| Unit name | Speaking with Authority: Women and Power in the Middle Ages (Level I Special Field) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST26024 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Holdenried |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Unusually for medieval women, Hildegard of Bingen (d.1179) was among the most influential public voices of her day. She belongs to a group of influential religious women (ranging in status from noble women to daughters of merchants) who provided leadership and, in the thirteenth century, increasingly created innovative new female forms of life. Claiming to be divinely inspired, these women freely castigated kings and bishops, emperors and popes. As numerous surviving letters attest, their advice was frequently sought and heeded by Europe’s most senior leaders. Yet, female claims to divinely inspired leadership provoked much anxiety and attempts by the Church hierarchy to curtail the public voices of women. Making full use of the women’s own writings, as well as of different materials produced by male clerics we will ask why men distrusted female claims to divine authority (especially after 1200) and explore the public voices of women born before 1350.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit allows you to expand your transferable study skills (e.g. by giving you the option to devise your own essay title supported by your unit tutor); it enables you to develop your skills in the interpretation and analysis of diverse primary sources (textual as well as visual); it provides the opportunity to extend and deepen your examination of the medieval world, and to explore the nature and representation of female lives in the past.
Classes will involve a combination of class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.
1 x 3500-word Essay (50%) [ILOs 1-8]; 1 x Timed Assessment (50%) [ILOs 1-8]
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HIST26024).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
