| Course | Instructor |
|---|---|
| Summer, 2021 | Kevin Roddy |
| Castles of Medieval England | UCD Emeritus |
| Class Web Page | Office Hours: TH 12:00-1:00 |
| Thursday morning from 10-11:50 | |
| Instructor's Assistant: Gail Yokote | Instructor email: kproddy@ucdavis.edu |
Coffee-Table Deadweight used in this course: John Goodall, The English Castle: 1066-1650, 2nd printing, (Cambridge University Press, 2011), 548pp. ISBN 978-0-300-11058-6.
Extremely useful source (and cheap): David Macaulay, Castle: Revised and in Full Color. (HMH Books for Young Readers; Illustrated edition, November 5, 2013) ISBN-10 : 0544102266 ISBN-13 : 978-0544102262
Description of Course Content:
Spring 2021 OLLI course - Castles of Medieval England
Seminar Focus: In spite of the title, this course has been designed
to be extremely relevant to the present: this class is about choice of
habitation in an uncertain time, but with the primary focus on
habitation rather than, as might be expected, protection. To most of
those unfamiliar with the Middle Ages, the term "castle" implies a
"drafty" (always "drafty") forebording fortress, crammed with men-at-arms
ready to raise the drawbridge and pour hot oil on beseigers. Unfortunately for movies and the television, this image is not accurate. While warfare played a role,
it was a minor one; for the most part castles were designed and built much more
for comfort, for ostentation, and for hospitality than for safety.
This class, then, should increase your appreciation of these structures, with the end, I hope, of not convincing anyone to erect walls, but rather to enlarge their dining rooms.
Learning Outcomes: My goal is to focus entirely on the practice of critical thinking in a rigorous, disciplined manner, as was habitual in medieval universities for almost five hundred years. Since I will treat this as a seminar, I expect participation, and if necessary will demand it by calling on students at random. No reading is necessary for this course, but some memory is, so please ask questions in order to avoid my doing so.
Each week, we will progress, partly in a chronological fashion, partly in a thematic one, to review a good number of castles, most of which can be found in resonable condition, especially in the north of England, where London and Winsor were often as much an enemy as Scotland was supposed to be. Thus historical context will always provide a rationale for design and purpose.
About the Instructor: In my fifty years in teaching, I have offered courses from remedial writing to OLLI courses on Cathedrals, Monasticism, as well as Castles. In between these extremes have been courses in Davis, Sweden, England on general medieval culture, mysticism, literature, history, economics, politics. I have published on drama, on myth, and on nutrition. I have always been concerned to help impart the skills that students might need to know, and this concern has led me to undertake this course.
Schedule: