Page 1 of 2 ● January 7, 2008
H 113 History of Western Civilization I, Section 20522Dr. Thomas A. Mason
Syllabus of ● (317) 274-0570
Spring semester 2008Classroom: Cavanaugh Hall 217
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:30–5:45 PMCubicle: Cavanaugh Hall 313 E
Office Hours: Before and after class and by appointment
Texts(which all students are required to purchase):
Kishlansky, Mark, Patrick Geary, and Patricia O’Brien.A Brief History of Western Civilization: The Unfinished Legacy, volume I: To 1715. 5th edition. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. The 4th edition (2005) is also acceptable.
Xenophon, The Persian Expedition. Translated by Rex Warner with an introduction and notes by George Cawkwell. New York: Penguin Books, 1972.
Bede et al., The Age of Bede. Translated by J. F. Webb, edited with an introduction by D. H. Farmer. New York: Penguin Books, 2004.
Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. Translated with notes by GeorgeBull, introduction by Anthony Grafton. New York: Penguin Books, 2003. (Note that for the analytical essay due on November 29, you have the option of reading and reviewing this book or analyzing a work of art that you see at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. If you choose that latter option, you are not required to purchase the book.)
Course objectives: This course is designed to instill an awareness of the origins and development of Western Civilization from its ancient origins through the early modern period. The course is designed to implement and support the IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learning ( core communication and quantitative skills; critical thinking; integration and appreciation of knowledge; intellectual depth, breadth, and adaptiveness; understanding society and culture; and values and ethics.
Course requirements: You will write reports on Xenophon (a descriptive essay, 500–700 words) and Bede (an explanatory essay, 750–1,000 words). You will also write an analytical essay(750–1,000 words) either on Machiavelli or on a work of art that you see at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. I provide outlines / instruction sheets for these reports / essays, which are due on the dates listed below. I post the outlines / instruction sheets on Oncourse, under the link to “Assignments.”
Quizzes and examinations: There will be three quizzes (short-answer identifications), a mid-semester examination (essay and matching), and a final examination (essay and matching). These will cover the contents of the textbook, lectures, and books assigned for review. The History Department provides bluebooks for quizzes and examinations. I post review sheets for the quizzes and examinations on Oncourse, under the link to “Resources.”
Weighting of course requirements for grade: Quizzes (10% x 3 = 30%); book reviews (10% x 3 = 30%); examinations (15% x 2 = 30%); class participation = 10%.
Attendance: Attendance at lectures is mandatory and directly affects performance on examinations, and unexcused absence will do you no good. I will take the roll of attendance, and class participation will be considered in the calculation of your grade. Except for emergency reasons, makeup examinations will not ordinarily be given. It is up to the decision of the instructor if you will be permitted to make up an examination that you have missed.
Academic Honesty: You warrant and represent that in-class quizzes and examinations, and essays and book reviews prepared outside of class, are your own work. You warrant and represent that any words not within quotation marks, and/or otherwise attributed, are your own. Any variation from this standard becomes a false representation, which is an offense under the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct in the IUPUI Campus Bulletin ( Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class, and I will explain the correct way to acknowledge the words and ideas of others. If you have any questions on this or any other subjects, please ask!
Page 1 of 2 ● January 7, 2008
H 113 History of Western Civilization I, Section 20522Dr. Thomas A. Mason
DateLecture topics (Approximate)Textbook (Kishlansky et al.)
Chapter
January 8TuesdayIntroduction. What is a civilization? Ancients and Moderns
10 ThursdayThe Earliest Civilizations:Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel, Assyria1
15 TuesdayEarly Greece and Persia2
17 ThursdayQuiz(covers chapters 1 and 2)
22 TuesdayClassical and Hellenistic Greece3
24 ThursdayThe World of Xenophon
29 TuesdayRepublican Rome4
31ThursdayBook review (descriptive essay) due: Xenophon
February 5TuesdayImperial Rome 5
7 ThursdayChristian Rome6
12 TuesdayByzantium and Islam7
14 ThursdayQuiz (covers chapters 3–7)
19 TuesdayThe Carolingian Empire8
21 ThursdayThe West Encounters the East: Feudalism and the Crusades9
26 TuesdayReview for Mid-semester Examination
28 ThursdayMid-semester Examination(covers chapters 8–9)
March 4TuesdayThe Plague10
6 ThursdayThe World of Bede
11 TuesdaySpring Break
13 ThursdaySpring Break
18 TuesdayThe Reconquest
20 ThursdayBook review (explanatory essay) due: Bede
25 TuesdayThe Renaissance: The Rediscovery of Antiquity11
27 ThursdayVisit to the IndianapolisMuseum of Art
4000 Michigan Road. Meet inside main entrance.
April 1 TuesdayThe Seaborne Empires: Portugal and Spain 12
3 ThursdayQuiz (covers chapters 10–12)
8 TuesdayThe Reformations: The Rediscovery of the Patristic Age13
10 ThursdayThe World of Niccolò Machiavelli
15 TuesdayThe Wars of Religion and the Thirty Years War14
17 ThursdayAnalytical essay due:
book review of Machiavelli or analysis of work of art
22 TuesdayEconomy and Society in Early Modern Europe15
24 ThursdayAbsolutism and Resistance16
29 TuesdayFinal Examination, 3:30–5:30 PM(covers chapters 13–16).
Note thatexam time is different from our usual meeting time.
Remember:“The past isn’t dead; it isn’t even past.”
—William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun (1951)
“The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.”
—L. P. Hartley, The Go-Between (1953)
“We contend, however, that war is nothing more than a continuation of politics with the mixing in of other means.”
—Carl von Clausewitz, On War (1832)
“Study history. Study history. In history are all the secrets of statecraft.”
—Winston Churchill, The Age of Revolution (1957)
“The supposed ‘clash of cultures’ is in reality nothing more than a manifestation of mutual ignorance.”
—The Aga Khan, Spirit & Life: Masterpieces of Islamic Art from the Aga KhanMuseum Collection (2007)