This course will focus on the major crusades to the Holy Land (1095-1270) as well as the Albigensian Crusade in France. Major questions include: Why were the Crusades undertaken, what were the objectives, what did they cost, what did they accomplish, and why do they matter? We will also consider some of the major social and cultural causes of the Crusades: the medieval world view, population and economic pressures, papal versus monarchical ambitions, the role of women, the cult of chivalric love, the rise of monasticism, the building of the great churches and castles, and the invention of a new kind of army of monk warriors — the Knights Templar and The Hospitallers. We will also look at Islamic responses to these invasions from the West, and at how the Crusaders who stayed in the East tried to create permanent fiefdoms in a hostile and unstable world.Terry Fitzpatrick was born in Montana and has a BA from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University. As a faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis, he taught literature and helped create an interdisciplinary program in literature, history and philosophy. His interest in the Crusades is fueled by his fascination with Cistercian monasteries, Cathar heretics, courtly love poetry, and corrupt prelates. He had subsequent careers as a writer, editor, teacher and publicist at both for-profit and non-profit organizations.