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SOUTHWESTERN MICHIGAN COLLEGE
SCHOOL/ DIVISION OF ACADEMIC STUDIES
Dowagiac, Michigan
COURSE SYLLABUS
Fall Semester/ Session 2004
COURSE TITLE: Western Civilization I
COURSE NO.: HIST 101
SECTION N0.3201, 3202, 3203
INSTRUCTOR: Stephen E. Jess
OFFICE HOURS: MWF 11:30-12:30 (Dowagiac)
TR
10:30-11:30 (NAC)
PHONE: (269)782-1290
E-MAIL: [email protected]
PREREQUISITE:
none
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Traces the development of the Western tradition from its origins in antiquity to
1715, emphasizing the nature of history and the essential ideas, individuals, and
events responsible for shaping the cultural, political, and economic institutions
of the Western world.
COURSE OUTCOMES:
Students in HIST 101 will be required to demonstrate a working knowledge of
the historical process, including the following: the analysis of historical
documents in terms of relevance and relationship to one another, change and
continuity in similar documents, comparison and contrast of sources, and
evaluation and interpretation of various forms of historical evidence, as well as
an understanding of the major events and movements responsible for shaping
the western world.
TEXTBOOK
Spielvogel, Jackson, Western Civilization. Vol. I: To
REQUIRED:
1715. Fifth Edition. Wadsworth. 2003
OPTIONAL:
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Consult course homepage.
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION:
Interactive lecture/discussion, including Socratic questioning, as well as
cooperative group activities and collaborative class assignments will be
employed as instructional methods in this course.
EVALUATION METHOD:
Upon completion of this course, students will demonstrate achievement of
course goals through successful performance of assigned activities and
assignments, and by obtaining a minimum grade of 70% (representing a grade of
C ) through successful completion of assigned activities and assignments, as
well as performance on examinations.
Final course grades will be determined on the basis of the following:
Three, one-hour exams.......…......... 45%
One comprehensive final exam ...... 15%
Class activities and assignments .... 40%
GRADING SCALE:
90-100%.......... A
80-89%............ B
70-79%............ C
60-69%............ D
below 60%....... F
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Attendance is highly encouraged as a significant amount of material, as well as
skills necessary to successfully complete this course will be acquired through
classroom activities.
TESTING POLICY:
Examinations are to be taken as scheduled. Provisions may be made for Makeup exams: however, there will be a one-week limit on make up exams.
OTHER COURSE
EXPECTATIONS:
No late assignments will be accepted.
HONESTY POLICY
Cheating or plagiarizing will absolutely not be tolerated at Southwestern Michigan College. Any student found
cheating or plagiarizing material in any manner may be assigned a failing semester/ session grade in this course. A
second such incident while at SMC could result in suspension or expulsion from the institution. A student found in
violation of this section of the syllabus will not be allowed to drop this course. Additional detail regarding cheating
and/or plagiarism may be found elsewhere in this syllabus.
NOTICE: Information in this syllabus was, to the best knowledge of the instructor, considered correct and
complete when distributed for use at the beginning of the semester. The instructor, however, reserves the right,
acting within the policies and procedures of Southwestern Michigan College, to make changes in course content or
instructional techniques.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Upon the completion of this course, the learner will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the following:
The general goal of the course is to introduce the student to the historical process and in particular Western
Civilization which forms the basis of our contemporary society and culture. In order to achieve this general goal, the
instructional process will concentrate upon the study of Western History through three developmental stages:
Antiquity, the Middle ages, and the Early Modern period, surveying the significant political, religious, economic,
social, and intellectual themes that mark the evolution of the Western World. In their course of study, students will
be required to fulfill the following general course objective:
1. To display an understanding of the nature, limitations, and value of history.
2. To define Western civilization and to describe the origins of the Western experience.
3. To identify the significant features and contributions of the major cultures and societies considered in this
course.
4. To analyze the interrelationship of political, religious, economic, social, and intellectual factors that
have combined to produce the history of Western society.
5. To analyze the conditions and forces responsible for producing change and for controlling the rate of
change from one historical period to the next.
6. To describe the motivational factors that have induced individuals to respond as they did to the various forces
acting upon them through out the course of Western history.
7. To relate present institutions, conditions, and events to their historical antecedents while evaluating the
role on continuity and change in the progression of Western history.
1.
2.
In addition, students will be required to exhibit knowledge of the following specific content objectives:
To be aware of factors involved in the emergence of the first civilizations.
To recognize the characteristics of a society possessing a civilization.
3.
To become familiar with the major contributions of the Near Eastern and Egyptian civilizations to the
emergence and evolution of the Western civilization.
4.
To be cognizant of the role of Hellenic civilization, and Christianity in the course of Western history, and
the evolution of Western society.
To demonstrate an understanding of the significant events and individuals involved in t he history of
Europe during the Middle Ages as well as the structure of the major social institutions of the Western world
during Medieval times.
6. To know the significance of the major cultural movements of Medieval Europe, and their impact upon the
course of Western history.
7. To demonstrate knowledge of the changes occurring in Western society that marked the end of the
Middle Ages and the onset of the Early Modem Period.
