HIST 409 - Travel in the Middle Ages

3 Credit Hours
Historians conventionally date the start of “globalization” to either the 1500s (when Europeans reached the Americas) or as late as the 1970s. Yet many characteristics of “global” societies were present much earlier, during the middle ages: These include long-distance trade, voluntary and forced migration, multi-ethnic empires, and the transmission of cultural forms across long distances. In fact, medieval people routinely traveled across thousands of miles and encountered people with different cultures, religions, social structures, and beliefs. Many wrote about the experience of doing so. This upper-level seminar will introduce students to the “global middle ages” and the history of travel in the medieval period. Students will learn about how and why medieval people traveled, and they will read and analyze a variety of medieval travel narratives originally composed in Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, Norse, and Chinese.

Levels: Graduate Undergraduate

College of Arts & Sciences History