Coexistence in Medieval Spain Jews, Christians, and Muslims

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.

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Syllabus

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week 1
Introduction to Medieval Spain and Coexistence (418-711 CE)
Week 2
DEVELOPING DYNAMIC CULTURES: ISLAMIC AL-ANDALUS AND JEWISH SEFARAD (711-1212 CE)
Week 3
Forging A Christian Future: Christian Spain (711-1212 CE) and the Castilian Ascent In Spain (1212-1347 CE)
Week 4
Creating Conversos and Rejecting Religious Diversity: Catholic Spain (1347-1502 CE)
Week 5
Interpreting Iberia’s Past: Our Evaluation of the Evidence

FAQ

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?

Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:

The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.

The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?

When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

Which organizations are participating in this MOOC?

This course, along with all Deciphering Secrets MOOCs, is a collaborative endeavor of Dr. Roger L. Martinez-Davila, the University of Colorado System, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain). This project has received funding from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement nº 600371, el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (COFUND2013-51509) and Banco Santander. Additional funding provided by University of Colorado System, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, and coursera.org. We are grateful for the generous formal and informal participation of approximately 20 institutions, organizations, and academics have contributed content to the Coexistence in Medieval Spain MOOC.

We thank:

Archivo de la Catedral de Burgos (Archidiocesis de Burgos)

- Matias Vicario Santamaria

Archivo Historico de la Nobleza (Ministerio de Cultura, Educacion y Deporte de España)

- Aránzazu Lafuente Urién

- Miguel F. Gómez Vozmediano

Archivo Municipal de Burgos (Ayuntamiento de Burgos)

- Milagros Moratinos Palomero

Archivo Municipal de Plasencia (Ayuntamiento de Plasencia)

- Esther Sanchez Calle

Archivo Municipal de Toledo (Ayuntamiento de Toledo)

- Mariano García Ruipérez

Archivo y Biblioteca de la Catedral de Toledo (Archidiocesis de Toledo)

- Ángel Fernández Collado

- Isidoro Castañeda Todera

Centro Sefarad Israel (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación, Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid, y Ayuntamiento de Madrid)

- Sonia Sanchez

- Esther Bendahan

Simon Doubleday (Hoftra University (New York)

Jessica Fowler (IE School of International Relations)

Jane Gerber (CUNY-Graduate Center, NYC)

Global Middle Ages

- Geraldine Heng (University of Texas-Austin)

- Lynn Ramey (Vanderbilt University)

Hispanic Society of America (New York, USA)

- Margaret E. Connors McQuade

- Marcus B. Burke

- John O'Neill

Museo de Burgos (Junta de Castilla y Leon)

- Marta Negro Cobo

Museo Sefardi-Toledo (Ministerio de Cultura, Educacion y Deporte de España)

- Santiago Palomero Plaza

- Carmen Álvarez Nogales

Museo de los Concilios y la Cultura Visigoda-Toledo (Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha)

- Fernando Luis Fontes Blanco

Museo de Santa Cruz-Toledo (Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha)

- Fernando Luis Fontes Blanco

Museo Taller del Moro (Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha)

- Fernando Luis Fontes Blanco

New Mexico History Museum (State of New Mexico, USA)

- Andrew Wulf

- Josef Diaz

Anthony Puglisi (Cornell University)

Revealing Cooperation and Conflict Project ("Virtual Plasencia")

- Victor R. Schinazi (ETH-Zurich)

- Paddington Hodza (University of Wyoming)

- Mubbasir Kapadia (Rutgers University)

- Sean Perrone (St. Anselm College)

- Francisco Garcia-Serrano Nebras (SLU-Madrid)

- Roger L. Martinez-Davila

Texas Early Music Project

- Daniel Johnson

- Stephanie Prewitt

- Allison Welch

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain)

- Jaime Alvar Ezquerra

- Maria Martin de Vidales Garcia

- Raúl Aguilera Ortega

- Rosa Sanchez Hernandez

Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain)

- Juan Carlos Ruiz Souza

- Susana Calvo Capilla

University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (USA)

- Paul Harvey

- Christina Jiménez

- Alycia Williams

- Kellen DeAlba

- Madelyn Husted

- David Walker

University of Colorado System (USA)

- Deborah Keyek-Franssen

University of Notre Dame Press (USA)

Reviews

well covered subject. However, the audio quality of nearly all of the Spanish speakers was terrible. I speak Spanish but had to turn the volume way up and even then I missed much of what was said.

Excellent. If you are interested in History, and if you are Latin American it can give you a sense of identity an give you understanding of many aspects of our current day to day life.

Fascinating material beautifully presented. On an irrelevant point, the instructor's voice is lovely - it sounds more like a guided meditation than a lecture! :-)

My only real complaints are that a lot of the material repeated (readings saying the same as the lecture) and that the lecturer's pronunciation of Spanish names really irked me.