Fall 2003
Office:
Dr. Martin Secker Office hours: TTh 1:30-2:30
Class hours: TR
Email: mdsec@lycos.com
Course website: http://mdsec.tripod.com The weekly reading schedule, links to online readings and websites, and handouts will all be posted on the website. You will need to check it continually.
Course weblog: https://mdsec.tripod.com/four Announcements, changes, writing prompts,
discussion questions, and other course materials will be posted here. A link to
the log will be on the online syllabus, or you can type the address directly.
Course Forum- This venue is provided as a place for you to pose questions, discuss course materials, and assignments with other students, as well as with me. If you are having problems with a text or a topic, or have questions about something, this is the place the throw out the issue for discussion. The use is the forum is purely optional for this class. It is simply there to facilitate the exchange of information and a limited kind of cooperative effort or study.
Required Texts:
We will also read extensively from primary sources in handouts and on the internet.
This course is designed to provide
an overview of the roots and early development of what later will become
western civilization. Along the way, the student will have the opportunity to
acquire a superficial familiarity with civilization in the early
Upon completion of the course students will be able to demonstrate an
understanding of:
Ø The origins and roots of western civilization.
Ø The contributions of different peoples and cultures to the mix that eventually becomes a whole new civilization in western Europe.
Ø The chief characteristics of the institutions and value systems of the societies studied here.
Ø The processes of change and development within societies and civilizations.
Ø The complex interplay of value systems, social structure, geography and ecology, technology, economics, and political institutions in human societies.
Ø How societies and civilizations have confronted issues of diversity and cultural differences within their populations.
Students will also be able to demonstrate:
Ø University-level methods of historical inquiry, text interpretation, analytical writing, and critical thinking.
Ø The ability to reflect upon their own lives in the light of world history.
Attendance is required. You are allowed four absences without penalty. Each absence beyond that will result in a one grade reduction in your course grade. With eight absences you automatically fail this course.
Class preparation and participation. I expect students to come to class each day having read thoroughly all materials assigned for that day and ready to discuss the topics covered that day. Consistent thorough preparation will greatly help your grasp of the sometimes complex subject of this class, and will improve the chemistry within the classroom making the class itself a better learning experience. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to be mentally “into” this course.
Text glosses- (5%) Each student must submit brief glosses of required source readings four times during the semester. These glosses will be the basis for class discussions of the texts. Assignment specifics to follow.
Internet/website sources and commentaries. (15% = 2 x 7.5%): 1) Art or music sample. Each student must submit at least one example of art from one of the cultures under study in this class in the time periods covered by this class. You must also provide a brief commentary on the example, and identify the website (URL) from which it comes. 2) Description of and commentary on a website dealing with some aspect of western civilization prior to 1600 C.E. The website must be fully identified. This website must not be used for either the Art/Music. Assignment specifics to follow.
Responses to prompts (5%): Writing prompts will be posted for each week’s readings. You must respond in writing to a prompt from five weeks throughout the semester.
Extended analyses of writers and documents (20%- 2 x 10%). You are allowed to use one the writers and documents assigned for our readings. You may use other writers or documents, but these choices must be approved by the instructor in advance.
Exams (55%) There will be two exams- a midterm (20%) and a final exam (35%). Please note: You must average a passing grade on the exams to pass the course!!! There are no make-up exams without an acceptable, verifiable, written excuse, or unless arranged in advance.
Assignment sheet: History 4 assignments
All your work should be kept in a portfolio throughout the
semester and resubmitted at the end of the semester.
Written work is due at the beginning of class on the due date. Late work is accepted, but a one grade penalty is applied for each day (not each class period) it is late, beginning at the end of class.
Course grades are determined on a 1000 point scale. Weight is given to assignments according to the above percentages. For instance, the journal is worth 300 points.
900-1000=A 600-699 =D
800-899 =B Less than 600=F
700-799 =C
Resources on the
Web
Writing Guides: Brown
University; Carney;
Bowdoin
College
History texts: Internet History Sourcebook Project; world civilizations; Internet Sacred Text Archive; Perseus Project; Internet Classics Library; The Latin Library; Forum Romanum; From
Primitives to Zen (Eliade site); Exploring Ancient World Cultures;
The Labyrinth; ORB: the Online Reference Book for Medieval
Studies; NetSERF; WWW Virtual Library
for Medieval Studies
Online textbook: http://fsmitha.com/index.html
Weekly
Schedule
Week 1
9/2
Introduction. Early human
history and the first civilizations
9/4 Gilgamesh,
Perry, 4-18;
Primary sources: Proverbs from Ki-en-gir; Gilgamesh:the Flood Story; Code of Hammurabi;
The Precepts of Ptahhotep; The Dead Pharoah Becomes Osiris;
The Dead Pharoah Ascends to Heaven; Egyptian Love Poetry
Week 2
9/9
Hittites, Hebrews, Assyrians and Persians- the Evolution of Near Eastern
Civilization.
