Outline

Overview

This unit examines the history of the high medieval Mediterranean world during the Crusades era (c1050-c1300). Topics include the struggle for influence between the Latin West, Byzantium and Islam, and the multi-faceted social, economic and cultural contacts connecting the regions of the Great Sea.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	History
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 1000-level in History or Ancient History
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	HSTY2018
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Helene Sirantoine, helene.sirantoine@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Participation	Participation Details on unit Canvas website.	10%	-	n/a
Outcomes assessed:
Final exam	Take-home exam Details on unit Canvas website.	30%	Formal exam period Due date: 09 Jun 2020 at 17:00	1.5 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay bibliography Topics, instructions and assessment criteria on unit Canvas website.	10%	Week 05 Due date: 27 Mar 2020 at 17:00 Closing date: 08 Apr 2020	500wd
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay outline Topics, instructions and assessment criteria on unit Canvas website.	10%	Week 08 Due date: 20 Apr 2020 at 17:00 Closing date: 01 May 2020	500wd
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Final essay Topics, instructions and assessment criteria on unit Canvas website.	40%	Week 11 Due date: 15 May 2020 at 17:00 Closing date: 05 Jun 2020	2000wd
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Essay

In this unit you are asked to write a research paper, based on a provided topic, for which you will submit an annotated bibliography and an outline, prior to submitting your finalised essay;
Essay topics, instructions, and assessment criteria are available on the unit Canvas website. In preparation of the tutorial in week 4, dedicated to prepare your first assignment (Essay bibliography), you must know which topic you will research: make sure you have read the essay instructions and chosen an essay topic before then!
Return dates: marks and feedback for each assignment will be returned on the closing dated indicated in the table above;
All written assignments must be submitted online. It is students’ responsibility to make sure they followed the submission procedure adequately. Remember that no assignment will be accepted when submitted after its closing date (see above), unless special consideration has been granted.
If you encounter issues that prevent you from submitting on time, you should always contact your unit coordinator to discuss with her possible solutions.

Final examination

The final take-home exam will ask you to display evidence of serious engagement with the topics addressed in lectures and tutorials. We will discuss the structure and contents of the exam in the final lecture (week 13). Instructions and assessment criteria will be provided on Canvas on Friday 5 June at 9am.

Tutorial participation

Participation will be graded depending on the quality of each student’s involvement in the activities of the tutorials. Students must complete the assigned readings as indicated on the unit Canvas website, and will demonstrate their interest by sharing actively the results of their preparation.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Unit introduction	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 01	The Mediterranean background of the Crusades (1): The Islamic world between fragmentation and reorganisation	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 02	The Mediterranean background of the Crusades (2): The expansion of Western Christendom and the nine 'canonical' crusades	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	William of Tyre (d. 1184) on the new balance of power in the mid-twelfth-century Middle East	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 03	The Mediterranean background of the Crusades (3): Decline of Byzantium	Lecture (1 hr)
	The Mediterranean background of the Crusades (4): Zoom on… The battle of Hattin (4 July 1187)	Lecture (1 hr)
	Crusades and crusaders seen from Byzantium	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 04	Ideological basis of military contacts (1): Holy war and the notion of crusade	Lecture (1 hr)
	Ideological basis of military contacts (2): Jihad and its practice in high Middle Ages	Lecture (1 hr)
	LIBRARY SESSION	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 05	Ideological basis of military contacts (3): Zoom on… How did Muslims see the Crusade?	Lecture (1 hr)
	Ideological basis of military contacts (4): The crusades between diversion, renewal, and denunciation	Lecture (1 hr)
	Criticising the Crusades	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 06	Places of encounter (1): The Crusader States	Lecture (1 hr)
	Places of encounter (2): The Iberian Peninsula between "reconquista" and "convivencia"	Lecture (1 hr)
	Christian rulers and Muslim party-kings in the Iberian Peninsula (eleventh-twelth century)	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 07	Places of encounter (3): Sicily at the crossroads of Mediterranean cultures	Lecture (1 hr)
	Places of encounter (4): Zoom on… Cairo	Lecture (1 hr)
	Mediterranean cities during the age of the Crusades	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 08	The Other (1): Islam and Muslims seen by Christians	Lecture (1 hr)
	The Other (2): Christianity and Christendom seen by Muslims	Lecture (1 hr)
	Christian views of Islam in the early twelfth century	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 09	The Other (3): Minorities in multi-cultural societies	Lecture (1 hr)
	The Other (4): Cultural brokers	Lecture (1 hr)
	A Dominican missionary in medieval Iraq: Riccoldo da Montecroce (d. 1320)	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 10	The Other (5): Zoom on… Women in/and the Crusades	Lecture (1 hr)
	Exchanging goods and knowledge (1): The transmission of Arabic knowledge to Latin Europe	Lecture (1 hr)
	ESSAY WORKSHOPPING	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 11	READING WEEK (no class)	Lecture and tutorial (1 hr)
Week 12	Exchanging goods and knowledge (2): Mediterranean trade in the age of the Crusades	Lecture (1 hr)
	Exchanging goods and knowledge (3): Zoom on… The Geniza archives	Lecture (1 hr)
	The women of the Crusades era according to Usamah ibn-Munqidh's "Memoirs" (d. 1188)	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 13	Wrapping up: Mapping the world of the Crusades	Lecture (1 hr)
	Exam review	Lecture (1 hr)
	Iconography and the historiography of the crusades	Tutorial (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiners' Board. The Examiners' Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold. If a unit of study has a participation mark, your attendance may influence this mark. For more information on attendance, see https://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/arts/rules/faculty_resolutions_arts.shtml.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

There is no required textbook for this unit. However, as a starting point the following readings, available as e-resources via the university library catalogue, are highly recommended:

Christopher Tyerman, The Crusades: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005);
Peter Lock, The Routledge Companion to the Crusades (Abindgon: Routledge, 2006)

Additional bibliographical suggestions are provided on the unit Canvas website.

Besides, during tutorials we will read, analyse, and discuss the historical significance of primary sources related to or supplementing the topics addressed during lectures. A detailed schedule of tutorial readings is provided on the unit Canvas website.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. This unit aims to deepen students' knowledge of the Middle Ages through the exploration of the notion of 'Crusade' in the frame of the multi-cultural Mediterranean area during the central centuries of the Middle Ages.
LO2. Students learn about the modalities of contact between the three high medieval Mediterranean cultural area: the Islamic World, Byzantium, and Western Christendom. Following the narrative of the "Crusades", students consider how ideological, material, and intellectual relationships impacted on politics and diplomacy; they explore places of encounter where multi-cultural contacts took place; they also focus on the role the Crusades played in shaping conceptions and representations of the Other.
LO3. Students strengthen their sense of historical significance through the reading and analysis of primary and secondary sources. This is the main purpose of tutorials in which students practice week-by-week analytical and critical skills.
LO4. Progressive assessment allows students to conduct an original research project that strengthens their skills as independent learners.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Schedule of lectures and tutorials readings updated. Assessment topics and instructions updated.

Disclaimer

Important: the University of Sydney regularly reviews units of study and reserves the right to change the units of study available annually. To stay up to date on available study options, including unit of study details and availability, refer to the relevant handbook.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Essay

Final examination

Tutorial participation

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

HSTY2618: The Age of the Crusades

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Essay

Final examination

Tutorial participation

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links