History and Society of Byzantium and the Christian East I

lglor1521  2017-2018  Louvain-la-Neuve

History and Society of Byzantium and the Christian East I
3 credits
30.0 h
Q1

  This biannual learning unit is not being organized in 2017-2018 !

Teacher(s)
Schmidt Andrea Barbara; Somers Véronique;
Language
French
Prerequisites
/
Main themes
An introduction to the geographical, linguistic and historical framework of the
Christian East in the Byzantine, Persian and Arab worlds. 
In part 1 (Christian East), the course examines the geographical context of the Christian communities in their historical evolution as from the fourth century. It presents the history of Christianity in the regions concerned (Armenia and Georgia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine and Persia), as well as its influence in Asia and India.
In part 2 (Byzantium), the course examines the main historical steps of the
Byzantine Millenium (IVth Century - 1453), focussing on key-periods,
important dynasties, territorial development, etc.
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1

works of reference relating to historical subjects (dictionaries, encyclopedias,
compendia of sources, historical atlases, monographs, etc.). He will be able to
present orally the results of a research of limited dimension on a specific
historical subject, and will know the main lines of Byzantine history.

 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
This course has two successive parts:
1. Part 1: Christian East (A. Schmidt). The course is composed of several
modules, each complete in itself. These modules vary from year to year in
function both of the current context and the interests of the students, touching, for example, on the following themes:
- Beginnings of Christianity in the Caucasus;
- Cultural and national identity in Armenia and Georgia;
- Antioch and the development of Syriac churches in Syria and Mesopotamia;
- Christianity in Arabia and the Persian Gulf before Islam;
- The specialities of Persian Christianity;
- The image of Edessa and the Mandylion of Christ;
- The Greco-Syriac tradition of the apostle Thomas and Christianity in southern India;- The churches in Palestine.
2. Part 2: Byzantium (V. Somers). The different lectures follow the Byzantine
Empire's history, from Late Antiquity to 1453.
 
Teaching methods
In part 1 (Christian East), the lectures are given for the most part by means of a Power-point. The students will be required to do small class-work exercises of research and/or prepare short presentations (individually or in group) on specific aspects of the themes that have been exposed in the lectures, with a view to leading a discussion.
In part 2 (Byzantium), the 'ex cathedra' lectures may be completed by ppt when required by the subject.
Evaluation methods
For part 1 (Christian East): continuous evaluation during the course with a final
exam (oral or written) based on the required readings (50%).
For part 2 (Byzantium): an oral exam based on written preparation (50%).
Other information
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Online resources
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Bibliography
1. Partie 'Orient chrétien' :
- I. Gillman et H.-J. Klimkeit, Christians in Asia before 1500, Londres, 1999.
- M. Zibawi, Orients chrétiens: entre Byzance et l'Islam, Paris, 1995.
- J. et A. Sellier, Atlas des peuples d'Orient. Moyen-Orient, Caucase, Asie Centrale, Paris, 2004.
D'autres éléments bibliographiques sont fournis au cours.
2. Partie 'Byzance' :
- Jean-Claude CHEYNET, Byzance. L'Empire romain d'Orient, Paris, 2007 (deuxième édition)
- Alain DUCELLIER, M. KAPLAN, B. MARTIN, F. MICHEAU, Le Moyen Âge en Orient. Byzance et l'Islam, Paris, 2006 (troisième édition)
- Liz JAMES (ed.), A Companion to Byzantium, Chichester, 2010
- Elizabeth JEFFREYS, John HALDON, Robin CORMACK (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies, Oxford, 2008
- Paul STEPHENSON (ed.), The Byzantine World, New York, 2012 (2e éd.)
Nouvelle Clio (3 vol.) :
- Cécile MORRISSON (dir.), Le Monde Byzantin, I. L'Empire romain d'Orient (330-641), Paris, 2004
- Jean-Claude CHEYNET (dir.), Le Monde Byzantin, II. L'Empire byzantin (641-1204), Paris, 2006
- Angeliki LAIOU (') et Cécile MORRISSON (dir.), Le Monde Byzantin, III. L'Empire grec et ses voisins (XIIIe-XVe siècles), Paris, 2011.
Une plus ample bibliographie est fournie au cours.
Faculty or entity
GLOR


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Bachelor in Ancient Languages and Literatures: Oriental Studies

Minor in Oriental Studies

Minor in Medieval Studies