HIST 113 WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS S

HIST 113 WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS SURVEY (TO 1550)

Diana Lin
Fall 2008

Office: Tamarack F12
Phone: 980 6981
My website: https://pages.iu.edu/~dchenlin
Email: dchenlin@iun.edu
Office hours: MTWTH 11am-1pm or by appointment

First in-class preparation questions

Second in-class examination preparation questions

Objective
The purpose of this class is to enable both history and non-history majors to master the ability to employ a historical approach to understand the past, to command the necessary interpretive skills to do so, and to develop a fine appreciation of historical peoples and events. The histories that are covered here range from ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations that had a broad impact on later European civilization, ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, to medieval European political, intellectual, social and religious developments.

Books and Requirements
The following textbook will be available at the campus Barnes and Noble bookstore.

Lynn Hunt et al, The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, A Concise History, v.1 to 1740, 2nd ed. Bedford/St.Martin's, 2007.

This textbook has a web site at bedfordstmartins.com/huntconcise where you can find chapter outlines, quizzes, and much else. Besides this book, there are also required readings in primary sources that are available online. The syllabus and lecture notes are available at my website at https://pages.iu.edu/~dchenlin.

Method of grading: all grades are assigned in percentages, which will be tabulated at the end of the semester and converted to letter grades. The conversion is as follows: 93-100: A; 90-93: A-; 85-89: B+; 80-84: B; 75-79: B-; 70-74: C+; 65-69: C; 60-64: C-; 55-59: D+; 50-55: D; 45-49: D-; 44 and below: F.

There are two in-class tests and two take-home papers. The essays use built-in topics and are to be 4-6 pages, typed and double-spaced.
There are monthly quizzes that use multiple-choice questions from the textbook's quiz bank at bedfordstmartins.com/huntconcise, which can be found by chapter number.
In some weeks there are also homework assignments that are marked homework #. There are multiple choice or true/false questions associated with these assignments, and the assignments are to be found under the "Assignments" icon in Oncourse. Homework assignments are due at the time of class.

To look up archaic and unfamiliar words in your readings, you can use the Oxford Reference Online, which, though, is accessible only when you are on campus.

The grade distribution is as follows:

Class attendance: 3 per cent (for those who miss class four times or less in the semester.)
Monthly quizzes: 20 per cent
Home work: 18 per cent
Two take-home essays: 15 per cent each.
Take-home short answer test: 12 per cent
In-class short answer test: 17 per cent

Schedule

Aug.26 Introduction.

Aug.28 Mesopotamia, the world's earliest civilization. Hunt, 3-15. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Online reading on Mesopotamia. Notes. Lecture outline.

Sept.2 Mesopotamian society. Required reading: Hammurabi's Code at: http://www.kchanson.com/PHOTOS/photogal.html (click on Hammurabi's Stele) Notes.

Sept.4 Ancient Egypt and early Egyptian religion. Hunt, 15-25. Web link: PBS: NOVA: Explore the Pyramids. Notes. Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. Egypt Pyramids Pharaohs Hieroglyphs. Lecture outline.

Sept.9 The Assyrians, Chaldeans, Hebrews, and Persians. Hunt, 25-32. Online reading: King James Bible. Lecture notes. Class outline.

Sept.11 The early Greeks and Greek religion. Hunt, 33-38. Online reading: The Ancient Greek Gods. Notes on ancient Greece. Notes on Greek religion.

Sept.16 Athens. Hunt, 38-43, 51-73. Weblink: PBS: The Ancient Greeks Homework 1: The Polity of the Athenians.Homework 2 Life of Pericles Notes

Sept.18 Greek intellectual thought. Hunt, 73-78. Homework 3: Aristotle: The Politics.Homework 4 Plato: The Philosopher King. Lecture notes.

Sept.23 Quiz 1.Sparta and the end of the Greek era. Reading: Hunt,43-47, 83-89. online reading: The Polity of the Spartans.

Sept.25 Early Rome and the Roman Republic. Hunt, 129-158. Homework 5: Table: The Roman Republic: Checks and Balances.Notes.

Note changes in class schedule below from Sept.30 to Oct.21:

Sept.30 Summary of Greece. Class outline.

