Course Syllabus
I. Basic Information
Course: MEM 3300/GET 3930 -- "Castles and Cloisters"
Instructor: Professor Will Hasty <hasty@ufl.edu>
Office: Dauer Hall, 263a
Office Hours: Thursdays 10-12 am, or by appt.
II.Description.
In this online course you will learn how monasteries and castles serve as the hubs of cultural developments in the medieval period. You will become familiar with different fundamental ways in which people "organize" and " orient" themselves (and the people, spaces, and things around them) both in relation to the perceived permanence of the heavenly afterlife, and also in relation to the changeable, transitory, "perishable goods" of spatio-temporal life in this world. While we observe that culture in the Middle Ages (as opposed to the [early] modern period) still operates according to communal cultural parameters, according to which the individual self is not yet in a position to claim experiences and things for itself alone, we observe innovative new absolute dispositions of self, first in the absolute dedication of self to God that is the foremost characteristic of Christian monastic culture, then in the new and different kinds of absolute dedications of self that one observes in courtly-chivalric culture, for example in adventure and love as depicted in court poetry. In readings and course assignments, you will observe how such cultural developments play out in religion, art, architecture, poetry, music, and other ways in which people organize their lives in the medieval period.
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II. Due Dates of Assignments.
| Module # | Module material opens | Module Assignments are Due | *Grace Period for Submission of Modules until |
| Module 1 | Monday, August 24, 12:05 am | Friday, August 28, 5:00 pm | Sunday, August 30, 11:59 pm |
| Module 2 | Monday, August 31, 12:05 am | Friday, Sept. 4, 5:00 pm | Sunday, Sept. 6, 11:59 pm |
| Module 3 | Monday, Sept. 7, 12:05 am | Friday, Sept. 11, 5:00 pm | Sunday Sept. 13, 11:59 pm |
| Module 4 | Monday, Sept. 14, 12:05 am | Friday, Sept. 18, 5:00 pm | Sunday, Sept. 20, 11:59 pm |
| Module 5** | Monday, Sept. 21, 12:05 am | Friday, Sept. 25, 5:00 pm | Sunday, Sept 27, 11:59 pm |
| Module 6 | Monday, Sept. 28, 12:05 am | Friday, Oct. 2, 5:00 pm | Sunday, Oct. 4, 11:59 pm |
| Module 7 | Monday, Oct. 5, 12:05 am | Friday, Oct. 9, 5:00 pm | Sunday, Oct. 11, 11:59 pm |
| Module 8 | Monday, Oct. 12, 12:05 am | Friday, Oct. 16, 5:00 pm | Sunday, Oct. 18, 11:59 pm |
| Module 9 | Monday, Oct. 19, 12:05 am | Friday, Oct. 23, 5:00 pm | Sunday, Oct. 25, 11:59 pm |
| Module 10** | Monday, Oct. 26, 12:05 | Friday, Oct. 30, 5:00 pm | Sunday, Nov. 1, 11:59 pm |
| Module 11 | Monday, Nov. 2, 12:05 am | Friday, Nov. 6, 5:00 pm (Homecoming) | Sunday, Nov. 8, 11:59 pm |
| Module 12 | Monday, Nov. 9, 12:05 am | Friday, Nov. 13, 5:00 pm | Sunday, Nov. 15, 11:59 pm |
| Module 13 | Monday, Nov. 16, 12:05 am | Friday, Nov. 20, 5:00 pm | Sunday, Nov. 22, 11:59 pm |
| Module 14 | Monday, Nov. 23, 12:05 am | Friday, Dec. 4, 5:00 pm (After Thanksgiving Break) | Sunday, Dec.6, 11:59 pm |
| Module 14 (cont.)*** | Monday, Dec. 7, 12:05 | deadlines vary - see module | deadlines vary - see module |
* Assignments will be accepted after the due date and before the end of the grace period with no point deductions; however, a "no excuses" principle will apply to all work submitted after the due date. For example, If you need walk-in help from the UF Computing Helpdesk (392-HELP) with hardware, software, or any e-learning interface issues, make sure you take care of this in a timely way during the work week so that you will be able to submit by the Friday due date. You can receive help by phone from the UF Computing Helpdesk 24/7.
** Test #1 will be available from September 25, 12:05 am to 5:00 pm, with grace period until September 27, 11:59 pm; Test #2 will be available from October 30, 2:05 am to October 30, 5:00 pm, with grace period to November 1, 11:59 pm.
