Catalog Description: Surveys the history of Europe from the ancient period through the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, and the Early Modern Periods. This course satisfies the university general education requirement in Western civilization.

Thematic Overview: This is a course of lectures, readings, handouts, and web assignments that constitute an introduction to the history of Western Civilization from its beginnings through the Treaty of Passarowitz. More importantly, this course also constitutes an active and collaborative attempt to extend, preserve, and transmit the intellectual and cultural heritage of western civilization. One of my fundamental premises going into this course is that western civilization is good, and therefore is worthy of being preserved, transmitted, and extended. Reading assignments, examinations and discussions are designed to explore the following themes: the nature of historical evidence; the utility and reliability of myths, sagas, and legends; the rise and fall of kingdoms, empires, republics, democracies and commonwealths in the ancient, medieval, and early modern periods; religion and identity; ethnicity and identity; Islam and the West; and the expansion of Western civilization, as well as dragons, elves, and heroes.

Prerequisites: None, although students who have weak reading and writing skills should delay taking this course until they have successfully completed the appropriate foundation courses in composition and rhetoric.

Objectives: Students will develop skills of critical inquiry into the history of Western civilization and investigate the foundations and development of Western thought. Students will become familiar with assessing historical evidence in terms of its scope, reliability, analytic content, sense of causation, concept of progress, and its teleology. Special attention will be given to the origins and development of the state, as well as to the development of western epistemologies, philosophies and religions, but we shall not neglect the more traditional analyses of political, social, economic, artistic, and intellectual developments.

Grades: Grades will be based on an unannounced quiz, a mid-term exam, another unannounced quiz, and a comprehensive final exam (in that order), as well as participation. The quizzes are worth up to 10 points each, the Midterm up to 125 points, the final up to 125 points, and participation is worth up to plus or minus 30 points. Total points available: 300.

Exams and Grading: Exams will consist of two or more formal essay questions and several short-answer identification questions. Bring one or more signed blank “blue books” to class the week prior to the exam, depending on how many you think you will need to write your essays. These blue books will be collected in class the week prior to the exam, logged for credit, and then passed back to you on the day of the exam. Exam questions will draw on material from the readings and the lectures, as well as any handouts and web assignments. Thus, both attendance and attentiveness are important. Your exams and quizzes should not be mere recitations of spoon-fed information, but should demonstrate to me that you have developed an understanding of the course material and have synthesized informed opinions about the history of western civilization. These intellectual accomplishments, which constitute the writing component of this course, will be presented on the exams in written English that is clear and cogent and which conforms to accepted university level writing standards. This aspect of the course is intended to facilitate critical thinking, and its expression in written argument, about the history of western civilization. Three points extra credit for each exam written in blue or black ink.  

Make-up Examinations for the mid-term will not be given automatically. In order even to be considered for a make-up exam a student must offer advance notice, with sufficient reason (such as illness or military service). Being out of town or having schedule conflicts are not sufficient reasons. Make-up examinations will not necessarily consist of the same questions the rest of the class writes on, and they will occur at the end of the semester. No make-up examination is available for the Final, nor for the unannounced quizzes. No early exams.

Attendance and Participation: Whether or not you choose to attend class is your business, but if you miss class I will not take you as seriously as I do students who actually bother to show up. Additionally, your grades will suffer as a consequence of absences, not only because you will certainly perform less well on quizzes and exams, but also because attendance, attentiveness, and preparation mitigate towards the participation component of this course. If you miss more than one class I will not consider seriously any complaint that you may have about grades. If you miss more than two classes you may wish to withdraw from the course simply as a matter of self-preservation. Emergencies do occur, and I will understand, but students are expected to attend lectures and take notes. Reading assignments should be completed before the lecture, and students should be prepared to answer questions concerning the reading assignments in class. 

