Syllabus
Medieval Woman Term Project Guidelines
Guidelines for Student Led Discussions (SLD)

Some Helful Links:
Labyrinth: Contains all sorts of wonderful sites on many medieval topics:     Labyrinth
Matrix: Contains information on Christian women in medieval Europe:  http://matrix.bc.edu/MatrixWebData/matrix.html
Medieval Feminist Index: http://www.haverford.edu/library/reference/mschaus/mfi/mfi.html
Medieval Internet Source Book: great place for primary sources!!   http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies: another great place for primary sources and some secondary
        works: http://orb.rhodes.edu/library.html
 
 

Class meetings designated SLD indicate that students should come to class prepared to lead discussion on the readings assigned for that day.

Week 1:  So what were the experiences of medieval women? Moreover, what do we know about the history of the Middle Ages? We will be reading The Devil's Door by Sharan Newman was an introduction to the history of the medieval world, as well as a place to begin our discussion of the experiences of medieval women.

                    January 14                Introduction and Expectations

                    January 16                The Devil's Door: Women and the Middle Ages
                                                        Please read as much of the novel as possible. Ideally you
                                                        should be halfway through it.
                Questions for Discussion:

Week 2: We will continue our discussion of the novel, but also begin grappling with the general historiographical trends of the history of medieval women. What are the various questions and debates that shape the scholarship on women in the Middle Ages?

                January 21                Medieval Women in The Devil's Door and the Western Civ Text
                                                    Finish the novel
                                                    Examination of Western Civ texts in class
            Questions for Discussion:
 
 

            January 23                An Overview of the Historiography
                                                    Judith Bennett, "Medieval Women in Modern Perspective"
                                                    on Electronic Reserve (password liv390)
                                                    Response paper comparing The Devil's Door with the Bennett Essay
                                                 Questions for Discussion:

Week 3:  The focus this week will be an delineating specific historiographical trends in the scholarship on medieval women. We will examine the contributions of Eileen Power to history of women in the Middle Ages, as well as examining the historiographical traditions of particular countries.

            January 28                Faculty Retreat -- No class
                                               Although we won't be meeting as a class, you have an assignment.
                                            Assignment

           January 30                "Power" and Medieval Women (SLD)
                                               Read "The Position of Women" by Eileen Power on Electronic Reserve.
                                               Discussion of Power and chapter in Stuard book.
                                            Questions for Discussion

Week 4: Our discussion of various historiographical interpretations of the experiences of medieval women continues. This week we will focus on the contributions of the emminent French Medievalist, Georges Duby.

            February 4               Georges Duby's Male Middle Ages
                                               Please read pp. 1-66 in Women of the Twelfth Century by Georges Duby
                                               Questions for Discussion

            February 6                Challenges and Modifications to Duby (SLD)
                                                Finish Women of the Twelfth Century by Georges Duby
                                                Read "Persuasive Voices: Clerical Images of Medieval Wives" by Sharon Farmer,
                                             Speculum 61 (1986): 517-543 available through JSTOR.
                                                ***Please note this is a change from the original assignment in the syllabus
                                              Questions for Discussion

Week 5: We will wrap up our examination of the different historiographical schools on medieval women by watching several films. Consideration of the wives, wenches, saints and sinners will begin with discussion of medieval peasant women.

          February 11            Film Fest: Depictions of Medieval Women on Film AND PIZZA!!!
                                           Read "The Power of Women through the Family in Medieval Europe, 500-1100" by
                                           Jo Ann McNamara and Suzanne Wemple on electronic reserve
                                           Reading Questions
                                            Assignment

        February 13            Peasant Women
                                         Amt, Women's Lives in Medieval Europe, pp. 179-193
                                         Bennett, A Medieval Life, Chapters 1-5
                                         Assignment
                                         Discussion Questions
 
Week 6:  The focus this week will be in finishing our discussion of peasant women and contrasting their experiences with those of women from the aristocracy.

    February 18              A Medieval Life (SLD)
                                         Bennett, Chapters 6-10
                                          Discussion Questions
                                        Term Project Proposal Due
                                        Suggestions for Writing a Proposal

    February 20                Aristocratic Women in the Early Middle Ages
                                          Suzanne Wemple, Women in Frankish Society, pp. 1-75
                                            Amt, pp. 36-49, 121-123
                                            Discussion Questions

Week 7:  How did the experiences of Aristocratic women vary over time and from place to place? This will be the question central to our discussion this week.

