History buffs please tell me what you think of this plan...

[Michelle in AL]

I have been struggling to come up with a plan for my 10th gr dd for history to cover the middle ages. She doesn't really like textbooks and prefers real books. We've used Omnibus I and really enjoyed it, but this yr I wanted to pick and choose our own books. My brother, a history buff, has helped me pick some books. Here's my plan.
Literature (overlaps history):
Beowulf
The Once and Future King
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Utopia~Thomas More
Macbeth
A Midsummer's Night Dream

History:
Guns, Germs and Steel DVD
The Ecclesiastical History of the English People~selections or entirity?
Research Charlemagne
1066 the year of the Conquest
Power of a Woman, Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine
The Lion in the Winter DVD
1215 The Year of the Magna Carta
A Distant Mirror The Calamitous 14th Century
The Travels of Marco Polo (excerpts)
The Children of Henry the VIII
Excerpts from The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England
The Lives of the Artists (Oxford World's Classics) Selections
Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love
Out of the Flames: The Remarkable Story of a Fearless Scholar, a Fatal Heresy, and One of the Rarest Books in the World

I need to add more for the Renaissance era.

I think I'm missing something on world religions. Any suggestions or maybe select chapters from Spielvogel.

Am I missing big chunks of history here or details? I find none of us really remember any details from texts anyway.

Would I be doing her a disservice by doing this instead of texts?

[mktyler]

A few thoughts . . .

The Patrick Stewart Lion in Winter is intense, you might want to prescreen. I believe there is an older version that might be a bit more tame.

You seem to mostly be focusing on England so you might want to look at some books about eastern Europe, Asia, Americas or Africa. You could peruse amazon or perhaps contact your local University history department for more suggestions.

The Story of Art is a wonderful book that has a very readable section on art and artists of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, including sculpture and architecture. The newest edition has nice images for all the works mentioned.

I personally think this is a great way to do history in high school as you can go in depth and its certainly more interesting.

Melissa
Minnesota
Reading Program Junkie
dd(11) dd(7) ds(5) ds(1)

[April in CA]

Hi Michelle!
Have you considered having your daughter do a timeline just so she has a basic flow of history during the eras you will be covering? If your dd is artsy, there are some beautiful books out there that could inspire her!
Also, have you considered adding lecture dvds from the Teaching Co? The guy who does the middle ages lectures is lots of fun. His name is Phillip something - Daileader (or something like that, I think - his name begins with a D at any rate!). You might also want to look at the Western Civ set. We have enjoyed adding in lectures as they match up with our studies.

How much do you want to cover this year? What is your starting point? Do you need to get to a certain point in history? This time period is so rich and full it would be easy to camp out there! Be sure to add some studies about the Popes, and don't forget the Byzantine Empire! Have fun!
Blessings,
April

[Michelle in AL]

Thanks Melissa, I think if I do this plan she will miss much of Asia, the viking era, So America, Africa etc. That is the drawback. With this many books there's not much time for anything else. :confused:

I wonder if concentrating on one area would increase her retention more than throwing a lot of things at her.

Thanks to April, She'll do a book on church history too, so the popes will be in there. The Byzantime empire, aagh, I really need to add that in. Maybe I can have her do a textbook review or research project. I will have her do a timeline.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I'd love to hear anyone else's, even if it's "no that will screw up your child." I'm really nervous about going this route because I know there will be some holes.

I plan to cover 500-at least 1700 AD.

[Chris in VA]

I'd add in Inferno, simply because it is referenced so much in our culture.

I would also maybe do short readings or context papers for the literature books.

I think the non-fiction resources (only familiar with some of them!) look like really, really neat ways to learn of the times.

Make her write critically about the times and the lit, and you are good to go!

[Eliana]

I think using real books rather than textbooks can be wonderful, but I think your current list doesn't give a strong enough framework. ...and it seems more a very partial history of England with a few other things thrown in than a history of the middle ages & renaissance.

I think Guns, Germs, and Steel is too broad and Bede too narrow, given the scope of what you are covering...and if you are doing history, I'd stay far away from The Lion in Winter... a neat work of drama, but more soap opera than history.

