HIS2301 : Communication in the Medieval World, from Europe to Asia: Prayer, Poetry, Pictures, and Travel
- Offered for Year: 2023/24
- Module Leader(s): Dr Nicola Clarke
- Lecturer: Dr Philip Garrett, Ms Anne Redgate
- Owning School: History, Classics and Archaeology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
Aims
This module will approach key themes in the medieval history of Europe and the Middle East through the motif of communication. By investigating the context and content of medieval communication, we will be able explore a range of social, political and religious relationships: within families and communities, between rulers and ruled, between past and present, and between the temporal and spiritual worlds. While much of the communication discussed will be accessed through primary source texts, there will be an important place in the module for visual material (art, buildings, objects), and for sources that span the textual/physical divide (such as descriptions of ritual). The module will also seek to unpick notions of the medieval world as static, unchanging, and monocultural, by looking at the movement of ideas and people, emphasizing networks of knowledge and cross-cultural connections.
Outline Of Syllabus
Topics that may be covered include:
• communication and legitimacy: coins, proclamations, inscriptions, monuments
• communication as performance: poetry, drama, sermons
• communication and identity: foundation myths and tales of the ancestors
• communication and religion: prayer, ritual, commemoration
• communication and travel: trade routes, pilgrimage, migration
• communication and knowledge: translation, education, language, advice books
• communication, family, community: reputation, law, wills, letters
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 55 | 1:00 | 55:00 | Reading, planning, and writing essays |
| Structured Guided Learning | Lecture materials | 9 | 1:00 | 9:00 | Online structured reading exercises and/or recorded materials. Part of student contact hours |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 11 | 1:00 | 11:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 80 | 1:00 | 80:00 | Preparation for small group teaching |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 10 | 1:00 | 10:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 3 | 1:00 | 3:00 | Drop-in surgeries to help with preparation of assessments; 2hrs of this in final week. |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 32 | 1:00 | 32:00 | Wider reading |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
SEMINARS encourage independent study and promote improvements in oral presentation, interpersonal communication, problem-solving skills, research skills and adaptability.
LECTURES enable students to gain a wider sense of historical argument and debate and how such debates operate, which also allows them to develop comparisons between different historiographical debates. ONLINE LECTURE MATERIALS follow up on the weekly lectures and link to the seminars; they are designed to provide focused case studies of specific primary texts, images or objects.
SURGERY TIME: Staff will make themselves available for three hours over the course of the module to see students individually or in groups on issues concerning them, although we expect this will focus on preparation for assessments. This is addition to standard office hours.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 2 | M | 40 | 1500 words (incl. footnotes but not bibliography) |
| Essay | 2 | A | 60 | 2000 words (incl. footnotes but not bibliography) |
Formative Assessments
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 2 | M | 500 word source commentary |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
1. Work submitted during the delivery of the module forms a means of determining the student’s progress.
2. Summative assessment tests knowledge outcomes and develops skills in research and reading.
3. Formative assessment will take the form of one documentary commentary of 500 words, to give students a chance to explore a piece of primary evidence in depth.
3. The summative work will take the form of two essays; titles will be provided to students on Canvas. The second essay receives a higher weighting to reflect the fact that students will have greater familiarity with the module material, and will have benefitted from feedback on the first essay to improve their skills and approach for the second.
All Erasmus students at Newcastle University are expected to do the same assessment as students registered for a degree.
Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending semester 1 only are required to finish their assessment while in Newcastle. This will take the form of an alternative assessment, as outlined in the formats below:
Modules assessed by Coursework and Exam:
The normal alternative form of assessment for all semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be one essay in addition to the other coursework assessment (the length of the essay should be adjusted in order to comply with the assessment tariff); to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.
Modules assessed by Exam only:
The normal alternative form of assessment for all semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be two 2,000 word written exercises; to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.
Modules assessed by Coursework only:
All semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be expected to complete the standard assessment for the module; to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.
Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending the whole academic year or semester 2 are required to complete the standard assessment as set out in the MOF under all circumstances.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- HIS2301's Timetable