8. To relate the major movements of the Early Modern Period, including the Renaissance and Reformation,
the Scientific Revolution, the Voyages of Discovery and Exploration, and the Enlightenment, as well as the
Rise of Absolute Monarch in France and the Triumph of Constitutionalism in England to the course of
Western history and the structure of Western society in modern times.
9. To assess and describe the significance of the Western experience for contemporary American
society, illustrating the ways in which this society represents an outgrowth of that experience.
10. To comment upon the consequences of the Western experience for global history.
5.
11. To reflect upon literature, music, the visual arts, and architecture as they relate to the Zeitgeist of a
given era.
12. To compare and contrast the Weltanschauung of the ancient and Medieval worlds with that of
contemporary Western society.
COURSE OUTLINE
Week:
1
Chapters:
I. Survey of Ancient History
A. Prehistory
B. The Emergence of Civilization
l. The city-states of Sumer
a. The evolution of Sumerian civilization
b. The Sumerian contribution
Spielvogel,
Chap. 1-2
2. Egypt
a. The development of Egyptian society
b. The scope of Egyptian culture
2
3. Near Eastern People and Empires
a. Babylonians and Assyrians
b. The Hebrews and the emergence of Judaism
c. The Persian empire
3
C. The Birth of Western Civilization
1. The Greek Experience
a. Minoan and Mycenaen Civilizations
b. Hellenic Civilizations
1. The polis
2. Athens and Sparta
3. Intellectual Foundations of the West
c. Hellenistic Civilization
l. The Empire of Alexander the Great
2. Significance for the Western world
4
5
6
7
2. Rome: From Republic to Empire
a. Rome and Romans
b. The Roman Republic
1. Expansion and Democratization
2. Decline of the Republic
c. The Roman Empire
1. Imperial Rome
2. Roman Contributions to Civilization
3. The Advent of Christianity
a. The Emergence of Christianity
1. The Life and Death of Jesus
2. The Spread of Christianity
3: St. Paul and Christian Theology
b. The Early Christian Church
4. The End of Antiquity
a. Decline of Greco-Roman Civilization
b. The Fall of the Roman Empire in the West
II. The Middle Ages
A. The Germanic Successor States
l. The Germanic Tribes
2. Germanic Kingdoms
a. Theodoric and Ostrogoths
b. Clovis and Franks
c. Anglo-Saxons in England
Spielvogel,
Chap. 3-4
Spielvogel,
Chap. 5-6
Spielvogel,
Chap. 7-8
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
B. Medieval Civilization: The Roman-Germanic Synthesis
l. The Carolingians
a. The Early Carolingians
b. Charlemagne
c. The Carolingian Empire
d. The Carolingian Renaissance
2. The Manorial System
3. The Feudal System
4. The Medieval Church and Papacy
5. Islam and the Christian Crusade
a. Causes and Course of the Conflict
b. Consequences for European Society
6. Economic and Social Revival
a. Revival of Trade and Towns
b. Emergence of the Middle Class
7. The Rise of the Feudal Monarchy
a. Feudal Monarchy in France
b. Norman Feudalism in England
c. The Failure of Feudalism in the Holy Roman Empire
C. Waning of the Middle Ages
1. Political, Social and Economic Problems of the late
Medieval Church and Papacy
III. Early Modern Europe
A. Origins of Modern Europe
1. New Monarchy and the National State
2. Countries:
a. Spain
b. France
c. England
d. The failure of Nationalism in Germany and Italy
Spielvogel,
Chap. 9-11
Spielvogel,
Chap. 12
Sielvogel,
Chap. 12-13
3. Economic Change and European Expansionism
a. Commercial, Capitalism and the Mercantile System
b. The Age of Discovery
c. Toward European Global Domination
4. Europe in Transition: Renaissance and Reformation
a. The Italian and Northern Renaissance Movements
b. The Protestant Reformation
c. The Catholic counterreformation
d. The Wars of Religion
B. Europe in the Age of Absolutism
1. The Success of Royal Absolutism in France
2. The Triumph of Constitutionalism in England
3. Central and Eastern Europe
Spielvogel,
Chap. 14
C. Toward the Modem Western World
l. The European Quest for Empire
2. The Scientific Revolution3. The Enlightenment
4. The Eye of Revolution
Spielvogel,
Chap. 16
IV. Synthesis and Conclusion
Spielvogel,
Chap. 15
Course Assignments
Assignment 1: A Study In Historical Evidence
Assignment 2: Alphabets of the Ancient World
Assignment 3: Society and Law
Assignment 4: Greek Government
Assignment 5: Rome: From Republic to Empire
Assignment 6: Law Codes and Legal Principles
Assignment 7: Triumph of Christianity
Assignment 8: Christian Belief: the Nicene Creed
Assignment 9: Reading Ancient Documents
Assignment10: Feudalism in Medieval Europe
Assignment 11: The Rise of Papal Monarchy
Assignment 12: Europe in the Renaissance
Assignment 13: Reading Original Documents
Assignment 14: The English Bill of Rights
A:/Western Civ I, syl 12/08/03