The Justinian Code
Lesson Plan
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PowerPoint
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Class Materials
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This lesson about the Justinian Code was the first lesson of the Byzantine Empire unit. Prior to this lesson we deviated from the traditional world history trajectory of ancient civilizations, and spend a few classes watching the movie Empire of the Sun, directed in 1987 by Steven Spielberg. Students then wrote a movie review of the film, which I collected at the beginning of this class. Though this is the first lesson of the Byzantine Empire unit, students have some familiarity with the Empire’s roots from a past lesson on the fall of Rome. In that lesson, students read excerpts from various secondary sources about the fall of Rome, and compared historians’ opinions about why or whether the Roman Empire collapsed. Students also compared these secondary source accounts with one primary source account describing the fall of Rome.
To reestablish continuity in the curriculum and to build of students’ prior knowledge, I began this opening lesson on the Byzantine Empire with its development in the East out of the rubble of Rome. Class began with a “Do-Now” asking students to jot down everything they knew about the Byzantine Empire in their notes. After students shared their responses, I built off of their answers into a brief lecture about the development of the Empire, using maps for visual reference. I concluded the lecture with an introduction to Justinian I, a prominent Byzantine ruler who expanded the Empire and married the beautiful and intelligent Theodora. As a woman with a compelling personal life who wielded a considerable amount of political power, I had students investigate further into the life and legacy of this often overlooked female historical figure. Students read a brief biography of Empress Theodora, highlighting her impressive rise from wandering circus performer and prostitute to politically savvy co-ruler. Students then discussed four related questions with a partner, sharing their answers in a whole-class discussion. Finally, students worked in small groups to analyze a series of laws from the Justinian Code centering on marriage, divorce, inheritance, prostitution, rape, and incest, with each group assigned laws pertaining to a different topic. Given Empress Theodora’s legacy of female empowerment and her known influence over her husband’s rule, students analyzed how the laws passed during Justinian’s reign impacted women. After students both summarized and evaluated the impact on women for each law, we engaged in a whole-class discussion about the laws that negatively impacted women and positively impacted women, and how these laws affected the status of men.
I was a bit nervous before the start of the lesson because it was my first venture in seriously addressing issues related to sex and sexuality in the classroom. I was concerned that students would either shutdown or not be mature enough to discuss prostitution, virginity, rape, and incest in an appropriate and productive manor. However, as I had hoped, these issues captured students’ attention and my sincerity in discussing them encouraged students to take an intellectual rather than humorous tone in our conversations. My female students especially were very intrigued by Theodora’s unconventional young adulthood and her rise to power. Later on in the spring, Theodora’s name resurfaced in our study of the Sudan’s conversion to Christianity during our Modern Africa unit. During that part of the lecture I did not say who she was, and instead simply projected a famous mosaic of her likeness on the SMART Board. Though this Modern Africa unit was months after our study of Byzantium, students immediately recognized the Empress and her feminist legacy. The biography’s mention of her sexual exploits and unlikely rise to power surely contributed to students’ keen memory of her accomplishments.
Despite the complex verbiage of the Justinian Code laws, students were able to grapple with the universal issues they addressed and reflect meaningfully about the laws’ impact on women. Upon collecting and reading students’ analyses of these laws, I noticed that students both male and female, high-achieving and struggling, engaged with the text in a way that evinced personal consideration and critical thinking:
To reestablish continuity in the curriculum and to build of students’ prior knowledge, I began this opening lesson on the Byzantine Empire with its development in the East out of the rubble of Rome. Class began with a “Do-Now” asking students to jot down everything they knew about the Byzantine Empire in their notes. After students shared their responses, I built off of their answers into a brief lecture about the development of the Empire, using maps for visual reference. I concluded the lecture with an introduction to Justinian I, a prominent Byzantine ruler who expanded the Empire and married the beautiful and intelligent Theodora. As a woman with a compelling personal life who wielded a considerable amount of political power, I had students investigate further into the life and legacy of this often overlooked female historical figure. Students read a brief biography of Empress Theodora, highlighting her impressive rise from wandering circus performer and prostitute to politically savvy co-ruler. Students then discussed four related questions with a partner, sharing their answers in a whole-class discussion. Finally, students worked in small groups to analyze a series of laws from the Justinian Code centering on marriage, divorce, inheritance, prostitution, rape, and incest, with each group assigned laws pertaining to a different topic. Given Empress Theodora’s legacy of female empowerment and her known influence over her husband’s rule, students analyzed how the laws passed during Justinian’s reign impacted women. After students both summarized and evaluated the impact on women for each law, we engaged in a whole-class discussion about the laws that negatively impacted women and positively impacted women, and how these laws affected the status of men.
