Me in a troglodyte grave
c. 6^th century (?) C.E.

Innovative Month 2005 participants enjoying
an authentic French lunch of escargot.

The Innovative Month 2005 gang hanging
out, or, actually, on to the church.

COURSES AND SYLLABI
   My primary focus is medieval Europe, c. 500-1500 C.E. I also teach ancient history and gender/women's studies courses. After the course title, click on the pdf or html link to see a copy of the syllabus. If you have any questions about upcoming, current, or past courses of mine, please feel free to email me at martin_m@fortlewis.edu

Winter 2008
HISTORY COURSES:
[all syllabi are currently under development]

• History 160R: Survey of Western Civilization I, To 1350 [syllabus]
  MWF, 11:15--12:10 p.m.,  in CSWS 220
  Examines the origins of the institutions and beliefs of western civilization from the earliest civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt, tracing the development of these beliefs and institutions through Greece and Rome and their preservation and enhancement in the early medieval period of European history. [3 credits]
  
  
• History 368: Medieval Women [syllabus]
  This course follows two main themes: first, the thematic history of gender and the roles of women in past societies; second, to the time-specific historical study of the European Middle Ages, particulary as women experienced them (c. 500-1500). [4 credits; may count toward major or minor in Gender/Women's Studies.]
  
  
• History 396: Philosophy and Methods [syllabus]
  An introduction to the study of history, this course serves as the Writing Course for the History Department. The course explores the ways historians, past and present, think about and practice the craft of studying, researching, interpreting, and writing about history. It introduces students to new fields of  historical research and multidisciplinary approaches to the past. Special emphasis is placed on developing skills necessary for becoming sucessful writers in the field. This course is required for all majors; it is a reading and writing intensive course. Readings will on occasion be divided among students for discussion and debate purposes. [4 credits]
  

Previously taught courses:

HISTORY

• History 190: World Civilization I, To 1500 [syllabus]
  This course is an introduction to the cultural, economic, intellectual, political, religious and social life of World Civilization from the beginning of time to 1500. This course will examine the above topics chronologically as well as thematically; primarily around themes such as issues of cultural memory, family, gender, and social interactions and relationships. [3 credits]
  
  
• History 190: Recitation Section for World Civilization I [syllabus]
  This one-hour section will build on the historical emphasis of the weekly lectures and focus the discussion to allow students to develop debates about current, crucial issues with respect to world civilizations, multiculturalism, globalization and other such issues. [1 credit]
  
  
• History 190/390: History of Gay Culture through the Media, 1955-2005
  Enrichment Course [syllabus]
  We examine the perceptions and understandings of history of LBGT culture through television and film, and the extent to which these perceptions, and the culture, have changed in just fifty years. We also examine the contributions made to and by the gay community in this fifty-year development of their own culture and history. [2 credits]
  
  
• History 250W: Composition in History [syllabus]
  Building on knowledge acquired in the prerequisite composition course(s), this course will introduce you to the methodologies, skills, and structures of scholarly writing and research, based in part on the historical method. Interdisciplinary skills will be introduced and developed to help students from and for all disciplines. In addition to understanding how academic texts reflect the shared ethos of a community of scholars, students will be introduced to standard methods of citation and to research materials available through the library, taught within the context of plagiarism issues. [4 credits]

  
  
• History 262S: Tolerance and Persecution in Middle Ages [syllabus]
  Is persecution an ever-present function of organized society, or does it have specific historical catalysts? We investigate this question using examples from early Europe, looking closely at the development of anti-Semitism as well as changing attitudes in authorities' and "ordinary" people's perceptions of marginal groups--such as gays, heretics, and witches--from the rise of Christianity to the Reformation. [4 credits]
  
  
• History 263R: Medieval Life-Modern Film & Literature [syllabus]
  "Bring out your dead!" This course covers aspects of the historical European Middle Ages (nobility, knighthood, religion, gender relations, etc.) through modern films and texts, using these resources to pose questions both about the medieval past and our modern need to revisit it in our own media. [4 credits]
  
  
• History 302: Ancient Rome [syllabus]
  Introduction to Ancient Rome from its Etruscan beginnings to the end of the Empire. Topics include Republican government, Imperial expansion, daily life, Roman ideas about morality and sexuality, education and the arts. We will also look at the "lighter" side of Rome, including gladiators, baths and brothels--pastimes that characterized ordinary life in the Eternal City and its provinces. [4 credits]
  
  
• History 308: Rise of Christianity [syllabus]
  Also counts as Religious Studies 308 credit 
  A study of the historical Jesus of Nazareth, Judaism and the first century Jewish Palestine under Roman domination. The development of Pauline Christianity and the struggle between orthodox and Gnostic Christians. Course will also examine the development of the differences between eastern and western Christianity. Course will cover up to 451 C.E., the Council of Chalcedon. [4 credits]
  

• History 359: Medieval Europe [syllabus]
  An examination of culture, society, politics, religion and gender in the historical development of medieval Europe using both primary and secondary written source material with reference to the art, music and philosophy of the period as well. [4 credits]
  
  
• History 368: Medieval Women [syllabus]
  This course follows two main themes: first, the thematic history of gender and the roles of women in past societies; second, to the time-specific historical study of the European Middle Ages, particulary as women experienced them (c. 500-1500). [4 credits; may count toward major or minor in Gender/Women's Studies.]
  
