HISTORY 1300-001
WINTER 2016
TITLE:
Reading and Writing about Borders and Peripheries:
LIMITS AND DIVISIONS IN MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN HISTORY
INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Sébastien Rossignol
FORMAT:
Lecture/Discussion
DESCRIPTION:
This course introduces students to reading and writing skills required for success in university,
including the analysis of scholarly literature and of sources written during the historical period under study.
Significant class time will be spent on instruction in these skills. Students will practice analytical reading and
writing through class discussion and assignments related to the history of borders and peripheries.
How does it feel to live at the periphery? What is a border and how can it be recognized? What is a
historical region? Borders, peripheries, and regions are central concepts for the study of history, but their
significance is not always fully appreciated. Borders seem an obvious thing today but were understood quite
differently in the distant past. Historical regions are constantly mentioned by historians but how they change
with the passage of time is not always made clear. This course will explore some of these questions through
an examination of European history, with a special focus on the Middle Ages. Students will study how
concepts like “border,” “frontier,” or “centre and periphery” have been understood in the Middle Ages and
how they have been used by modern historians studying the past. Readings will include some classic and
influential texts from historical scholarship, as well as primary sources offering the point of view of
individuals living in the Middle Ages.
OFFERED:
Slot 2 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:00-9:50)
READINGS:
William Kelleher Storey and Towser Jones, Writing History: A Guide for Canadian Students, 3nd
Canadian Edition (Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2011).
Additional readings will be provided by the instructor.
EVALUATION:
Short assignment
15%
Library assignment
10%
Essay outline
10%
Draft of analytical essay
10%
Research essay
20%
Participation
10%
Exam
25%
This course is designated as a Critical Reading and Writing course. A significant amount of class time will
be spent in developing communication skills. The instructors will guide students in historical analysis and
the preparation of written work, using library and other resources. In the process, participants will be
introduced to the concepts, methods, and procedures used by professional historians.