Course Syllabus

European Social History: The Rise of the Early Modern City

Course Information

Discipline and number: HIST 3331 Section: 001

Term: Fall 2006
Day: MW Time: 9:30 am – 10:45 am
Course Title: European Social History: The Rise of the Early Modern City

Professor Contact Information

Dr. Nadine D. Pederson

ndpederson@utdallas.edu
Mail Station JO 31
Office telephone: 972-883-2168
Office location: JO 5.708
Office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:00-11:30 am; Thursdays, 10:30-11:30 am
And by appointment

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

Prerequisite: Three hours of lower-division history.

Course Description

In this course, we will approach European Social History through a specific topic, the Rise of the
Early Modern City. We will analyze and evaluate primary texts relating to the social history of
late Medieval and Early Modern European urban communities, with special attention to the
transition from Medieval to Early Modern European society. The first part of the course will be
an overview of cities and their place in European social history; the second part of the course will
focus on two case studies: Florence and London. By the end of the course, students will be able to
discuss scholarship on pre-industrial cities and the impact of that scholarship on other forms of
historical inquiry. Satisfies Pre-1800 or European HIST requirement.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

• Students will analyze and evaluate primary texts relating to the social history of late
Medieval and Early Modern European urban communities.
• Students will construct scholarly arguments regarding the transition from Medieval to
Early Modern European society using primary texts.
• Students will discuss the major problems, methods, and findings of the new social
historians of Europe in the context of scholarship on pre-industrial cities and the impact
of that scholarship on other forms of historical inquiry.

Course Syllabus: Early Modern City Page 1

Required Textbooks and Materials

9 Lewis Mumford, The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects
(Harvest Books/Harcourt, 1968). ISBN 0156180359

9 George Huppert, After the Black Death: A Social History of Early Modern Europe, 2d ed.
(Indiana University Press, 1998). ISBN 0253211808

9 James Bruce Ross and Mary Martin McLaughlin, eds. The Portable Medieval Reader
(New York: Penguin, 1977. ISBN 0140150463

9 James Bruce Ross and Mary Martin McLaughlin, eds. The Portable Renaissance Reader
(New York: Penguin, 1977. ISBN 0140150617

9 Richard A. Goldthwaite, The Building of Renaissance Florence: An Economic and Social

History (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982). Reissue edition, ISBN 0801829771; also
available on-line through the History E-Book Project

9 Steve Rappaport, Worlds within Worlds: Structures of Life in Sixteenth-Century London,

new ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2002). ISBN 052189221X

Class handouts, reserve/electronic material.

Suggested Course Materials

Specific Medieval and Early Modern on-line history sources will be posted on WebCT. See also
the History E-Book Project, Early English Books Online, and Oxford Reference Online Premium
– all available in the UTD library’s e-text collection.

Assignments & Academic Calendar

August 21
Introduction

August 23: Cloister and Community; Primary Document Introduction

Reading Due: Mumford, Chapter 9; Medieval Reader pp. 1-29 and Renaissance Reader pp. 1-42.
Assignment Due: Send Dr. Pederson an e-mail through WebCT
Last Day to Register/Add

August 28
Reading Due: Salisbury, The Body Social (MR 47-48)
Jordan of Giano, How the Friars Came to Germany (MR 59-63)
Robert de Sorbonne, Statues for a College (MR 82-85)
John of Garland, How the Student Should Behave (MR 85-89)
On-line Documents (WebCT)
Assignment Due: post questions

August 30: Medieval Urban Housekeeping; Medieval Disruptions, Modern Anticipations

Reading Due: Mumford, Chapters 10-11

Course Syllabus: Early Modern City Page 2

September 1: Census Day: Last day to drop without a “W”

September 4: Labor Day Holiday

September 6
Reading Due: Stonor Letters, Private Lives of the English Gentry (MR 122-28)
Seneschaucie, The Duties of Manorial Officers (MR 130-36)
The Good Man of Paris, The Good Wife (MR 154-60)
Langland, Piers Plowman’s Protest (MR 195-202)
On-line Documents (WebCT)
Assignment Due: journal 1 (on readings 8/28 and 6/6), post questions

