Welcome to my blog! It has a simple aim: to chronicle how I teach the new edition of Medieval Europe: A Short History during the fall semester (2010). The blog is linked to the textbook’s website MedievalEuropeOnline.com, and you and your students will find lots of resources there. This blog is aimed at teaching per se. It’s a place where you and I can share ideas and information about what does and does not work in the classroom.
So, let me start with the basics about my university, my course, and my philosophy of teaching.
- I teach at the University of Southern California: a private but very large university. The students are better than average. They are an easy-going bunch, rarely academically driven.
- Titled "Medieval People and Places: Early Europe and its Neighbors," the course is a twofer for the students--it fulfills a “General Education” requirement and a "Diversity" requirement. It will have lots of students for whom this will be their one and only History course, and they might be a bit inclined to grumpiness. I'm supposed to include lots of opportunity for reflection about diverse peoples and cultures, but I'm free to decide how to do this.
- My aims for the course are pretty simple and conventional. Yours are probably much the same. I want to make students enthusiastic about history--to see it as fun and challenging and useful. I want students to emerge with a basic grasp of the master narrative of medieval history. And I want them to finish the semester more skilled at thinking and writing. Easier said than done, of course . . .
So, that's me and my plans for the blog. Let me know what you think of this project--and what you'd like it to do for you as a teacher.
