History 186
Medieval Women
Monday,
Ascension
114 Office: Seitz House, Room 11
Fall 2005 Office
Phone: x5322
Email:
larsonp@kenyon.edu
Office
Hours: TR 10-11:30 a.m., 1-2 p.m.
Webpage: &
by appointment
http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/History/larson/welcome.htm
Course Description and Objectives
The
study of history requires choices: who or what to include, and who or what to
exclude; a historian cannot cover everyone and must decide what is most
important. In many textbooks and courses
on medieval
In
this course, we will study a selection from the history of medieval women, focusing
on certain well known women but also on some of the ‘hot’ topics and themes in
current research. This is not just a
course about medieval women; it is also a course on the medieval concept of
‘women’, and as such we will explore the changing concepts of gender roles
(appropriate and inappropriate), patriarchy and misogyny, and women in
literature. We will also consider the
difficulties faced by modern historians in studying the lives of medieval women
and the ways in which we portray ‘medieval’ women today, in history, art, and
film.
Required Textbooks
The
following books are available at the Kenyon College Bookstore:
The optional
books will also be on reserve in Olin, along with two basic medieval textbooks
(Roger Collins, Early Medieval
I encourage you to purchase The
Craft of Research by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M.
Williams. You can find used copies
online for less than $5. I have placed
copies on reserve, and there are copies available in CONSORT, but you may find
it useful to have your own copy over the next few years.
Assignments and Grading
Weekly Reaction Papers and Discussion 25%
Short Paper 1 25%
Short Paper 2 25%
Portfolio Project 25%
Reaction Papers and Discussion
Thoughtful participation
and interaction is required for a successful seminar course; the exchange of
ideas and the formulation and reformulation of your own positions is one of the
major goals of this class. To facilitate
this, every week you will hand in a short (min. 1 page, max. 2½ pages) reaction
paper on the readings for that week.
These are not meant to be polished, scholarly essays advancing a
position; rather, I want you to write about major themes in the readings, or a
particularly interesting primary source, or an inherent link or contradiction
in scholarly arguments. History is subjective, and every
historian has a different point of view; consider these essays a practicum in
evaluating your source material, with a chance to look at bias, motivation, and
the omission or manipulation of information.
There will be 12 of
these papers, due at the beginning of class; I will drop the lowest 2 scores
when calculating your grade. Some weeks,
I will provide a topic, while in others I will let you choose. These papers should be typed, double-spaced, using a size
10-12 font (similar to this). Because
these are short papers on the same readings, full formal citations are not
necessary; instead, refer to the readings in parentheses, for example, (Ale,
Beer, & Brewsters, pp. 100-104).
I also require everyone
to come to class with questions and talking points prepared. These do not need to be formal, and I will
not usually collect them. Both the
reaction papers and questions are part of the discussion, and thus this grade
will reflect more than how well you deal with the weekly readings in writing. There is no separate participation
grade. I expect professional academic
conduct: attendance and regular participation with proper respect towards other
people and different opinions. I reserve
the right to reward exceptionally good or bad conduct as part of the reaction
paper grade.
Short Papers
You will write two short
(6-10 page) papers on assigned topics.
The first paper, due on October 24th, will cover women’s work
in medieval
The week before each
paper is due, we will hold a peer review session. Please bring 2 copies of a substantial rough
draft (min. 4 pages) to class; you will trade papers with classmates and
critique each other’s work. These
critiqued drafts should be submitted with the final draft of the paper. In addition, part of each class will be
devoted to strengthening research and writing skills.
Portfolio Project
Each student will select
one or two primary source documents not assigned for class (these may be from
the Amt reader, the Online Medieval Sourcebook, or other approved primary
source collections) and connect these to one of the themes raised in
class. Using the library’s resources,
you will find at least three scholarly articles on that theme. Using these articles, the chosen document(s),
and readings from class, you will write a 5-7 page paper on the document and
the related theme. The entire ‘portfolio’
will be submitted on November 28th: an analysis of the document and a
description of the theme, an annotated bibliography of all materials used
(including how you found your articles), and the paper itself.
