HSTRY 498 B: Colloquium in History

Autumn 2025
Meeting:
T 1:30pm - 3:20pm / RAI 109
SLN:
16534
Section Type:
Seminar
Instructor:
"MEDIEVAL OUTLAWS" *** RESTRICTED TO HISTORY MAJORS ONLY IN PERIOD I. NON-MAJORS MAY REQUEST ADD CODE DURING PERIOD II, SPACE PERMITTING. EMAIL HISTADV@UW.EDU FOR ADD CODE. *** THIS COURSE IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REGISTRATION BY AUDITORS OR ACCESS STUDENTS.
Syllabus Description (from Canvas):

Senior Seminar: Medieval Outlaws

Tuesdays 1:30-3:20 in 109 Raitt 

 

Professor Charity Urbanski (urbanski@uw.edu)

Office: 106 Smith (in the east stairwell between the 1st and 2nd floors)

Office Hours: 

 

JUMP TO

 

Welcome to Medieval Outlaws!

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to introduce undergraduate students to the transition from being consumers of history to producers of history.  It will emphasize critical reading and analysis of primary and secondary literature, the theoretical and methodological problems of historical research, and involve students in doing original primary research.  Its focus is on the process of historical reading, research, and writing.  Our theme is medieval outlaws.  While our primary sources are literary works, we will be concerned with determining what these legends and the mythology of the outlaw can tell us about social organization, values, and the limits of the legal system in medieval England.  We will also address the changing legal status of the outlaw, as well as the evolution and historical context of outlaw legends. 


Learning Objectives 

Introduce students to strategies for reading and evaluating secondary sources by identifying the main question, argument, approach, method, and evidence

Help students develop an ability to see connections and distinctions among different authors and varied approaches to the study of history.

Introduce students to research techniques, databases, and other resources and allow them to conduct original research.

Help students hone their skills with regard to various styles of reading, diverse forms of writing, oral presentation, time management, and collaboration.


Required Books

There are no required books for this course.

All of our primary source readings will come from Medieval Outlaws: Twelve Tales in Modern English Translation, ed. Thomas Ohlgren (West Lafayette Indiana: Parlor Press, 2005) and are PDFs embedded in the syllabus below.

Recommended Books

Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History

Martha Howell and Walter Prevenier, From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods

These are both available new and used on Amazon. 


Assignments

This is a reading, writing, and discussion intensive course.  It requires weekly reading of 100-150 pages; regular participation in discussion; weekly 1 page reaction papers; a 5 minute presentation on one of our readings; an annotated bibliography (2-3 pages); a detailed outline of your final paper (2-3 pages); a draft of your final paper (at least 10 pages); peer reviewing of outlines and drafts; and a revised final paper (12-15 pages). 


Grading

10% – Active class participation (including peer reviews of outlines and drafts)

10% - Weekly Reaction Papers

10% – Presentation

0%   – Research Question (this is ungraded, but required) due Tuesday, 10/21

10% – Annotated Bibliography (2-3 pages) due Tuesday, 11/4

15% – Detailed Outline of Final Paper (2-3 pages) due Tuesday, 11/18

20% – Full Draft of Final Paper due Monday, 12/1

25% – Revised Final Research Paper (12-15 pages) due Tuesday, 12/9

 

You must complete the annotated bibliography, outline, draft, and final paper in order to pass the course.


Grades will be assigned as percentages on individual assignments and exams and converted to the 4.0 scale for the final course grade.

4.0 95-100%

3.5 90%

2.5 80%

1.5 70%

0.7 62% (lowest passing grade)


Seminar Rules

The structure of this class assumes that everyone will attend our weekly meetings and turn their assignments in on time. Some features of the course, such as the peer reviewing and presentations, really depend on your presence, participation, and timeliness in submitting assignments. I expect everyone to come to class and submit assignments on time. If you need to miss a class, let me me know (urbanski@uw.edu) as soon as possible.  


Reading

You should complete the reading before class each week and bring it with you to class in some form. 


Reaction Papers

Each week students will submit a brief (1 page; double-spaced, 12 point font) critical reaction to at least one of the secondary readings for this week. Include the main argument of the article, briefly discuss its strengths and weaknesses, and explain why you found it persuasive or unpersuasive.