  
• History 390: Ancient Greece [syllabus]
  This course will survey the origins of the ancient Greeks. We will look at the early Aegean civilizations such as Mycenae, Minoa, Crete, Troy, and the Homerica Age through historical and literary texts and contexts. We will examine the development of the polis, as well as Athens and Sparta. The course will end with the decline of classical Greece and appearance of Alexander the Great on the historical stage.[4 credits]
  
  
• History 390: History of the Crusades [syllabus]
  This course will examine the history of the Crusades, primarily those to the Holy Land from the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries. We will also examine the internal crusades of Western Europe at the time. Topics we will look at to help us analyze the period include historical and cultural events leading up to the Crusades, papal involvement, patters of settlement in the Holy Lands; also social, political, economic, legal, and ecclesiastical concerns, along with accounts of this period of history from European Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Byzantine perspectives and personalities. Readings will be extensive, but on occasion we will split them up between class members for discussion and debate purposes.
  [4 credits]
  
  
• History 396: Philosophy and Methods [syllabus]
  An introduction to the study of history, this course serves as the Writing Course for the History Department. The course explores the ways historians, past and present, think about and practice the craft of studying, researching, interpreting, and writing about history. It introduces students to new fields of  historical research and multidisciplinary approaches to the past. Special emphasis is placed on developing skills necessary for becoming sucessful writers in the field. This course is required for all majors; it is a reading and writing intensive course. Readings will on occasion be divided among students for discussion and debate purposes. [4 credits]
  
  
• History 496: Research Senior Seminar [syllabus]
  Have co-taught the course once w/ Dr. Ellen Paul and once with Dr. Neil McHugh
  A capstone course in the preparation of a senior history research paper with a public presentation and defense. [4 credits]
  Prerequisite: HIST 396

  
  

GENDER/WOMEN'S STUDIES

• Gender/Women's Studies 495: Female Masculinity [syllabus]
  Initially building from Judith Halberstam's book, Female Masculinity, we will examine her concept of female masculinity and how she applies it to women and women's roles as defined by society (and which society that is will need to be determined as well). We will then utilize her later work, In a Queer Time & Place, to fully evaluate this concept. Part one of the course will look at what we might express as the flipside to male metrosexuals and look at women who are straight but have a 'masculine' tag, for example, tomboys or the modern day CEOs who dress in a "man's" uniform of the business suit; part two will cover queer theory and lesbians and the various images and historical contexts/debates; and, part three will be the students' own experiences and presentations of projects portion of class.  [2 credits]
  
  
• Gender/Women's Studies 496: Senior Capstone Course [syllabus]
  Theme for Winter 2007: Transgenderism
  What does the term 'transgender' mean? As Stryker and Whittle write in the introduction to the course textbook, The Transgender Studies Reader, "As we move into a new world, trans academics and theorists are creating new discursive practices which are repositioning the power of gender(s) and allowing more of us to have a say in what gender means, and in what its powers should be." This course will attempt to discuss those new discursive practices and attempt to develop an understanding of the term or to determine if in fact it is a useful or productive term to begin with.
  

HONOR'S PROGRAM

• Honors 220: Human History and the Liberal Arts [syllabus]
  This course will look at the history of liberal arts education primarily from the ancient Greek and Roman perspectives. Since this is a learning community Honor's course, all work will be coordinated with the two associated courses: HIST 160: Survey of Western Civilization (taught by Dr. Martin) and ANTH 151: Introduction to Anthropology (taught by Dr. Fine). [1 credit]
  
  
• Honors 220/420: Covering: Hidden Assault on our Civil Rights [syllabus]

  Using Kenji Yoshino's book Covering: The Hidden Assault on our Civil Rights, we will look at the concept of how various groups, including gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physically challenged, religious, have all in some form or another covered, or 'passed', in society so as to not be discriminated against. We will look at how this is achieved, and also potentially overcome. Yoshino teaches law at Yale University.
  
