You will write a term paper of about 5000 words (about 15 double-spaced
pages/exclusive of quotations) on a topic of your choice, relating to
the history and culture of medieval Spain, and addressing issues
discussed in this course. You may, for example, research a particular
subject (e.g., the nature and meaning of Asturian architecture, its
sources, and its use of those sources); try to answer a question and
explain the reasons for your answer (what were the connections between
the Asturian and Visigothic kingdoms? how did Christians adapt their
beliefs and practices to Muslim rule in the eighth and ninth
centuries?); critically analyze texts or works of art (e.g., different
versions of the Gothic and/or Arab conquests of Spain in early
chronicles); compare works in different media (e.g., responses to Islam
in architecture and manuscript painting of the 10th century); or assess
different interpretations of historical events (e.g., the movement for
voluntary martyrdom among Christians in 9th-century al-Andalus) or of
texts and/or works of art and architecture (e.g., the mutual exchanges
between Christian and Muslim works of architecture - the so-called
Mozarabic churches and the Mosque of Córdoba - in tenth-century
Spain). Over the next weeks, I will place additional bibliography on
the website to cover diverse topics in the course.
The paper should not be simply descriptive, informational, or a paper
“about something”. The paper could set out to demonstrate a thesis
(e.g., Mozarabic exiles were responsible for developing the connections
between the Asturian kingdom and the Visigothic past), address and
answer a question that is controversial (was the rapid collapse of the
Visigothic kingdom the result of internal weaknesses?), or compare and
assess different historians’ approaches to such a question. It could
offer an interpretive description or comparison (e.g., an explanation
of different uses of references to Islamic art in three different works
of Christian art; or of two contrasting examples of the treatment of
religious minorities). The subject of the paper should be manageable in
scope, e.g., a small group of related chronicles, poems, or churches, a
set of roughly contemporary examples of relationships between
communities of different faiths. At the same time, it should show why
your subject is significant to broader discussions of medieval Spain.
The paper must be submitted in stages. A topic and annotated
bibliography are due by FEBRUARY 28;
a draft is due by APRIL 4; and
the final paper is due by APRIL 25.
Failure to meet these deadlines with the submission of satisfactory
work will affect the final grade on your paper. At all stages, your
work will be assessed for the quality of your writing: correct grammar
and usage are preconditions for a passing grade; your writing should be
clear and your choice of words precise and economical; clarity of
expression, overall organization, and the structure of sentences and
paragraphs are other items that will specifically affect my assessment.
The first stage of the paper is the submission of the topic. This
should include:
1) a description of the subject of the paper in a full paragraph: this
must be specific enough to make clear the principal primary sources
(medieval texts and/or works of art and architecture) that you will use
in the paper
2) an explanation of why the subject is important for an understanding
of medieval Spain in a full paragraph
3) at least three specific questions that you will address in your paper
The annotated bibliography should include at least eight entries
(secondary sources: books and journal articles), and no more than three
of these should be general works. The works may be taken from the
bibliographies that I am providing on the web, but your notes should
specifically explain how the work will be helpful to you, what the
author’s basic thesis is, and what sections of the work will make the
greatest contribution to your paper. I recommend that a majority of
these works be works published in the last twenty years.
Throughout the term, I encourage you to contact me (in person or by
e-mail) to discuss the paper.