How many works can your daughter reasonably cover in a year? How much time/energy do you plan to invest beyond reading and discussing each selection?

I would recommend a blend of broader survey texts with some biographies and other more focused texts. ...and I'd try to include a broader geographic range of literature as well as history.


For the European Middle Ages: I'd use either Bishop's The Middle Ages (http://www.amazon.com/Middle-Ages-Morris-Bishop/dp/061805703X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247771470&sr=8-2) or Cantor's Civilization of the Middle Ages (http://www.amazon.com/Civilization-Middle-Ages-Completely-Expanded/dp/0060925531/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247771470&sr=8-3) as a spine text. ...and I'd consider trying to do Huizinga's Waning of the Middle Ages (http://www.amazon.com/Waning-Middle-Ages-Johan-Huizinga/dp/0486404439/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2L8QUN41T2CIN&colid=3TTBPI506NPTA) as well (or the longer Autumn of the Middle Ages.)

1066 the year of the Conquest
A Distant Mirror The Calamitous 14th Century

The above are both wonderful books, and make sense on this list, but I'm not sure I'd do both a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine and 1215: The Year of the Magna Carta given how much there is to cover (and I would use a real bio not a fake-autobiography - Kelly's Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings (http://www.amazon.com/Eleanor-Aquitaine-Kings-Harvard-paperbacks/dp/0674242548/ref=pd_sim_b_1) or Meade's Eleanor of Aquitaine (http://www.amazon.com/Eleanor-Aquitaine-Biography-Marion-Meade/dp/0140153381/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247772327&sr=1-1) would be my first choices - though I, personally, would prefer to use one of Warren's superb bios: King John (http://www.amazon.com/King-John-English-Monarchs-Warren/dp/0520036433/ref=sr_oe_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247783744&sr=1-1) or Henry II)


I'd adjust the literature portion as well - Gawain I'd keep, but I'd drop Beowulf (unless you decided to do a history of England from the Middle Age through the Renaissance... or unless you plan to cover that period of history with more depth) and I'd definite drop The Once and Future King. I'd add a little Chaucer and a lot of poetry (British, French (if you do Eleanor of Aquitaine, consider adding Lark in the Morning (http://www.amazon.com/Lark-Morning-Verses-Troubadours-Bilingual/dp/0226429334/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I12R05MFE3PH6B&colid=YDPGPZ1DJAXZ) to the other French poetry), and Italian, at a minimum) a de Troyes tale, hmm... there's something missing here...

Byzantine Empire: Norwich's Short History of the Byzantine Empire (http://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Byzantium-Julius-Norwich/dp/0679772693/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247771504&sr=1-1) (a condensation of his 3 volume history) and Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World (http://www.amazon.com/Sailing-Byzantium-Empire-Shaped-World/dp/055338273X/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3W0GCXKES9NRD&colid=3TTBPI506NPTA). Perhaps excepts from the Alexiad (http://www.amazon.com/Alexiad-Penguin-Classics-Anna-Comnena/dp/0140449582/ref=pd_sim_b_47)for literature?

The Byzantine Empire provides a nice bridge from (Western) European history to Russian history... given the time limitations, I'd use excerpts from the first volume of Moss's History of Russia (http://www.amazon.com/History-Russia-Vol-European-Eurasian/dp/1843310236/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247774069&sr=1-1) - how far into the Renaissance do you plan to go? Depending on that, I'd consider Massie's bio of Peter the Great (http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Great-Robert-K-Massie/dp/0345336194/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247774399&sr=1-1), which ties to European history on the one end, or an exploration of Viking-Russian connections... I know I have resources for the latter, but can't come up with the titles at the moment... Literature: Campaign of Igor ( I have two different translations one by Nabokov (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E23Y48?) and one by Howes (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393093107?tag=collectorzapp-20), both quite good, imo) and/or excerpt from Medieval Russian Literature (http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Russias-Epics-Chronicles-Tales/dp/0452010861/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product).

