Doing SoTL in Medieval History A cross-Atlantic dialogue

Abstract

This article, presented as a dialogue between the authors, explores what they perceive as critical areas of teaching and learning in the discipline of Medieval Studies. Within the discussion, notions of relevance and usefulness, widening access, and epistemological assumptions about the discipline are discussed and related to the practice of teaching the subject. The authors reflect on these notions in terms of the maintenance of traditional methods at undergraduate level despite an apparently changing student body. The question of whether changing the methods of research as well as teaching would alter both the nature of learning and the nature of the discipline is also raised. The authors conclude that the SoTL (scholarship of teaching and learning) of an established subject area such as Medieval Studies needs to reflect on the epistemology of the subject in all its practices, not just teaching but also research methods.