I was a bit nervous before the start of the lesson because it was my first venture in seriously addressing issues related to sex and sexuality in the classroom. I was concerned that students would either shutdown or not be mature enough to discuss prostitution, virginity, rape, and incest in an appropriate and productive manor. However, as I had hoped, these issues captured students’ attention and my sincerity in discussing them encouraged students to take an intellectual rather than humorous tone in our conversations. My female students especially were very intrigued by Theodora’s unconventional young adulthood and her rise to power. Later on in the spring, Theodora’s name resurfaced in our study of the Sudan’s conversion to Christianity during our Modern Africa unit. During that part of the lecture I did not say who she was, and instead simply projected a famous mosaic of her likeness on the SMART Board. Though this Modern Africa unit was months after our study of Byzantium, students immediately recognized the Empress and her feminist legacy. The biography’s mention of her sexual exploits and unlikely rise to power surely contributed to students’ keen memory of her accomplishments.
Despite the complex verbiage of the Justinian Code laws, students were able to grapple with the universal issues they addressed and reflect meaningfully about the laws’ impact on women. Upon collecting and reading students’ analyses of these laws, I noticed that students both male and female, high-achieving and struggling, engaged with the text in a way that evinced personal consideration and critical thinking:
Carmen for instance, a female student who is not typically engaged or diligent about her social studies coursework, demonstrated in-depth interpretation and identification the laws relating to divorce. Responding to a law she summarized as, “If your husband is a criminal, cheater, or an abuser, you have the permission to divorce him,” Carmen wrote the following of its impact on women: “Even if women cannot divorce their husband just because they don’t like him, now if he is a horrible person, they can. So even if women do not have the same rights as men, they can have enough freedom to get out of a toxic relationship before they can get hurt.” Carmen’s use of the term “toxic relationship” does not originate in the text or this class, signifying that she pulled the language from her experiences in some other context, and thus identified in some way with the law and issue at hand. Carmen continued by summarizing a second divorce law as, “If a woman gets divorced from her husband, she gets her dowry back, if you have the right papers,” and evaluated its impact on women by reasoning, “It most likely took a long time to get a dowry put together, so its just morally right to give her the stuff she slaved over back. Its sort of like she is winning custody over her stuff.” Again, Carmen’s use of language here indicates her in-depth understanding and identification with the test. Though not previously familiar with the concept of a dowry, Carmen extrapolated that it was difficult to procure, emphasizing the hard work required by writing that the woman must have “slaved over” it. Moreover, Carmen likens this law to allowing a woman to win “custody over her stuff.” Carmen, whose parents are divorced, related this situation to her own, as demonstrated by her insertion and application of the familiar language of a divorce court proceeding. Read the complete transcript of Carmen's classwork here:
carmens_justinian_code_classwork_transcription.docx | |
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Alexander, a male student who is outgoing and talkative outside of class but shies away from participation in social studies class and completes his coursework inconsistently, also demonstrated engagement with the Justinian code laws through his classwork. Summarizing the first marriage law as, “You can get married as long as the man has hit puberty and the female is older than seven years old and have a parent’s consent,” Alexander reasons that the law “impacts women because they can get married really early and it can be dangerous to have a baby that early. It also gives them less freedom because they will be attached to the same person for life.” While Alexander may have gaps in his understanding of the female reproductive system (in all likelihood a seven-year-old female could not conceive), his attention to pregnancy and bearing children did not stem directly from the law, and therefore indicates a more in-depth consideration of the implications of the law, based on what he knows about marriage. Read the complete transcript of Alexander's classwork here:
alexanders_justinian_code_classwork_transcription.docx | |
File Size: | 68 kb |
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Finally, Daliah’s classwork demonstrated her engagement with the laws of the Justinian code through her use of expressive language and incorporation of her considerable knowledge and passion for women’s rights and the feminist movement. Daliah began by summarizing a law that banned incest, and then explained, “This is good for everybody because incest is a) gross and b) not good for the gene pool. And also helps prevent women from being trapped in her family.” Daliah’s declaration that incest is first and foremost “gross,” evinces her engagement with the text though a knee-jerk emotional reaction, albeit of revulsion. Next, Daliah’s scrutiny of a law against rape exhibited her analytic abilities, as she showcased her expertise in the realms of feminism and women’s liberation. Daliah summarized the law, taking into account all aspects: “People who take a woman’s virginity outside of marriage, regardless of who the woman is, deserve death, especially if they were nuns. Also, the men of her family can kill the rapist without due process.” She then critiqued the policy, first noting that “because it’s limited to virgins (which we assume means not married) it could be damaging to women who want to have premarital sex,” later adding that it is a “limitation of sexual freedom for women while not limiting it for men, which is not fair at all.” Daliah also astutely points out that the law “doesn’t extend to marital rape.” Her attention to gender inequality and employment of feminist language like “sexual freedom and “marital rape,” indicate not only her impressive command of these issues, but also the depth of her consideration and engagement with this text. Read the complete transcript of Daliah's classwork here:
daliahs_justinian_code_classwork_transcription.docx | |
File Size: | 97 kb |
File Type: | docx |