HIST 225 Crusades and Convivencia: Understanding the Medieval Mediterranean
This course explores the medieval Mediterranean as a dynamic space of both intense conflict and rich cultural coexistence and exchange. Spanning the seventh to seventeenth centuries, we examine the interwoven histories of Christians, Muslims, and Jews across Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia. While the Crusades often dominate popular narratives of this era—emphasizing religious warfare and division—this course offers a revisionist account that explores periods of convivencia: coexistence, collaboration, and mutual influence in science, philosophy, trade, and daily life.
We also decenter Latin Christendom to highlight the diversity of voices and power structures across the region. From Fatimid Cairo to Norman Sicily, from the libraries of Córdoba to the battlefields of Jerusalem, we critically examine the interdependence of empires, faiths, and ideas. Through close engagement with primary sources and critical scholarship, students will interrogate the very categories of “civilization,” “holy war,” and “cultural contact,” and consider how these concepts continue to shape our understanding of the past.
Core Requirements Met
- Pre-1800
- Global Connections