Learning Outcomes
What are Learning Outcomes?
As professors, we want to be clear about what you will learn (or what we want you to learn if all goes well) by the end of the year. We think a lot about what we want our students to learn so that they (i.e. you) can make progress in becoming a historian.
When you're applying to a new university program, or trying to get a scholarship, or looking for a job, people will want to know what skills you have and how you can demonstrate them. Being able to refer to concrete examples helps. When you can say, "I can work and organize in digital teams" and can also point to your work in this class with enterprise tools (such as MS Teams or Trello), you can show (not just say) your expertise...
What are the Learning Outcomes for this Class?
You will learn fundamental facts and concepts of what the world looked like from the Third to the Sixteenth century. You will learn that different regions of the Mediterranean world (composed of what we now call Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East) were intimately linked by history, religion, trade, war and culture. As our times demonstrate, learning basic acts matter.
You will learn different ways (i.e. methodologies) to think about the past and to understand how people, institutions, forms of power and belief systems worked in the past. A key part of thinking critically about the Middle Ages (which is what methodologies can help you do) is understanding how modern myths about the time period arose and why they are reproduced uncritically in modern culture.
You will learn how to read and interpret evidence.
You will learn the limitations of evidence (and thus our knowledge) of the Middle Ages. Being a medieval historian means that you will have to come to terms with ambiguity and with not always having a clear answer.
You will learn how to work independently and in a group, using digital tools to collaborate, plan and execute assignments.
By working in digital environments, you can begin to craft a digital identity which reflects a professional you – its a good way to make the university-you rise up the google rankings (to hide your embarrassing posts on someone's tumblr feed...).
Learning outcomes are usually practical things, such as (imagine this said in a grumpy professor voice), "Learning enterprise tools allow you to succeed in the world after graduation". But one of the most important things to do in this class is to get to know your fellow students!
Your classmates are potential essay editors, project brainstormers, emotional supports and –dare I say– friends. Try to reach out and befriend at least one other of your classmates, because the odds are, the effort you put into it will be paid back. Even if we're stuck doing this online all year it'll be worth it.
Why Study History?
Everyone has their own reason to study history and if you're in this class, you likely already have a sense why it appeals to you. The AHA (American Historical Association) now tells you the good job prospects that await you after graduation. This practical advice supersedes the previous (more theoretical) explanations from 1985 and 1998. Read these explanations and you'll see that even the reasons to study history, have a history.
I don't think many people study history because they worry, as George Santayana put it, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". When I've asked students over the years, "why did you take this or that course" they have tended to say they decided to take history (or medieval studies) because of a book, movie or video game that they played – maybe when they were kids, maybe that they were playing just then. That "something" kindled an interest in the period and a desire to learn more.
That's why I (Marc) study and teach the Middle Ages. Long long ago (the 1990s) in a land far, far away (i.e. Winnipeg), I fell in love with the period by reading novels about the Middle Ages - especially Arthuriana like T.H. White's Once and Future King or Thomas Berger's Arthur Rex. So I studied history because I fell in love with the subject and then, during university, became passionate about how exciting the world of the past showed people to be. The past was a wonderful refuge for me to explore its complexity and to see a world so different (but related) to our own. It suggested ways in which our world could be different (for better or worse). It revealed how people who say that the world "has always been this way" are usually lying. So I saw the study of history as liberating. And this, I deeply believe, is the value of History. It liberates us by showing us how we (as individuals or as a society) could be different and better.
So, once you're ready, go save the world with History.
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