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Unit information: Crusading Cultures in 2022/23

Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.

Unit name Crusading Cultures
Unit code HIST20133
Credit points 20
Level of study I/5
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director Dr. Parsons
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

Unit Information

Why is this unit important?

It is crucial that all History students have a broad sense of historical chronology because many vital historical processes emerge into view only over centuries or even millennia. Our Year 2 medieval and early modern optional panel ensures that History students have a strong sense of history across a broader spectrum of time, while still giving you the opportunity to select a topic that particularly interests you.

How does this unit fit into your programme of study?

Like all units in History, our medieval and early modern optional units will equip students with core historical skills such as primary source analysis, historiographical analysis, and with key theories, methodologies, and concepts. The assessment for this unit will complement the 'Rethinking History' unit as well as develop your skills in oral presentation.

Your learning on this unit

An overview of content:

An aspect of Europe’s historic engagement with the wider world that has had lasting and controversial consequences is the Crusades. What was it about how the culture of the Christian West had developed up to the eleventh century that for centuries thereafter large numbers of men, women and children from the region were prepared to travel huge distances to fight religious wars? From the Baltic to the Middle East and North Africa and from southern Spain to the Balkans some of these Westerners established permanent settlements which existed side-by-side with peoples whose view of the world was radically different from their own. What were the cultural characteristics of these crusading colonies and how did these develop over time? The answers to these questions lie in an appreciation of the changing nature of thinking in the West from the Viking Age onwards about politics, the family, artistic culture, religion, warfare, education, and the individual.

How will you be different as a result of this unit?

Medieval and early modern optional units will enhance your capacity to build arguments with primary sources, properly located within appropriate theories, concepts, methods, and historiographies. They will develop your skills and confidence working with longer chronologies and delivering your ideas orally.

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

  1. Examine why the crusading period has long been regarded as so important.
  2. Explore the origins of the ideas that led to enthusiasm for crusading in the West
  3. Evaluate the historiographical debates surrounding the key developments in the history of the medieval West and its relations with its neighbours
  4. Interpret primary sources and select pertinent evidence in order to illustrate specific and more general historical points.
  5. Present their research and judgements in written forms and styles appropriate to the discipline and to level I.
  6. Demonstrate skills in oral presentation appropriate to level I.

How you will learn

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.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):

One 10-minute Individual Presentation (25%) [ILOs 1, 3, 6].

One Timed Assessment (75%) [ILOs 1-5].

When assessment does not go to plan:

When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the year.

Resources

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. HIST20133).

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 Faculty 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. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

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