Oct.2 Early Rome and the Roman Republic. Hunt, 129-158. Homework 5: Table: The Roman Republic: Checks and Balances.Notes. Homework 6 The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Lecture notes.

Oct. 7 The Roman Republic (Continued). Hunt, 1258-169. Lecture outline.

Oct. 9 Christianity and the Roman Empire. Hunt, 171-205. Web link: From Jesus to Christ. Notes lecture outline

First take-home paper due on Sunday Oct.27 via Oncourse electronic mail. Paper topic: Imagine yourself an Athenian who lived around 430 B.C. but "time traveled" to the Rome of 45 B.C. Describe the similarities and differences you observe of Athenian and Roman politics and society.

Oct. 14 Combining Oct.14 and 16 The Roman Empire and the coming of the Germans. Hunt, 205-245. Diocletian's Roman Empire. Notes. The Byzantine Empire. Hunt, 245-267. Notes on the Byzantine Empire. lecture outline

Oct.16: (The Byzantine Empire. Hunt, 245-267. Notes on the Byzantine Empire). First in-class test Cancelled. Take-home short answer test due today via Oncourse. Lecture notes

Covering content for Oct.21 The rise of Islam. Hunt, 268-275. Notes on Islam. .

Oct.21: (The rise of Islam. Hunt, 268-275. Notes on Islam. ) New content: combining Oct.23 & 28 The first Germanic kingdoms. Hunt, 275-293, 309-318. Notes on the first Carolingian kingdoms. Notes on feudalism. Lecture outline.

Oct.23 (The first Germanic kingdoms. Hunt, 275-293, 309-318. Notes on the first Carolingian kingdoms ) New content: from Oct.30: The development of towns, guilds, and trade. Notes Lecture outline.

Oct.28 Class cancelled. Homework #7 still due today at 1pm. Homework 7: Alwalton Manor, 1279

Readings for Oct.30, Nov.4, Nov.6, and Nov.11: Hunt, chaps.9 & 10.

Oct.30 Class cancelled.

Nov.4: The development of learning. Homework 8 Statutes of Gregory IX for the University of Paris 1231. Homework 9 Aquinas: Summa Theologiae: Question 1: Sacred doctrine. Notes Lecture outline.

Nov.6 The development of the secular monarch: England and France. Online reading: The Capetians and the Crusades. Creating French Culture Homework 10 Excerpt from Domesday Book. Homework 11 Magna Carta. Notes Lecture notes.

Nov.11 Quiz 2 Conflict between the secular and religious authorities. Hunt: 440-448. Notes Lecture notes.

Nov.13 Europe in chaos: the Hundred Years’ War and the Black Death. Hunt, 425-440. Online reading: The Black Death. The Black Death in England 1348-1350 Homework 12:The Black Death and the Medieval Family. Notes Lecture Notes.

Nov.18 & 20 The rise of humanism. Hunt, 448-463. Homework 13 Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince. Homework 14
Castiglione: A BREEF REHERSALL OF Life and Qualities of a Courtier. (both due on Nov.20) Notes Nov.18 Lecture outline. Nov.20 lecture outline.

The following web site contains samples of Renaissance paintings: Renaissance Art. The following website contains a PBS introduction of the Medici family and their role in the Renaissance: Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance.

Nov.25 Religious reformation. Hunt, 473-497. Notes. Lecture outline

Nov.27 Thanksgiving. No class.

Dec.2 Class review. Quiz 6. Lecture outline.

Dec.4 Last day of class. Conclusion. Second paper due via Oncourse email attachment.

Second paper topic: Imagine yourself a peasant living in England or France around 1430 who acquired much land in the past fifty years. Describe the changes in three generations, from your grandparents' to your sons.

Hints: Your essay should begin with a very brief overview of feudalism (one paragraph), followed by a description of your grandparents' lives on a feudal manor (use the online readings on Alwalton Manor, 1279: Homework #7 for Oct.28); and Domesday Book (Homework #10 for Nov.16) to flesh out life on the manor. Then proceed on to how the Black Death affected your family with regard to your services to the lord and your land ownership. You may end with planning for your sons' education (as women were usually not educated) in various trades, in the university, and possibly in Italy (refer to sessions on the Renaissance).

Dec.9 Final examination.