| Unit name | Cultural identities in medieval Spain |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST30018 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Cervantes |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
NONE |
| Co-requisites |
NONE |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit explores the complex strands of cultural identity in early medieval Spain, with a focus on manuscripts as evidence for particular cultural practices and beliefs. Case studies may include: 11th-12th century Iberian monasticism; Christian identity and the Other; Pilgrimage; the place of the BVM in medieval Iberia. Aims: Through a variety of teaching contexts, including seminars, student presentations and plenary lectures, this unit aims: • to give students an opportunity to expand the breadth of their historical knowledge in the field of medieval Iberia, with a focus on its religious and musical cultures • to expand their knowledge of the associated manuscripts and to be able to comment accurately and perceptively on their contents and contexts • to develop their ability to assemble and assimilate information from a wide variety of sources • to engage in critical evaluation of the relevant scholarship • to develop effective and detailed arguments, that display competence in the practices, processes, techniques and methodologies that underpin studying the materials at hand
Intended Learning Outcomes Successful completion of this unit will 1. give students a clear and detailed understanding of the historical contexts in which the manuscripts, beliefs and practices under discussion came into being 2. encourage students to write critically and perceptively about a range of topics and across disciplinary boundaries, using appropriate language and terminology 3. defend and critique arguments orally and in writing 4. incorporate a consistently strong grasp of detail with respect to content 5. argue effectively and at length (including an ability to cope with complexities and to describe and deploy these effectively) 6. display to a high level skills in selecting, applying, interpreting and organising information, including evidence of a high level of bibliographical control 7. describe, evaluate and/or challenge current scholarly thinking 8. discriminate between different kinds of information, processes, interpretations 9. take a critical stance towards scholarly processes involved in arriving at historical knowledge and/or relevant secondary literature 10. engage with relevant theoretical, philosophical or social constructs for understanding relevant manuscripts and their cultures 11. demonstrate an understanding of concepts and an ability to conceptualise 12. situate medieval materials within relevant contexts (invoking interdisciplinary contexts where appropriate) 13. apply strategies laterally (perhaps leading to innovative results)
And additionally (specific to Level M) 14. apply existing analytical strategies to new material with flexibility and creativity 15. demonstrate the capacity for independent research 16. express ideas coherently and engagingly in an oral presentation
5 x 2-hour plenary lectures; 5 x 2-hour seminars (16 students maximum in each), engaging with questions more specific to the disciplines represented; 1 x 1-hour tutorial for each trio of MA students
1) Book review, 1500-2000 words, general topic (40%). 2) Essay 2, 3000 words, specific topic, focusing on a particular body of evidence (e.g. a manuscript, an institution, a musical genre, a cultural artefact, or group of artefacts) (60%).
‘Spain in the Eleventh Century’, in Riley-Smith J, Luscombe D (eds) The New Cambridge Medieval History Volume IV, c.1024 - c.1198 (Cambridge, 2004), 154-190 John Williams, Early Spanish Manuscript Illumination (London 1977) Iogna-Prat, Dominique, Order & exclusion: Cluny and Christendom face heresy, Judaism, and Islam (1000-1150) (London 2002) Ashley, Kathleen and Marilyn Deegan, Being a pilgrim: art and ritual on the medieval routes to Santiago (Farnham, 2009) Stephen Parkinson (ed.), Cobras e son: papers on the text, music, and manuscripts of the 'Cantigas de Santa Maria' (Oxford, 2000). Emma Hornby and Rebecca Maloy, Music and Meaning in Old Hispanic Lenten Chants: threni, psalmi and Easter Vigil Canticles (Woodbridge, 2013)
