History 113 Syllabus Fall 2003
History 113
Western Civilization I
Fall 2003
Instructor: Professor Demetrius Glover
Class Time: Tuesday 5:45-8:25
Office Hours: Tuesday Thursday 1:15-2:15
and Thursday 4:30-5:15
Office: CA 243-B
Office Phone: 278-9021
E-mail: deglover@iupui.edu
Purpose
This course introduces students to the Pre-Modern portion of Western European
History encompassing two periods known as Antiquity and the Middle Ages, a
period spanning from the dawn of human civilization to roughly 1500 A.D.
In addition to learning the historical narrative and conceptual themes of
the Pre-Modern western civilization, students will grapple with the problems of
doing history by reading primary resources and developing their analytical
skills through discussions and written assignments.
Required Texts
1. John P. McKay, Bennett D. Hill, and John Buckler, A History of Western Society Volume A: From
Antiquity to 1500.
2. The Epic of
Gilgamesh.
3. The Lives of the
Later Caesars.
4. The Song of Roland.
5. Niccolo Machiavelli. The Prince,
Exam 30%
There is one exam, a cumulative final exam. The
exam is worth 30% of the final grade. The exam tests the students’
knowledge and understanding of the entire body of lecture and textbook
material. At the start of the course, the students will be provided with
a list of six essay questions divided into two sections. The exam will
consist of two essay questions (one from each section) randomly selected by
sortition on the day of the final. All students have to answer those two
questions. The exam will also have a bonus section. This section will
have two essay questions; students may answer one of those questions for up to
ten bonus points.
Essay 30%
Each student must write one five-page paper either on
The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Lives of the Later Caesars, or The Song of Roland.
Three weeks prior to the due date of each paper, the instructor will hand out
an assignment sheet containing 3 questions. Each student must address one
of the three questions in his or her essay.
Discussions 40%
There are four days of class time devoted to
discussing the primary sources (The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Lives of the Later
Caesars, The Song of Roland, and The Prince). Each day of discussion is
worth 10% of the final grade. Attendance and participation in the
discussion is mandatory to receive credit. The discussions primarily
address the questions from the writing assignments. For the more
ambitious students, I request that three students volunteer to be the primary
discussant for one of the essay questions. The primary discussant
(preferably someone who has written an essay addressing this question) will
take five minutes to explain his/her response to an essay question. The
class will then use the primary discussant’s interpretation as starting point to
explore that issue. In addition to speaking in front of the class the
primary discussants will also assist the instructor in tracking class
participation. For these two duties primary discussants are guaranteed
the full 10% for that day of discussion.
Extra Credit 10%
For the ambitious student or for those who wish to
make up for lost points, there is an extra credit assignment. Although
students must write a five-page paper on The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Lives of
the Later Caesars, or The Song of Roland they may earn extra credit by doing
the paper assignment for The Prince. This essay will be worth up to 10%
extra credit, depending upon the quality of the essay.
Attendance -10%
Attendance in this course is mandatory. Students are expected to attend
every course lecture and discussion. During the ten class lectures,
attendance will be checked ten times. Each absence deducts one percent
from the final grade.
Lecture and Reading Schedule
With a one-class-per-week schedule, we are forced to cover a lot of information
each day of class. To reach the chronological goals of this course the
lectures only provide a general overview and thematic approach to the material,
and the textbook is intended to fill any informative gaps in the material.
Under various dates a reading assignment from the textbook is listed.
Students should have those selections read by that day of class. This
preparation allows for a better understanding of the lecture material and
achievement in the course.
August 26, 2003
Lecture: Introduction to History
Readings McKay Preface
September 2, 2003
Lecture: Prehistory
Readings: McKay Chapter 1
September 9, 2003
Lecture: The Earliest Civilizations
September 16, 2003
Lecture: The Bronze Age
September 23, 2003
Lecture: The Iron Age
Readings: McKay Chapter 2
September 30, 2003
The
Epic of Gilgamesh Discussion
The Epic of Gilgamesh Paper Due
October 7, 2003
Lecture: Archaic Greece, Classical Greece and the Hellenistic World
Readings: McKay Chapters 3 and 4
October 14, 2003
Lecture: Rome down to 280 AD
Readings: McKay Chapters 5 and 6
October 21, 2003
The
Lives of the Later Caesars Discussion
The Lives of the Later Caesars Paper
Due
October 28, 2003
Lecture: Late Antiquity
Readings: McKay Chapter 7
November 4, 2003
Lecture: The Early Middle Ages
Readings: McKay Chapter 8
November 11, 2003
The
Song of Roland Discussion
The Song of Roland Paper Due
November 18, 2003
Lecture: The High Middle Ages
Readings: McKay Chapters 9, 10, and 11
November 25, 2003
Lecture: The Late Middle Ages
Readings: McKay Chapters 12 and 13
December 2, 2003
The
Prince Discussion
The Prince Extra Credit Paper Due
December 9, 2003
Final Exam 5:45-7:45 in Class