  
• Honors 220/420: History of Gay Culture through AIDS [syllabus]
  This course will examine the history of AIDS in America, beginning in the 1980s (known as the Plague Years) and moving through to today. We will examine AIDS from and through various perspectives: theatrical, historical, literary, political, medical, film, the arts, and muscis, along with important people and events associated with AIDS. By looking at these various perspectives we will attempt to determine how AIDS has come to be understood by and taught to America. The main influence and "jumping off" point for the class will be Tony Kushner's Angels in America. Each student will be expected to attend the Theatre Department's production of Part II of Angels in America in April 2006. [1 credit]
  
  
• Honors 220/420: Scholarship of the Da Vinci Code [syllabus]
  This course will attempt to unveil the various "truths" behind Dan Brown's fictional novel The Da Vinci Code. We will look at the scholarly and historical contexts behind and within the work, and then branch out into such fields as religious studies, theology, Opus Dei, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Holy Grail. [1 credit]

  
  

THEMATIC STUDIES

• TS2R 402: History of the Book [syllabus]
  Counts as a Culture requirement
  This course focuses on the book to examine notions of "progress" and the relationships between technological development and intellectual activity. Ancient information recording systems and the development of Western writing will be studied along with writing technologies in non-Western cultures. The most revolutionary book--the computer or "virtual book"--will also be examined. [4 credits]

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INNOVATIVE MONTH IN FRANCE OR TO GREECE

 Innovative Months are offered through the Office of Extended Studies. I am currently offering two innovative months for the Summer 2008: in the first summer session an innovative month to Greece; in the third session, an innovative month to France.

GREECE

    The innovative month to Greece begins in Athens. We then tour the Peloponnesus and travel up to the mainland, visiting sites such as Korinth, Epidaurus, Olympia, and Delphi. In our second week we then take of tour of six of the 56 Cyclades Islands: Paros, Naxos, Delos, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete. For information on this innovative month and other innovative month offerings, please go to the Office of Extended Studies website to see current offerings. To see information on the Innovative Month to Greece to be offered in Summer I semester (April 28--May 16), please contact me at martin_m@fortlewis.edu. Also I have included below some pictures from last year's trip.

FRANCE
     My innovative month in France takes place in a small town called Rozet (in southern France) at a twelfh-century monastery where we do some archaeological work. We also tour the countryside to see and experience the history of France, from its prehistoric times through to modern. For information on this innovative month and other innovative month offerings, please go to the Office of Extended Studies website to see current offerings. To see information on the Innovative Month to France to be offered in Summer III semester (July 07--August 01), please contact me at martin_m@fortlewis.edu. Also I have included below some pictures from the site of work I have done over the years.

Burial S16, July 1998. This is my first
archaeological find of my excavating career. The skeleton is a burial of an adolescent buried face down. We are still uncertain as to why this body was buried face down.

August 2000. On the right is Burial S16, completely uncovered. To the left of it is Burial S14, a young child but as you can see, one that is laid out for a proper burial.

Overview of part of the digsite. You can see the
remaining outlines of the monastery refectory
(monks' "dining room") near top running
horizontally in this picture.

Sarcophagus (stone coffin) I found in Summer 1999. Notice crack and the exposed area where head would be. Someone else found this first and broke into it thinking there was hidden treasure.

Several decades ago, the former owner of the
site knocked down a portion of the roof in
the apse of the church. Most of the stone work
is still there in the church and in the photo to the
right of this one you can see the work we began in
Summer 2005 of clearing the stone work out to
reuse for rebuilding the roof. The top picture is the
right side, cross-section view of the bottom picture.

Not all of the stones will be able to be used in restoring the roof. However, many of the original stones will be useful. Here some of the workers are sorting them by size and condition.

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CURRICULUM VITAE

    A curriculum vitae is a resume of an individual's work. My curriculum vitae [pdf or html versions available] includes a listing of my educational and work experience as it relates to my professional career here at Fort Lewis College.

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DISSERTATION AND FUTURE WORK

     My dissertation is titled The Italian Homiliary: Texts and Contexts. I have a particular interest in studying Charlemagne and the period of history named for him, the Carolingian Era (c. 750-950 C.E.) I have narrowed my interest of that time period to the study of sermons produced at that time. I hope to learn about and better understand the character and identity of parish priests of that period, as well as the people who were being preached to, an audience very little studied or understood. It is my hope that through studying sermons preached to lay audiences of little or no education that we might better understand them and their teachers and preachers. [For more information, please read the first chapter of my dissertation--don't worry, it's very short.] 
    To begin that process, I worked on transcribing a manuscript of sermons, written in Latin, during this period. Transcribing involves taking a handwritten document and putting it in a typed-up format. Once I finished that, I then had to source all 112 sermons in the manuscript. During the medieval period (c. 500-1500 C.E.), citing one's sources was unheard of (unlike today where if you do not footnote your source, especially in your History classes, we will mark you down because that is known as PLAGIARISM!). Once that was complete, I then translated, read, and wrote a commentary on the sermons, their history, their messages, where they may have been composed and by whom.

     I will continue to work within, and publish about, this time in history and this field of study to learn more about sermons during the Carolingian period and the people preaching them and the people hearing them. I am currently finishing an article about my dissertation topic.
    I am also currently working on a book with Dr. Larry Simon, Professor of Medieval Spain at Western Michigan University. We are translating and commenting on a text by Ramon Llull.
    A long term project I am a contributor to is a 14th/16th c. collection of fables written in medieval French. I am helping to transcribe some of the manuscript collection for later publication by colleagues of mine in Sweden and Italy. The first volume is scheduled to appear in 2009 (where much of the work I have done for the project will appear).

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