Table Of Contents:
Introduction
Grading
Schedule
Assignments
Review

Dunbar, 3210
TR, 12:30-1:45pm
Call# 58272

Contact Information: Office Phone: 387-4619
Office Hours: 4407 Friedmann (Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00-3:00pm)
Email Address: mark.veldt@wmich.edu

Required Materials:
Marvin Perry. Western Civilization: A Brief History, Vol. I. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co, 2001.
Textbook Website

Purpose: This course provides an overview of human civilizations up to c.1500 that were the primary cultural ancestors of today’s western societies. Various methods and sources will be used to get to know the peoples, customs, and events associated with these civilizations. You will be encouraged to question the content, meaning, and significance of these sources. The development of these critical skills will make you a more proficient student of history and will also help you in other academic fields.

Course objectives: As a result of this course, you will be able to:
1. Conduct historical research, using methods and resources introduced in the course.
2. Explain and illustrate the difference between primary and secondary historical sources.
3. Identify the key people and events associated with each historical era studied in the course.
4. Demonstrate your understanding of the issues of historical significance discussed in class.

Classroom Expectations (Borrowed from Dr. Judith Stone): Respect and common courtesy are essential to the success of our course. Anything that would distract you or someone else in the class from the lecture or other class activity violates that respect. Arriving late, sleeping in class, packing up early, or leaving before the class is dismissed are inconsiderate to others. Your respect for the rest of us is expected; it will gain you respect in return and is appreciated. Bring your textbook to class with you, do your homework, and be ready to participate in class discussions. Attendance, attention, and participation will help you benefit fully from the course and will have an impact on your grade.

Grading System: (500 points possible)

100 - Assignments
200 - 4 Quizzes @ 50 points each
100 - Cumulative Final Exam
100 - Attendance/Participation

A: 450-500.............. B: 400-429.................... C: 350-379.................... D: 300-329
BA: 430-449........... CB: 380-399.................. DC: 330-349 .................E: 0-299

Academic Integrity: “The professional Concerns Committee of the Faculty Senate recommends that you be aware of the following: You are responsible for making yourself aware of and understanding the policies and procedures in the Undergraduate (pp.271-272) (Graduate pp.24-26) Catalog that pertains to Academic Integrity. These policies include cheating, fabrication, falsification and forger, multiple submission, plagiarism, complicity and computer misuse. If there is reason to believe you have been involved in academic dishonesty, you will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs. You will be given the opportunity to review the charge(s). If you believe you are not responsible, you will have the opportunity for a hearing. You should consult with me if you are uncertain about an issue of academic honesty prior to the submission of an assignment or test.”

Related links:
Office Of Student Conduct: Academic Integrity Page Western Michigan University
Plagiarism and How to Avoid It Maud McInerney, Haverford College

Lecture/Assignment Schedule:

Sep 2 - Introduction to the Course
Sep 4 - Introduction to the Study of History

Sep 9 - Perry, Ch. 1 (4-14) The Ancient Near East: Mesopotamia
Sep 11- Ch. 1 (14-26) ANE: Egypt and Others

Sep 16 - Ch. 2 The Hebrews: Part 1
Sep 18 - The Hebrews: Part 2

Sep 23 - Quiz 1
Sep 25 - Ch. 3 (41-56); Introduction to the History of Greece

Sep 30 - Ch. 3 (56-72); Greek Philosophy and Culture
Oct 2 - Ch. 3 (72-82); The Hellenistic World

Oct 7 - Ch. 4 (85-100) The Rise of the Roman Republic
Oct 9 - Ch. 4 (100-111) The Roman Empire

Oct 14 - Ch. 4 (111-120) The Decline of Rome
Oct 16 - Quiz 2

Oct 21 - Ch. 5 (122-128) Early Christianity: Its Origin
Oct 23 - Ch. 5 (128-136) Early Christianity: Its Early Development

Oct 28 - Ch. 5 (136-140) Beginnings of a Christian Society
Oct 30 - Ch. 6 (144-157) The Rise of Europe

