The lands that are now Spain experienced intensive and complex interactions in the near millennium from the early 8th to the 17th centuries between peoples of the three Abraham religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  Though not without conflict, the unprecedented coexistence between the three religions supported cultural tolerance and a shared cultural identity that saw Medieval Spain flourish during the early part of this era.  The history of these three worlds profoundly shaped Spain and is etched upon its physical and cultural landscape today.

The 15th century, however, saw the end of the relationship between the Abrahamic religions, culminating in the ethnic cleansing of Spanish Jews and Muslims.  The conquest of the Iberian Peninsula and the expulsion of the Jews from Ferdinand and Isabella's new unified Catholic state set the stage for the beginning of Spain's "Age of Discovery" and Spain's relationship with the indigenous peoples of the Americas -- a pivotal moment in the history of European colonization.

Our encounter with the indigenous theme (the fourth world) will largely be filtered through the stories of the conquistadors and imperial representations.  We will, however, attempt to find traces of the lived experiences of those indigenous people who were taken to 16th century Spain and will continually ask how an appreciation for Andalusia as the fulcrum of an emergent Spanish empire might shape our understanding of the landscape and culture in which we will be embedded.  An added challenge here will be to make connections between Southern Spain and the world beyond its borders.  Thus the Virgin of Guadalupe became not just a patron saint for Columbus and the conquistadors, but also the direct model of Mexico's Virgin of Guadalupe.

The course will encourage students not only to learn about the Spanish colonial story but to place themselves in relationship to that history.  There are very direct connections between 16th-century Spain and the history and geography of our part of Canada.  We live but 25 kilometers from islands named by 18th-century Spanish mariners after Cortes and Malinche (part of the unceded territories of the Homalco, Tla'amin and Klahoose First Nations), while our province is named in an indirect way after Christopher Columbus.  Moreover, the history under consideration here is global rather than merely Andalusian or Extremaduran in nature.

The Southern Spain Field School will provide students with a prism through which to interpret Spanish history and challenge them to assess their own experiences as a visitor in contemporary Spain against the backdrop of that history.  Students will interrogate the continuing legacies and representations of a multi-layered history within Spain itself but also define themselves, in essence, as a fifth world.  Students will reflect on how their own lives and perspectives connect to the history under study and how those connections manifest themselves through travel experiences on the ground in today's Spain.

This course is designed to:

1)  Provide students with an integrated understanding of a particular global culture or theme.

2)  Push students to analyze important and challenging texts and to assess the connections between those works and the civilizations in which they were produced.

3)  Help students to further develop their critical thinking, writing, and speaking skills.

4)  Encourage students to participate within a learning community and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of an intensive, collaborative seminar model.

Reading Assignment:

Viewing Assignment:

"The Invention Of Spain, Episode 1," BBC Radio 4, August 24, 2015.

"The Invention Of Spain, Episode 2," BBC Radio 4, August 25, 2015.

Trujillo

Guadalupe Monastery

Reading Assignment:

Browse extensively in the Doctrine Of Discovery Discussion Topic

Browse extensively in the 500th Anniversary Of Magellan's Voyage Discussion Topic

Reading Assignment:

Elizabeth Drayson, "'These Are The Keys Of This Paradise': How 700 Years Of Muslim Rule In Spain Came To An End," Conversation, March 6, 2018.

  Matt Carr, "Spain's Ethnic Cleansing," History Today, 59 (February 2009): 48-51.

Reading Assignment:.

Seville

***Field School Notebook Due June 2

"The Columbian Exchange," Crash Course World History, #23, 2012.  (12 mins)

Madrid

a)  Cultural Lens (10% x 3)

This will be a series of three short written reflections upon your own cultural perspective and how your experiences in Spain enlarge or shift your own understanding of this.  One of these will be written pre-departure; one will be written mid-trip; and one will be written at the end of the Field School.  The assignment will be integrated together with linked FIN 106 and FIN 245 responsibilities.

b)  Field School Notebook (Travel Journal Optional) (25%)

This is the one major separate HIS 205 academic responsibility.  Each student should write daily in their Field School Notebook.  The purpose of the Notebook is both to help you to absorb and remember new information and to encourage you to engage in the on-going process of reflecting upon this new learning and your Field School experiences.  Appropriate material for the Notebook includes but is not limited to the following:

-- In the field notes associated with the various sites we visit;

-- Photography field notes;

-- Notes from assigned or optional readings and documentaries;

-- Notes based upon your own independent in-the-field or on-line research;

-- Notes drawn from pre-trip study;

-- Notes connected to a few in-trip exercises;

-- Observations, musings, jottings, and reflections.

