Report #1: Ethical Reasoning and the Crusades

Using the modified Stassen-Gushee model for ethical reasoning that we have applied in class, students will attempt to analyze several medieval texts concerning the Crusades (Medieval Reader 430-464).  The class will be divided by the nature of their investigation:

Group 1: The Way of Reasoning Dimension

Group 2: The Basic Convictions Dimension

Group 3: The Passions/Loyalties and Perception Dimensions

  • You should use the questions associated with each dimension as a guide for investigating the text, but you need not address each one. Your report should include a handout that summarizes your findings. You will want to pay particular attention to quotations from the texts.
  • You may also find that you need to look at secondary background sources. If you do, please remember to site them both in the body of the handout and in a Works Cited list.
  • The total presentation should take no more than ten minutes, so you'll want to practice ahead of time and plan to be both concise in your findings and assured in your organization.
  • Finally, I would like each group to apply the principles of just war as discussed in class to your findings. How would a just war theorist evaluate the reasoning, convictions, loyalties, and perceptions in question? Should not attempt to apply every principle, but only those that seem germane.

I will evaluate your report and presentation according to the following criteria:

General Informative Discussion

General Evaluative Discussion

Variety and Depth of Observations
Complex Nature of Evaluations
Effective Use of Ethical Model
Effective Use of Background
Addresses Each Area
Appears Prepared
 

"All manner of thing shall be well/ When the tongues of flame are in-folded/ Into the crowned knot of fire/ And the fire and the rose are one." -- T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding