Respond to Joan of Arc's Execution as One of Her Contemporaries
Title
Respond to Joan of Arc's Execution as One of Her Contemporaries
Creator
Instructions
Write a two page reaction to news of Joan of Arc’s trial and condemnation from a contemporary point of view. Who are you? What is your relationship to Joan of Arc? How does your gender, class, and nationality play a role in how you respond to the news of her death?
Outcomes
Activity Outcome
- After students complete this assignment, they will be able to articulate how to historicize a text based on contemporary events and to use primary sources as evidence. Students will also be able to integrate primary sources as historical evidence to support their claims in analytical papers.
- This activity humanizes the Middle Ages and puts students into the shoes of a person of their choice within that time period. It allows students freedom to choose a persona that interests them in some way, hopefully increasing enthusiasm for the assignment, but also demystifies the every day world of the Middle Ages, as students realize that people are still people, no matter what time period they live in.
Suggested Rubric
This was a credit/no credit assignment. I gave full credit to students who tried, and surprisingly, had to fail none of them. This was probably the most popular assignment of the semester. If you did want to provide a rubric, I would suggest categories like: Integration of primary sources, historical accuracy, emotional impact, creative interpretation.
Collection
Citation
Kara Larson Maloney, Binghamton University (@DocMed_Knee_val), “Respond to Joan of Arc's Execution as One of Her Contemporaries,” Teaching the Middle Ages in Higher Ed, accessed April 28, 2024, https://medievalhighered.omeka.net/items/show/8.