HIST 100 – SPRING 2003
From
week 9 to week 13 of this semester we study the emergence of Christianity and
Islam as dominant religious belief systems in the Mediterranean basin, their
interaction, and their eventual confrontation for control of the ‘Holy Land’ in
Palestine during the period of the Crusades.
For
this project you will be a member of either a Christian or Muslim expedition to
Palestine. Your assignment is to write
a letter to a family member back home (4-5 pages) that describes your
experiences in the effort to expel the ‘non-believers’ (heretics or infidels)
from the Holy Land. You can choose to
be anybody who might have been involved such an endeavor: whether Christian or Muslim, male or female,
priest or knight, caliph or mujahidin (Muslim soldiers of the holy
war). Describe for your family member
your motivations, your beliefs, your view of the enemy, and/or important
battles you have engaged in. However,
whatever you chose to write about, make sure to ground it in the religious,
economic, and political elements of the period. The readings assigned for weeks 9-13 (March 18 – April 17) help
illustrate the mindset of the different participants of the Crusades.
The paper should be 4 to 5 pages in length, double-spaced, and typed in
a medium-sized font. I will base the
grades for the papers on three equal parts: 1) Ideas: How clearly you present,
conceive, and describe the person you write about in your story, 2) Examples:
How accurately the details you give about the person fit within the historical
context of the period of the Crusades, and 3) Structure: How well written the
paper is.
Last but not least, the paper is due by April 24. You may of course turn in the paper before
the due date, but not after. Enjoy!