History 32000-001 (44906) The World of 2011, fall semester INSTRUCTOR Office: Hours: Phone: E-mail: John Contreni ENAD 121 T and Th 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. T and Th 1:45 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. 418-1866 contreni@purdue..edu NOTE: In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances beyond the instructor s control. Here are wayss to get information about changes in this course. Blackboard course Web site Instructor s email (listed above) Instructor s phone (listed above) +TIP. M Make good use of the office hours. Feel free to consult with the instructor or the teaching assistant during your progress through the course. The time too seek help iss when you begin to experience a problem, not at the end of the semester. GOALS In his own day Charles, king and later emperor of the Franks, wass called "the Great". He was also known to his contemporaries as Europae Pater, "the Father off Europe". Today, the city of Aachen in Germany awards a "e Prize" to the person who best advances the cause of European unity. A conference room in the buildings of the European Union in Strasbourg, France, is called "The Room" ". Who wass this man whose long shadow stretches even to the beginningg of the 21st century? More importantly, what did he do 1200 years ago that still commands our attention? The "World of " offers us an important case study of historical change. For the first time since the break-up to think about what European civilization and society should be like. In the hands of the Roman Empire in the West during the fourth and fifth centuries, people began of and his advisors and successors, Europeans began to take action to implement their ideas. One of the resultss of their thinking andd their efforts was the creation of the Carolingian Empire. It was 's conquest andd dominationn of most of western Europe during his long reign (768-814) that have earned him a pre-eminent place in historical annals. Yet, there is much more to the world of than a tale off conquest and empire. resourcess did draw on when he and hiss advisors fashioned their world? What How
successful were they? How did they respond to challenges, disappointments, and failures? How did their efforts affect the lives of others--non-franks as well as Frankish men, women, and children? What impact did 's career have on politics, religion, the economy, intellectual and cultural life. We will also be interestedd to find out how 's world endured after his death and what impact it might have had on European civilization in the short term and generally. In addition to focusing on and his world, our semester's work will also attempt to analyze how civilizations try to fashion themselves. It will be attentive to the interplay between individuals and groups, between ideals and realities, between court and local interests, and among competing sources of power and authority. The rich art of the period will be discussed as symbolic representations of how Carolingians thought about themselves and their society. Althoughh the semester s work will focus on and hiss world, the course willl also include the perspectives of his successors and rivals, as well as off Saxons, Vikings, Muslims, Byzantines, bishops, abbots, and important men and women who also populated s world and helped to shape its successes as well as its failures. Finally, the semester's work willl provide students with an opportunity to develop their analytical (= thinking) skills by reading, thinking, and discussion. They will learn to read historical documents in context and to analyze those documents for what they reveal about a particular period in human history. This course will use lectures, readings, discussions, andd images to try as best as possible within 15 weeks to create a portrait of a complex and fascinating time,, a time whose failures and successess affected history long after 's world collapsed.. REQUIRED TEXTS 1. Alessandro Barbero, : Father of a Continent. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2004. 0-520-23943-1 2. Thomas F.X. Noble, ed. and trans. and Louis the Pious: The Lives by Einhard, Notker, Ermoldus, Thegan, and the Astronomer. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009. History 32000 χ Prof. John J. Contreni χ 2011, sem. 1 χ Page 2
READING AND LECTURE SCHEDULEE (follow order of chapters as listed below) WEEK 1: 22 AUGUST Reading and Discussion assignment: e, pp. Introduction and ch. 1, Thee Frankish Tradition I WEEK 2: INTRODUCTION 1. Introduction to Course and the Problem 2. From Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Agess (ca. 500-750 C.E.) 29 AUGUST Reading and Discussion assignment: e, ch. 2, The War Against the Lombards e and Louis the Pious, Introduction (pp. 1-6) Lectures I INTRODUCTION 3. Europe s Neighbors: Byzantium and the Muslim World II. FROM LONG-HAIRED KINGS TO EMPERORS 4 The Merovingians, the Frankish Aristocracy, and the Roman Papacy WEEK 3 5 SEPTEMBER e, ch. 3, Wars Against the Pagans e and Louis the Pious, Introduction + Einhard,, prologue-c. 16 (pp. 7-37) II. FROM LONG-HAIRED KINGS TO EMPERORS 5. Charles Martel, Pippin III 6. : King and Conquests History 32000 χ Prof. John J. Contreni χ 2011, sem. 1 χ Page 3
