History of
Western Civilization I
Dr. Jonathyne Briggs
Fall 2008
Tuesday/
Thursday 5:30-6:45
Office:
Tamarack 11
Office Hours:
Tuesday/ Thursday 3-4
Office Phone:
980-6658
Course
Description: This
course charts the development of cultures and states from the early societies
of the Near East to the expansive kingdoms of Northern and Western Europe. Relying heavily on primary documents and
accounts, students will examine transformations in law, religion, warfare, and
social relations during this broad period to understand the establishment of
civilizations in the Mediterranean and the surrounding areas and the broader
influence and power that these societies had over the globe.
Required
texts:
Lynn Hunt, et
al., The Making of the West: A Concise History
Volume I (0312439458)
Aristophanes,
Lysistrata
(0451527895)
Song of Roland (0140440755)
Geoffrey
Chaucer, Canterbury Tales (0553210823)
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (0939962202)
These are
available at the IU Northwest Bookstore as well as many online retailers (often
in used format—make sure to get the correct edition via the ISBNs
provided). Other, shorter readings will
be available on the Ancient and Medieval Internet History Sourcebooks (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook.html
and http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html). These can also be accessed via the links on
the e-syllabus at http://www.iun.edu/~historyn/BriggsHist113-08.html. You should print these materials out to bring
to class and for future reference.
Grading:
Three
essays (10% each):
Three required essays (3-4 double-spaced pages in length) on the assigned
longer texts and the readings supplementing these works. In these assignments, students will explain
the historical significance of a particular text based on the context the other
readings and the lectures provide based on questions provided by the
instructor. The essays will be due at
the beginning of the class period. Any
paper turned in late will receive a letter-grade deduction for each class
session it is late. You must complete
the first assignment but you can then choose which of the other two to
complete. Those students who write all
four essays can drop the lowest grade of their essays. Assignments not turned in during the
scheduled class time cannot be transmitted by e-mail attachment unless
otherwise arranged with the instructor.
Late papers must be brought to the instructor’s office during office
hours or to the next class. Students are
expected to adhere to Indiana University’s policy on plagiarism, and any work
used in the essays (outside of the required works) should be cited
accordingly. All plagiarized work will
receive a zero and cannot be dropped.
One
mid-term and one final examination
(15% and 25%): Each of these exams will consist of short-answer responses on
key ideas and terms from the textbook and essay questions that deal more
extensively with the course readings.
Terms for the textbook will be provided by the instructor. No make-up exams will be given for either the
mid-term or the final, except in cases of a documented emergency.
Four
quizzes (10% total):
These quizzes will deal with material in the readings or on information from
the lectures through short answers. These
will be given at the beginning of the class period and cannot be made up if
missed due to tardiness or absence.
Four
textbook quizzes
(10%): These quizzes are unannounced and consist of turning in your key terms
from the textbook, which you must complete for each week, or in-class quizzes
on the textbook material. The key terms
for the class can be found on the electronic syllabus.
Attendance/
participation (10%):
Discussion constitutes an important element of this class and as such counts
for a letter grade. As a result, attendance counts and the instructor
will take attendance at the beginning of each class. Students who are tardy are responsible for
ensuring that they are marked present after class. Students who are tardy more than three times
will be marked absent for each ensuing tardy.
Students missing more than eight classes will receive a zero for
attendance. The readings to be discussed
on a particular day are listed on the syllabus.
The student is responsible for completing the required reading and being
prepared on that day to discuss material.
Silence all cell phones during class.
The
cumulative grading system for this course is based upon a ten-point, +/- scale:
100-93: A; 92-90 A-; 89-87: B+; 86-83: B; 82-80: B-; 79-77:C+; 76-73:C; 72-70:
C-; 69-67: D+; 66-63: D; 62-60 D-; and 59 and lower (including plagiarism and
cheating): F. The grade of Incomplete
(I) for students unable to complete the course may be available in extenuating
circumstances at the discretion of the instructor.
Supplemental
Instruction: Lauren
Schara (lschara@iun.edu) serves as this
course’s supplemental instructor. She
will be available for questions and additional direction per her schedule,
which will be decided during the first weeks of class. It is strongly recommended that students use
her as a regular resource to keep up with the coursework and to prepare for
assignments and exams.
Students with disabilities: Students with disabilities who require
special accommodations to participate fully in course activities or meet class
requirements are encouraged to promptly contact Jason Griffith, Disabilities
Coordinator and Counselor at Student Support Services. He can be reached
at (219) 980-6943, or jadgriff@iun.edu. The professor must be notified,
in writing, of any agreed-upon arrangements within two weeks of the start of
class.
