Hst 553 The Medieval City: Communities of Conflict and Consensus

Emphasizes the social and cultural history of the medieval city from ca. 300-1500. Proceeding chronologically and thematically, explores how contemporaries imagined cities and urban life; the formation of civic consciousness and identity in feudal Europe; the commercial revolution and its cultural consequences; family and domestic life; the experience of marginalized elements; the construction, regulation, and function of urban space; and the role of spectacle, ceremony, and ritual, all as means to assess how the urban community mediated conflict and sought elusive consensus.