Module Information

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
a) Demonstrate familiarity with a substantial body of historical knowledge in the field of the crusades, Byzantium and Islamic society.
b) Engage in source criticism, discussion and understanding of medieval attitudes and mentalities concerning religious and cultural minorities, both in the Latin West as well as the Byzantine and Islamic East.
c) Demonstrate familiarity with a wide range of historical techniques relevant to constructing a plausible image of the past, and of gaging the attitudes, expectations and intentions underpinning the production and survival of the available evidence.
d) Gather and sift appropriate items of historical evidence
e) Read, analyse and reflect critically on secondary and primary texts, in particular medieval chronicles and historical narratives, polemical writings and legal texts, largely from western Europe, but also Byzantium and the Muslim world.
f) Explore the relationships between history and other disciplines, particularly literature and anthropology.
g) Develop the ability to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of particular historical arguments and where necessary challenge them.
h) Develop oral (not assessed) and written skills which will have been improved through seminar discussions and essays
i) Work both independently and collaboratively, and to participate in group discussions (not assessed).

Brief description