Syllabus for History 303 , last taught Fall 2004

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I have three primary goals to accomplish when teaching this class. First, I want to introduce you to the main trends, ideas and events in the history of Europe from the fall of Rome to the Enlightenment. It is important to me that this course provide you with the tools with which to understand the major social issues and cultural themes which have defined concepts of humanity and society in the Western world. Second, I will use this course to attempt to answer the question “what do historians do?” by introducing you to the discipline of history through analysis of a variety of primary source readings. Finally, I stress the development of critical reading, thinking and writing skills for all my students. To this end, you will read several primary source documents and complete several writing assignments over the course of the semester. This is a Writing Intensive course, you will be doing a great deal of writing this semester and the bulk of your grade will be based upon your performance on writing assignments.

This class meets twice weekly. Class periods are designed as multi-media lectures or class discussions. On discussion days be prepared to discuss the readings and raise questions in class. If you have difficulty understanding the reading assignments please ask questions in class or contact me privately during office hours or via e-mail or telephone.
Students are permitted two absences in this course; three or more absences will result in a reduced grade. If you are going through a crisis this semester please let me know, do not wait until assignment due dates have passed to let me know that you are experiencing a problem.

This is a writing intensive course. This semester you will write two formal papers based upon the primary sources that we read, each of these papers will be about 5 pages long, and will be re-written at least once. You will also write a short reaction paper based upon the primary source readings due each time we have a discussion. The reaction papers will be about 2 pages and will not receive a letter grade, you will receive credit for submitting a thoughtful and intelligible essay. You will have a final exam that will consist of two take home essay questions that you will answer in 4 pages or less, due on Monday14 December. The final exam will require that you synthesize the information from lectures, discussions and the readings. ALL DUE DATES ARE FIRM. REACTION PAPERS MAY NOT BE TURNED IN AFTER THE CLASS PERIOD DURING WHICH THEY ARE DUE. LATE PAPERS WILL LOSE ONE FULL LETTER GRADE FOR EACH CLASS PERIOD THEY ARE LATE.

Grade Distribution:
First paper: 30%
Second paper: 30%
10 Reaction papers: 25%
Final exam: 15%

Required Books:
Merry Wiesner, Julius Ruff and William Wheeler, Discovering the Western Past: A Look at the Evidence. 5th edition. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. (0-618-31292-7)

Einhard, The Life of Charlemagne. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1990. Also available at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/einhard.html

Steven Ozment, Magdalena and Balthasar: An Intimate Portrait of Life in 16th Century Europe Revealed in the Letters of a Nuremberg Husband and Wife. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988.

UNIT I THE ANCIENT WORLD
Week One Introduction
9/7 Introduction to History 1

9/9 Introduction to Greek Civilization

Week Two The Greeks
9/14 DISCUSSION – Reaction paper due at beginning of class

9/16 NO CLASS

Readings Discovering the Western Past, Chapter 3
“The Ideal and Reality of Classical Athens”

Week Three The Romans
9/21 Introduction to Roman Civilization

9/23 DISCUSSION – Reaction paper due at beginning of class

Readings Discovering the Western Past, Chapter 4
“The Achievements of Augustus”

UNIT II THE MEDIEVAL WORLD
Week Four The Christians
9/28 The Rise of Christianity

9/30 DISCUSSION – Reaction paper due at beginning of class

Readings Handout
“The Development of Orthodoxy in Early Christianity”

Week Five Medieval Europe: East and West
10/5 The Eastern Empire and the Western Kingdoms

10/7 DISCUSSION – Reaction paper due at beginning of class Invasions

Readings Discovering the Western Past, Chapter 5
“Slave Law in Roman and Germanic Society”
Einhard, The Life of Charlemange

Week Six Politics in the High Middle Ages
10/12 Feudalism in England
Paper due: The Life of Charlemagne

10/14 DISCUSSION – Reaction paper due at beginning of class Invasions

Readings Discovering the Western Past, Chapter 6
“The Development of the Medieval State”

Week Seven Medieval Christianity
10/19 The Church in the High Middle Ages

10/21 DISCUSSION – Reaction paper due at beginning of class Invasions

Readings Discovering the Western Past, Chapter 8
“Infidels and Heretics: Crusades of the High Middles Ages” Week Eight The Medieval Economy and the Black Death
10/26 The Waning of the Middle Ages
Revised Paper due: The Life of Charlemagne

10/28 DISCUSSION – Reaction paper due at beginning of class

Readings Discovering the Western Past, Chapter 9
“Capitalism and Conflict in the Medieval Cloth Trade”

UNIT III THE EARLY MODERN WORLD
Week Nine The Renaissance
11/2 The Italian Renaissance

11/4 DISCUSSION – Reaction paper due at beginning of class

Readings Discovering the Western Past, Chapter 10
“The Renaissance Man and Woman”

Week Ten The Spanish “Golden Age”
11/9 The Rise of Spain

11/11 DISCUSSION – Reaction paper due at beginning of class

Readings Discovering the Western Past, Chapter 11
“Pagans, Muslims, and Christians in the Mental World of Columbus”

Week Eleven The Reformation
11/16 The Protestant Reformations

11/18 DISCUSSION – Reaction paper due at beginning of class

Readings: Discovering the Western Past, Chapter 12
“The Impact of the Reformations: Confessionalization and Social Discipline”
Steven Ozment, Magdalena and Balthasar

Week Twelve Early Modern England
11/23 The English Reformation and the Constitutional Monarchy
Paper Due in class: Magdalena and Balthasar
11/25 NO CLASS

Readings

Week Thirteen Absolutism in France
11/30 Louis XIV and the Absolutist State

12/2 DISCUSSION – Reaction paper due at beginning of class

Readings Discovering the Western Past, Chapter 14
“Staging Absolutism”

Week Fourteen The Enlightenment
12/7 The Enlightenment
Revised Paper Due in class: Magdalena and Balthasar
12/9 DISCUSSION – Reaction paper due at beginning of class

Readings Handout
“The Mind of an Age: Science and Religion Confront Eighteenth Century Natural Disaster”

FINAL EXAM ESSAYS DUE BEFORE NOON - MONDAY 12/14/2002