2018/19 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

HIST2035 Medieval Masculinities: Sex, Violence and Learning 1000-1200

20 creditsClass Size: 21

Module manager: Maroula Perisanidi
Email: M.Perisanidi@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2018/19

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

In this module, we will compare representations of masculinity in Byzantium and the West in the High Middle Ages, focusing on learning, sex, and violence. To what extent was education a male preserve? Did husbands decide if it was time for sex or abstinence? Were clerics who were not allowed to fight considered less manly than their secular counterparts? This module will ask these and other questions in order to explore how constructions of gendered identities changed to adapt to new social and religious contexts.

Objectives

The module aims to encourage students:
(1) to reflect on constructions and representations of medieval masculinities;
(2) to understand the main historical debates around the themes of education, sex, and violence;
(3) to identify broader differences and similarities between Western Europe and Byzantium in the High Middle Ages.

Learning outcomes
After successful completion of this module, the students will be able to demonstrate:
(1) familiarity with the theoretical approaches to the study of masculinity and gender more generally;
(2) understanding of the challenges and advantages of doing comparative history;
(3) knowledge of the social, religious, and political organisation of England and the Byzantine empire in the High Middle Ages;
(4) analytical and presentational skills in written assignments, group discussions, and oral presentations.

Syllabus

Week 1 Introduction
Learning
Week 2 Education in England and Byzantium
Week 3 Michael Psellos and the Byzantine Scholar
Week 4 Byrhtferth and the Formation of Monastic Identity
Sex
Week 5 Sexual Abstinence: Monks and Secular Clerics
Week 6 Husbands and Fathers: Sex and Procreation
Week 7 The Marital Debt and Spousal Equality
Violence
Week 8 The Attractions of Violent Entertainment
Week 9 Men on the Hunt
Week 10 Churchmen and Warriors
Week 11 Concluding Lecture/Exam Revision

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	11	1.00	11.00
Tutorial	9	1.00	9.00
Private study hours			180.00
Total Contact hours			20.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Reading to prepare for seminars and presentations; self-directed reading around the topic; researching, preparing and writing assessments; reading and revision to prepare for the examination.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students will receive formative feedback for the first two items of assessment (presentation and essay) which they can use to prepare for their exam.
Further feedback will be given through interaction in seminars and in my office hours.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	2,000 word essay, due by 12 noon Monday of week 8 semester 2	40.00
Presentation	Verbal presentation to be given in class at tutor's direction, throughout semester	10.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)	2 hr 00 mins	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 29/06/2018

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