Vikings: Jones's History of the Vikings (http://www.amazon.com/History-Vikings-Gwyn-Jones/dp/0192801341/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247774687&sr=1-1) is fabulous, but can feel overwhelming... I'd recommend just reading selections.

Literature: King Harald's Saga (http://www.amazon.com/King-Haralds-Saga-Sturlusons-Heimskringla/dp/0140441832/ref=pd_sim_b_22)(coordinates nicely with 1066!), perhaps The Vikings in Russia (http://www.amazon.com/Vikings-Russia-Yngvars-Eymunds-Cosmos/dp/0852246501/ref=sr_oe_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247774911&sr=1-1) (two, short, sagas. Unless you trip across an affordable copy, it looks as if this would have to be an ILL), perhaps the Saga of The Volsungs (http://www.amazon.com/Saga-Volsungs-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140447385/ref=pd_sim_b_10) (connects to German lit/mythology - though there really isn't space for German history or literature in this overview, imho) and/or excerpts from one or both of the Eddas (Norse mythology).

Africa: You could use excerpts from a general history of Africa - perhaps Shillington's, but I think it would be better to use a couple of more geographically specific overviews: A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period (http://www.amazon.com/History-Maghrib-Islamic-Period/dp/0521337674/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247776014&sr=1-1)would give a good overview of Northern Africa, and West Africa before the Colonial Era (http://www.amazon.com/West-Africa-before-Colonial-Era/dp/058231853X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247775797&sr=1-2) covers Western Africa... although there is much more to African history over the period you're covering, I'd focus on those two areas....

Literature: Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (http://www.amazon.com/Sundiata-Revised-Longman-African-Writers/dp/1405849428/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247776045&sr=1-1) and at least some of Ibn Battuta's travel writings (there's a variety of versions and translations out there - I'll try to look up the ones I prefer if I get a chance later today)



I've run out of space, I'll put the rest in another post.

[Eliana]

China: The Star Raft: China's Encounter with Africa (http://www.amazon.com/Star-Raft-Encounter-Cornell-paperbacks/dp/0801495830/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247777348&sr=1-1) is a neat bridge... other than that, I would use excerpts from Fairbank's wonderful overview of Chinese history (http://www.amazon.com/China-Enlarged-John-King-Fairbank/dp/0674116739/ref=ed_oe_p) - without a basic overview, some of the (also wonderful) more detailed selections wouldn't be as effective, imho.

Literature: for a one volume source of prose excerpts, Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook (http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Civilization-Sourcebook-2nd-Ed/dp/002908752X/ref=pd_sim_b_4) is very useful, but I'd make poetry my primary focus for this period of Chinese literature.

Some resources: Poems of the Masters: China's Classic Anthology of T'and and Sung Dynasty Verse (http://www.amazon.com/Poems-Masters-Classic-Anthology-Mandarin_chinese/dp/1556591950/ref=pd_sim_b_27), The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry (http://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Book-Chinese-Poetry/dp/0231056834/ref=pd_sim_b_13) are both wonderful anthologies - the later, of course, less focused. The Heart of Chinese Poetry (http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Chinese-Poetry-Greg-Whincup/dp/038523967X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247784342&sr=1-1) takes 50-60 poems anf gives both poetic translations and character by character translations. 19 Ways of Looking at Wang Wei (http://www.amazon.com/Nineteen-Ways-Looking-Wang-Wei/dp/0918825148/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247784360&sr=1-1)goes further and looks at one poem.

For a more narrative experience, you could try Robert's translation (and abridgement) of The Three Kingdoms (http://www.amazon.com/Three-Kingdoms-Historical-Novel-One/dp/0520215850/ref=sr_oe_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247784231&sr=1-1) (there's an unabridged edition as well, but it is incredibly long)

Birch's Anthology of Chinese Literature has some short stories and plays as well as poetry and prose, if you feel a need for more than poetry, but don't want to tackle a full length work (however adridged!).