Course
Communication: This
course has an Oncourse site for the posting of
assignments and grades, as well as announcements and updates, which the student
is responsible for checking before class.
Any contact with the professor should be through the IU e-mail address jwbriggs@iun.edu.
Schedule:
Week One: Formation of Human Communities in
the Near East
August 26: Course Introduction to
Concepts of Western Civilization
August 30:
Mesopotamia and the Influence of Babylon
Readings:
Hunt, pp. 3-14
Week Two: Egypt and Israel
September 2: Time of the Pharaohs
Readings: Hunt
pp. 15-24
Herodotus: On
Mummification
September 4:
Monotheism in Israel and Persia
Readings: Hunt
pp. 25-33
Week Three: Early Greece
September 9: Mycenaean Greece
Readings: Hunt
pp. 33-38
Thucydides, On
the Early History of the Hellenes
September 11:
Rise of the Poleis
Readings: Hunt pp. 38-48
Xenophon, The Polity of the Spartans
Quiz One
Week Four: The Golden Age of Greece
September 16: Imperial Greece
Readings: Hunt, pp. 51-64
Xenophon, The Battle of Leuctra
September 18: Life and Culture in
the Golden Age
Readings: Hunt, pp. 65-88
Aristotle, On a Good Wife
Aristophanes, Lysistrata (all) Paper One Due
Week Five: Alexander and the Hellenistic World
September 23: The Conquest of the
World
Readings: Hunt, pp. 91-105
Plutarch: Life of
Alexander
September 25:
Cosmopolitan Culture
Readings: Hunt, pp. 106-125
Athanaeus: The Great
Spectacle
Week Six: The Roman Republic
September 30: Establishing Roman
Society
Readings: Hunt, pp. 129-145
October 2:
Conquering the Middle Sea
Readings: Hunt, pp. 146-168
Polybius, The Roman Maniple
Quiz Two
Week Seven: The Roman Empire
October 7: Pax
Romana
Readings: Hunt, pp. 171-194
Cicero, The Roman Candidate
Tacitus: End of the
Republic
October 9:
Christianity and the Empire
Readings: Hunt, pp. 194-210, 222-235
Eusebius: The Conversion of
Constantine
Week Eight: The ‘Barbarian’ Invasions
October 14: Midterm Exam
October
16: The “Fall”
of Rome?
Readings: Hunt, pp. 235-255
Procopius, Alaric’s Sack of
Rome
Week Nine: The Roman Empires of the Middle Ages
October 21: Byzantium and the
Continuity of Rome
Readings: Hunt, pp. 259-268
Procopius, Nika Revolt
October 23: The Germanic Kingdoms
Readings: Hunt, pp. 275-292
Fulbert of Chartres, On Feudal
Obligations
Einhard, The Wars of Charlemagne
Week Ten: Islam and its Western Encounters
October 28: Expansion of Islamic
Empire
Readings: Hunt, pp. 268-275, 303-309
October 30:
Muslim Spain
Readings: Hunt, pp. 309-323
Song of Roland (all)
Paper Two Due
Week
Eleven: The Crusades
November 4: The Call of the First
Crusade
Readings: Hunt, pp. 339-358, 369-382
Pope Urban
II, Speech at
Clermont
The Popular
Crusade (only Version of Albert of Aix) Quiz Three
November 6: Crusades in Christendom
Readings: Hunt, pp. 385-396
Fourth Lateran Council, On Heresy
Bernard Gui, On the Albigensians
Week
Twelve: Life in
Christian Europe
November 11: Millenarianism and
Papal Unrest
Readings: Hunt, pp. 425-448
November 13: Life During
Wartime
Reading: Canterbury Tales
(excerpts)
Froissart, On the Hundred
Years War
Paper Three
Due
Week
Thirteen: The
Renaissance and the Reformation
November 18: Rediscovering
Civilization?
Readings: Hunt, pp. 448-463
Petrarch, The Ascent of Mount Ventoux
November 20:
Luther and the Church
Readings: Hunt, pp. 473-486
Martin
Luther, Letter
to the Archbishop of Mainz
Week
Fourteen: Reinvention
of the State
November 25: Sovereignty in the
Modern State
Readings: Hunt, pp. 486-498
Machiavelli, The Prince (all)
Paper Four
Due
November 27: Thanksgiving Holiday ********No
Class
Week
Fifteen: Age of
Exploration
December 2: The Atlantic World
Readings: Hunt, pp. 463-471
Christopher
Columbus, Letter
to the King and Queen
Vasco de
Gama, Round Africa
to India
Quiz Four
December 4: Closing the
Mediterranean Sea
Reading: Sherman and Salisbury, 427-437
Wallerstein, On World System
Theory
Final
Examination—TBA