HIS2129 ¨C Topics in Early Medieval Culture

Course content

The early Middle Ages was a period that witnessed profound transformation of Europe in economic, social, and political spheres. Last but not least, a radical cultural change took place in those centuries, whereby a new world of Christian Europe was built upon the remnants of the classical civilisation. Many cultural traits of that world have survived into modern times and are repeatedly invoked in modern debates on European identity. Moreover, the new cultural history, a new historiographic trend gaining popularity from the 1990s, has made medieval culture a field of historiographic research as important as medieval political or economic history. It is not surprising therefore that various topics of early medieval culture have attracted growing interest among medievalists in the past few decades. This interest, combined with new methodological insights, has thus made the history of early medieval culture a vibrant academic field both in Europe and North America.

Learning outcome

This course aims to familiarise students with a number of topics pertaining to early medieval cultural history, such as magic, gender, political culture, ritual, cult of saints, visual art, literacy, orality, and manuscript culture. Some of them have been focusing points of ardent academic discussion in the past two decades. The course will therefore not only overview those selected topics of early medieval cultural history but also introduce students to on-going theoretical debates in that field - such as the nature and role of early medieval rituals and the interplay between literary texts and other media, between word and image, and between literacy and orality. Students will also learn to read relevant academic literature critically and to participate in related oral discussions in English.

Central to the course will be the term paper. Throughout the term, students will develop their term paper and learn how to work with primary sources and relevant academic literature for the purpose of writing an academic paper. The course, therefore, seeks to familiarise students with the research writing process.

The course is intended for students with a working knowledge of English, who have already taken introductory survey courses in medieval history and are familiar with the factual and chronological framework of European history between c.300 to c.1000.

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

Recommended previous knowledge

A good ability to read and communicate in English is required for this course.

A minimum of 30 credits in humanities or social sciences is recommended.

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with HIS4129 ¨C Topics in Early Medieval Culture.

Teaching

The course will be taught in the form of twelve two-hour seminars, consisting of discussions, exercises, and group work. The students will also discuss the development of their research portfolio throughout the term. Students are expected to attend all classes and read the assigned literature for each class.

Compulsory assignment: During the semester, all students will also develop a research portfolio that will serve as the foundation for their individual exam paper. The portfolio is designed to help students formulate research questions, establish a framework, and conduct source analysis for the term paper. Submission of the completed portfolio is required in order to qualify for the final examination.

The course is taught in English, but students can submit written assignments in Norwegian if they prefer.

Resources and information in this course will be provided via?Canvas.

Examination

The exam is comprised of a research portfolio and a term paper. The research portfolio will be submitted in the first part of the term and counts for 30% of the final grade.

The portfolio consists of three short assignments. The assignments build upon each other, and will reflect the gradual development of the individual research process. They will help the students to create the groundwork for the writing of the final term paper.

The final exam is a research paper, it will be delivered at the end of the term and counts for 70% of the final grade. The length of the final exam should be a maximum of 4000 words. The topic and framework of the individual exam papers will be based on the work developed in the research portfolio by the individual students throughout the term.

More information about the term paper and the research portfolio will be announced at the first meeting.

Language of examination

You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• How to use AI as a student
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.