Fordham University INTERDISCIPLINARY CAPSTONE Medieval Studies (mvst) 998-R01 Spring 2016 (24 May- 9 June 2016) TITLE COURSE CREDIT COURSE FEES AND PERSONAL "OUT OF POCKET" EXPENSES Syllabus Study Tour: Medieval Spain (walking the Camino de Santiago) A spring semester course for 4 credits. Fordham College students may apply the credits earned for this course (MVST 4998) as a free elective regardless of major, or toward a major or minor in Medieval Studies or History or other. The course covers the interdisciplinary capstone requirement in the core. Participants will pay a course fee of $1000.00, which will cover accommodation, insurance and the instructors' and chaperones expenses. INSTRUCTOR: W. David Myers, Department of History Dealy 631, ext 3932 dmyers@fordham.edu FORMAT: Study tour in northwestern Spain along the historic and modern Camino de Santiago from Lebn to Santiago de Compostela. This is a spring course. From January to May, the class will meet once a month for presentations and discussion. Participants will then walk about 15 miles a day for two weeks (24 May-9 June), with meetings, lectures and discussion each day. The pilgrimage walk is the goal and capstone of a semester-long course on medieval and modern pilgrimage conducted during the spring course DESCRIPTION The Camino de Santiago is the traditional pilgrimage route from France across northwestern Spain to Santiago de Compostela, the legendary burial site of St. James. One of the great medieval pilgrimages and the greatest surviving itinerary for medieval monuments and landscapes, it has enjoyed a remarkable revival in recent years, attracting European Union sponsorship, the attention of media stars, and hundreds of thousands of walkers and pilgrims. In this two-week study tour, participants will walk the route, and meet each day for lectures and discussion of the medieval and pre-modem monuments along the route. The group will meet periodically during the spring 2014 semester to discuss reading assignments and prepare for the walk. An extended essay is required at the end of the course. GOALS AND MEANS (1) class readings and discussion will develop techniques and approaches for reading and assessing historical sources and comparing them to a contemporary phenomenon what is the relationship between past and present on the Camino de Santiago? (2) presentations in the preparatory sessions and during the tour will concentrate on identifying monuments, their styles, their iconographic programs, and their art historical significance (3) presentations during the tour will introduce the class to patterns of land use, vernacular architecture and town development (4) exposure during the tour to customs and culture of northwestern Spain (5) class assignments, with feedback and revision, will stress effective presentation (6) class discussion, presentations & written assignments assessing to assess written arguments, gather & use evidence from various sources (written, web-based, personal experience, informal discussion), and present descriptions & theses in light of contemporary theories about ritual, pilgrimage, and meaning
METHOD OF EVALUATION (7) daily work en route will challenge participants to consider the relationship between education and experience, the historical setting and contemporary meaning, and classroom assessments and physical activity Essay (submitted 20 June)....40% Discussion in meetings (before and during the study tour)... 30% TEXTS Presentations (before and during the study tour)... 30% William Melczer, The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela (1993) [translation of Bk 5 of the Codex calixtinus] David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson, The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook (2000) Nancy Louise Frey, Pilgrim Stories: On and Off the Road to Santiago, Journeys Along an Ancient Way in Modem Spain (1998) Additional bibliography will be assigned for reports during the spring semester. The Camino and Responsibility Equipment Accommodations Meals Emergencies and Medical Attention Although the historical context supplies the content of this course, much of the experience will be about walking and self-reliance. Participants will need to be prepared and fit. Good shoes or boots, well used and broken in, and a semester-long record of regular walking will be expected of everyone. The instructor will book accommodations in advance. Each participant is responsible, however, for arriving in Ledn by the evening of May 21, and finding their way from place to place each day along the Camino, plus meals, coursework, and the experience of the Camino. There are many ways walkers can make themselves miserable, or worse, but remember also that as many as 75,000 pilgrims/walkers will walk the Camino this year (there will probably be 50-100 pilgrims/walkers staying each night in the same towns along the way), and with a little care and preparation, everyone can share an unusual and fulfilling experience. Each destination along the way will have most of the amenities, and at no time does the Camino stray far from villages or major roads, so the gear does not need to be comprehensive. In fact, the lighter the better, because you will be walking five to ten hours each day. Everyone needs good shoes or boots, a light sleeping bag (hostels do not have sheets or blankets), a light backpack, a couple of changes of clothes, water bottles, a hat, sunscreen, etc. The whole kit should not be more than 22 lbs. We will be staying in private hostels and small hotels along the way. The accommodations are usually dormitory-style. Most do not provide blankets, so a light sleeping bag is required. Course fees will cover the cost of accommodation. Students will be responsible for their own meals. Groceries are available in most villages for breakfasts, breaks and lunches, and bars along the route supply reasonable breakfasts and lunches. For the evening meal, many hostels have kitchens for preparing food, and almost every village has very reasonable restaurants with a "pilgrim's menu" (bread, first course of pasta or vegetables, second course of meat or fish or eggs, etc., dessert, water, wine, for 7-10 Euros [$10-15]). In case of blisters, fatigue, heat or other emergencies, all points on the route are close to taxis or intercity buses. Clinics are accessible, well staffed, and very accommodating to pilgrims. Almost everywhere has cell-phone coverage. We will buy several cell phones for the group, and many other walkers along the Camino will also be carrying cell phones.
