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The Hispanic Medieval Kingdoms and Al-Àndalus

Code: 100357
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Archaeology OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Félix Retamero Serralvo
Email :
felix.retamero@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Ability to read in Catalan, Spanish and French

Objectives

The aim of the course is to provide a deepest knowledge of the Iberian medieval societies: discuss the principal events and the main historical figures, as well as the historiographical context; to familiarise the student with the written evidence and the arcahaeological research on the period; to understand the main historical processes that determined the formation of the different Iberian medieval societies, and to explore the connections between the destruction and the construction of new societies in the context of the Iberian conquests and the Modern expansion.

Learning outcomes

  1. Effectively expressing themselves and applying the argumentative and textual processes of formal and scientific texts.
  2. Carrying out oral presentations using appropriate academic vocabulary and style.
  3. Identifying the specific methods of History and its relationship with the analysis of particular facts.
  4. Identifying the context of the historical processes.
  5. Identifying the characteristic methods of Archaeology and its relationship with the historical analysis.
  6. Using the specific interpretational and technical vocabulary of the discipline.
  7. Recognising the importance of controlling the quality of the work's results and its presentation.
  8. Applying both knowledge and analytical skills to the resolution of problems related to their area of study.
  9. Autonomously searching, selecting and processing information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
  10. Using suitable terminology when drawing up an academic text.
  11. Transmitting the results of archaeological research and clearly communicating conclusions in oral and written form to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  12. Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
  13. Identifying main and supporting ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  14. Mastering the relevant languages to the necessary degree in the professional practice.
  15. Applying proper techniques and analytical tools in case studies.
  16. Interpreting material sources and the archaeological record.
  17. Mastering the diachronic structure of the past.
  18. Mastering and identifying the history of immediate environment.
  19. Interpreting and analysing documentary sources.
  20. Assessing and critically solving the characteristic historiographical problems of gender history.
  21. Relating elements and factors involved in the development of historical processes.
  22. Applying the morphosyntactic analysis to the reading of Latin texts, identifying if necessary the specific characteristics of the literary genre or the corresponding linguistic variation.
  23. Assessing and critically solving the historiographical problems of war studies.
  24. Organising and planning the search of historical information.
  25. Using computing resources of the area of study of history.
  26. Critically analysing informational speeches, especially in relation to ideology and ethnocentric and sexist bias.
  27. Interpreting historical texts in relation to archaeological contexts.
  28. Reading and interpreting historiographical texts or original documents and transcribing, summarizing and cataloguing information produced in the Middle Ages.
  29. Mastering the Universal History of the Middle Ages.
  30. Analysing the key issues that allow us to address the study of historical phenomena from a gender perspective.
  31. Analyse the historical processes that lead to armed conflict.
  32. Solve the methodological problems posed by the use of medieval historiographical sources.
  33. Use the specific technical vocabulary of interpretation and commentary of ancient texts.

Contents


  1. The Visigothic regnum and the formation of al-Andalus. Texts; archaeology; historiography (6th-9th centuries).
  2. From the Umayyads to the Nasrids: the urban and architectural expression of the Andalusi dynasties. The foundations of power (8th-15th centuries).
  3. The formation and expansion of the Christian nuclei: Kingdom of Asturias, Castile and the Pyrenean spaces. "Reconquista", populatio (8th-10th centuries).
  4. A society organized for war: the frontier; seignorialization and the landscapes of conquest (11th-14th centuries).
  5. The construction of an early colonial society. Monarchy, cities, villas, colonists and indigenous Andalusis (15th-16th centuries): the case of the Kingdom of Granada.
  6. One conquest, two worlds. From the eastern Atlantic to America: texts and archaeology of expansion.





Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Theory: lectures. Practical exercises on case-studies; text analyses 50 2 1, 9, 12, 14, 27, 33
Tutorial seasons on written and oral works 15 0.6 1, 9, 12, 14, 27, 33
Work by students: assisting to the lectures; reading, research and analysis of information, assignments. 75 3 1, 9, 12, 14, 27, 33

-Practical exercises on case-studies; text analysis.

