Unit information: Literacy in the Middle Ages (Level C Special Topic) in 2009/10

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 Literacy in the Middle Ages (Level C Special Topic)
Unit code HIST14025
Credit points 20
Level of study C/4
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director Emeritus Professor. Pemberton
Open unit status Not open
Pre-requisites

none
Co-requisites

none
School/department Department of History (Historical Studies)
Faculty Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

The Middle Ages are often - inaccurately - labeled the 'Dark Ages', a period of supposed cultural decline clinging to the faltering remains of the Roman world. But in contrast this same period is also sometimes described as the roots of European civilization, witnessing the birth of the individual and the origin of capitalism. So what was the real picture? This unit addresses a fundamental aspect of medieval culture through the detailed study of the written word, and of the ways in which people wrote, read, and communicated. The unit explores the relationship between orality and writing, the development of the written word in government and administration, and the role of Latin as a universal language for communication. Full use is made of a wide range of primary sources, which are studied in translation.

Aims:

  • To place students in direct contact with the current research interests of the academic tutor and to enable them to explore the issues surrounding the state of research in the field.
  • To introduce students to working with primary sources
  • To introduce students to issues relating to setting primary sources in their wider context
  • To introduce students to the practice of learning independently within a small-group context.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit students should have:

  • deepened their understanding of a particular aspect of current historical research
  • learned how to work with primary sources
  • developed their skills in contributing to and learning from a small-group environment.

Teaching Information

  • Weekly 2-hour seminar
  • Tutorial feedback on essay
  • Access to tutorial consultation with unit tutor in office hours

[This unit is linked to HIST 13003 Special topic project]

Assessment Information

1 x 2 hour exam

Reading and References

  • Mary Carruthers, The Book of Memory: A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture (2008).
  • Michael T. Clanchy, From Memory to Written Record. England, 1066-1307 (1979).
  • Patrick Geary, Phantoms of Remembrance: Memory and Oblivion at the End of the First Millennium (1994)
  • Rosamond McKitterick (ed.), The Uses of Literacy in Early Medieval Europe (1990).
  • Brian Stock, The Implications of Literacy (1987)

Related links