Perry, 18-28;
Primary sources: Code of the Nesilim; Code of the Assyrians;
Accounts of the
Campaign of Sennacherib; Exodus (ch.
19-22)
Handouts: Ancient Mesopotamia
9/11
Snake Goddesses and Homeric Heroes: Civilization Reaches
Perry, 39-42;
Primary sources: Iliad, excerpts
Week 3
9/16 Man is a Political Animal- rise of the polis
Perry, 42-46
Primary sources: The Funeral Oration of Pericles; The Spartan Constitution; Antigone, excerpts;
Solon; Poems of Sappho; Greek Lyric Poets
Handout: Polis
9/18 Greek religion and values
Primary sources: Accounts of Greek Religion; A Homeric Sacrifice for the Dead; Hesiod- Theogony
Week 4
9/23 Women, Slaves, Mules and Sophists- The Fifth Century
Perry, 48-52, 56-59; 65-69
Primary sources: On Greek Women; Herodotus, on Persians and Greeks
9/25 Useless Questions, Self-knowledge, and the Cave
Perry, 59-65
Primary sources: Greek materialists; Euthyphro (first three selections); Apology
Week 5
9/30 “Revolution Thus Ran Its Course From City to City, . . . “- the Breakdown of the Polis
Perry, 52-53
Primary sources: Thucydides, on the civil war in Corcyra; Melian Dialogue
10/2 Alexander Cuts the Gordian Knot
Perry, 53-54, 70-81
Week 6
10/7 Elephants over the
Perry, 82-89
Primary sources: Livy, excerpts
10/9 Lucretia and the XII Tables: Virtue and Law in Early
Perry, 91-92
Primary sources: the Twelve Tables; Polybius
Handouts: Roman Terms
Week 7
10/14
Perry, 92-97
Primary sources: The Cataline Conspiracy; Catullus
10/16 The Last of the Old Romans?
Perry, 97-108
Primary sources: The End of the Republic; Augustus
Week 8
10/21
“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” –
Third Century.
Perry, 108-111
Primary sources: Apuleius; Apuleius 2; Tacitus, on Adoption; Pliny the Younger; Marcus Aurelius- Meditations; Aurelian's conquest of Palmyra;
10/23 A New Religion, a New Capital, a New Society?
Perry, 111-118
Primary sources: Herodian of Syria; Efforts to control the economy; Battle of Adrianople; Conversion of Constantine; Ambrose; Alaric's Sack of Rome; Sidonius;
Week 9
10/28
Perry, 119-136
Primary sources: Matthew 10:1-42; Matthew 24:3-31; Faith and the Law; Accusations against Christians; Tertullian; Two Cities;
10/30 The Prophet, Veils, Peoples of the Book, and the Survival of Empire
Perry, 138-143
Primary sources: Selections from the Qur'an; Sunnah; Byzantium and the Arabs
Handout: Early Islam
Week 10
11/4 Wergeld, the Consolation of Philosophy, and the Roman Shepard
Perry, 143-148
Primary sources: On Attila; Battle of Chalons; Tacitus;
Gregory of Tours; Salic Law; Life of St. Benedict; Life of St. Boniface11/6
Charlemagne and the Making of
Perry, 148-152
Primary sources: Einhard; Capitulary de villis; de litteris colendis
Week 11
11/11 Lords, Vassals: Freedom, Service and Obligation
Perry, 152-154
Primary sources: Feudal capitularies; Mutual obligations; Feudal agreement; Granting fiefs; Fiefs and obligations
Handout: Terms- Middle Ages
11/13 Manors, Fairs, Merchants, and the Rise of Towns
Primary sources: Description of a manor house; Privileges of London; Manorial pleas; Wharram Percy; Grant of privileges; Charter for the town of St. Omer;
Week 12
11/18 Monks, Saints, Popes, and St. Peter’s Keys
Perry, 164-173
Primary sources: Unam Sanctam; Clericos laicos
11/20 “How to live in this world, but for the next?” Patron saints, Crusades, investiture, and marriage.
Perry,
Primary sources: Urban II; Concordat of Worms;
Week 13
11/25 Heloise and the Doctors
Perry, 176-186
Primary sources: Abelard's Misfortunes; Heloise's letter to Abelard; Sic et Non; Anselm on God's Existence
11/27 The Tomb, the Light, and the Troubadours
Perry, 186-186-189
Primary sources:
Week 14
12/2 Rats, Plague, and Dislocation: Social and Economic Reorganization
Perry, 189-191, 260-266, 195-200
Primary sources:
12/4 New Worlds and New Monarchies: Reexamining Authority
Perry, 236-239, 254-260
Primary sources: The Prince; Columbus; Da Gama
Week 15
12/9 Schisms, Mystics and Reformers
Perry, 191-194, 218-234
Primary sources:
12/11 Beatrice, Lucretia, and Mona Lisa
Perry, 194-195, 204-218
Primary sources: Letter to Cangrande; Life of da Vinci; Oration on the Dignity of Man