MIT OpenCourseWare
OCW Home Course List About OCW Help with OCW Feedback


Search
» Advanced search
 Course Home
 Syllabus
 Calendar
 Readings
 Assignments
 Related Resources

21H.416 Medieval Economic History in Comparative Perspective, Spring 2002

Photograph of gothic castle turret.
Photograph of gothic castle turret. (Image courtesy of Daniel Bersak.)

Highlights of this Course

This course includes readings and paper assignments, as well as a list of related links.

Course Description

This course will survey the conditions of material life and the changing social and economic relations in medieval Europe with reference to the comparative context of contemporary Islamic, Chinese, and central Asian experiences. Subject covers the emergence and decline of feudal institutions, the transformation of peasant agriculture, living standards and the course of epidemic disease, and the ebb and flow of long-distance trade across the Eurasian system. Particular emphasis will be placed on the study of those factors, both institutional and technological, which have contributed to the emergence of capitalist organization and economic growth in western Europe in contrast to the trajectories followed by the other major medieval economies.
Staff
Instructor:
Prof. Anne McCants
Course Meeting Times
Lectures:
Two sessions / week
1.5 hours / session
Level
Undergraduate
Feedback
Send feedback about OCW or this course.

 
MIT Home
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Terms of Use Privacy