Class Schedule and Itinerary (The tour dates are firm, but those for class meetings during the semester are tentative. Specific dates will be arranged at the first meeting) Dav (January) Activities Orientation meeting (2 hours) Presentation on the Camino de Santiago, Past and Present Discussion of Nancy Louise Frey, Pilgrim Stories: On and Off the Road to Santiago, Journeys Along an Ancient Way in Modem Spain (1998 ISBN: 0520210840; BX2321.S3 F74 1998). Participants will also meet regularly during the semester to walk in preparation. Each participant will need to sign up for at least 2 weekend walks (usually to City Island, about 12 miles total). (February) Past and Present Reports on web accounts of at least two modern pilgrims: who? where? when? how? and any special points that you would like to emphasize. How have the historical destination and remains shaped the modern experience? (February) (March) Movie night: watch "The Way" (2010) directed by Emilio Estevez and starring Martin Sheen. Loosely based on the course text, Hitt, Off the Road (2005 [19941) History and Legend Discussion of reading from the Codex calixtinus (William Melczer, The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela [1993]). The account in the Codex calixtinus is a travelogue without much narrative, but we can ask how it compares to contemporary accounts like those on the web, and more significantly what it reveals about medieval expectations and values. What were the interests expressed in the account? How was the author presenting distance, time and the world around him? (April) Setting and Context (1) Presentations of the sites and monuments along the way. See especially David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson, The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook (2000), with further bibliography. Each participant will be responsible for one of the sites that we will be walking through. Be prepared to hand out a page or two of outline information, and then use the Web (or you can copy the images in advance and show them via Powerpoint) to illustrate the history, legends, main features, must-see items, and significance of your site. For instance, for Castrojeriz (on any earlier stage of the route), the references to the church of Santa Maria del Manzano in Alfonso X's Cantigas de Santa Maria, and the history of the castle on the hill are the starting points. On the camino itself, you will be responsible for your town as the resource person and guide (though we'll all work together on that), so imagine this presentation as the basis for the realtime, real-life consideration. In addition, on the camino you will be responsible for the class blog entry for your day. (May) Setting and Context (II) Continued presentations of the sites and monuments. For the rest of the class, 1 would like to review preparations for the walk. (May) Dinner Date Place I Activities Principal Sites Notes
travel to Spain; each participant will be responsible for their own travel arrangements 24 May Leon -arrive 25 May Leon -orientation -tour city 26 May San Martin del Camino -walk 25 km (6 hrs) 27 May Astorga -walk via Hospital de Orbigo, 25 kms at Hospital de Orbigo -tour Astorga -gothic cathedral, s. xiii -Collegiate church of San Isidore (museum, romanesque frescoes in the Pantedn de los Reyes) -landscape (meseta, P&ramo, adobe construction) Hospital de Orbigo -13 lh -century bridge, site of the 1434 paso honroso (tournament) Astoraa -Roman mosaics and city walls -renaissance cathedral -episcopal palace (Gaud!) -medieval towns of the Maragateria -vespers in Rabanal 28 May Rabanal del Camino -walk 20.6 km (5 hrs) 29 May Molinaseca -walk 26 km (6 hrs) -Monte Iraao (Cruz de hierro/cruz de ferro at 1504m. alt.) -village of El Acebo Molinaseca -medieval town -romanesque bridge 30 May Ponferrada -walk 7 km (2 hrs) -tour of Ponferrada 31 May Villafranca del Bierzo -walk 22.5 km (5 hrs 30 min) 01 June 0 Cebreiro -walk 30 km (8 hrs 30 mins) 02 June Triacastela -walk 20.5 km (5 hrs) 03 June Sarria -walk 17.5 km (4 hrs 30 mins) 04 June Portomarln -walk 22.5 km (5 hrs 45 mins) -Templar castle -valley of El Bierzo Villafranca del Bierzo -church of Santiago, San Francisco and Santa Maria -"calle del Agua" -castle of the Marquis -the village of O Cebreiro -the 12 m -century "holy Grail" in the pre-romanesque church of O Cebreiro -landscape (the view over Galicia) -monastery of Samos Sarria -churches of San Salvador -13,h -century towers and walls -gothic convent of the Magdalena -church of Barbadelo, sculptured tympanum Portomarln -romanesque churches of San Nicolds and San Pedro -17 m -century palace of Berbetoros -16 lh -century comital house usually air to Madrid, rail or air to Le6n 05 June Palas de Rei -walk 24.5 km (6 hr 30 min) 06 June Melide /Mellid -walk 14.8 km (3 hr 45 min) -houses of Ligonde -church of Eirexe Palas de Rei -church of San Tirso -medieval houses -14,h -century castle of Pambre -town of Leboreiro -romanesque bridge of Furelos Melide/Mellid
-14 th -century church of Sancti Spiritu -romanesque church of Santa Maria de Melide -pulpo at Exequiel! 07 June Pedrouzo (Arca-Rua) -walk 32.4 km (8 hrs) -village of Boente -Arzua, church of Santiago 08-09 June Santiago -walk 20.1 km (5 hrs) -pilgrims' mass at noon -romanesque cathedral (Portico de la Gloria) and museum -city streets -tour of the city -dinner at El Gato Negro -end of the studv tour 10 June Return; all participants are responsible for their own return arrangements 20 June Essays due (may be submitted as ema I attachments) e.g., air or train from Santiago to Madrid