Course Syllabus

MEM3300 & GET3200

Course Syllabus

Course Information

Course Description

In this online course, you will learn how monasteries and castles serve as the hubs of cultural development 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 spatial-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.

Course Requirements

Text

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)

7. Life of St. Antony

8. Bernard of Clairvaux, Liber ad milites Templi (On the New Knighthood).

9. Hildegard von Bingen, selected letters from her correspondence to famous contemporaries (use VPN server if attempting to access from off campus).

10. Occasionally you will be referred to other texts, videos, musical pieces, etc. in the course modules.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course. 

Minimum Technology Requirements

The University of Florida expects students entering an online program to acquire computer hardware and software appropriate to their degree program. Most computers are capable of meeting the following general requirements. A student’s computer configuration should include:

• Webcam
• Microphone
• Broadband connection to the internet and related equipment (cable/DSL modem)
• Microsoft Office Suite installed (provided by the university)

Individual colleges may have additional requirements or recommendations, which students should review before starting their program.

Minimum Technical Skills

To complete your tasks in this course, you will need a basic understanding of operating a computer and using word processing software.

Materials/Supply Fees

There is no supply fee for this course. 

Honorlock

Honorlock is an online proctoring service that allows students to take exams on-demand 24/7. There are no scheduling requirements or fees.

You will need a laptop or desktop computer with a webcam, a microphone, and a photo ID. The webcam and microphone can be either integrated or external USB devices.

Honorlock requires that you use the Google Chrome browser and that you must add the Honorlock extension to Chrome.

For further information, FAQs, and technical support, please visit Honorlock.

Zoom

Zoom is an easy-to-use video conferencing service available to all UF students, faculty, and staff that allows for meetings of up to 100 participants.

You can find resources and help using Zoom at the University of Florida's Zoom website.

Tentative Due Dates of Assignments

Follow the most current dates, which are in the assignments or class emails/announcements.

As a rule, discussions are due Fridays by 10:00 pm. Discussions posted between Friday 10:00 and Sunday 11:59 are late and will receive only half credit at best. No discussions will be considered after the Sunday deadline. Comments are due by the Sunday deadline. (For circumstances beyond control contact Dr. Hampton.)

All other assessments and quizzes (i.e. questions on the readings, videos, the "Virtual Visits," etc.) are due by Sunday 11:59.

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.

Assignments

1. Three Tests. The three timed tests are the most challenging tasks in this course. You will do best if you familiarize yourself with the module materials as closely as possible, particularly the Dr. Hasty Module videos, Chapter Quizzes, Primary Source, and Discussion. You will respond to questions in a 60-minute period, with an additional 30 minute review period allowed (i.e. total of 90 minutes), 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, multiple-choice and multiple answer type questions about the content of my module lectures. Dr. Hasty 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. The second part are short answers concerning the primary sources read.

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. Your group may form a text group, Canvas chat, or my group if you would like me to see you're dynamics & ideas, and assist when I can.

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). Respond to discussion prompts with at least ca. 2 typescript pages of text (500 words), though ideally your discussions will be between ca. 600-800 word total, which of course should be your own writing. Remember that the discussions are one of your main chances to demonstrate your knowledge of the readings and (as applicable) the other module materials. Try to not to go over 800 words, unless you are carrying through with a tight and organized discourse (i.e. don't ramble).  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. Comments have no word-limits, but make sure your comments are 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 automatically 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. You will be able to see correct answers for these questions only once when you submit the assignment. 

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. 

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 Timeline posts, by the way.  

7. Timeline individual module posts, group presentations, and final individual Timeline synthesis paper.

Grading Policy

Every effort will be made to have each assignment graded and posted within 2 weeks of the last day to turn in assignment. 

Course Grading Policy

Grading Scale

See the current UF grading policies for more information.

UF Policies

University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities requesting accommodations should first register with the Disability Resource Center (352-392-8565) by providing appropriate documentation. Once registered, students will receive an accommodation letter that must be presented to the instructor when requesting accommodation. Students with disabilities should follow this procedure as early as possible in the semester.

University Policy on Academic Conduct

UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge, which states, “We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code." On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment." The Student Honor Code and Student Conduct Code specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions. Furthermore, you are obligated to report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel. If you have any questions or concerns, please consult with the instructor or TAs in this class.

Plagiarism

The Student Honor Code and Student Conduct Code states that:

"A Student must not represent as the Student’s own work all or any portion of the work of another. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

• Stealing, misquoting, insufficiently paraphrasing, or patch-writing.
• Self-plagiarism, which is the reuse of the Student’s own submitted work, or the simultaneous submission of the Student’s own work, without the full and clear acknowledgment and permission of the Faculty to whom it is submitted.
• Submitting materials from any source without proper attribution.
• Submitting a document, assignment, or material that, in whole or in part, is identical or substantially identical to a document or assignment the Student did not author."

Netiquette Guidelines

It is important to recognize that the online classroom is in fact a classroom, and certain behaviors are expected when you communicate with both your peers and your instructors. These guidelines for online behavior and interaction are known as netiquette.

Getting Help

Technical Difficulties

For help with technical issues or difficulties with Canvas, please contact the UF Computing Help Desk at:

• http://helpdesk.ufl.edu
• 352-392-HELP (4357)
• Walk-in: HUB 132

Any requests for make-ups (assignments, exams, etc.) due to technical issues should be accompanied by the ticket number received from the UF Computing Help Desk when the problem was reported to them. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. You should email your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up.

Health and Wellness

• U Matter, We Care: If you or someone you know is in distress, please email umatter@ufl.edu, call 352-392-1575, or visit U Matter We Care to refer or report a concern, and a team member will reach out to the student in distress.
• Counseling and Wellness Center: Visit the UF Counseling & Wellness Center website or call 352-392-1575 for information on crisis services and non-crisis services.
• Student Health Care Center: Call 352-392-1161 for 24/7 information to help you find the care you need, or visit the UF Student Health Care Center website.
• University Police Department: Visit the UF Police Department website or call 352-392-1111 (or 9-1-1 for emergencies).
• UF Health Shands Emergency Room/Trauma Center: For immediate medical care in Gainesville, call 352-733-0111, or go to the emergency room at 1515 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32608; Visit the UF Health Shands Emergency Room/Trauma Center website.

Academic and Student Support

• Career Connections Center: For career assistance and counseling services, visit the UF Career Connections Center website or call 352-392-1601.
• Library Support: For various ways to receive assistance concerning using the libraries or finding resources, visit the UF George A. Smathers Libraries Ask-A-Librarian website.
• Teaching Center: For general study skills and tutoring, visit the UF Teaching Center website or call 352-392-2010.
• Writing Studio: For help with brainstorming, formatting, and writing papers, visit the University Writing Program Writing Studio website or call 352-846-1138.