society and economy, the class structure, the warfare that characterized the period, the Church, the universities, and the rebirth of an increasingly urbanized culture toward the end of the period.  Emphasis will be placed on how the Middle Ages changed over time.  Students will learn from a combination of lectures and readings in carefully selected sources.

Topics Covered in the Course:

(1)  Background:  The Fall of Rome  (Exam 1)
    The Pax Romana
    The Long Decline
(2)  Background:  Christianity in the Roman World (Exam 2)
    Origins of Christianity
    A Period of Trial
    Triumph of Christianity
    Rise of the Roman Bishop
    Christianity and Heresy
(3)  The Early Middle Ages:  The Heirs of Rome (Exam 3)
    The Byzantine Empire and Islam
    The Triumph of the Franks
    Retreat Into Disorder
(4)  Medieval Society 1:  The Men Who Fought (Nobles, Knights) and the Men Who Worked (Peasants) (Exam 4)
    Aristocratic Lifestyle
    Feudalism
    Peasants and Manorialism
    Medieval Revolution in Agricultural Technology
    Views of the Medieval Peasant
(5)  Medieval Society 2:  The Men Who Prayed (The Medieval Church) (No Exam)
    The Medieval Church
    Spread of Christianity
    Conflict of Church and State
(6)  Medieval Society 3:  The Rise of the Bourgeoisie (The Medieval City) (Exam 5)

Course Goals:

(1)  To provide students with an understanding of the period in western history referred to as the Middle Ages (c. 400-1500).
(2)  To provide some understanding of the various types of evidence available to scholars when they  undertakes to study and reconstruct the medieval past .
(3)  (Hopefully) To inspire in the student a continuing interest in studying this fascinating period.

Course Webpage:

A webpage for Western Civilization in Medieval Times is posted on the teaching section of my website, Wire Paladin (see above for the URL).  Like the rest of my teaching materials, it can be reached by accessing the website's main index, then clicking on the chess knight entitled University of  Texas Courses taught by Dr. Villalon. 

Throughout the term, this webpage may undergo occasional updating. You are responsible for periodically consulting it to see if anything new has been posted.  If you are reading this syllabus, you are already aware that it is also posted on the webpage.  Your first assignment is to READ THIS SYLLABUS CAREFULLY.

Reading List:

Class Notes

There is no textbook in this course.  Instead, basic course material will be conveyed through a series of highly-developed, easily-available notes, posted on the professor’s website (Wire Paladin, located at Geocities).  

In addition, study guides and several required essays containing supplemental material will also be made available on the website.  
 

Readings

Einhard and Notker the Stammerer:  Two Lives of Charlemagne (Penguin Classics).  Two very different approaches to historical writing in the Middle Ages.

The Song of Roland (Penguin Classics).  One of  the most famous medieval epics or, as they were called by people of the period, Chansons de Geste (Songs of Deeds).

Lynn White, Jr.,  Medieval Technology and Social Change (Oxford University Press).  A major piece of twentieth century historical writing emphasizing change in the Middle Ages.
 

Student will be expected to read all or part of the following books which, taken together, supply a better idea of  the sources available to those studying the Middle Age. Aside from their academic value, these readings have been selected on the basis of such practical considerations as (1) reasonable initial price; (2) availability on the electronic used-book market; (3) possible relevance to other courses on the medieval world that the student might pursue in the future.
 

How the Readings are related to the Exams:  While most of each exam will be taken from the notes and supplemental essays; a short section will be based on the outside readings.  The study guide has been designed to make studying for the exam far easier .  USE IT!

Contacting the Professor:

There are three very reliable ways to contact this professor:

(1)  Speak with the professor either before or after class.   If the subject requires a lengthier conversation, an appointment can be made to meet during office hours or communicate by  means of email.

(2)  Come to the professor's office during office hours (see above).

No appointment is needed; I am almost always available in my office (or very nearby) during office hours.   If you do not at first find me, try down the hall in the departmental office, especially around the photocopying machines.  If,  for whatever reason, I have to miss office hours, something that does not happen often, then  I shall try to leave a note on the door.  If that occurs, let me apologize in advance.  

(3)  Contact the professor through email.

I  check and respond to my email regularly and I will try to reply to your message as soon as I get it.  It is always best to send messages to my home email address (given above) where I look at my email several times a day.

Other means of getting in contact are much less certain.  I have purposely omitted my home telephone number from this syllabus for the simple reason that I will not wish to receive student phone calls at home.   Email serves the same purpose, more reliably and less obtrusively.

