History 113

Western Civilization I

Summer 2003

 

Instructor: Professor Demetrius Glover

Class Time: M T Th 10:30-12:45

Office Hours: M T Th 12:45-1:30

Office: TBA

Office Phone: TBA

E-mail: TBA

 

Purpose

            This course introduces students to the Pre-Modern portion of Western European history encompassing two periods known as Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, a period spanning from the later years of the Roman Empire to the roughly 1500 A.D.  In addition to learning the historical narrative and conceptual themes of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, 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. Babara Rosenwien, A Short History of the Middle Ages. Toronto, Ontario:  Broadview Press, 2001

2. Early Christian Lives. New York: Penguin Press, 1998.

3. The Song of Roland. New York: Penguin Press, 1990.

4. Niccolo Machiavelli. The Prince, New York: Penguin Press, 1999.

 

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.  The exam will consist of twelve essay questions divided into three sections; students must answer one from each section. 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 Early Christian Lives, The Song of Roland, or The Prince. One to two 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 30%

There are three days of class time devoted to discussing the main primary sources (Early Christian Lives, 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 for the written assignment.  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 to ten 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 15%

            For the ambitious student or for those who wish to make up for lost points, there is an extra credit assignment.  Although students must only write a five-page paper for one of the three primary sources, they may earn extra credit by doing the paper assignment for a second primary source from the course.  This essay will be worth up to 15% 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 fifteen class lectures, attendance will be randomly checked ten times.  Each absence deducts one percent from the final grade.

 

Lecture and Reading Schedule

            With a six-week schedule, we are forced to cover a lot of information each day of class.  To facilitate this, each day of lecture is divided into two periods.  The first period will cover the first lecture listed for that day, and the second period will cover the second lecture listed for that day. There will be a fifteen-minute break between each period for the students and the instructor to refresh.

 

June 30th Monday

  1. Lecture 1: Introduction and Brief History of Rome up to 180 AD
  2. Lecture 2: Rome and the Crisis of the Third Century

 

July 1st Tuesday

  1. Lecture 1: Diocletian, Constantine, and Theodosius
  2. Lecture 2: Fall of the Roman West
  3. Readings: Rosenwein, Preface and Chapter 1

 

July 3rd Thursday

  1. Lecture 1: Early Christianity
  2. Lecture 2: Conflicts in Christianity

 

July 7th Monday

  1. Lecture 1: The Germanic Successor States
  2. Lecture 2: Justinian, Heraclius and the End of Rome?
  3. Readings: Rosenwein, Chapter 2

 

July 8th Tuesday

  1. Lecture 1: Islam up to 1050
  2. Lecture 2: Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England

 

July 10th Thursday

  1. Early Christian Lives Discussion
  2. Early Christian Lives Paper Due

 

July 14th Monday

  1. Lecture 1: Clovis, the Merovingian Dynasty, and the Early Carolingians
  2. Lecture 2: The Carolingian Achievement
  3. Readings: Rosenwein, Chapter 3

 

July 15th Tuesday

  1. Lecture 1: The Vikings and the Carolingian Decline
  2. Lecture 2: The Early Ottonians
  3. Readings: Rosenwein, Chapter 4

 

July 17th Thursday

  1. Lecture 1: The Early Capetians
  2. Lecture 2: Anglo-Norman England and Norman Italy
  3. Readings: Rosenwein, Chapter 5

 

July 21st Monday

  1.  The Song of Roland Discussion
  2. The Song of Roland Paper Due

 

July 22nd Tuesday

  1. Lecture 1: The Agricultural Revolution
  2. Lecture 2: Town and Court Culture

 

July 24th Thursday

  1. Lecture 1: The Rise of Universities (Part 1)
  2. Lecture 2: The Rise of Universities (Part 2)

 

July 28th Monday

  1. Lecture 1: The Gregorian Reform
  2. Lecture 2: The Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire

 

July 29th Tuesday

  1. Lecture 1: The Early Crusades
  2. Lecture 2: The Later Crusades

 

 

 

July 31st Thursday

  1. Lecture 1: The Angevin Empire
  2. Lecture 2: High Medieval France
  3. Readings: Rosenwein, Chapter 7

 

 

August 4th Monday

  1. Lecture 1: Crises of the 14th Century
  2. Lecture 2: The Origins of European Exploration
  3. Readings: Rosenwein, Chapter 8 and the Epilogue

 

August 5th Tuesday

  1.  The Prince Discussion
  2. The Prince Extra Credit Paper Due

 

August 7th Thursday

  1. Review for the Exam

 

 

August 11th Monday

  1. The Exam