Europe in the Middle Ages

This course explores European and Mediterranean history from the Late Roman Empire through the beginnings of the Renaissance and Reformation (ca. AD 300-1550). The course will begin by setting the stage with a brief retrospective of the Roman Empire and early Christianity. It then examines the transformations of Late Antiquity, including various ?barbarian invasions?, fragmentation of the Roman Empire, the emergence of the Byzantine Empire, and the rise of Islam. Next, the course will follow political, economic, cultural, and religious developments across the Early and High Middle Ages. A number of themes will animate the course: religion and politics, the search for governable political units, economic structures and everyday life, the role of women in society, and the dynamics of intercultural relationships. We will conclude with the radical changes of the Later Middle Ages: the onset of the Renaissance and religious ?heresies? that produced the Reformation.