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Coexistence in Medieval Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims

Approx. 27 hours to complete

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Course Summary

This course explores the coexistence of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in medieval Spain and the cultural, political, and social dynamics that shaped their interactions.

Key Learning Points

Gain an understanding of the complex historical context of medieval Spain
Learn about the different religious groups present and their interactions
Explore the cultural and intellectual achievements of medieval Spain

Learning Outcomes

Understand the historical context of medieval Spain
Analyze the interactions between religious groups during this time period
Evaluate the cultural and intellectual achievements of medieval Spain

Prerequisites or good to have knowledge before taking this course

Basic knowledge of medieval European history
Interest in the history and culture of Spain

Course Difficulty Level

Intermediate

Course Format

Online
Self-paced

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Simon Barton
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Related Books

Description

This course explores Jewish, Christian, and Muslim intercultural relations in Iberia from the Visigothic era (6th century CE) until the creation of Queen Isabel I and King Ferdinand II Catholic Spain (late 15th century). We evaluate the many identities of the peninsula known as Christian Hispania, Jewish Sefarad, and Islamic al-Andalus. We trace the origins and trajectory of conflict between these communities (the Muslim conquest of Spain, Christian Reconquista, prohibitions blocking intermixing of peoples, and expulsions). We aim to understand conflicts within communities as well, such as the tensions between Christian Arian Visigoths and native Catholic Iberians or the fundamentalist North African Almohad Dynasty that rejected the Spanish Umayyad Caliphate’s preference for religious tolerance. We delve into an appreciation of collaboration and coexistence among these communities. We explore the unique role of the Jewish community who Muslims and Christians depended upon as political and cultural intermediaries as well as their intellectual collaborators. We find the history of how peoples attempted to create and manage viable diverse communities. As we study this history, the Honors Track will employ an investigative process (“The Historian’s Craft”) that involves viewing, reading, analyzing, and reflecting on events, peoples, places, and artifacts.

Outline

Introduction to Medieval Spain and Coexistence (418-711 CE)
Welcome to the Course!
REQUIRED CORE: An Introduction to Medieval Spain: Part 1 - Welcome to our Investigation
REQUIRED CORE: An Introduction to Medieval Spain: Part 2 - It is a Journey and Conversation
REQUIRED CORE: Convivencia (Coexistence) in Medieval Spain
REQUIRED CORE: Roman Hispania (201 BCE – 418 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Visigothic Spain (418 – 711 CE)
What type of student are you? Casual Observer. Interested Learner. Engaged Investigator.
Are you a "Casual Observer"?
Are you an "Interested Learner"?
Are you an "Engaged Investigator"?
Course Organization: Five Sections
Course Syllabus
Choosing Course Content Based on Your Student Profile: Required Core, Supplemental, Optional, and Honors Track
Course Assessments
Why Choose the Honors Track?
Collaborators and Funders
REQUIRED CORE: Why study medieval Spain? Viewing our modern challenges through the lens of the past.
REQUIRED CORE: What is coexistence (convivencia)? It is positive, negative, and ambivalent.
SUPPLEMENTAL: Defining Who are "Us" and Who are "Them"? Friend or Foe?
SUPPLEMENTAL: Medieval Christian Perspectives of Jews and Muslims
SUPPLEMENTAL: Medieval Jewish Perspectives of Christians and Muslims
SUPPLEMENTAL: Medieval Muslim Perspectives of Jews and Christians
REQUIRED CORE: Roman Hispania (201 BCE to 418 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Rome and the Visigoths
REQUIRED CORE: The Visigoths: New Lords of the Land (5th-7th Centuries CE)
OPTIONAL: Visigothic Religion and the Laity (the People)
OPTIONAL: The Formation of Medieval Europe
OPTIONAL: Byzantium: The Eastern Roman Empire
OPTIONAL: Europe's Sibling, the Islamic World
Overview of The Historian's Craft
The Historian's Craft: The Task of Viewing
Professor Martinez's Viewing Worksheet
Key Concept: What is Historiography?
Key Concept: What is Periodization?
What type of learner are you?
REQUIRED CORE: Introduction to Coexistence
REQUIRED CORE: Roman and Visigothic Hispania