 

Reaction papers will be graded as follows:

0 = no assignment submitted or an assignment that demonstrates no familiarity with the reading

70% = paper discusses the primary source, but does not engage with the secondary sources

80% = paper summarizes the argument of at least one of our secondary sources, but does not address its strengths or weaknesses

90% = paper discusses the strengths and/or weaknesses of the argument in at least one of our secondary sources, and shows a very good understanding of the argument and the issues at stake

100% = paper discusses the strengths and/or weaknesses of the argument in at least one of our secondary sources, and shows an excellent understanding of the argument and the issues at stake

*Every student will be allowed to miss one reaction paper without penalty during the quarter. You do not need to submit a reaction paper the week you give your presentation.


Participation

Because this seminar is driven by in-class student discussion, participation represents a vital portion of your grade. Your participation grade will be based on your active contribution to in class discussion and participation in peer-reviewing sessions.

*Everyone will be allowed to miss one class without penalty, as long as it isn’t a peer-reviewing day.


 Presentations

Every class meeting one or more students will be in charge of presenting on one of the assigned readings and starting discussion. Everyone will present once during the quarter, and I will circulate a sign up sheet during the first week of class. Students will be responsible for:

  • Giving a 5 minute presentation that coherently articulates the main point(s) discussed in the selected reading; and addresses the following questions: Who is the author? What is the argument(s)? What evidence does the author use to support their argument(s)? Do you find the argument(s) convincing? Feel free to point out passages that you found to be particularly important, compelling, or problematic.
  • Posing one or two questions to the class to stimulate further in-class discussion.
  • You do not have to submit a response paper during the week you deliver your presentation.

Sign up to present on one of our readings here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X5Hiqny79M9H5GvA2XNbP1bKyhGycAQsLzMerFMGMjs/edit?usp=sharing


Peer reviewing

You will be responsible for peer-reviewing the outlines and drafts of two of your fellow students. I will assign groups in Canvas and issue instructions for the peer-reviewing once everyone has submitted their research questions. 


Academic Standards and Conduct

Honesty, ethical conduct, and academic integrity are expected in this course. Academic integrity includes a commitment to not engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation, or deception. Acts of dishonesty include cheating or copying, plagiarizing, submitting another persons’ work as one’s own, using Internet sources without citation, having another student take your exam or working together with other students on your exam, tampering with the work of another student, facilitating other students’ acts of academic dishonesty, etc.

Unless I specify otherwise, all assignments and exams are to be completed by the student alone, without inappropriate assistance of any kind, including the use of AI programs such as ChatGPT.

  • All assignments containing suspected plagiarism or AI use will be sent to the Office of Community Standards and Student Conduct for investigation and the enforcement of appropriate sanctions. If the Office of Student Conduct determines that plagiarism or AI use took place, the student will receive a 0 on that assignment.
  • Any student found to have committed a second instance of plagiarism or AI use by the Office of Community Standards and Student Conduct will fail the course.

Accommodations

Please let me know as early as possible if you require religious accommodations or DRS accommodations, or if there is anything I can do to support your learning style.

Information on UW policies regarding Religious Accommodations, Student Conduct, Disability Resources, Academic Integrity, and Campus Safety can be found at https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/syllabi-guidelines


History department syllabus attachment 

 


Schedule of Classes 

 

The syllabus is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion.


9/30

Week 1 - Introduction

“How to Read a Primary Source”

“How to Read a Secondary Source”

Sign up to present on one of our readings https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X5Hiqny79M9H5GvA2XNbP1bKyhGycAQsLzMerFMGMjs/edit?usp=sharing 


10/7

Week 2 – Exile and Outlawry in the Middle Ages

Complete the reading and the writing assignment before class

Primary Source: “Introduction” and “The Outlawry of Earl Godwin,” in Medieval Outlaws, pp. xv-xxxv and 3-27

Secondary Sources:

Elisabeth van Houts, “The Vocabulary of Exile and Outlawry in the North Sea Area around the First Millenium,” in Exile in the Middle Ages (Brepols, 2002), pp. 13-28

Presenter: 

Conor McCarthy, "Outside the Law in the Middle Ages," in Outlaws and Spies (Edinburgh University Press, 2020), pp. 21-54

Presenter: 

UK National Archives site explaining the process and history of outlawry

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/outlawry.htm


10/14

Week 3 - Hereward the Wake

Complete the reading and the writing assignment before class

Primary Source: “The Deeds of Hereward” in Medieval Outlaws, pp. 28-99

Secondary Sources:

