Postgraduate Course: Contacts and Conflicts between East and West 600-900: the Pirenne Thesis Re-examined (PGHC11171)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This postgraduate course examines changes which occurred in political, economic and cultural relations between the Eastern and Western areas of the Mediterranean world between the late sixth century and the late Carolingian period. Particular emphasis will be placed on differing scholarly views of the extent of these contacts since the time of Henri Pirenne and the consequences which various changes had for each area.
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| Course description |
The course aims: a) To develop or enhance an understanding of economic, political and cultural change within the Mediterranean zone over the period c.300 and 1900 and the effect this had on various areas, especially Italy and the Byzantine Empire. b) To acquaint students with a range of sources which illuminate the developments studied and to develop skills in the analytical use of such primary evidence. c) To study the main scholarly contributions to the debate in their historiographical context and to critically examine and question such views.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate in a detailed and critical command of the body of knowledge concerning the changing relations between the Eastern and Western parts of the Mediterranean world from the sixth to the ninth century
- Demonstrate an ability to analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship primary source materials concerning and conceptual discussions
- Demonstrate in [an ability to understand and apply specialised research or professional skills, techniques and practices considered in the course
- Demonstrate the ability to develop and sustain original scholarly arguments in oral and written form [in seminar discussions, presentations, and online forum posts] by independently formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence considered in the course
- Demonstrate in seminars and presentations originality and independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers; and a considerable degree of autonomy
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Reading List
D. Abulafia, The Great Sea (Oxford, 2011)
T. Brown, Gentlemen and Officers. Imperial Administration and Aristocratic power in Byzantine Italy (London, 1984)
L. Brubaker and J. Haldon, Byzantium in the iconoclast era (c. 680-850): a history (Cambridge, 2011)
H. Chadwick, East and West: the making of a rift in the Church: from apostolic times until the Council of Florence (Oxford, 2003)
R. Hodges and D. Whitehouse, Mohammed, Charlemagne and the origins of Europe: archaeology and the Pirenne thesis (London, 1981)
J. Howard-Johnston, ed. Byzantium and the West, c. 850-1200 (Amsterdam, 1988)
P. Horden and N. Purcell, The Corrupting Sea (London, 2001)
M. Maas, ed., Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian (Cambridge, 2004)
M. McCormick, Origins of the European Economy (Cambridge, 2001)
H. Pirenne, Mahomet and Charlemagne (London, 1939)
J. Pryor, Geography, technology and war: studies in the maritime history of the Mediterranean, 649-1571 (Cambridge, 1988) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Contacts Conflicts East West Pirenne Thesis |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Tom Brown
Tel: (0131 6)50 3761
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Lindsay Scott
Tel: (0131 6)50 9948
Email: |
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