DEVELOPING DYNAMIC CULTURES: ISLAMIC AL-ANDALUS AND JEWISH SEFARAD (711-1212 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Islamic Conquest and Settlement (711 – 756 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Islamic al-Andalus: The Umayyad Dynasty (756 – 1061 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Museo de Santa Cruz (Toledo) - Welcome to the Museum
REQUIRED CORE: Museo de Santa Cruz (Toledo): Islamic Art and Architecture - Part 1
REQUIRED CORE: Museo de Santa Cruz (Toledo): Islamic Art and Architecture - Part 2
REQUIRED CORE: Museo de Santa Cruz (Toledo): Islamic Art and Architecture - Part 3
SUPPLEMENTAL: Museo de Burgos: Muslim Artifacts Become Christian (11th Century CE)
OPTIONAL: Contemporary Sephardic Authors: A visit with Esther Bendahan at the Centro Sefarad Israel (Madrid)
REQUIRED CORE: Islamic Conquest of Visigothic Spain (711 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Christian Traitors: Count Julian of Ceuta and the Mozarabic Chronicle of 754
REQUIRED CORE: Al-Andalus: Islamic Spain (711-1061 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Islamic Taifa Kingdoms (1009-1091), Almoravids (1086-1145), and Almohads (1145-1269)
REQUIRED CORE: Muslim Berbers Treated as Second-Class Citizens in Islamic Lands (8th Century CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Charlemagne, Abd al-Rahman I, and the Siege of the City of Zaragoza (787 and 789 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: The Christian "Martyrs" (or Agitators?) of Islamic Cordoba (850-859 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Islamic Astronomical Pursuits: Navigation and Religion
SUPPLEMENTAL: Islamic Water and Food Revolution in Iberia
SUPPLEMENTAL: Islamic Medicine during the Caliphate of Cordoba
OPTIONAL: A Closer Look: The Islamic Taifa of Toledo (1009 - 1085 CE)
OPTIONAL: Religious and Cultural Competition Among Islamic Taifas
REQUIRED CORE: Sefarad: Jewish Spain (A selection from Prof. Jane Gerber)
REQUIRED CORE: Rejecting Tolerance: Ibn Tumart, the Almohads, and Maimonides in the 12th Century
The Historian's Craft: The Task of Reading
"In the Name of God": The First Islamic Coinage in Spain (711-712 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Islamic Conquest of Visigothic Hispania
REQUIRED CORE: Islamic Al-Andalus
REQUIRED CORE: Sefarad: Jewish Spain

Forging A Christian Future: Christian Spain (711-1212 CE) and the Castilian Ascent In Spain (1212-1347 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Resurgent Christian Kingdoms (711 – 1212 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Museo de Burgos: The Urn of St. Dominic (12th Century CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Museo de Burgos: The Virgin of the Battles (13th Century CE)
SUPPLEMENTAL: Museo de Burgos: Christian Funerary Statues (13th-15th Centuries CE)
OPTIONAL: “Petrifying Wealth: The Southern European Shift to Collective Investment in Masonry as Identity, c.1050-1300” project at CSIC
REQUIRED CORE: The Christian Kingdom of Castile and the Origins of the Reconquest (711 - 1212 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Medieval Spain and the Influence of the Crusades on the Reconquista
REQUIRED CORE: Bitter Rivals: King Fernando I of Castile and King Bermudo III of Leon (11th Century)
REQUIRED CORE: Mozarabs of Toledo: Christians Who Assumed Islamic Culture (11th Century)
SUPPLEMENTAL: The Christian Kingdom of Aragon and Catalonia (711-1212 CE)
OPTIONAL: Saint James and the Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
REQUIRED CORE: Castilian King Alfonso X "The Wise" (r. 1252-1284 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Simon R. Doubleday's Chapter 3: Stargazers from "The Wise King"
REQUIRED CORE: King Alfonso X's Las Siete Partidas: A Legal Code for Three Religions
REQUIRED CORE: Christians Governing Jews and Muslims: The Legalities of Coexistence
REQUIRED CORE: Las Cantigas de Santa Maria (The Canticles of Holy Mary) 1252-1284 CE
REQUIRED CORE: Forcing the Issue: The Christian-Jewish Disputation of Barcelona (1263 CE): Has the Messiah Appeared?
SUPPLEMENTAL: Todros Abulafia: A 13th Century Jewish Poet Fond of Debate
OPTIONAL: King Alfonso X and the Development of Spanish Universities
The Historian's Craft: The Task of Analyzing
Las Siete Partidas – Selection Pertaining to Jews, Muslims, and Christians
REQUIRED CORE: Making Christian Hispania
REQUIRED CORE: King Alfonso X "The Wise" and Jewish Communities Under Christian Rule
REQUIRED CORE: Castilians Creating Culture through Objects

