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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Coexistence in Medieval Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims by University of Colorado System

4.5
stars
125 ratings

About the Course

This course explores Jewish, Christian, and Muslim intercultural relations in Iberia from the Visigothic era (6th century CE) until the creation of Queen Isabel I and King Ferdinand II Catholic Spain (late 15th century). We evaluate the many identities of the peninsula known as Christian Hispania, Jewish Sefarad, and Islamic al-Andalus. We trace the origins and trajectory of conflict between these communities (the Muslim conquest of Spain, Christian Reconquista, prohibitions blocking intermixing of peoples, and expulsions). We aim to understand conflicts within communities as well, such as the tensions between Christian Arian Visigoths and native Catholic Iberians or the fundamentalist North African Almohad Dynasty that rejected the Spanish Umayyad Caliphate’s preference for religious tolerance. We delve into an appreciation of collaboration and coexistence among these communities. We explore the unique role of the Jewish community who Muslims and Christians depended upon as political and cultural intermediaries as well as their intellectual collaborators. We find the history of how peoples attempted to create and manage viable diverse communities. As we study this history, the Honors Track will employ an investigative process (“The Historian’s Craft”) that involves viewing, reading, analyzing, and reflecting on events, peoples, places, and artifacts....

Top reviews

TR

Aug 5, 2020

Awesome! I am going to revisit this class readings and keep learning. Amazing videos! Abundance of knowledge shared! Above and beyond of what I thought this class could be! Thank you so much!!!

GA

Jul 12, 2021

Excellent. If you are interested in History, and if you are Latin American it can give you a sense of identity an give you understanding of many aspects of our current day to day life.

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26 - 49 of 49 Reviews for Coexistence in Medieval Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims

By Beatriz m d

Jul 14, 2021

como en los manuscritos iluminados,ha sido un curso excelente.Por una vez hablan de mi país.Para mi el curso ha terminado,no puedo hacer los pares ,no hablo inglés.

By Adrain

May 1, 2020

If you want to learn more about Spanish medieval history, please enter this course, it is your best choice.

By Ipek B

Nov 20, 2018

It was more beneficial and educational than I thought. Amazing teacher, great course design

By vinka n

May 20, 2020

it is a great course, I see a new things that I never expected before. thank you

By M. C

Mar 30, 2020

Very interesting, and informative. I thank the Professor for a wonderful class.

By Kathy L

Sep 26, 2021

Fascinating. Clearly and logically presented. An exceptional course.

By Najmussaman P

Aug 25, 2020

Broadly learned the history of Spain with some visual information.

By Faizal b S

Jan 26, 2023

I am an abysmal satisfied about your career service for ours.

By Carlos R S

Feb 9, 2021

Excelente curso introductorio a la España medieval.

By Jose M E R

Aug 9, 2019

I am so enjoying this. Fun and interesting.

By Ramon L S R

Nov 8, 2019

Fantastic! Very Interesting

By Blanca C A

Mar 13, 2024

Espectacular. Me encanto

By Alfonso C V

Jan 21, 2018

Great course!

By mansi g

Dec 21, 2018

its easy

By Ahmet

Jul 15, 2020

perfect

By Garum

Nov 19, 2022

Surprising depth of material. I especially appreciated the on-location videos of various sites in Spain, and the behind-the-scenes access to museums and historical collections that most tourists would never be able to see. I found Prof. D'Avila's approach to be fair and balanced, with an objectivity that's hard to maintain around often polemic subjects such as religion and race. While I learned a "history" of Spain in high school, it basically focused on the "good" monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella who drove the Arabs from Spain. I learned nothing about the circumstances which had placed Arab culture in Spain, nothing about the centuries of Arab presence, and no mention of the multicultural history of Spain was ever made. So this was, in many ways, an exciting course of discovery -- so many completely new aspects of history to experience. D'Avila's presentation is what I would call "integrative" -- relating all the parts to each other as an organic whole. This is so different from the fragmented, "atomizing" bits of history I learned in school.

My first exposure to the idea that history could be integrative, synthetic (ie synthesizing elements into a whole) came when I read Fernand Braudel's "L'Identité de la France"(in French, 3 volumes, beginning with Vol 1, Les hommes et les choses, starting with France before the year 1000). If you haven't encountered Braudel's work, and enjoy the wholistic approach to history, much of his work is translated into English: just Google Fernand Braudel on history.

From the moment I got my teeth into Braudel's work, I wished I had been exposed to history in such an integrative way. This course met that expectation. Prof. D'Avila does a good job of making a complex subject understandable and relatable.

By Catherine L

Jan 21, 2022

It was an excellent course and I learned a lot. I liked the quality of the readings. I was not convinced by the editing of the videos, unless they were interviews. The transcripts (in English) are okay, meaning that there are a lot of mistakes, that could have been easily corrected, but overall it was okay.

My real "turn off" is that the forum is dead. No input from other students or from the professor. It is really a shame.

But, as I said, the content is excellent, top quality.

By jeffrey m

Jun 8, 2021

I learned a lot on a subject that I knew nothing about. The multiple teachers were interesting and kept my interest. The speed of the presentation of the translations (subtitles) was too quick though. I often had a difficult time keeping up with the lecture and had to repeat the video on numerous occasions. The information was extensive and the multiple learning options more than plentiful. I enjoyed the course.

By Carolyn S

Nov 16, 2020

I thoroughly enjoyed this course and gained a wealth of knowledge on the coexistence of medieval Spain - Jewish, Muslim and Christian way of life, environment and religion. The difficulty I did encounter was trying to keep up with the sub-titles while watching the videos. I highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in history.

By Marianne H

May 22, 2018

Fascinating material beautifully presented. On an irrelevant point, the instructor's voice is lovely - it sounds more like a guided meditation than a lecture! :-)

By Joy S

Feb 28, 2018

Has a lot of stuff to see and do: quite a few options.

By Huang C Y

Jul 13, 2023

Mostly about its Art and Architecture, and the influence the three peoples had on them. I was more interested in the socio-economical and political, and religious aspect. I also liked the description of the battles. I was not too interested in the art and architecture.

By Michael F

Dec 1, 2020

interesting topic, but not a lot of substance. I understand the angle taken of trying to have a non biased approach, but the quizzes were essentially passable by finding the answer that implied christians were always the villains of the story.

By Zhuravleva J

Aug 24, 2019

Too much information not connected to the theme of the course.