Western Civilization, Part One
HIST – H 113 (Section #13216)
Fall 2012: 20 August—17 December
Prof. Jon Wood
Class meetings: Monday/Wednesday, 4:30-5:45 p.m.
Cavanaugh Hall (CA), room 215
Office hours: by appointment
Office: Cavanaugh Hall 335 B
Email:
Course Description:
If you’ve got to ask, you’ll never know. So goes a proverbial reply to the question, “what is jazz?” In a related way, we encounter terms like “the Western world” in practically all media every day, and yet many of us tend to assume that the expression must be simply obvious. Or perhaps some of us may worry that if you don’t already “get it” you should just sit back and let other people do it for you. In this class, however, we are going to ask about concepts that we may otherwise be tempted to take for granted. When it comes to Western civilization, there is good hope that by asking, all of us together may actually end up empowered to contribute to the culture around us with a sense of purpose (and maybe even panache).
Our course begins at the most ancient origins of civilization itself and ends around the year 1600. (HIST H 114 continues the story to the present.) Compared to the hundreds of thousands of years of human existence, the whole story of civilization is a mere puddle-jump—quite a manageable scope for a course. In a closer perspective, of course, the journey involves far too much to permit us to dawdle. The particular virtue of any survey course lies in covering a vast horizon in such a way as to help us to consider meaningful trends and relationships as well as our own place on a map where we ourselves are not the starting point. We will observe how features from writing to fighting, and farming, building, praying, paying, and pondering have all contributed to “Western civilization.”
This historical survey will be taught in accordance with the university’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning: http://www.iport.iupui.edu/selfstudy/tl/puls/. Particular emphasis will be placed on PUL #2 (“Critical Thinking”) and PUL #5 (“Understanding Society and Culture”). You will be challenged to consider the complex history and traditions that collectively form the contours of Western civilization.
Required Course Text:
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. 8th ed. Vol. 1, To 1715. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012.
Grades and Course Requirements:
Five quizzes 60% (i.e., 12% each)
Class participation 10%
Final cumulative exam 30%
Quizzes will occur at the conclusion of each of the first five units of this term. The final examination will then cover all six units of the syllabus (i.e., also including the last unit for which there will have been no quiz).
Policy on Class Participation:
Class participation is crucial for your success! Class sessions are an interactive process, requiring your constant alertness and engagement. Attendance will be noted, and every absence after the third unexcused absence will result in a 2-point deduction from your final 10-point participation grade. Class participation also means more than sheer attendance. Even if you attend every session, if you are mentally absent or actively disruptive, your participation grade will suffer. For example, each and every use of a mobile device (for calls, texting, etc.) during class will count as an additional unexcused absence.
NB: Regardless of whether an absence is excused or unexcused, it is your responsibility to get missed lecture notes and to find out about any possible changes or additions to the syllabus from a classmate, not from the professor.
Policy on Late Arrivals and/or Early Departures:
It is disruptive—and highly discouraged—to arrive to class late or leave early. If you know that you must arrive late or leave early because of extraordinary circumstances, please notify the professor in advance.
Other Course Policies:
• For statements on academic conduct and student rights/responsibilities, please see:
http://www.iupui.edu/code
• Students needing accommodations because of a disability will need to register with Adaptive Educational Services (AES) and complete the appropriate forms issued by AES before accommodations will be given. The AES office is located in Taylor Hall, UC 100. You can also reach the office by calling 274-3241. Visit http://aes.iupui.edu/ for more information.
• Students who wish to withdraw from all courses based on emergency circumstances are provided a single point-of-contact so the students (or their proxy) do not have to visit various offices. To withdraw as a result of an emergency, students (or their proxy) should contact: IUPUI Student Advocate Division of Student Life, Campus Center Suite 350, 420 University Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46202; Phone: (317) 278-7594; Fax: (317) 278-9904;
Course Schedule, cf. http://registrar.iupui.edu/enrollment/4128/cal4128.html
I. The Beginning of “Civilization”
20, 22, 27, 29 August, and 5 September (NB: NO CLASS on Mon, 3 September, Labor Day):
Course Introduction
Mesopotamian Transformation
Reading for Today: Spielvogel, pp.1-15
Cultural constants and periodic change along the Nile River
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 15-32
Ebb and Flow east of the Mediterranean
Reading: Spielvogel, pp.33-52
Quiz #1
II. The Titanic Impact of Greek Culture
10, 12, 17, and 19 September:
The road to the ancient Greek polis
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 54-68
Classical culture and decline of city-states
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 68-87
Cosmopolitan Hellenism
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 89-112
Quiz #2
III. The Roman World
24 and 26 September, and 1, 3, and 8 October:
Republican Rome: The Italian Peninsula and Beyond
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 113-126
Collapse of the Republic as a Form of Government
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 126-146
A New Empire ‘saves’ the Old Republic
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 147-160
Imperial culture and the challenge of Christianity
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 160-177
Quiz #3
IV. Transition to the “Medieval” West
10, 17, 22, and 24 October (NB: NO CLASS on Mon, 15 October, Fall Break):
Imperial Transformation and the Germanic Kingdoms
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 179-192
A Christian Empire and the Rise of Islam
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 192-212
Early Medieval Europe
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 214-235
Quiz #4
V. The High and Late Middle Ages
29 and 31 October, and 5, 7, and 12 November:
The High Middle Ages
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 244-271
Church and State: Struggles toward Consolidation
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 273-297
Upheavals of the Later Middle Ages
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 297-321
Church and State: Developments and Conflicts
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 321-339
Quiz #5
VI. Renaissance and Reformation
14, 19, 26, 28 November, and 3 Dec. (NB: NO CLASS on Wed., 21 Nov, Thanksgiving Break)
The perception of decay and assertion of rebirth
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 340-358
Renaissance in art, politics, and papacy
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 358-374
Competing reformations: Protestant emergence and divergence
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 376-395
Anabaptism and Catholic resurgence
Reading: Spielvogel, pp. 395-404
Review Sessions: 5 and 10 December
Final Examination: Monday, 17 December at 3:30 in room CA 215