September 11: The Structure of Baroque Power; Court, Parade, and Capital
Reading Due: Mumford, Chapters 12-13

September 13
Reading Due: Le Roy, The Excellence of this Age (RR 91-108)
Pope Pius II, Life in Vienna (RR 208-13)
Dürer, A Painter’s Travels (RR 227-33)
Aretino, A House in Venice (RR 241-44)
Alberti, The Perfect Country House (RR 332-39)
On-line Documents (WebCT)
Assignment Due: post questions

September 18: The Eternal Village; The Freedome of the City; The Urban Community; The
Urban Elite
Reading Due: Huppert, Preface and Chapters 1-4

September 20
Reading Due: Froissart, A Noble Household (MR 117-19)
Knighton, The Impact of the Black Death (MR 216-22)
University of Paris, The Case of a Woman Doctor in Paris (MR 635-40)
Guicciardini, Antwerp, the Great Market (RR 185-202)
Erasmus, On Free Will (RR 677-93)
On-line Documents (WebCT)
Assignment Due: Journal 2 (on readings 9/13 and 9/20), post questions
September 21: WP/WF Withdrawal Period Begins

September 25: The Privileged Estates; The Evolution of Rural Society; Rebellion; On the
Margins of the Community
Reading Due: Huppert, Chapters 5-8

September 27
Reading Due: Anonimalle Chronicle, The Peasants’ Revolt in England (MR 179-93)
Roger of Wendover, The Coronation of Richard the Lion Heart (MR 273-75)
Romance of the Rose, Gather Ye Rosebuds (MR 516)
Estates General, The Plight of the French Poor (RR 214-18)

Course Syllabus: Early Modern City Page 3

Vives, The Relief of the Poor (RR 347-54)
On-line Documents (WebCT)
Assignment Due: post questions

October 2: Private Lives; Worldly Minds; War and Plunder

Reading Due: Huppert, Chapters 9-12

October 4
Reading Due: Capellanus, The Rules of Courtly Love (MR 115-17)
Journal d’un bourgeois, Paris during the Hundred Years’ War (MR 222-30)
William of Tyre, The Problems and Motives of the Historian (MR 568-72)
Vitoria, War and the Law of Nations (RR 365-71)
Fracastoro, The Health of the Mind (RR 572-73)
On-line Documents (WebCT)
Assignment Due: Journal 3 (on readings 9/27 and 10/4), post questions
Mid-term review sheet distributed

October 9: Other Approaches to Social History

Assignment Due: Summary of Scholarly Article
Discussion of articles

October 11
Mid-Term Exam

October 16: Introduction to Renaissance Florence; Patrons

Reading Due: Goldthwaite, Preface – p. 26, pp. 59-90

Mid-term Grades Due for Professors

October 17: Grades Available Online for Students

October 18
Reading Due: Ficino, The Golden Age in Florence (RR 79-80)
Dei, The Prosperity of Florence (RR 165-67)
Tasso, The Golden Age (RR 89-91)
Machiavelli, The Circle of Governments (RR 263-67)
Guicciardini, A Portrait of Lorenzo de’ Medici (RR 267-78)
Della Casa, The Perfect Gentleman (RR 340-47)
On-line Documents (WebCT)
Assignment Due: post questions

October 19: Last Day to Withdraw with WP/WF

October 23: Architecture and Space; The Guild; Conditions of Work

Reading Due: Goldthwaite, pp. 90-112, pp. 242-301

Course Syllabus: Early Modern City Page 4

October 25
Reading Due: Bracciolini, The Ruins of Rome (RR 379-84)
Platina, The Restoration of Rome (RR 385-87)
Manutius, The Life of a Scholar-Printer (RR 396-401)
Michelangelo, To Vittoria Colonna: The Model and the Statue (RR 440-41)
Castiglione, A Theatrical Performance (RR 460-65)
Alberti, Self-Portrait of a Universal Man (RR 480-92)
On-line Documents (WebCT)
Assignment Due: Journal 4 (on readings 10/18 and 10/25), post questions