Other Course Policies
Office Hours
You can always find me in my office
during my stated office hours. I
frequently am in my office at other times during the week; if the door is open,
feel free to drop by at this time to discuss anything related to class,
If you cannot make the normal office
hours and I’m not in my office when you drop by, you can also set up an
appointment to see me; I teach five days a week this semester and so can
usually make time to see you. The best
way to get in touch with me, home or office, is by email, though it may take up
to 2 days for me to get back to you. If
you call my office, and I don’t pick up, leave a voicemail with your name and
number and I will get back to you, usually fairly quickly. Please, do not call me at home.
Late Papers & Extensions
Reaction papers handed in after the
start of class will be marked down one full letter grade (e.g., B+ to C+); I
will not accept reaction papers once the class has been dismissed. For the short papers and the portfolio
project, there is no penalty if the paper is turned in by 5pm of the day of
class. If the paper is turned in by 5pm
the following Monday (i.e., one full week), it will be marked down one full
letter grade. After that, late papers
will not be accepted.
Extensions on deadlines are at my
discretion; you are far more likely to get an extension if you contact me
before the paper is due.
A Note on Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation
(conscious or unconscious) of someone else’s words or ideas as your own. Plagiarism is not limited to published works;
it includes other students’ papers and web sites. You are certainly allowed to quote works by
others (though use of such quotations should be minimal) when proper reference
is given, but under no circumstances should you incorporate someone else’s work
into your own. If you refer to someone
else’s idea, or paraphrase them, even if there is not a direct quote, you must
cite where you found that information; unreferenced paraphrasing is
plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious
offence; it is intellectual theft. If I
detect plagiarism, I will give the assignment a 0 (the same as if you had not
turned it in at all) and refer the case to the Dean, possibly resulting in expulsion
from this course, suspension, and/or expulsion.
More information on Academic Honesty and Plagiarism at Kenyon can be
found at http://www.kenyon.edu/x11747.xml.
Disability
Statement
If you have specific physical,
psychological, medical, or learning disabilities that require accommodation for
you to carry out the assigned coursework, contact the Office of Disability
Services (ext. 5145) and the Coordinator, Erin Salva (salvae@kenyon.edu), will
review your concerns and help determine what accommodations are
appropriate. I am happy to provide
whatever accommodation is necessary, but you must go through the Office. Everything you tell them is confidential.
Finally . . . this course is designed to be challenging;
it is not supposed to grind you down or be a “weed-out” course. If you are feeling overwhelmed or are having difficulty
with the reading or work load, come see me! We can discuss strategies for writing,
researching, or reading, go over material discussed in class, and in general
help find ways to get you back on track.
Schedule
Note: Additional readings may be assigned
as necessary.
* = on
reserve in Olin ** = on reserve in ERES
and Seitz House
All other
journal articles are available through JSTOR
29 August Introduction
5 September The History of Women and Women’s History
Amt:
Introduction.
Power:
Foreword.
Beatrice
Gottlieb, “The Problem of Feminism in the Fifteenth Century,” in The
Selected
Writings of Christine de Pizan, pp. 274-297.
Judith M.
Bennett, “Medievalism and Feminism,” Speculum 68 (1993): 309-331.
*Barbara
Hanawalt, “Golden Ages for the History of Medieval Women,” in Stuard,
ed.,
Women in Medieval History and Historiography, pp. 1-24.
**Joan
Kelly-Gadol, “Did Women Have a Renaissance?” in Bridenthal and Koonz,
eds.,
Becoming Visible: Women in European History (1977), 137-164.
12 Sept. Myth & Misogyny: Women, Gender,
and Sex
Amt:
13-28, 98-112.
Power:
Chapter 1.
Ruth Mazo
Karras, “The Regulation of Brothels in Later Medieval
Signs
14 (1989): 399-433.