Cyril Hart, “Hereward the Wake,” in The Danelaw (London, 1992), pp. 625-648

Presenter: 

Joanna Huntington, “’The quality of his virtus proved him a perfect man’: Hereward ‘the Wake’ and the Representation of Lay Masculinity,” in Religious Men and Masculine Identity in the Middle Ages (Boydell & Brewer, 2013), pp. 77-93

Presenter: 


10/21

Week 4 - Research Trip to Suzzallo

*RESEARCH QUESTIONS DUE BEFORE CLASS

We will meet in 102 Suzzallo for a presentation on conducting research in the library; come to class with a potential topic or two to investigate (to get to 102 Suzzallo, enter the library from Red Square and make an immediate left turn. Go through the quiet study space and the door to 102 will be in the far right corner https://www.lib.washington.edu/suzzallo/study/study-spaces/suzzallo-102)


10/28

Week 5 - Eustache the Monk

Complete the reading and the writing assignment before class

Primary Source: “Eustache the Monk,” in Medieval Outlaws, pp. 100-150

Secondary Sources:

Peter Lehr, "Eustace the Monk: Banditry, Piracy and the Limits of State Authority in the High Middle Ages" pp. 1-13

Presenter: 

Keith Busy, “The Diabolic Hero in Medieval French Narratives,” in The Court and Cultural Diversity, eds. Evelyn Mullally and John Thompson (Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1997), pp. 415-426

Presenter: 


11/4

Week 6 - Fouke fitz Waryn

 *ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (2-3 PAGES) DUE BEFORE CLASS

Complete the reading and the writing assignment before class 

Primary Source: “Fouke fitz Waryn,” in Medieval Outlaws, pp. 165-247

Secondary Sources:

Ralph Hanna, “The Matter of Fulk: Romance and History in the Marches,” The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 110/3 (July 2011), pp. 337-358

Presenter: 

Roger Pensom, “Inside and Outside: Fact and Fiction in 'Fouke le Fitz Waryn,'” Medium ævum, 63/1 (1994), pp. 53-60

Presenter: 


11/11

Week 7 - NO CLASS - VETERAN'S DAY HOLIDAY


11/18

Week 8 - Outlaws and Criminal Gangs in Late Medieval England

*OUTLINES OF FINAL PAPERS (2-3 PAGES) DUE BEFORE CLASS (PEER REVIEWS DUE, THURSDAY, 11/20 BY 11:59 PM)

Complete the reading and the writing assignment before class

Primary Source: “The Outlaw’s Song of Trailbaston,” in Medieval Outlaws, pp. 151-164

Secondary Sources:

L. G. Stones, “The Folvilles of Ashby-Folville, Leicestershire, and their Associates in Crime, 1326–1347,” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 5/7 (1957), pp. 117–136

Presenter: 

translations for Stones article

Mark Ormrod, “Law in the Landscape: Criminality, Outlawry, and Regional Identity in Late Medieval England,” in Boundaries of the Law (Ashgate, 2005), pp. 7-20

Presenter: 


11/25

Week 9 - Robin Hood

Complete the reading and the writing assignment before class

Primary Source: “A Gest of Robyn Hood,” in Medieval Outlaws, pp. 356-396

Secondary Sources:

C. Holt, “The Origins and Audience of the Ballads of Robin Hood,” in Robin Hood: An Anthology (Brewer, 1999), pp. 211-232

Presenter: 

Barbara Hanawalt, “Ballads and Bandits,” in Robin Hood: An Anthology (Brewer, 1999), pp. 263-284

 Presenter: 


12/2

Week 10 - Workshop on Drafts

FULL DRAFTS OF FINAL PAPER DUE MONDAY, 12/1 BY 5 PM; READ AND PEER REVIEW YOUR ASSIGNED DRAFTS BEFORE CLASS ON TUESDAY


REVISED FINAL PAPERS DUE TUESDAY 12/9 BY 11:59 PM

 

 

 

Catalog Description:
Each seminar examines a different subject or problem. A quarterly list of the seminars and their instructors is available in the Department of History undergraduate advising office.
GE Requirements Met:
Social Sciences (SSc)
Writing (W)
Credits:
5.0
Status:
Active
Last updated:
August 29, 2025 - 11:13 pm