October 30: The Architect; Art and Architecture as Investment

Reading Due: Goldthwaite, pp. 351-425

November 1
Reading Due: Petrarca, The Man of Letters (RR 120-23)
Vasari, The Arts Reborn (RR 140-45)
Alberti, On Virtù and Fortune (RR 328-31)
Castiglione, Music and the Courtier (RR 424-29)
Alberti, The Art of Building (RR 527-31)
Da Vinci, Nature, Art, and Science (RR 531-40)
On-line Documents (WebCT)
Assignment Due: post questions

November 6: Introduction to Sixteenth-Century London; The Nature and Extent of Citizenship

Reading Due: Rappaport, Chapters 1-2

November 8
Reading Due: Starkey, The Reform of the Commonwealth (RR 354-65)
On-line Documents (WebCT)
Assigment Due: Journal 5 (on readings 11/1 and 11/8), post questions

November 13: The Growth of Population; The Substructure of Society

Reading Due: Rappaport, Chapters 3 and 6

November 15
Reading Due: John of Salisbury, The Feet of the Commonwealth (MR 129-30)
Langland, The Peasant’s Life (MR 136-38)
Reginald of Durham, The Making of a Merchant: St. Godric of Finchale (MR 139-44)
Memorials of London, Life in London (MR 161-66)
Roger of Wendover, A Revolt of the Commons in London (MR 177-79)
Deloney, Jack of Newberie, an English Clothier (RR 181-85)
Assignment Due: post questions

November 20: Structural Inequality; Patters of Nobility; Social Stability

Reading Due: Rappaport, Chapters 7-9

Course Syllabus: Early Modern City Page 5

November 22
Reading Due: Russell, Offices in a Noble Household (MR 120-22)
Venetian Relazione, Life among the English (RR 218-24)
Skelton, The Manner of the World Nowadayes (RR 224-25)
Bacon, Henry VII, A New Monarch (RR 284-94)
Harpsfield, St. Thomas More (RR 492-500)
Assignment Due: Journal 6 (on readings 11/15 and 11/22), post questions
November 23-November 25: Thanksgiving Holiday

November 27
Review
Final Exam Questions Distributed
Last Day of Class

November 30
High Noon: Final Exams Due (electronically)

Final Grades Due for Professors: Dec. 6

Grades Available Online for Students: Dec. 8

Grading Policy

Participation: 10%
Mid-term exam (in-class, open note): 20%
Primary readings journals: 30% [6 @ 5% each]
Summary of scholarly article: 5%
Final exam (take-home): 35%

Grade changes
All grades are final, unless you sincerely believe I have made a mistake or have been unfair. In
that case, please submit a written explanation (no longer than one page) within one week of
receiving your grade for a particular exam or assignment, detailing the reasons why your think an
error or misjudgment has been made. I will reevaluate your work, but bear in mind that I may find
additional problems I had not noticed on my first reading. It is therefore possible that you may
end up with a lower grade rather than a higher one. If, after this procedure has been followed, you
still believe your grade is inaccurate, you have the right to appeal through university channels.

Course & Instructor Policies

All assignments and exams, with the exception of the Mid-term, must be submitted electronically.

Missed exams and assignments

If you are ill or have a family emergency, please either e-mail me or leave a message on my
office phone before the start of the exam or the assignment is due. I do not look favorably on
make-up work, and it is my policy not to accept any late assignments or arrange make-up exams

Course Syllabus: Early Modern City Page 6

unless the student found himself/herself in an unavoidable situation. There are few situations that
meet that kind of criteria. Don’t risk it.