This assignment is meant to provide you with raw material for your Final Project and also to connect to Cultural Lens #2 and Cultural Lens #3.  You should be be thinking about the Final Project from early in the Field School and should try to structure your Notebook so that it helps to orient you for that.

One option is to get a Notebook and then hand write everything in that.  A completely digital approach, however, is also appropriate and I am open to a hybrid portfolio approach that combines hand writing and some digital reflection so long as this is then presented to me in an organized way.

Reflective Writing:  I encourage all students to include at least some reflective writing in your Notebook, though the amount of this will vary from student to student.  Some of you who like to write may want to consider some longer Journal-like entries or even a full Travel Journal.  I would suggest the latter only for those of you who would like to do that and who think they want something to help remember their trip by.

The Field School Notebook is a HIS 205 responsibility and should contain much information about history.  It's fine to include other material as well, however, including more personal reflections and observations.

c)  Seminar Participation (15%)

d)  Final Project (30%)

There is no expectation that you access any of the materials in this section.  I have, however, provided links to a few extra historical resources that connect to our Meeting Of The Four Worlds theme.  You are certainly welcome to include notes on any of these resources as part of your Field School Notes.

Documentaries

Part 1, The Moorish South , Art Of Spain, BBC Four, 2011.  (58 mins.)

"Reconquest," The Making Of Spain, BBC, 2015.  (52 mins.)

"The Moors: At The Height Of Empire," When The Moors Ruled Europe, Channel Four Television, 2007.  (53 mins.)

The Moors: Prelude To The Renaissance," When The Moors Ruled Europe, Channel Four Television, 2007.  (53 mins.)

"An Islamic History Of Europe, "BBC Worldwide Learning, 2008.  (89 mins)

"Cities Of Light: The Rise And Fall Of Islamic Spain," Unity Productions Foundation, 2007.  (116 mins)

"October 12, 1492: The Discovery Of The Americas," Arte France, 2017.  (27 mins.)

"The Longest Voyage," DW, 2022.  (42 mins)

"When Worlds Collide," PBS, 2010.  (91 mins)

Kayla Wolf, "Ugly History: The Spanish Inquisition," TED-Ed, March 2021.  (5 mins)

Audio Sources

"From Tolerance To Tyranny," Ideas, CBC, February 20, 2017.

"The Spanish Inquisition," In Our Time, BBC Radio 4, June 22, 2006.

 "After 522 Years, Spain Seeks To Make Amends For Expulsion Of Jews," All Things Considered, NPR, December 25, 2014.

"Muslim Spain," In Our Time, BBC Radio 4, November 21, 2002.

Readings

History In The News -- Islam And Spain

History In The News -- Judaism And Spain

Benjamin R. Gampel, "Jews, Christians, And Muslims In Medieval Iberia: 'Convivencia' Through The Eyes Of Sephardic Jews," in Vivian B. Mann et al., Convivencia: Jews, Christians And Muslims In Medieval Spain (New York: George Braziller, 2000): 11-37.

Browse extensively in the 500th Anniversary Of The Conquest Of Mexico Discussion Topic

Drayson, Elizabeth.  Lost Paradise: The Story Of Granada.  Head Of Zeus, 2021.

Menocal, Maria Rosa.  Ornament Of The World: How Muslims, Jews, And Christians Created A Culture Of Tolerance In Medieval Spain.  Boston: Back Bay Books, 2003.

Irwin, Robert.  Alhambra.  Cambridge: Harvard, 2011.

Land On A Crossroad

  The History Of Spain: Land On A Crossroad, 24 lectures, 2017:  This superb on-line course of two dozen half-hour lectures from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay professor Joyce E. Salisbury is available through  Vancouver Island Regional Library as a Kanopy streaming video and provides a comprehensive introduction to Spain's history.  To access Kanopy, you need either to get a free library card by visiting one of the local library branches or by registering free on-line.

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