Indiana
University Purdue University Indianapolis
Department of History
|
Michael C. Paul, Ph.D. Office: 313 C Cavanaugh Hall Office
Phone: (317) 274-5840 mipaul@iupui.edu |
2:30 3:45 MW (August 25 December 13) Classroom: 219 Cavanaugh Hall Office Hours: 5:20-6:20 PM MW and by appointment<!DOCTYPE
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I.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
This course introduces students to the
foundations of Western Civilization and its development in the Ancient and
Medieval periods. In addition to learning the historical narrative and
conceptual themes of early western civilization, and gaining an increased
understanding of the social, political, economic, and cultural foundations of
the Western world, students will also gain an understanding of some of the
problems of doing history by reading primary and secondary resources. They will also develop their critical and
analytical skills through readings, discussions, and written assignments.
Jackson J. Spielvogel, Western Civilization: Volume A to 1500. Fifth Edition. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2003.
In addition to the main textbook, required primary source
readings will be placed on the ONCOURSE system and are also available
online. These texts are noted in the
course syllabus. If students are unable
to access these texts online or through the ONCOURSE system, please see me to
get a paper copy of the text.
III. Course Procedures
and Policies:
Classes will be a combination of lectures, videos,
readings, class discussion, and a term paper.
Students should take notes during lectures and videos and will be tested
from all class material. Study guides and extra credit assignments will not be
given.
A. Attendance and Assignment Deadlines:
Attendance is
mandatory at all scheduled classes in their entirety. Missing class more than three times will
result in the lowering of your course grade by 1% per day absent. Absences may be excused for medical or other
dire personal reasons, but written documentation explaining the situation is
required. Extensions for assignments and
make up exams (but not quizzes) are possible in the event of an emergency,
otherwise, late work will be penalized at a rate of a third of a letter grade
per day.
B. Plagiarism and Cheating:
Plagiarism (i.e., failing to give
proper credit to sources of information and ideas, particularly in the paper)
or cheating will not be tolerated. If
discovered, I will take disciplinary action against all students involved in a
manner consistent with the guidelines set forth by the university. For further details, consult the Code of
Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct at
www.hoosiers.iupui.edu/studcode.
C. Students with Disabilities:
If you have a disability and are in need of classroom or exam accommodation, please discuss this with me as soon as possible. All information will be held in the strictest confidence and will be used only to make necessary accommodations for the success of the student.
IV. Course
requirements:
A.
Quizzes
There will be seven quizzes (essentially one given every other week) based on the assigned readings (from the books, Internet or ONCOURSE sources), the lectures, and any videos for that week. These quizzes will consist of multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short answer questions, and are designed to test your general command of the material. No make-up quizzes will be given, but the lowest quiz grade will be dropped at the end of the semester, thus allowing you to miss one without penalty if necessary. Quizzes will not be given during the same week an examination is given.
B.
Short Papers and Discussions:
There will be four discussions scheduled based on the
primary source readings (works written during the period under study). Students will be required to hand in a short
(1-2 page) paper for each discussion (due at the beginning of class on the day
of discussion). In these papers, the
students should react to the readings and discuss their significance to Western
Civilization and to the specific culture being discussed. Students should then be prepared with
questions and observations to participate in discussion about the readings.
C. Exams:
The midterm and final exams will have two parts; the
first part will consist of short answer and fill-in the blank questions; the
second part will consist of essay questions that require you to combine the
information learned in class in a meaningful and coherent format. Students are encouraged to ask questions
about lectures and reading assignments as they arise.
D. Historic Paper:
Students will prepare a 6-8 page (typed, double-spaced)
paper analyzing one or more primary documents (i.e., works written during the
period under study) emphasizing what the actual documents tell us about Western
Civilization before 1500. They should not
be narratives based on the analysis of other historians or a discussion of the
historiography; rather they are designed to develop your ability to do one
important component of the historians job, namely to take the raw material of
history and use it to develop arguments about the past. I will speak at greater
length about what I expect from the papers later in the semester. Students may not, under any circumstances,
use a text that has been assigned or discussed in class.
V. GRADE
BREAKDOWN:
Quizzes 15% Short
Papers/Discussion 15% Historic
Paper 20% Midterm
exam 20% Final Exam
30% |
|
VIII. GRADING
SCALE: A+ 100 A 93 99 A- 90 92 B+ 88 89 B 82 87 B- 80 81 C+ 78 79 C 72 77 C- 70 71 D+ 68 69 D 62 67 D- 60 61 F 59 and below |
Week
1 (August 25)
Introduction
Week
2 (August 30, September 1)
Spielvogel, Chpt. 1. The Ancient Near East: The
First Civilizations.
September 6 Labor Day; No Class
Week 3 (September
8)
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/RsvExod.html
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/RsvBJob.html
Week 4 (September
13, 15)
The
Ancient Near East (continued)
Week 5 (September
20, 22)
Spielvogel,
Chpt. 3. The Civilizations of the Greeks.
Plato, The Apology and Phaedo.
Also available online at
http://graduate.gradsch.uga.edu/archive/Plato/APOLOGY.TXT
http://graduate.gradsch.uga.edu/archive/Plato/Phaedo.txt
Week 6 (September
27, 29)
Spielvogel,
Chpt. 4. The Hellenistic World.
*Discussion
of Plato. Short paper due September 29.
Week 7 (October
4, 6)
Spielvogel, Chpt. 5. The Roman Republic.
Week 8 (October
11, 13)
Spielvogel,
Chpt. 6. The Roman Empire.
Selections from Seneca, Epistolae (Letters V, VII, VIII, IX, XVI,
XVIII).
Also available online at http://www.stoics.com/books.html#SENECAE1
Week 9 (October 18)
Spielvogel,
Chpt. 7. The Passing of the Roman World and the Emergence of Medieval
Civilization.
Selections from the Christian Bible (The Gospel of Mark; The
First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians).
Also available online at
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/RsvMark.html
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/Rsv1Cor.html
Week 10 (October 25, 27)
Spielvogel, Chpt. 8. European Civilization in the Early Middle Ages, 750-1000.
The
Vinland Sagas, (Graenland
Saga).
Available on ONCOURSE
Also available online at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1000Vinland.html
Week 11 (November 1, 3)
Spielvogel,
Chpt. 9. The Recovery and Growth of European Society in the High Middle Ages.
The Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville (The Life of St. Louis)
Available on ONCOURSE
Also available online at: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccernew?id=WedLord&tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0
Week 12 (November 8, 10)
The High
Middle Ages (continued)
*Discussion
of Joinville. Short
paper due November 10.
Week 13 (November 15, 17)
Spielvogel,
Chpt. 10. The Rise of Kingdoms and the Growth of Church Power.
Selections from The Investiture Controversy from the Internet Medieval
Sourcebook (Papal Election
Decree, Dictatus Papae, Lay
Investiture Forbidden, Emperor Henry IVs Letter to Pope Gregory VII,
Deposition
of Henry IV, Concordat of Worms, Letters of Pope Innocent III).
Available on ONCOURSE
Also available online at
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/papal-elect1059.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/g7-dictpap.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/henry4-to-g7a.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/g7-ban1.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/worms1.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/innIII-policies.html
Week 14 (November 22)
Spielvogel,
Chpt. 11. The Late Middle Ages: Crisis and Disintegration in the Fourteenth Century.
**Term Papers due by beginning of class November 22
Thanksgiving break; No class November 24
Week 15 (November 29, December 1)
The Late Middle Ages (continued)
Week 16 (December 8, 10)
Spielvogel,
Chpt. 12. Recovery and Rebirth: The Age of the Renaissance.
Selections
from Nicolo Machiavelli, The Prince (Chapters XIV-XXIII).
Available on ONCOURSE
Also available online at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/machiavelli
-prince.html#CHAPTER%20XIV
*Discussion of The
Prince. Short paper due December 10.
Conclusion
FINAL
EXAMINATION: Wednesday, December 15, 1:00-3:00 pm in
the regular classroom