Crusade, Columbus and Empire
History 4379/5379
Fall Semester, 1998
Dr. Brodman

Office: Main 12 D
Telephone: 450-5625
E-mail: jimb@mail.uca.edu
Office Hours: MWF, 10 am; TT, 1:30

This course seeks to explore the history of the Iberian Peninsula from 1000 AD to 1650 in order to understand the background and the unfolding of European expansion and imperialism during the early modern era. Among the themes to be considered are conquest and settlement, multiculturalism, tolerance/intolerance, state-building and the problems of empire.

Required Texts:
1. Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim and Jewish Sources, ed. Remie Constable
2. Henry Kamen: Spain, 1469-1714: A Society of Conflict, 2nd ed.

Course Requirements: Three examinations, reading assignments plus:

 1. Undergraduates:
Option A: Three Book Reports (The books are to be chosen from the course bibliography and the reports prepared according to the "Style Sheet for Book Reports" .
Option B: A research paper (15-20 pages) on a topic chosen in consultation with the professor.
2. Graduate Students: historiographical term paper on major problem (e.g., the Inquisition, Columbus, race relations, character of Philip II, etc.)


General Policies: Regular attendance and completion of all assignments, reading and written, are requirements for the successful completion of this course. Class discussion is essential to the learning objectives of the course, consequently particular emphasis will be placed on the reading assignments as the basis for that discussion. Unannounced quizzes and/or electronic responses may be utilized to this end. Normally absences in excess of four will be considered to be excessive and grounds for dismissal from the class. The University of CentralArkansas adheres to the requirements of the Americans with DisabilitiesAct. If you need an accommodation under this Act due to a disability, contactthe Office of Disabilities Support Services at 450-3135.

 
 

Course Outline and Text Reading Assignments:


 






August 25-27: What is Spain? Kamen: vii-xv;

September 1-3: The Medieval Reconquest and the Formation of the Hispanic States
        September 1: Medieval Iberia, 209-222
        September 3: Medieval Iberia, 228-231, 250-61

September 8-11: Spain and Portugal in the Age of Disorder

September 15-22: Ferdinand and Isabel: Unification and Pacification; Kamen: 1-32.
        September 22: Medieval Iberia, 343-51

September 24: Review; First Book Report Due; Term Paper Topics Due

September 29: First Examination

October 1-8: The Spanish Inquistion; Economic Development; Kamen 32-54.
        October 1&6: Medieval Iberia, 269-75, 280-84, 330-42; 352-363

October 13-15: Foreign Policy;  Kamen: 57-61.

October 20-27: Portuguese Exploration; The Discovery of America; Kamen: 54-57.
        October 20: Medieval Iberia, 378-381
        October 22: Medieval Iberia, 371-377

October 29-November 3: Charles V and the New Empire; Kamen: 62-91.

November 3: Second Book Report Due; Term Paper Outline and Bibliography Due

November 5: Second Examination

November 10-13: The Hapsburg Empire in Europe and America; Kamen: 91-121.

November 17-19: Philip II--Prudent or Reckless? How to govern the ungovernable? Kamen: 122-126

November 24: Philip II and Imperial Defense; Kamen: 126-168

November 30: Spanish Society in the Sixteenth Century; Kamen: 168- 195; Term Papers Due; Third Book Report Due

December 3: Race Relations in the Spanish and Portuguese Empires.

December 8: Spain and the Seventeenth Century Crises; Kamen: 196- 257

December 10: The Problem of National and Imperial Decline; Kamen: 258-275

December 17: Final Examination