Classroom Behavior: Classroom civility and restraint are crucial to a beneficial learning environment. Your conduct should contribute to a respectful, engaged, and productive classroom culture. All class members are responsible for maintaining and protecting an ethic of civility and restraint. Accordingly, the following guidelines for appropriate conduct have been established. Turn off or mute cell phones or pagers; it is an act of profound rudeness to interrupt class for personal or business phone calls. Refrain from side conversations and interpersonal remarks during class time, and restrain from all boisterous behavior or cell phone use whenever you are in the classroom. As per posted Oakland University rules for SFH, no eating is allowed in the classrooms. If you have a legitimate reason to leave class early, inform your professor in advance. If circumstances beyond your control force you to be late for class or to leave class early, be discrete and do not disturb the other students or the instructor. We are very empathetic to your problems, but you should not allow your problems to disrupt the educational process. 

Plagiarism and Cheating: Cheating on examinations or quizzes, plagiarism, and falsifying reports or records, are considered serious breaches of academic conduct. The Oakland University policy on academic conduct will be strictly followed with no exceptions. For further information concerning the seriousness with which Oakland University treats cheating and plagiarism, here is a link to Oakland University's Academic Conduct Regulations.

General Education:  Learning Outcomes: This course satisfies the university general education requirement in the Knowledge Explorations area of Western Civilization.  The students will demonstrate: 1) knowledge of historical events and/or philosophical ideas of European culture and 2) knowledge of how western ideas or institutions have evolved over time. Cross-cutting Capacities: 1) Students will become familiar with and evaluate various sources of historical information, including some sources that are of problematic reliability or uncertain utility; their evaluations will be summarized in essay examinations and in unannounced short answer essay quizzes; in this way they will strengthen their critical thinking skills. 2) The material presented in this course will provide the student with a better understanding of the complex political, economic, intellectual, religious, and social forces which contributed to the development of Western civilization; this will provide them with a mechanism for developing social awareness. 3) The writing component of the course will improve their ability to communicate effectively. 4) Students will be encouraged to use intellectual skepticism in approaching historical accounts, and will gain some basic experience in library and internet resources, which will facilitate development of information literacy.

TEXTBOOKS:

Unofficially Recommended (at most bookstores - get the thumb-indexed editions)
        Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary
        Roget's International Thesaurus
        Emily Post on Etiquette

Lecture Topics and Reading Assignments: The following schedule indicates class dates, exam dates, specific topical material to be covered, and reading assignments. I reserve the right to make adjustments or corrections to this schedule, which will be announced in class and/or posted on this web page.

1. Tuesday, May 06, Noble, chapter 1
        The Ancestors of the West

2. Thursday, May 08, Noble, chapter 2 -- No class, Jace at a medieval history conference
        The Sword, The Book, and the Myths: Western Asia and Early Greece

3. Tuesday, May 13,  Noble, chapter 3
        The Age of the Polis in Greece: ca. 750-350 B.C.

4. Thursday, May 15, Noble, chapter 4
        Alexander the Great and the Spread of Greek Civilization, ca. 350-30 B.C.

5. Tuesday, May 20, Noble, chapter 5
        Rome, from Republic to Empire

6. Thursday, May 22, Noble, chapter 6
       Imperial Rome, 31 B.C. - A.D. 284

7. Tuesday, May 27, Noble,  chapter 7 [Midterm Blue Books Due]
        The World of Late Antiquity, 284- ca. 600

8. Thursday, May 29, Midterm Examination, 6:30-9:50pm

9. Tuesday, June 03, Noble, chapter 8; Einhard & Notker, (complete)
        Early Medieval Civilization, 600-900       

10. Thursday, June 05, Noble, chapters 9 and 10
        The Expansion of Europe in the High Middle Ages, 900-1300
        Medieval Civilization at its Height, 900-1300

11. Tuesday, June 10, Noble, chapter 11, Bennet (compete)
       Crisie and Recovery in Late Medieval Europe, 1300-1500      

12. Thursday, June 12, Noble, chapters 12 and 13
       The Renaissance
       European Overseas Expansion to 1600

13. Tuesday, June 17, Noble, chapters 14 and 15
       The Age of Reformation
       Europe in the Age of Religious Wars, 1560-1648

14. Thursday, June 19, Noble, chapters 16 and 17  [Final Exam Blue Books Due]
        Europe in the Age of Louis XIV, ca. 1640-1715
       A Revolution in Worldview

17. Tuesday, June 24 0 6:30-9:50 pm, Comprehensive Final Exam