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ASU History and Antholopology
Augusta State University

Books

Grading & Assignments

Schedule

Description:
This course will cover the history of the British Isles with emphasis on England. We will begin our study with the first peoples on the island and work our way through the Celts, the Roman invasion, the Saxon takeover, the Norman conquest, and on up to the Tudors. England and the English people and culture are fascinating. Having originally settled our local Augusta, it will be like looking at our own past.  Perhaps several of you have British, Scottish, or Irish ancestor and don’t even know it. The stuff of kings and queens, peasants and craftsmen, the basis for Renaissance fairs today, as well as much of the fantasy literature available, the early history of England plays on the imagination of many. Enjoy, but don't sit back, leap into the readings, sources, and history.

Books:

Clayton Roberts, David Roberts, & Douglas R. Bisson. A History of England. vol I. Prehistory to 1714. 4th edition. Prentice Hall, 2002. ISBN: 0-13-206475-8

Eleanor Shipley Duckett. Alfred the Great: The King and His England. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1956. ISBN: 0-226-16779-8

Amy Kelly. Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1950. ISBN: 0-674-24254-8

David Crouch. William Marshal: Knighthood, War and Chivalry, 1147-1219. London: Longman, 2002. ISBN: 0-582-77222-2

Anne Somerset. Elizabeth I. Anchor Books, 2003. ISBN: 0-385-72157-9

Grading:
20% Midterm #1: Pre-Conquest England
20% Midterm #2: The Early and High Medieval Periods
20% Midterm #3 (Final): Late Medieval & Early Modern England
20% Oral Report
20% Research Paper

Please note: At the end of the second week, a formal proposal of your paper topic is due.  If you have not ever written a proposal, let me know and I will explain.  The oral report you give in class will be on the material you have been researching for the paper.  The comments and questions from your fellow classmates and your instructor should help you with your finished product.

Schedule:
Week 1 (meet January 9, 11)
Introductory lecture: "The Island of Britannia"
Lecture: "The Roman Invasion and Legacy"

Week 2 (meet January 16, 18)
Lecture: "Celtic Christianity, Arthurian Legends and other Celtic-Roman syncretism"
Lecture: "The Angles, the Saxons, and the Vikings"
Due: Research paper proposal (1-2 pages, typed)

Week 3 (meet January 23, 25)
Discussion: Alfred the Great: The King and His England.
Midterm #1: Pre-Conquest England

Week 4 (meet January 30, February 1)
Lecture: "The Norman conquest"
Lecture: "Norman England"

Week 5 (meet February 6, 8)
Lecture: "The Angevins and English Law"
Discussion: Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings.

Week 6 (meet February 13, 15)
Lecture: "Richard, John, the Crusades and Robin Hood"
Discussion: The Magna Carta and English Law & Politics

Week 7 (meet February 20, 22)
Lecture: "Shires, Villages, Towns & Cities: structure and commerce"
Lecture: "Manorialism: Peasant Life"

Week 8 (meet February 27, no class on March 1)
Midterm #2: The Early and High Medieval Periods

Week 9 (meet March 6, no class March 8 - Spring Pause)
Lecture: "The unstable Thirteenth Century"

Week 10 (meet March 13, 15)
Discussion: William Marshal: Knighthood, War and Chivalry, 1147-1219.
Lecture: "Changes of the 14th Century: Famine, the Black Death and the Peasant Revolt"

Week 11 (meet March 20, 22)
Lecture: "The Wars of the Roses and the Hundred Years' War"
Lecture: "Henry Tudor: a dreamer"

Week 12 (meet March 27, 29)
Lecture: "Henry VIII, the English Reformation"
Lecture: "Edward VI, Mary and other challengers to the throne"

Week 13 (Spring Break - April 3, 5)

Week 14 (April 10, 12)
Discussion: Elizabeth I.
Lecture: "Elizabethian England"

Week 15 (April 17, 19)
Lecture: "Scottish rulers in England"
Lecture: "High Lord Protector"

Week 16 (April 24, 26)
Discussion: The Return to Monarchy
Due: Research Paper
Lecture: "The Glorious Revolution"

Week 17 (May 1)
Midterm #3: Renaissance England

Dr. Turner's Homepage

ASU History and Antholopology

Augusta State University