    February 25            Carolingian Women (SLD)
                                      Wemple, pp. 75-123
                                         Discussion Questions

    February 27            English Noblewomen: A Conversation with Linda Mitchell
                                  "The Lady is a Lord" by Linda Mitchell on Electronic Reserve.
                                    "Adela of Blois: Familial Alliances and Female Lordship" By Kimberly LoPrete, in
                                   Aristocratic Women in Medieval France,  ed. T. Evergates, pp. 7-44.
                                    Discussion Questions

Week 8:  The lives of medieval French aristocratic women will be the focus of discussion this week. In particular we will try to understand some of the commonalities in their experiences. Examination of primary sources will also inform our analysis.

    March 4                French Aristocratic Women (SLD)
                                 Chapters 2 and 3 in Aristocratic Women in Medieval France,  ed. T. Evergates, pp 44-110.
                                  Discussion Questions

    March 6                French Aristocratic Women
                                  Chapters 4 and 5 in Aristocratic Women in Medieval France,  ed. T. Evergates, pp. 111-178.
                                  Discussion Questions

                                  First Synthesis Essay Due

Week 9:  March 10-17    Spring Break!!!!

Week 10:  Queenship will be the focus for our discussion this week. We will read the life of a medieval queen and compare it to how historians have constructed the lives of queens.

    March 18            Queen Emma: Text and life
                              Excerpts from Ecomium Emmae Reginae on Electronic reserve.

    March 20            Historians' Perspectives on Medieval Queens (SLD)
                              Selections from Medieval Queenship, ed. by John Carmi Parsons
 

Week 11:  We will shift our focus from secular women to religious women. Discussion will begin with early medieval religious women this week, as well as beginning to examine the mystical experiences of women.

    March 25            Religious Women in the Early Middle Ages (SLD)
                          Wemple, Women in Frankish Society, pp. 127-189
                            Amt, pp. 219-232

    March 27       Women and Spirituality: Holy Feast, Holy Fast
                          Walker Bynum, pp. 1-12; Chapters 3 and 4

Week 12:   The significance of food to religious women will continue to be the focus of our discussion this week. What implications does this have for the experiences of religious women?

    April 1             Women and Spirituality: Holy Feast, Holy Fast (SLD)
                          Walker Bynum,  Chapters 5, 6, and 7

    April 3            Women and Spirituality: Holy Feast, Holy Fast (SLD)
                          Walker Bynum,  Chapters 8, 9, 10

Week 13:    How do the saints' live written by medieval women compare with those written by men? Do they reflect the same concern with food? What was life like for religious women who were neither saints or mystics? These questions will guide our examination for this week.

    April 8            Female Saints' Lives as written by Women
                          Selected readings on electronic reserve

    April 10            Nuns and the Convent
                           Penelope Johnson, Equal in Monastic Profession

Week 14:  The lives of nuns and life in the convent will continue to guide our discussion. The experiences of individual (and infamous) religious women will also be a topic for discussion

    April 15             Nuns and the Convent
                            Penelope Johnson, Equal in Monastic Profession
                           Second Synthesis Essay is due

    April 17          Heloise and Hildegard
                           "The French Lover: Heloise" by Betty Radice, on electronic reserve
                           "The German Visionary: Hildegard of Bingen" by Kent Kraft, on electronic reserve
                            Amt, pp. 233-234
                            Additional reading on Heloise

Week 15: Our final topic for discussion will be urban women. We will examine the experiences of secular women in the city, as well as urban religious women.

    April 22              Urban Women (SLD)
                              Amt, pp. 194-218
                              "Working Women in the Medieval City" by Ben Mcree and Trisha Dent, on electronic
                                  reserve
                              "Citizenship and Gender: Women's Political Status in Northern Medieval Cities" by
                                Martha Howell, on Electronic reserve.
                                Questions for Discussion

 
    April 24            Term Project Due -- no class

Week 16:  Our consideration of medieval women will wrap up by looking at the experiences of wenches, i.e. prostitutes, and saints -- Joan of Arc in particular.

    April 29          Prostitutes and Beguines
                          "The Regulation of Brothels in Late Medieval England" by Ruth Mazo Karras, on Electronic
                            Reserve
                            "Origins of the Beguines" by Carol Neel, on Electronic Reserve.

    May 1            Heretics and Mystics (SLD)
                          Selections from Fresh Verdicts on Joan of Arc, ed. Bonnie Wheeler and Charles Wood and
                          Joan of Arc: By Herself and Her Witnesses by Regine Pernoud
                          Amt, pp. 263-273

Week 17:  The course will conclude with discussion of the tensions between feminism and medievalism.

    May 6            Closure: Trying to Make Sense of it All
                         "Medievalism and Feminism" by Judith Bennett in Speculum (68) 1993, pp. 309-333
                            available through JSTOR.

Monday, May 12, 12:00-3:00 p.m.     Presentation of Term Projects

Final Assignment due after week 16.