Crime/Justice:Europe 1300-1800

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

In this seminar course we will consider the theories and practices that shaped the justice system of (mostly western and central) Europe from the Late Middle Ages through the eighteenth century. Our focus will be on the criminal side of the justice system, with only tangential treatment of civil laws and cases. We will consider both secular and church justice. We will start by examining the medieval situation, then examine the main commonalities and differences between the western European and English systems, and the rise of new criminal procedures starting in the thirteenth century and spreading across continental Europe by the Renaissance. Other themes will include the treatment of specific categories of crimes, and its political, cultural, religious, and other implications; the depiction of the criminal world and the justice system in European fiction; and the appearance of new ideas, and of judicial reforms, during the time of the Enlightenment. We will also study a few examples of famous and political trials from various countries. We will use both primary and secondary sources to study these issues, trends, and examples. This course is a seminar, and thus most of our class time will be devoted to group discussions of relevant sources. The writing assignments will give students a chance to practice various forms of academic writing.