-Work by students: assisting to the lectures; reading, research and analysis of information, assignments. The student must take into account the news and informations published on the Virtual Campus/Moodle. All activities have a deadline that must be met strictly, according to the proposed schedule.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Test 2 30% 1.5 0.06 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33
Test 1 30% 1.5 0.06 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33
Essay 40% 7 0.28 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33

Continuous Assessment:

  1. First partial synthesis exam: 30%.
  2. Second partial synthesis exam: 30%.
  3. One or two practical exercises: 40% in total.

One of the exams or exercises will consist of an oral presentation. The minimum grade for an exercise to be considered in the calculation of the average is 3.5. Exchange students requesting an early exam must submit a written document from their home university to the professor justifying their request.

Single Assessment:

  1. Synthesis exam 1: 30%.
  2. Synthesis exam 2: 30%.
  3. Practical exercise(s): 40%.

The teaching staff will announce during the first week of class, both in the classroom and through the Virtual Campus, the single date for taking and submitting the assessment activities. The minimum grade for an assessment activity to be considered in the final grade calculation is 3.5.

Review: At the time of taking each assessment activity, the professor will inform the student (Moodle) of the procedure and date for reviewing grades.

Reassessment: To be eligible for reassessment, the student must have been previously evaluated for 2/3 of the total (CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT) or have submitted all the scheduled tests (SINGLE ASSESSMENT). To participate in the reassessment process, the student must have obtained a minimum average grade in the subject of at least 3.5. All students with a subject average of 3.5 have the right to take the reassessment. The reassessment will consist of a synthesis exam covering the course syllabus and will take place on the date established by the faculty. The student will receive a grade of "Not Assessable" if they have not submitted more than 30% of the assessment activities.

Irregularities: Any irregularity will result in an immediate 0 for the activity. In the event of several irregularities, the final grade for the subject will be 0. Activities in which fraud or misuse of AI has been detected cannot be reassessed. In the event that the student commits any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded with a 0, regardless of any disciplinary process that may be initiated. In the event that several irregularities occur in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.

Use of AI: This subject allows the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies exclusively for bibliographic or information search tasks, text correction, or translations. The student must (i) identify the parts that have been processed with AI; (ii) specify the tools used; and (iii) include a reflection on how these tools have influenced the process and the final result of the activity.


Bibliography

-Barbero, A. & M. Vigil, La formación del feudalismo en la península ibérica, Crítica, Barcelona, 1982 (1ª ed.) Humanitats- 1a planta ; 946.02 Bar

-Barceló, M., El sol que salió por Occidente, Universidad de Jaen, 1997 (edició revisada i ampliada publicada per la Universitat de València,2010) Humanitats- 1a planta ; 946.021 Bar

-Barrios, A.; R. Peinado, dirs., Historia del Reino de Granada, 3 vols., Universidad de Granada, 2000. Humanitats- 1a planta ; 946.81.03 His

-Barton, S. & R. Portrass, eds, Beyond the Reconquista. New directions in the history of Medieval Iberia (711-1085), Brill, 2020, 103. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uab/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&docID=6175832

-Garcia Fitz, La guerra contra el Islam peninsular en la Edad Media, 2019. https://sintesis-read-garden.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/viewer/la-guerra-contra-el-islam-peninsular-en-la-edad-media/1

-Guichard, P., De la expansión árabe a la Reconquista: esplendor y fragilidad de al-Andalus, El Legado Andalusi, Granada, 2002. https://www.legadoandalusi.es/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FLA-BIB_0022_Guichard-es.pdf

-Martín Viso, I., ed. Los procesos de formación del feudalismo: la península ibñerica en el contexto europeo. Ed. Trea, 2023. Humanitats- 1a planta Signatura: 321.17 Pro

-Monsalvo, J.M., Atlas histórico de la España Medieval, Madrid, Sintesis, 2010. Humanitats- 1a planta ; 946(084.4)

-Powers, J., A society organised for war. The Iberian municipal militias in the Central Middle Ages, 1000-1284, University of California Press, 1988. https://archive.org/details/societyorganized0000powe/page/n7/mode/2up

-Rios Saloma, M.F., La Reconquista. Una construccion historiografica (siglos XVI-XIX), UNAM-Marcial Pons, Madrid, 2011. Humanitats- 1a planta ; 930.1(46) Rio

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Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE