Barbarian invasions! Mass conversions to monotheistic religions like Islam and Christianity! The fall of Rome! Ascetical drop-outs who criticize mainstream society from its margins! New gender roles! The dissemination of radically new technologies! People adopting more sustainable economic patterns! And of course fascinating new ways of defining otherness… All of these themes are integral to the history of early medieval Europe and receive due attention in Hist./Mems 210. In “Early Medieval Europe” we cover the social, economic, and cultural history of Europe and the Mediterranean from around AD 300 to 1000, pretty much the most exciting centuries in the historical record, and certainly the ones when the contemporary order of things (nation-states, universal religions, integrated for-profit economies) first came into being in western Eurasia.

Course Requirements:

Requirements are a mid-term and a final exam, and two 4-page essays with flexible deadlines. Weekly readings amount to about 75 pages (most readings are pdfs on the course Canvas site; textbooks cost less than $100).

Intended Audience:

The course is suitable for students of every class year.

Class Format:

Hist./Mems 210 involves two lectures and one discussion section meeting per week.