Somewhere in all of this, you might consider Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (http://www.amazon.com/Genghis-Khan-Making-Modern-World/dp/0609809644/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247778720&sr=1-12) and Silk Road: Monks, Warriors, and Merchants (http://www.amazon.com/Silk-Road-Monks-Warriors-Merchants/dp/9622177212/ref=pd_sim_b_1).

[B]Japan: Excerpts from Hall's history of Japan (http://www.amazon.com/Japan-Prehistory-Michigan-Classics-Japanese/dp/0939512548/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247779347&sr=1-1) might give an overview. Morris's delightful World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan (http://www.amazon.com/World-Shining-Prince-Ancient-Kodansha/dp/1568360290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247779375&sr=1-1)would be a wonderful more focused text - and could be paired with excerpt from Tale of Genji (http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Genji-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/014243714X/ref=pd_sim_b_4) and possibly some from the contemporaneous Pillow Book of Sei Shonogon (http://www.amazon.com/Pillow-Book-Sei-Shonagon/dp/0231073372/ref=pd_sim_b_3).

Literature: see above... and, again, poetry. From the Country of Eight Islands (http://www.amazon.com/Country-Eight-Islands-Anthology-Japanese/dp/0231063954/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247779533&sr=1-1) is a fairly broad anthology or you could focus more on the Manyoshu (http://www.amazon.com/Ten-Thousand-Leaves-Translation-Anthology/dp/0691000298/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247779836&sr=1-2) and Kokinshu (http://www.amazon.com/Kokinshu-Collection-Ancient-Modern-Languages/dp/0887272495/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247779711&sr=1-1) and add on Basho's Narrow Road to the Deep North (http://www.amazon.com/Narrow-Travel-Sketches-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140441859/ref=pd_sim_b_54).

I'd consider adding Essays in Idleness... but you can only do so much.

European Renaissance: I'd be inclined to use Plumb's Italian Renaissance (http://www.amazon.com/Italian-Renaissance-J-H-Plumb-Professor/dp/0618127380/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247780020&sr=1-2) (possibly adding Brunelleschi's Dome (http://www.amazon.com/Brunelleschis-Dome-Renaissance-Reinvented-Architecture/dp/0802713661/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2XWEEPEU2YSY1&colid=3TTBPI506NPTA) as a more focused text), Mattingly's superb Renaissance Diplomacy (http://www.amazon.com/Renaissance-Diplomacy-Garrett-Mattingly/dp/1605204706/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247784168&sr=8-1) (though his bio of Catherine of Aragorn is one of my favorites), perhaps, Europe in Crisis:1598-1648 (http://www.amazon.com/Europe-Crisis-1598-1648-Blackwell-Histories/dp/0631220283/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1IDDKV5UQ0S00&colid=3TTBPI506NPTA), and, to tie the year together, A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World (http://www.amazon.com/Splendid-Exchange-Trade-Shaped-World/dp/0871139790/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247784195&sr=8-1). I'd also consider Tillyard's slim, but fascinating, Elizabethan World Picture (http://www.amazon.com/Elizabethan-World-Picture-E-Tillyard/dp/0394701623/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247783325&sr=1-1). I would avoid Weir's biographies - I find them to simultaneously sensationlist and boring.

Literature: Machiavelli's The Prince, More's Utopia, Montaigne and Bacon's essays, and, of course, Shakespeare... and some poetry. You could include Marco Polo here, but I wouldn't make it a top priority.

Okay, I've gone back and added links... I'd intended to be more thorough (and to come up with some suggestions for South American), but I'm afraid I won't get back to this again for a while, so I'll post what I've brainstormed for now.

[Michelle in AL]

Thanks Eliana for such a fantastic list! I'm going to have fun perusing the selections!

[Yabusame]

Just wanted to thank Eliana for all of her work on this thread too. I'll be saving this thread for when I start to look at the Middle Ages next year.

Thanks!

[Katie144]

We just finished Omnibus II, one of the books I used as a substitution was Thomas Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization - both my dd and I enjoyed reading it.

Just a thought.:001_smile:

[Michelle in AL]

Thanks Katie, we don't have anything on that area. I'll go check it out too.