Joan Scott,
“Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis,” American
Historical
Review 91 (1986): 1053-1075.
R. Howard
Bloch, “Medieval Misogyny,” Representations 20 (1987): 1-24.
Judith
Bennett, “Writing Fornication: Medieval Leyrwite and Its Historians,” in
Transactions
of the Royal Historical Society 13 (2003): 131-162.
[Available
through the OhioLink Electronic
Library session
I: Women
& Work
19 Sept. Wives and Mothers
Amt:
53-67, 79-91.
Bennett, Medieval
Life: Chapters 1-4, 6 (skim chap. 1).
Power:
Chapter 3 [optional].
*David
Herlihy, Medieval Households: 73-130.
26 Sept. Women’s Work I: In the Countryside
Amt:
179-193.
Bennett, Medieval
Life: Chapters 7, 9-10.
Sandy
Bardsley, “Women’s work reconsidered: gender and wage differentiation
in
late medieval
**John Hatcher
& Sandy Bardsley, Debate, in Past and Present 173 (2001):
191-
202.
3 October Women’s Work II: In Villages and Towns
Amt:
194-215.
Bennett, Ale,
Beer, and Brewsters (entire)
*Barbara Hanawalt,
“The Host, the Law, and the Ambiguous Space of Medieval
London
Taverns,” in idem, ed., Of Good and Ill Repute: Gender and
Social
Control in Medieval
10 Oct. Reading Day – No Class [Homework – peer review]
II: Women
& Religion
17 Oct. Saints, Nuns, and Abbesses
Amt:
219-262.
Power:
Chapter 5 [optional].
*Brenda
Bolton, “Mulieres Sanctae,” in Stuard, ed., Women in Medieval Society,
pp.
141-158.
The
Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/perpetua.html
24 Oct. Mystics & Heretics
Amt:
263-278, 305-316.
The
Book of Margery Kempe: Introduction, pp. 1-106.
Confessions
by Cathar heretics to Inquisitor Jacques Fournier:
Agnes
Francou
http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/english/Fournier/afrancou.htm
Beatrice
de Planissoles
http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/english/Fournier/deplanis.htm
Grazide
Lizier
http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/english/Fournier/grazide.htm
Short Paper #1 due
Unit
III: Women and Literature
31 Oct. Early Women Writers
Hroswitha/Roswitha
of Gandersheim, Dulcitus
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/roswitha-dulcitius.html
Anna
Comnena, Alexiad
Preface
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/AnnaComnena-Alexiad-intro.html
Book
I.X-XIV (skim until you get to the
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/annacomnena-alexiad01.html
Book
IV.VI
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/annacomnena-alexiad04.html
7 November Women & Literacy; Women in Male Lit.
Power:
Chapter 4.
*Pamela
Sheingorn, “’The Wise Mother’: The Image of
Virgin
Mary,” in Erler & Kowaleski, eds., pp. 105-134.
Chaucer,
Prologue to the Wife of Bath’s Tale
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/CT-prolog-bathmod.html
14 Nov. Marie de France
Lais
of Marie de France:
21 Nov. * * * Thanksgiving
Break * * *
28 Nov. Christine de Pizan
Selected
Writings of Christine de Pizan: 5-44, 109-113, 116-173.
Portfolio Project Due; No
Reaction Paper
Unit IV:
Power and Violence
5 December Crime & Women
Amt:
45-49, 56-57, 60-63, 67-78.
Socrates
Scholasticus, “The Murder of Hypatia”
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/hypatia.html
*Barbara
Hanawalt, “Whose Story was This? Rape Narratives in Medieval
English
Courts,” in idem, Of Good and Ill Repute, pp. 124-141.
12 Dec. Medieval Queens & Female Kings
Amt:
121-178.
The Conversion
of
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/gregory-clovisconv.html
The Conversion
of
(read
parts 1 (Kent) and 3 (
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/bede1.html
Peter of
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/eleanor.html
1 p.m., 20 December Short Paper #2 Due