Criteria for Grading:

(1)  Examinations (the major criterion):
     a.  Four in-class examinations (a separate exam for each of topics 1-4)
     b.  The final exam (this exam will not be comprehensive; it will cover only topic 6.  There is no exam on topic 5.
(2)  Short written component.
(3)  Notable participation will be given some consideration in awarding the grade.

The examinations are entirely short answer (matching, fill-in-the-blank from a list supplied on the exam; true or false).  Students who are simply willing to sit down and learn the material should not find them particularly difficult.  It is the short short paper (5-7 pages) that will provide an opportunity for creativity.

Grading Procedure:

The grades in this class are computed using  + and -; in other words, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, F.    Unfortunately, however, the University of Texas does not at present have a +/- system in place.  This permits much less flexibility in the professor's ability to assign grades truly representative of the student's work.  Grades will not be rounded upward; in other words, a B+ is a B+, not an A-; therefore, it appears on the student's transcript as a B.

Concerning the Finality of Grades:

In most cases, final grades are indeed final.  The obvious exception:  if  I have made a mistake in computing your grade.  If you believe this to be the case, you should contact me or the TA immediately.

Instructions for Students Who Fail to Receive a Grade:

While this is usually the result of a failure to complete some part of the course work, it may also be an error on the professor's part.  Under any circumstances, the student should contact the professor as soon as possible and arrange a meeting in order to determine what, if anything, can be done about the problem.   In most cases, something can be done.

Retaining Copies of Work:

It is a good practice in any course to keep copies of everything that you have handed in.  It is also a good practice to retain any work that is handed back  until you have received your (correct) final grade in the course.  Mistakes happen, especially in a large class.  Items get lost and errors are made in recording grades.  In such instances, the student cannot merely claim to have done the work.  He/she must be able to produce it.

Attendance:

Attendance is computed on the basis of how many times the student has signed the attendance sheet which circulates in each class.

Consequently, students who wish to have their attendance correctly recorded have two responsibilities.
(1)  They must sign the attendance sheet for the class.
(2)  If the professor forgets to circulate an attendance sheet (as sometimes happens), students should raise their hand and remind him.  (Such an interruption will always be most welcome.)

Attendance in any course is important, but it is particularly important when that course is based heavily upon both in-class lectures and, to a lesser extent, in-class discussion.  Although I provide fairly detailed notes of what is discussed in each class, THE STUDENT IS EXPECTED TO ATTEND ON A REGULAR BASIS.   No habitual failure to attend is acceptable, regardless of the reason.  While this may seem old-fashioned, I am a firm believer that part of a student's responsibility is to attend class.  Gross failure to attend will almost certainly be taken into consideration in the final grade; and the professor reserves the right to deny a student a grade if the attendance is poor enough.

Furthermore, students should never skip a class simply because they feel unprepared.  After all, you might miss something interesting or useful!  Besides, there are no unannounced quizes and I never seek to embarrass unprepared students. 

Classroom Deportment:

Although I do not appreciate students who sleep, read, draw pictures or do work for other courses during classtime, I very rarely reprimand them in class for their sins.  Such offenses against the "academic order" may lead to a private discussion between us; and, if severe enough, may be taken into consideration when I award a final grade for the course.  (Remember, as a historian, I have a very long memory!!)  

Talking in class is a different matter:  a chronic talker may be asked to leave the class or, in severe cases, to bring a withdrawal slip for me to sign.  Furthermore, please do not start packing up your things to leave until the class actually ends.  This class never gets out early.  (To the chagrin of some students, it has even been known upon occasion to get out late, though I honestly try to minimize such intrusions into the student's time.)

Cheating or Plagiarism:
 
Everybody knows what cheating is, so there is no need for a definition. 

On the other hand, some of you may not be familiar with the word plagiarism.  It refers to any attempt to pass off as your own work something done by somebody else.  Even when only part of a paper is copied from the work of another person, this is still plagiarism.  While it is perfectly acceptable to quote from another person’s work, such passages must be carefully footnoted.

Both the university and I regard cheating and plagiarism as extremely serious; as a result, I would recommend that you avoid them like the plague throughout your college career and, for that matter, afterwards.  Although I shall treat both cheating and plagiarism on a case-by-case basis, the offender should not expect leniency.  A substantial lowering of the final grade or even expulsion from the course are the normal penalties for such offenses.

Cheating takes various forms:  any student caught signing the attendance sheet for another student will be penalized a full letter grade (from an A to a B, a B to a C, etc.)  So will the student whose name he/she signed, unless the latter can demonstrate to my satisfaction that he/she had no involvement.  If  this flagrant piece of dishonesty reoccurs several times, the student(s) involved will be asked to leave the course.