Nov 4 - Ch. 6 (157-169) Medieval Economic and Political Life
Nov 6 - Ch. 6 (169-180) The Church and Society

Nov 11 - Quiz 3
Nov 13 - Ch. 7 (182-195) High Middle Ages

Nov 18 - Ch. 7 (195-207) Late Middle Ages
Nov 20 - Ch. 8 (212-226) The Renaissance

Nov 25 - Ch. 8 (226-241); The Reformation: Part 1
Nov 27 - Thanksgiving Recess

Dec 2 - The Reformation: Part 2
Dec 4 - Quiz 4

Dec 9 - Final Exam: 2:45-4:45

REVIEW:

Quiz 1 Review: Key Terms, People and Ideas to know

General:
Why and how to study history
Paleolothic and Neolothic culture
Aspects of civilization

Mesopotamia:
Cuneiform
Hammurabi's Code
Cities and trade
Inanna and Dumuzi
Characteristics of Mesopotamian religion
Ziggurat
Imitative magic
Geography
Kingship

Egypt:
Hyksos
Hieroglyphics
Pyramids
Sed
Akhenaten and Nefertiti
Nile River
Geography
Pharaohs
Ma'at
Ka, ba, and shadow

Hebrews and Others:
Abraham
Moses
David
Solomon
Babylonian Captivity
Religious Views
Covenant
Scripture/Torah and Talmud
Role of the individual
Prophets and kings
Joshua
Israel and Judah
Hittites
Assyria
Persia
Phoenicians

Quiz 2 Review:

Greece:

Minoans
Mycenaeans
Homer
Hesiod
Thales
Anaximander
Anaximenes
Sophists
Pythagorus
Herodotus
Thucydides
Cleisthenes
Draco
Solon
Pisistratus
Pericles
Persian Wars
Peloponnesian Wars
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Aristarchus
Eratosthenes
Hippocrates
Sappho
Pindar
Archimedes
Epicurus
Zeno
Diogenes
Sophocles
Euripides
Aeschylus
Aristophanes
Philip of Macedon
Alexander the Great
Seleucus

Rome:

Etruscans
Celts
Cathaginians
Hannibal
Marius
Sulla
Cicero
Julius Caesar
Pyrrhus
The Gracchi
Tiberius Casear
Nero
Caligula
Claudius
Vespasian
Titus
Domitian
Nerva
Trajan
Hadrian
Marcus Aurelius
Antoninus Pius
Commodus
Diocletian
Constantine
Plotinus
Attila

Map:

Rome
Athens
Carthage
Sparta
Adriatic Sea
Crete
Cyprus
Danube River
Rhine River
Aegean Sea
Corsica
Sardinia
Sicily
Asia Minor
Black Sea
Constantinople
Locations for settlement of - Lombards, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals, Anglo-Saxons, Franks

"BIG QUESTIONS":

Greece: Geography, Characteristics of Greek culture, Alexander's successors and their achievements

Rome: Geography, Struggle of the Orders, Rise of Augustus, Pax Romana, 3rd Century decline

UNIT 3 REVIEW

Chapter 5: The Rise of Christianity

1. What varying historical perspectives are held by scholars today regarding the historical nature of the Gospels' accounts of the life and death of Jesus?

2. How was the birth of Christianity influenced by its Roman and Jewish contexts?

3. Describe some ways in which secular history and archaeology provide background information which illuminates the acounts found in the Gospels and the book of Acts.

4. Describe how the church viewed the world and how the world viewed the church in the first three centruies of the Christian era. How did each interact with the other?

5.How did Constantine and Augustine influence the development of the Christian church in the 4th-5th centuries?

Chapter 6: The Making of Europe

1. Compare the cultural, economic, and intellectual life of western Europe in the early middle ages to that of its Byzantine and Islamic neighbors.

2. How did the Carolingians gain dominance among the Franks? What was the significance of the papl coronation of Charlemagne?

3. Describe how feudalism and manorialism define the social organization of medieval Europe.

4. How did medieval monks and popes respond to corruption within the church?

5. What were the motivations and consequences of the Crusades?