Instructors
Dr. Dana Wessell Lightfoot
- Student Hours: Tuesdays at 12 p.m./Wednesdays at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Link posted on the chatboard. I’m also happy to make appointments outside my student hours that fit with your schedule.
- dana.wesselllightfoot@unbc.ca
- Although I’ve provided my email address, the best way to get a hold of me is via direct message on the chatboard! I tend to respond to that more quickly and we can also have a conversation more easily.
Megan MacMillan (Marker)
- macmillm@unbc.ca
- I also recommend contacting Megan via direct message on the chatboard. If you have questions about the feedback on your assignments, please contact her.
Overview
This course will focus on the history of medieval “Spain” from the 5th to the late 15th centuries. I put Spain in quotation marks because during this period, the peninsula that we now refer to as Spain did not exist as a unified country but instead consisted of a variety of smaller kingdoms that were often politically, culturally, and religiously distinct from one another. Over the next six weeks, we will explore various aspects of these regions chronologically, starting with the development of Visigothic kingdoms in the 5th century and ending with rule of Ferdinand and Isabel at the end of the 15th century. Along the way, we will consider topics such as the creation of al-Andalus, society and culture in Muslim Spain, minorities in Muslim Spain, Frontier Society, minorities in Christian Spain, the formation of a plural society, Castilian and Aragonese government and institutions, the growth of royal power, and the creation of religious uniformity.
Textbooks (Available at the UNBC bookstore)
Olivia Remie Constable ed. Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources 2nd edition (Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 2011) Please make sure to get the 2nd edition
Guy Gavriel Kay, The Lions of al-Rassan (any edition of this book is fine; the original publication date is 1995).
Format
This course is designed to allow students to navigate their own path through it, according to their needs. All aspects of the course will be available “live” and “on demand”. You can choose to do some aspects of the course “live” and some “on demand” according to your schedule. In other words, you do not have to commit to a particular stream but will have the flexibility to engage with the course material as needed.
For details on course sites: Course Sites
| Live | On Demand |
|---|---|
| Lectures on Zoom at 10 a.m. Tues/Thurs. | Recordings of live lectures posted by 6 p.m. Tues/Thurs |
| All powerpoint presentations posted in advance of class. | Recordings will be available in video and audio format with posted powerpoint presentations |
| Discussion on Zoom at 11 a.m. on Tues/Thurs | Discussion of primary sources will take place via the Chatboard. Students will be divided into channels of 8-10. |
| Discussion based on assigned primary source readings. | All students will have one chatboard component with discussion based on one short historiographical article assigned weekly (for 5 weeks). |