WEEK 4 12 SEPTEMBER, ch. 4, The Rebirth of Empire and Louis the Pious, Einhard, c. 16-33 (pp. 37-50) II. WEEK 5 FROM LONG-HAIRED KINGS TO EMPERORS 7. : Emperor 8. : Legacy 19 SEPTEMBER, ch. 5, and Europe and Louis the Pious, Introduction + Notker, Bk I,1-19 (pp. 51-75) II. WEEK 6 FROM LONG-HAIRED KINGS TO EMPERORS 9. Louis the Pious: s Heir?/ The Great King s Little Son? 10. Louis the Pious: Defining Christian Emperorship 26 SEPTEMBER Exam I on Weeks 1-5: Thursday 29 September, ch. 6, The Man and His Family and Louis the Pious, Notker, Bk I,20-Bk II,9 (pp. 75-100) III. THE ORGANIZATION OF POLITICS, THE ECONOMY, AND RELIGION 11. Empire and kingdoms History 32000 χ Prof. John J. Contreni χ 2011, sem. 1 χ Page 4
WEEK 7 3 OCTOBER, ch. 7, Government of the Empire: The Institutions and Louis the Pious, Notker, Bk II,10-22 (pp. 100-118) III. WEEK 8 THE ORGANIZATION OF POLITICS, THE ECONOMY, AND RELIGION 12. Political Institutions 13. Rural Economy and Country Life 10 OCTOBER, ch. 8: Government of the Empire: The Resources and Louis the Pious, Introduction and Ermoldus, Bk 1 (pp. 119-142) III. THE ORGANIZATION OF POLITICS, THE ECONOMY, AND RELIGION 14. The Frankish Church: From Reform to Critique 15. Religion in a Christian Empire WEEK 9 17 OCTOBER, ch. 9: Government of the Empire: The Justice System and Louis the Pious, Ermoldus, Bks 2-3 (pp. 142-170) IV. WEEK 10 FASHIONING A EUROPEAN CULTURAL LIFE 16. Defining the Uses of Education and Culture 17. Liturgy, Theology, and Science 24 OCTOBER, ch. 10: An Intellectual Project and Louis the Pious, Ermoldus, Bk 4 (pp. 170-186) IV. FASHIONING A EUROPEAN CULTURAL LIFE 18. Visual Messages: Art and Architecture 19. The Cultures of Aristocrats and Peasants History 32000 χ Prof. John J. Contreni χ 2011, sem. 1 χ Page 5
WEEK 11 31 OCTOBER Exam II on Weeks 6-10: Tuesday, 1 November, ch. 11, The Frankish Military Machine and Louis the Pious, Introduction and Thegan, prologue- c. 41 (pp. 187-210) V. FAMILY FEUDS AND NEW INVASIONS 20. The Treaty of Verdun and After: Lothar, Louis the German and Charles WEEK 12 7 NOVEMBER, ch. 12, A New Economy and Louis the Pious, Thegan, c. 41-58 (pp. 210-218) V. FAMILY FEUDS AND NEW INVASIONS 21. Carolingian Kingdoms 22. The Nortmanni, New Huns, and the Saracens WEEK 13 14 NOVEMBER, ch. 13, Patronage and Servitude and Louis the Pious, Introduction and Astronomer, prologue c. 20 (pp. 218-246) VI. TOWARD THE FUTURE: THE LEGACY OF THE FIRST EUROPE 23. Religion 24. Schools, Scholars, and Debates WEEK 13.5 VI. 21 NOVEMBER TOWARD THE FUTURE: THE LEGACY OF THE FIRST EUROPE 25. The Culture of Lay Men and Women History 32000 χ Prof. John J. Contreni χ 2011, sem. 1 χ Page 6
WEEK 14 28 NOVEMBER e, ch. 14, Old Age and Death e and Louis the Pious, Astronomer, c. 21-43 (pp. 246-245) VI. TOWARD THE FUTURE: THE LEGACY OF THE FIRST EUROPE 26. Social and Economic Change 27. Varieties of Political Experience WEEK 15: 5 DECEMBER e and Louis the Pious, Astronomer, c. 44-64) (pp. 275-302) VII. SUMMING UP 28. s World at the New Millennium FINAL EXAM WEEK: 12 DECEMBER Exam III on Weeks 11-15: TBA EXAMS Three essay exams will provide students with opportunities to demonstrate their mastery of course materials. The exams are scheduled for 29 September, 1 November, and final exam week. The exams will cover the previous five weeks' work. Each will count 0-300 pts. (30%) toward determinationn of the grade for the course. DISCUSSION The two main texts for the course, Alessandro Barbero ss study of and Thomas F.X. Noble s important collection of Carolingian sources, present multiple perspectives on the world of. Awareness and appreciation of these perspectives will be enhanced by intelligen discussion of the weekly readings. Weekly discussion topics will be posted on Blackboard, but studentss should feel free to raise questionss and make points about any aspect of the readings. Discussions based on the weekly readings are scheduled for Thursday meetings, but discussion is encouraged at any time. Discussion participation will count 0-10 pts. (10%) toward calculation of the final course grade. History 32000 χ Prof. John J. Contreni χ 2011, sem. 1 χ Page 7
SUMMARY Exam 1 (9/29): Exam 2 (11/1): Exam 3 (wk 16) ): Discussion: Total: 0-30 pts. 0-30 pts. 0-30 pts. 0-10 pts. 0-100 pts. A+ = 100-96 pts A = 95-93 pts A- = 92-90 pts. B+ = 89-86 pts. B = 85-83 pts. B- = 82-80 pts. C+ = 79-76 pts. C = 75-73 pts. C- = 72-70 pts. D+ = 69-66 pts. D = 65-63 pts. D- = 60-62 pts. F = 59-0 pts. GET READY FOR A GREAT SEMESTER! +FINALL TIP: During the last two weeks of the semester, you will be provided an opportunity to evaluate this course and your instructor. To this end, Purdue has transitioned to online course evaluations. On Monday of the fifteenth week of classes, you will receive an official email from evaluation administrators with a link to the online evaluation site. You will have two weeks to completee this evaluation. Your participation in this evaluation is an integral part of this course. Your feedback is vital to improving education at Purdue University. I strongly urge you to participate in the evaluation system. Cheating / Plagiarism a distasteful topic that, unfortunately, needs to be addressed. Plagiarism refers to the reproduction of another's words or ideas without proper attribution. University Regulations contains further information on dishonesty. Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty are serious offenses, and will be treated as such in this class. You are expected to produce your own work and to accurately cite all necessary materials. Cheating, plagiarism, and other dishonest practices will be punished as harshly as Purdue University policies allow. Any instances of academic dishonesty will likely result in a grade of F for the course and notification of the Office of the Dean of Students. History 32000 χ Prof. John J. Contreni χ 2011, sem. 1 χ Page 8