History 137: Before Europe-The Early Medieval World 250 - c.1050

Initial Publication Date: November 30, 2009

Faculty Member: Bill North
Class Description:
This course examines the formation of western Christendom from its origins in the Christian Roman Empire to its consolidation in the eleventh century. As we move from Merovingian Gaul, Lombard Italy, and Anglo-Saxon England to the Carolingian Empire and its successor kingdoms in Germany, France, and Italy, we will examine such issues as the cultural and political legacy of the Roman and Carolingian worlds; the nature and forms of secular and sacred power; gender roles and relations; ethnic and social identity; and the forms, patterns and meaning of communication (political, economic, ritual, literary, religious) both inside and outside early medieval Europe.


Watch/Download Full Video (MP4 Video 70.6MB Jul31 17): 29:58 min.

Class video



Course Goals
Chapter 1: Course Goals (MP4 Video 8.2MB Jul28 17) (4:16 min)
Bill talks about the variety of interests that students bring to his course, and the course goals of close reading and the uses and problems of historical evidence for the medieval period.

Obstacles
Chapter 2: Obstacles (MP4 Video 15.5MB Jul28 17) (2:41 min)
Bill discusses misconceptions that students bring to his class and how he tries to dispel them.

hist137_3
Chapter 3: Lecture/Questions: Creating Interplay (MP4 Video 44.3MB Jul28 17) (5:08 min)
Bill describes his approach to a class period, his own agenda, and how he tries to balance that with student questions and confusions.

We Don\'t Know
Chapter 4: We Don't Know (MP4 Video 30.3MB Jul28 17) (3:38 min)
Bill emphasizes the importance of the interpretation of evidence in conjunction with a clear understanding of the limitations of that evidence.

Teaching Complex Ideas: Power
Chapter 5: Teaching Complex Ideas - Power (MP4 Video 9.8MB Jul28 17) (5:34 min)
Bill talks about the need to treat complex material in a way that does not oversimplify it. This involves the use of multiple examples and counter-examples.

Watching Oneself Teach
Chapter 6: Watching Oneself Teach (MP4 Video 6.3MB Jul28 17) (3:29 min)
Bill describes his reaction to watching himself on video and the insight he gained about how he uses classroom space and the blackboard.

How Have You Changed
Chapter 7: How Have You Changed (MP4 Video 10.3MB Jul31 17) (4:22 min)
Bill reflects on how he has developed as a teacher, including staging assignments and attention to writing in general. He also describes his own increased comfort in sharing his own research and the process of how historians work.