Creating Conversos and Rejecting Religious Diversity: Catholic Spain (1347-1502 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Catholic Spain and the Nasrids (1212 – 1502 CE)
OPTIONAL: Museo de Burgos: Jewish Artifacts from Briviesca - Part 1
OPTIONAL: Museo de Burgos: Jewish Artifacts from Briviesca - Part 2
REQUIRED CORE: Treasures of the Archive of the Cathedral of Burgos
REQUIRED CORE: Introduction to the Archivo Municipal de Toledo and Its "Secret Archive"
SUPPLEMENTAL: Introduction to the Municipal Archive of Burgos
SUPPLEMENTAL: Exploring Manuscript SJ-1/1 “Alfonso VI concede al Monasterio”
OPTIONAL: Introduction to the Archivo Historico de la Nobleza (Toledo)
OPTIONAL: Exploring the Restoration of “Cartulario S. XV. Libro viejo de privilegios de los Reyes Catolicos, LI-385"
REQUIRED CORE: Introduction to Virtual Plasencia: A 15th Century Community of Jews, Christians, and Muslims
REQUIRED CORE: Digital Video Narration of “La Mota”: A Christian Assumes Ownership over Jewish Homes, circa 1416, in Plasencia, Spain
REQUIRED CORE: El Transito Synagogue of Toledo (Museo Sefardí) - 14th Century CE
SUPPLEMENTAL: Christians Creating "Mudejar" Material Culture
Video Snippet #1 from Convivencia Re-envisioned - Texas Early Music Project - 6 September 2015
Video Snippet #2 from Convivencia Re-envisioned - Texas Early Music Project - 6 September 2015
REQUIRED CORE: Unforeseen Events: The Plague, A Dead King, and Anti-Jewish Sentiment (14th Century CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Civil War in the Kingdom of Castile and Leon (14th Century)
REQUIRED CORE: The New Nobility of Castile: Arrival of the Conversos (Jewish Converts to Christianity) (End of the 14th Century CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Anti-Jewish Pogroms Across Christian Spain (1390s - 1420s CE)
REQUIRED CORE: Christian Unity Under Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand (Late 15th Century CE)
REQUIRED CORE: The Nasrids: The Last Islamic Kingdom in Granada (1231-1492) CE
SUPPLEMENTAL: Islamic Nasrid Textiles
SUPPLEMENTAL: Jewish Love and Marriage in Christian Spain
REQUIRED CORE: Exploring Archives that Preserve History
REQUIRED READING: Creating Conversos: The Carvajal-Santa Maria Family in Early Modern Spain
SUPPLEMENTAL: Exploring the Global Middle Ages
SUPPLEMENTAL: Mudéjar Metalwork: When the Islamic Becomes Christian (15th Century)
SUPPLEMENTAL: Christians Adopting Islamic Forms: Harmony in Islamic-Christian Manises Ceramics
REQUIRED CORE: Cultural Backlash: "Blood Purity" Laws: Separating "New" from "Old" Christians (1450s)
REQUIRED CORE: The Spanish Inquisition Begins its Work (1478 - 1480 CE)
REQUIRED CORE: The Spanish Tisha B'Av: The End of Jewish Spain and the Expulsion (1492)
REQUIRED CORE: Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand Expel Spanish Muslims (1502 CE)
The Texas Early Music Project: A Collaborator of Deciphering Secrets MOOCs
Musical Selection: De Antequera Sale un Moro (From Antequera leaves a Moor)
The Historian's Craft: The Task of Reflecting
REQUIRED CORE: Formation of Catholic Spain and Its Impact on Religious Minorities
REQUIRED CORE: Creating Conversos at the End of Positive Coexistence

Interpreting Iberia's Past: Our Evaluation of the Evidence
Thank you for Participating! Hope to See You Again!
Applying the Historian's Craft
Assessing an Artifact: Overview of the Peer Review Project
Artifact #1 (Material Culture): Plate with the Arms of Blanche of Navarre
Artifact #2 (Manuscript): The Edict of Expulsion (1492)
Artifact #3 (Music): Una tarde de verano (A summer afternoon)
Artifact #4 (Architecture and Material Culture): "A Poem is a Robe and a Castle: Inscribing Verses on Textiles and Architecture in the Alhambra"

Summary of User Reviews

Read reviews of Coexistence in Medieval Spain course on Coursera. Users have praised the course for its detailed and engaging content. Overall, it has received high ratings from users.

Key Aspect Users Liked About This Course

Many users have praised the course for its detailed and engaging content.

Pros from User Reviews

Detailed and informative content
Engaging and thought-provoking discussions
Great insights into Spanish history and culture
Flexible learning experience
Well-structured and easy to follow

Cons from User Reviews

Some users found the course to be too challenging
Lack of interaction with instructors and fellow students
Limited feedback on assignments
Technical issues with the platform
Limited resources and reading materials

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