Medieval Architecture: Exploring Castles and Villages

The class will cover the Medieval Period in Europe, beginning in the late 5th century CE through to the 15th century.
In this three-week class, learners will: watch live videos, view slideshow presentations, take quizzes, and join in group discussions. They will also have one project to complete prior to the end of the course. A list of project suggestions will be distributed following the first lecture. For the group discussions, each week I will be posting a list of discussion topics relating to each lesson. The students will be asked to post a reply to one of the main topics plus a reply to their fellow classmate’s posts. 

The topic structure of the class will be as follows:

Week 1: The Building Blocks of Medieval Architecture: Roman Concrete and the Remnants of Pompeii. The early Medieval period is heavily based on Roman architecture. We will be looking at that architecture and how it carried over into the early period. Additionally, there will be an introduction to the different types of Medieval architecture.
Week 2: Medieval Castles: In this lecture, we will look at how the castles were built and virtually tour the insides. We will be looking at castles that are primarily located in the Northern Europe and France.
Week 3: Gothic Architecture:  This architecture contains the pointed arches of the mid-12th century to the 16th century. 
Week 4: Byzantine Architecture: As the Roman Empire fell, the Byzantine Empire grew in the Middle East. From the remains of Rome, they constructed their own form of architecture, featuring extravagant domes. We will also be looking at the huge Medieval tunnel systems that run under these cities.

Discussion and questions are both highly encouraged.