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Coexistence in Medieval Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims
  • Level Foundation
  • Duration 27 hours
  • Course by University of Colorado System
  • Offered by

About

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.

Modules

What type of learner are you? How to get the most out of this course?

    • 1 Videos
    • 11 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • What type of learner are you?

1 Discussions

  • What type of learner are you?

1 Videos

  • Welcome to the Course!

11 Readings

  • What type of student are you? Casual Observer. Interested Learner. Engaged Investigator.
  • Are you a "Casual Observer"?
  • Are you an "Interested Learner"?
  • Are you an "Engaged Investigator"?
  • Get help and meet other learners in this course. Join your discussion forums!
  • Course Organization: Five Sections
  • Course Syllabus
  • Choosing Course Content Based on Your Student Profile: Required Core, Supplemental, Optional, and Honors Track
  • Course Assessments
  • Why Choose the Honors Track?
  • Collaborators and Funders

Introduction to Coexistence (Convivencia)

    • 3 Videos
    • 6 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • REQUIRED CORE: Introduction to Coexistence

3 Videos

  • REQUIRED CORE: An Introduction to Medieval Spain: Part 1 - Welcome to our Investigation
  • REQUIRED CORE: An Introduction to Medieval Spain: Part 2 - It is a Journey and Conversation
  • REQUIRED CORE: Convivencia (Coexistence) in Medieval Spain

6 Readings

  • REQUIRED CORE: Why study medieval Spain? Viewing our modern challenges through the lens of the past.
  • REQUIRED CORE: What is coexistence (convivencia)? It is positive, negative, and ambivalent.
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Defining Who are "Us" and Who are "Them"? Friend or Foe?
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Medieval Christian Perspectives of Jews and Muslims
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Medieval Jewish Perspectives of Christians and Muslims
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Medieval Muslim Perspectives of Jews and Christians

From Roman to the Visigothic Era of "Hispania"

    • 2 Videos
    • 4 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • REQUIRED CORE: Roman and Visigothic Hispania

2 Videos

  • REQUIRED CORE: Roman Hispania (201 BCE – 418 CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Visigothic Spain (418 – 711 CE)

4 Readings

  • REQUIRED CORE: Roman Hispania (201 BCE to 418 CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Rome and the Visigoths
  • REQUIRED CORE: The Visigoths: New Lords of the Land (5th-7th Centuries CE)
  • OPTIONAL: Visigothic Religion and the Laity (the People)

Optional Readings: Spain within European, Byzantine, and Islamic Contexts

    • 3 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • OPTIONAL: Which civilization is most fascinating?

3 Readings

  • OPTIONAL: The Formation of Medieval Europe
  • OPTIONAL: Byzantium: The Eastern Roman Empire
  • OPTIONAL: Europe's Sibling, the Islamic World

Overview of the Historian's Craft and "Viewing"

    • 5 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 PeerReview
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1 Peer Review

  • Practicing the Historian's Craft: "Viewing"

1 Discussions

  • What are your blind spots and biases?

5 Readings

  • Overview of The Historian's Craft
  • The Historian's Craft: The Task of Viewing
  • Professor Martinez's Viewing Worksheet
  • Key Concept: What is Historiography?
  • Key Concept: What is Periodization?

The Islamic Conquest of Visigothic Hispania

    • 1 Videos
    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • REQUIRED CORE: Islamic Conquest of Visigothic Hispania

1 Videos

  • REQUIRED CORE: Islamic Conquest and Settlement (711 – 756 CE)

2 Readings

  • REQUIRED CORE: Islamic Conquest of Visigothic Spain (711 CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Christian Traitors: Count Julian of Ceuta and the Mozarabic Chronicle of 754

Making Islamic al-Andalus (Spain)

    • 6 Videos
    • 10 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • REQUIRED CORE: Islamic Al-Andalus

6 Videos

  • REQUIRED CORE: Islamic al-Andalus: The Umayyad Dynasty (756 – 1061 CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Museo de Santa Cruz (Toledo) - Welcome to the Museum
  • REQUIRED CORE: Museo de Santa Cruz (Toledo): Islamic Art and Architecture - Part 1
  • REQUIRED CORE: Museo de Santa Cruz (Toledo): Islamic Art and Architecture - Part 2
  • REQUIRED CORE: Museo de Santa Cruz (Toledo): Islamic Art and Architecture - Part 3
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Museo de Burgos: Muslim Artifacts Become Christian (11th Century CE)

10 Readings

  • REQUIRED CORE: Al-Andalus: Islamic Spain (711-1061 CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Islamic Taifa Kingdoms (1009-1091), Almoravids (1086-1145), and Almohads (1145-1269)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Muslim Berbers Treated as Second-Class Citizens in Islamic Lands (8th Century CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Charlemagne, Abd al-Rahman I, and the Siege of the City of Zaragoza (787 and 789 CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: The Christian "Martyrs" (or Agitators?) of Islamic Cordoba (850-859 CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Islamic Astronomical Pursuits: Navigation and Religion
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Islamic Water and Food Revolution in Iberia
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Islamic Medicine during the Caliphate of Cordoba
  • OPTIONAL: A Closer Look: The Islamic Taifa of Toledo (1009 - 1085 CE)
  • OPTIONAL: Religious and Cultural Competition Among Islamic Taifas

Solidifying Jewish Sefarad (Spain)

    • 1 Videos
    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • REQUIRED CORE: Sefarad: Jewish Spain

1 Discussions

  • REQUIRED CORE: Integrating Jews in Islamic Spain

1 Videos

  • OPTIONAL: Contemporary Sephardic Authors: A visit with Esther Bendahan at the Centro Sefarad Israel (Madrid)

2 Readings

  • REQUIRED CORE: Sefarad: Jewish Spain (A selection from Prof. Jane Gerber)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Rejecting Tolerance: Ibn Tumart, the Almohads, and Maimonides in the 12th Century

The Historian's Craft and "Reading"

    • 2 Readings
    • 1 PeerReview
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1 Peer Review

  • Practicing the Historian's Craft: "Reading"

2 Readings

  • The Historian's Craft: The Task of Reading
  • "In the Name of God": The First Islamic Coinage in Spain (711-712 CE)

Making Christian Hispania (Spain)

    • 1 Videos
    • 6 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • REQUIRED CORE: Making Christian Hispania

1 Videos

  • REQUIRED CORE: Resurgent Christian Kingdoms (711 – 1212 CE)

6 Readings

  • REQUIRED CORE: The Christian Kingdom of Castile and the Origins of the Reconquest (711 - 1212 CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Medieval Spain and the Influence of the Crusades on the Reconquista
  • REQUIRED CORE: Bitter Rivals: King Fernando I of Castile and King Bermudo III of Leon (11th Century)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Mozarabs of Toledo: Christians Who Assumed Islamic Culture (11th Century)
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: The Christian Kingdom of Aragon and Catalonia (711-1212 CE)
  • OPTIONAL: Saint James and the Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

King Alfonso X "The Wise" and Jewish Communities Under Christian Rule

    • 8 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • REQUIRED CORE: King Alfonso X "The Wise" and Jewish Communities Under Christian Rule

8 Readings

  • REQUIRED CORE: Castilian King Alfonso X "The Wise" (r. 1252-1284 CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Simon R. Doubleday's Chapter 3: Stargazers from "The Wise King"
  • REQUIRED CORE: King Alfonso X's Las Siete Partidas: A Legal Code for Three Religions
  • REQUIRED CORE: Christians Governing Jews and Muslims: The Legalities of Coexistence
  • REQUIRED CORE: Las Cantigas de Santa Maria (The Canticles of Holy Mary) 1252-1284 CE
  • REQUIRED CORE: Forcing the Issue: The Christian-Jewish Disputation of Barcelona (1263 CE): Has the Messiah Appeared?
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Todros Abulafia: A 13th Century Jewish Poet Fond of Debate
  • OPTIONAL: King Alfonso X and the Development of Spanish Universities

Castilians Creating Culture through Objects

    • 4 Videos
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • REQUIRED CORE: Castilians Creating Culture through Objects

4 Videos

  • REQUIRED CORE: Museo de Burgos: The Urn of St. Dominic (12th Century CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Museo de Burgos: The Virgin of the Battles (13th Century CE)
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Museo de Burgos: Christian Funerary Statues (13th-15th Centuries CE)
  • OPTIONAL: “Petrifying Wealth: The Southern European Shift to Collective Investment in Masonry as Identity, c.1050-1300” project at CSIC

The Historian's Craft and "Analyzing"

    • 2 Readings
    • 1 PeerReview
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1 Peer Review

  • Practicing the Historian's Craft: "Analyzing"

2 Readings

  • The Historian's Craft: The Task of Analyzing
  • Las Siete Partidas – Selection Pertaining to Jews, Muslims, and Christians

Formation of Catholic Spain and Its Impact on Religious Minorities

    • 3 Videos
    • 8 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • REQUIRED CORE: Formation of Catholic Spain and Its Impact on Religious Minorities

3 Videos

  • REQUIRED CORE: Catholic Spain and the Nasrids (1212 – 1502 CE)
  • OPTIONAL: Museo de Burgos: Jewish Artifacts from Briviesca - Part 1
  • OPTIONAL: Museo de Burgos: Jewish Artifacts from Briviesca - Part 2

8 Readings

  • REQUIRED CORE: Unforeseen Events: The Plague, A Dead King, and Anti-Jewish Sentiment (14th Century CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Civil War in the Kingdom of Castile and Leon (14th Century)
  • REQUIRED CORE: The New Nobility of Castile: Arrival of the Conversos (Jewish Converts to Christianity) (End of the 14th Century CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Anti-Jewish Pogroms Across Christian Spain (1390s - 1420s CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Christian Unity Under Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand (Late 15th Century CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: The Nasrids: The Last Islamic Kingdom in Granada (1231-1492) CE
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Islamic Nasrid Textiles
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Jewish Love and Marriage in Christian Spain

Preserved Histories: Archives and Manuscripts from Burgos and Toledo

    • 6 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • What aspects of the archives in Toledo and Burgos did you find most interesting?