*** Test #3 will be available to take between December 7, 12:05 am until December 16, 10:00 pm.
III. Texts.
1. C.H. Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages. 3rd edition (London: Longman, 2001).
2. Joseph and Frances Gies, Life in a medieval Castle (New York: Harper and Row, 1974).
3. Hartmann von Aue, Arthurian Romances, Tales, and Lyric Poetry (University Park: Pennsyvania State University Press, 2001)
4. Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival, trans. A.T. Hatto (New York: Penguin Classics, 1980)
4. St. Augustine, Christian Doctrine (de doctrina christiana)
5. Boethius, The consolation of Philosophy (selections)
6. The Rule of St. Benedict (excerpts)
8. Bernard of Clairvaux, Liber ad milites Templi (On the New Knighthood).
10. Occasionally you will be referred to other texts, videos, musical pieces, etc. in the course modules.
. . .
IV. Assignments.
1. Three Tests. You will respond to ca. 50 questions in a 60-minute period, with an additional 10-minute review (70 minutes total - the test is timed), so you will need to make sure you feel in command of the material when you start your test. There will be short answer type questions in which you briefly discuss the significance of passages from the literary texts. There will be true-false and multiple-choice type questions about the content of my module lectures. I will randomly draw some questions from those on the books by Lawrence (Medieval Monasticism) and Gies (Life in a Medieval Castle) -- these are the questions you have already seen and to which you have already responded, so it should be relatively easy to prepare for this part of the test.
2. Midterm Project and Final Project. Together with your Group members, you will complete collaboratively a midterm and a final project. Links in the course modules to the Midterm and Final Project provide additional information.
3. Discussions and Comments. Most modules have discussion prompts, which ask you to think both critically and creatively about the texts you are reading and other topics of interest in this course. You will be graded both for the quality of your thinking and for the quality of your writing, so might want to consider beginning the textual part of your discussions (and possibly even your comments) in a Word document and working on it there as a draft until you are sure it is ready to submit in the course. You will also be graded for completeness, so make sure you have addressed all parts of the discussion prompt and, as necessary, provided any illustrative visual material (i.e. such as pictures). In most cases you should be able to respond to discussion prompts with about a typescript page of text (ca. 250 words), which of course should be your own writing. Try to not to go too far over 250 words. All of the aforementioned applies, though to a lesser degree (because they will be briefer), to the comments that you will make on one of your peer's Discussions. Make sure your comment is substantive, i.e. that you are not merely parroting something in the discussion, but that you are thinking some aspect of the discussion through and showing that you are able to understand and appreciate the implications and add a new perspective, however subtle it might be. You will not receive full points merely for the submission of discussion and comments; only very good ones will receive full points. Consult the Discussion and Comment Rubric for details on the grading of Discussions and Comments.
4. Questions on the main secondary Texts: Lawrence's Medieval Monasticism and Gies' Life in a Medieval Castle
For each reading assignments in these texts (which are indicated in the "to do" lists in the individual modules) you will answer a number of graded content questions. If you do the reading carefully, you should not have much difficulty answering all of these questions correctly. Some questions in the three Tests will be drawn randomly from these study questions, so if you are familiar with these questions and their answers, you will be well prepared for this part of the tests.
5. Virtual Visits. As part of the course you will take "Virtual Visits" to individual sites of interest in this course, particularly sites connected to monasteries and castles. The aim of these visits is to provide some immediate impressions of the sights and sounds associated with these important historical buildings and their frequently bucolic settings. You should find the questions associated with the Virtual Visits quite straightforward. Downsize the frame on your computer screen to 5" or less for maximal video resolution!
6. Video material and questions. This course employs some additional video material to complement and embellish the module topics. Students are responsible for watching the videos carefully, and then responding as necessary to any associated questions or tasks. Figures, events, artistic works, etc. that you see in the videos would be entirely appropriate material to use for your Dipity Timeline posts, by the way.
7. Timeline entries and posts in MyHistro, and final Timeline synthesis paper: Click here for information.
V. Grade percentages.
Tests= 25%
Projects= 20% (10% each for Midterm and Final Project)
Comments/Discussions= 30%
Questions on readings in Lawrence and Gies/Virtual Visits/Questions on Videos= 15%
Timeline entries, posts, and final synthesis paper= 10%
. . .
VI. Grading Scale.
| A | 93 |
| A- | 90 |
| B+ | 87 |
| B | 83 |
| B- | 80 |
| C+ | 77 |
| C | 73 |
| C- | 70 |
| etc. |
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|