Withdrawal from the Course:

If you receive an F on several of  the early tests), you should seriously consider dropping the course IMMEDIATELY and concentrating your efforts in another course which you have a better chance of passing!

As far as I am concerned, a student wishing to withdraw from the course for whatever reason will be allowed to do so without penalty, even if he/she is failing the course at the time of the withdrawal.  It has always been my belief that losing time and tuition is enough of a penalty to pay for doing poorly in a course.

However, I would strongly recommend to all students that once they have decided to withdraw, they should do so as soon as possible.  It is always best to get this unpleasant task out of the way. 

First of all, it is better to drop a “loser” and concentrate one’s energies where they will they will do the most good, i.e. in courses where one is doing well.

Secondly, in putting off the inevitable, some students wait too long and pass withdrawal dates mandated by the university, after which withdrawing may become far more complicated, if not impossible.  While I am always willing to approve a withdrawal, after a certain point in time, the university may not accept it.

Requirements and Student Complaints:
 
Within any academic discipline, a teacher tries to design a course which will present a body of knowledge, while developing critical thinking and skills in research and writing.  He or she then evaluates carefully each student's performance in order to arrive at a grade, which will count toward college credit.  Factors which the teacher may take into consideration when defining student performance include such things as exams (either in-class or take-home), other written work (papers, book reviews, journals), and various forms of classroom participation (discussion, oral presentations, answering questions).  Each teacher will determine which of these factors to employ in arriving at a grade, as well as their relative importance.  The student should also be aware that classroom deportment may be taken into consideration; in other words, anyone who habitually acts in a manner which tends to disrupt the learning process may well find that fact reflected in his or her grade.

In the end, it is the student who earns the grade is earned by the student, for demonstrating the required knowledge and  performing the required work within reasonable deadlines set by the teacher.  Failure on the part of a student to accomplish this may result in a failing grade and the withholding of academic credit for the course.  Again, let me emphasize:  grades are earned, not given or negotiated!!

On the other hand, for students who believe that they have been unfairly evaluated, the University of Texas  has established a grievance procedure.  Grade appeals must be made in accordance with that procedure, which mandates as its first step an attempt by the student and professor to resolve the grievance without any outside interference.  At this point in the procedure, intervention by third parties such as parents, boyfriends, attorneys, department heads, administrators or other faculty members is inappropriate.  If, after consultation with the faculty member, the student wishes to pursue the grievance, he or she should contact the department head. [For further information concerning the grievance procedure, see the university handbook which should be available at every college office.] 

Brief Biography of the Professor:

L. J. Andrew Villalon received his Ph.D. in history from Yale University in 1984.  After many years at the University of Cincinnati, where he retired as a full professor, he is currently a senior lecturer, teaching at the University of Texas. Although Villalon specializes in late medieval and early modern European history, he has also done work dealing with the twentieth century.  He has delivered numerous conference papers on such topics as Pedro “the Cruel”, Don Carlos, San Diego de Alcalá, Machiavelli, Sir Hugh Calveley, royal favorites, saint-making, landholding, and academic editing. His articles have appeared in collections and in various journals including The Catholic Historical Review, Sixteenth Century Journal, Mediterranean Studies, and the Proceedings of the Ohio Academy of History.  Villalon is currently working on two book length studies, one on the canonization of San Diego (after whom the city is named, the other on the life of Sir Hugh Calveley (an English knight and mercenary in the Hundred Years War).  He has also co-edited with Donald J. Kagay five collections of medieval essays—The Final Argument:  The Imprint of Violence on Society in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (The Boydell Press, 1998); The Circle of War in the Middle Ages:  Essays on Medieval Military and Naval History (The Boydell Press, 1999); Crusaders, Condottieri, and Cannon : Medieval Warfare in Societies around the Mediterranean (Brill, 2002); The Hundred Years War: A Wider Focus (Brill, 2005), and The Hundred Years War: A Wider Focus (Brill, 2008). Currently, the pair are gathering essays for a sixth collection (also dealing with the Hundred Years War) and doing research for a joint monograph concerning the War of the Two Pedros (1356-1366). In addition to work in his major field, Villalon has published on automotive history and the history of World War I.  He has held several grants for study in Spain, including a Fulbright; received two awards from the American Association of University Professors for defending academic freedom; and in 2001, was presented the Professional-Scholarly Activity Award for the University College at the University of Cincinnati.  (A complete c.v. is available on the website.)