6 Videos

  • REQUIRED CORE: Treasures of the Archive of the Cathedral of Burgos
  • REQUIRED CORE: Introduction to the Archivo Municipal de Toledo and Its "Secret Archive"
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Introduction to the Municipal Archive of Burgos
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Exploring Manuscript SJ-1/1 “Alfonso VI concede al Monasterio”
  • OPTIONAL: Introduction to the Archivo Historico de la Nobleza (Toledo)
  • OPTIONAL: Exploring the Restoration of “Cartulario S. XV. Libro viejo de privilegios de los Reyes Catolicos, LI-385"

1 Readings

  • REQUIRED CORE: Exploring Archives that Preserve History

Creating Conversos at the End of Positive Coexistence

    • 4 Videos
    • 4 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • REQUIRED CORE: Creating Conversos at the End of Positive Coexistence

4 Videos

  • REQUIRED CORE: Introduction to Virtual Plasencia: A 15th Century Community of Jews, Christians, and Muslims
  • REQUIRED CORE: Digital Video Narration of “La Mota”: A Christian Assumes Ownership over Jewish Homes, circa 1416, in Plasencia, Spain
  • REQUIRED CORE: El Transito Synagogue of Toledo (Museo Sefardí) - 14th Century CE
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Christians Creating "Mudejar" Material Culture

4 Readings

  • REQUIRED READING: Creating Conversos: The Carvajal-Santa Maria Family in Early Modern Spain
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Exploring the Global Middle Ages
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Mudéjar Metalwork: When the Islamic Becomes Christian (15th Century)
  • SUPPLEMENTAL: Christians Adopting Islamic Forms: Harmony in Islamic-Christian Manises Ceramics

The End of Tolerance: Ridding Spain of Jews and Muslims and Persecuting Converts

    • 4 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • Religious intolerance and expulsions.

4 Readings

  • REQUIRED CORE: Cultural Backlash: "Blood Purity" Laws: Separating "New" from "Old" Christians (1450s)
  • REQUIRED CORE: The Spanish Inquisition Begins its Work (1478 - 1480 CE)
  • REQUIRED CORE: The Spanish Tisha B'Av: The End of Jewish Spain and the Expulsion (1492)
  • REQUIRED CORE: Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand Expel Spanish Muslims (1502 CE)

The Historian's Craft and "Reflecting"

    • 2 Videos
    • 3 Readings
    • 1 PeerReview
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1 Peer Review

  • Practicing the Historian's Craft: "Reflecting"

2 Videos

  • Video Snippet #1 from Convivencia Re-envisioned - Texas Early Music Project - 6 September 2015
  • Video Snippet #2 from Convivencia Re-envisioned - Texas Early Music Project - 6 September 2015

3 Readings

  • The Texas Early Music Project: A Collaborator of Deciphering Secrets MOOCs
  • Musical Selection: De Antequera Sale un Moro (From Antequera leaves a Moor)
  • The Historian's Craft: The Task of Reflecting

Thank you for Participating! Hope to See You Again!

    • 1 Readings
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1 Readings

  • Thank you for Participating! Hope to See You Again!

The Historian's Craft Peer Review Project

    • 6 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 PeerReview
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1 Peer Review

  • Artifact Analysis Peer Review Project

1 Discussions

  • Why did you choose the artifact that you did?

6 Readings

  • Applying the Historian's Craft
  • Assessing an Artifact: Overview of the Peer Review Project
  • Artifact #1 (Material Culture): Plate with the Arms of Blanche of Navarre
  • Artifact #2 (Manuscript): The Edict of Expulsion (1492)
  • Artifact #3 (Music): Una tarde de verano (A summer afternoon)
  • Artifact #4 (Architecture and Material Culture): "A Poem is a Robe and a Castle: Inscribing Verses on Textiles and Architecture in the Alhambra"

Auto Summary

Explore the rich intercultural history of medieval Spain in "Coexistence in Medieval Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims." Guided by expert instructors on Coursera, this foundational course dives into the intricate relationships and conflicts among Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the 6th to the 15th century. Through engaging content, learners will understand the dynamics of religious tolerance and conflict, and the unique role of Jewish intermediaries. Ideal for humanities enthusiasts, the course spans 1620 minutes and is available with Starter and Professional subscription options.

Roger L Martinez
Instructor

Roger L Martinez