Participation
I am primarily concerned with your contribution to the scholarly atmosphere of the course.
Examples of things that contribute to that atmosphere include coming prepared to class, asking
questions that help to clarify the assigned readings, making comments that link the readings to
outside material (perhaps from other courses), and especially contributing to the discussions of
primary readings. Examples of things that detract from that atmosphere include arriving late or
leaving early, cell phone use, distracting behavior during lectures, speaking unkindly or
disrespectfully to or about anyone in the classroom, or expecting special treatment. Every week,
students will be required to post three questions on assigned primary documents from the
Medieval/Renaissance Reader(s) and the on-line primary documents to the discussion board of
WebCT no later than 8:30 am on the day we are scheduled to discuss them.

Mid-term exam
This in-class exam will consist largely of short-answer questions, and will be graded primarily on
accuracy (did you give the right answer?), clarity (can I read what you wrote?), and what I call
innovation (can you take the material we learned in class and apply it to the interpretation of a
specific primary document?). The review sheet/study guide will be available on WebCT; if you
can answer the questions on the study guide, you will be fine on the exam.

Primary readings journal

Students will prepare a journal entry for each group of primary documents assigned from The
Medieval Reader, The Renaissance Reader, and those posted on WebCT. These journal entries
should be typed and prepared prior to class meetings. They should include the most important
points students have identified from the primary documents and a brief analysis of how the
documents relate to the lectures and the scholarly texts on the syllabus. Entries must be 750-1250
words long. They do not need to be written as formal essays. Instead, think of them as a set of
notes to provide quick reference to reading material for in-class discussions and in writing the
mid-term and final papers. Students will prepare six entries over the semester (5% each). Students
must submit these electronically by 8:30 am on the day they are due.

Summary of scholarly article

This will be a formal summary of a scholarly article chosen from my list. The essay will be 500-
750 words long. Examples and further directions will be posted on WebCT.

Final exam
This will be a take-home formal essay, drawing on lectures, scholarly readings, and your primary
document journal since the mid-term. You will be required to demonstrate your ability to
integrate the ideas presented in the lectures and scholarly readings into your analysis of primary
documents.

Field Trip Policies

Off-campus Instruction and Course Activities

Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state law and
University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related activities. Information
regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the website address
http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm. Additional information is

Course Syllabus: Early Modern City Page 7

 available from the office of the school dean. Below is a description of any travel and/or risk-
related activity associated with this course.

Student Conduct & Discipline

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations
for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each student and
each student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern
student conduct and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is contained
in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students each academic
year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the procedures of
recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined and described in the Rules and
Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and
in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of Operating
Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the
Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).

A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of citizenship.
He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules,
university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for violating the
standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or
criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.

Academic Integrity

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because
the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the
student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual
honor in his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to
applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or
material that is not one’s own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the
following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students
suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other
source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university’s policy on plagiarism (see
general catalog for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the
web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

Email Use

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication between
faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues
concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The university
encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email
address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it originates from a
UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the
identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted information. UTD
furnishes each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with

Course Syllabus: Early Modern City Page 8

 university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method
for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level courses.
These dates and times are published in that semester's course catalog. Administration procedures
must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any
class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork
to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to attend the
class once you are enrolled.

Student Grievance Procedures

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities,
of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other fulfillments
of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make a serious effort to
resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or committee with whom the
grievance originates (hereafter called “the respondent”). Individual faculty members retain
primary responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at
that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the
respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written response provided by the
respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not
resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of
Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic
Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic
appeals process will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of
Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations.

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at
the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade
must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the
required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the
specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.

Disability Services

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities
equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the
Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and
Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:

The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Course Syllabus: Early Modern City Page 9

 Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments
necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary
to remove classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for
students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example,
a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes
enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities.
The college or university may need to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or
mobility assistance.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an
accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present to faculty members
to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special
accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office hours.

Religious Holy Days

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required activities for
the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose places of worship are
exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible regarding
the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The student, so excused, will be allowed to
take the exam or complete the assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a period
equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies the
instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A
student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed period may receive a
failing grade for that exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose of
observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about whether the student has
been given a reasonable time to complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the
student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution, or
his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the legislative
intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief
executive officer or designee.

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.

Course Syllabus: Early Modern City Page 10