Group Online Tuition 
12 weeks
sTART DATE: 29 NOVember
every tuesday evening (gmt)*
 

This course gives a ‘decolonial’ take on the Crusades, focusing on racism, white supremacy, gender, anti-semitism, and imperialism, as it took place in nine military campaigns over several centuries at the high point of the Latin Christian Middle Ages. It seeks to teach a narrative history of the Crusades, but also critically engage that same history. Classes will take an explicitly queer, feminist, anti-capitalist, and anti-racist approach. For those unfamiliar with the period, they will begin with an overview of Latin Christendom, the Eastern Roman Empire, the Islamic Khilafat, and Medieval Judaism, before going forward with a brisk pace through the Levantine, Baltic, Balkan, and more minor crusades. Readings will be supplied on Google Drive and have a variety of sources taking into account Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and polytheistic views (core texts are listed below for those who are interested).

 

Classes will generally be an hour with several 90 minute sessions and structured in a loose discussion format with summaries of the readings sent out a week prior. Students are not expected to do all the readings, but they are expected to discuss at least one of the readings in depth.

 

The teacher is currently a PhD student in Islamic philosophy of law and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Rutgers University, and a Masters of Science in Comparative Political Thought from SOAS, University of London. She is Pakistani-Canadian and grew up in a devoutly religious family of Sunni Wahhabi Muslims. She has been teaching various subjects for ten years.

 

Core Texts:

1) “Inventing the Middle Ages,” by Norman F. Cantor (.PDF)
2) “The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land,” by Thomas Asbridge
(.PDF)
3) “The Crusades Through Arab Eyes,” by Amin Maalouf (.PDF)
4) “The Race for Paradise: An Islamic History of the Crusades,” by Paul M. Cobb (.PDF)
5) “Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades,” Jonathan Riley-Smith (editor) (.PDF)
6) “The World of the Crusades - An Illustrated History,” by Christopher Tyerman (.PDF)

​

*A specific time will be established taking into consideration everyone's preferences. After your booking the teacher will be in touch to discuss the best options.