MMW 21 – Convivencia: The Peaceful Coexistence of Muslims, Jews and Christians in Late Medieval Iberia

Writing Assignment Goals

In three writing assignments, you will:

– refine your critical reading and analytic reasoning skills by assessing scholarly arguments in journal articles, book chapters, and essays. You will identify, paraphrase, and analyze the major components of scholarly arguments: research question, thesis, claims, evidence, counter-arguments, and significance.

– refine your research skills by using university and on-line resources to locate journal articles, book chapters, and academic essays relevant to a given topic. You will identify and evaluate reliable academic sources.

– learn the standards and expectations for academic integrity in scholarship.

– demonstrate increased global literacy by engaging a relevant scholarly debate about an historical period and its contemporary relevance.

The goal of the MMW Writing Assignment is to write a critical analysis of a scholar’s argument and to advance your position in answer to a research question that has more than one plausible answer grounded in scholarship. This goal will be completed in three stages according to the schedule below. All three stages of the MMW Writing Assignments must be completed and submitted in order to pass the course.

Topic: Convivencia: The Peaceful Coexistence of Muslims, Jews and Christians in Late Medieval Iberia

Question: Was there a historically significant, quintessentially Andalusian period or “Golden Age” of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish harmony? (Was there a unique harmony among Christians, Jews, and Muslims in medieval al-Andalus?)

Background: “Cities of Light” (PBS). Before reading the CRA article (Cohen’s, “Convivencia”), please read the pages in Strayer (pp. 289-311) that provide historical background to Cohen’s article and watch the video “Cities of Light” that will be streamed to your computer by accessing UCSD Library Course Reserves (http://libraries.ucsd.edu/resources/course-reserves)

Professor Chang’s students will enter the password EC21 and Professor Keller-Lapp’s students will enter the password HK21.

10% Critical Reading Assignment (CRA)

In this assignment you will read Mark R. Cohen’s essay, “The ‘Convivencia of Jews and Muslims in the High Middle Ages.” You will annotate and summarize Cohen’s argument in answer to the question posted above.

Length: Annotations plus 3 pages of summary

Due date: Beginning of section during Week 3. Late papers are subject to penalties (see MMW Style Sheet and the CRA prompt). Submit CRA to Turnitin.com with 24 hours of submitting the paper copy to your TA.

15% Comparative Source Examination (CSE)

In this assignment you will read four (4) additional sources related to the Cohen’s essay in order to broaden your understanding of the topic. In 5-7 pages, you will summarize the argument in each of the four (4) sources and discuss how these sources answer the question provided above. While you are only summarizing these arguments in this assignment, you will use this research to help you to evaluate Cohen’s argument in the final writing assignment.

Length: 5-6 pages

Due date: Beginning of section during Week 7. Late papers are subject to penalties (see MMW Style Sheet and the CRA prompt). Submit your graded Critical Reading Assignment with your Comparative Source Examination, and submit your Comparative Source Examination to Turnitin.com with 24 hours.

10% Final Critical Analysis (FCA)

In this assignment you will evaluate Cohen’s argument after having considered the evidence and/or alternative viewpoints that were offered in sources you analyzed in the Comparative Source Examination. In your final analysis, you will advance a position (thesis) in answer to the question provided above.

Length: 5-6 pages

Due date: Beginning of section during Week 10. Late papers are subject to penalties (see MMW Style Sheet and the CRA prompt). Submit your graded Critical Reading Assignment AND graded Comparative Source Examination along with your Final Critical Analysis. Submit your Final Critical Analysis to Turnitin.com within 24 hours.

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