History 101A: Roots of the Western Experience
Fall 2012: MWF 11:00-11:50am (Wyatt 101)
Instructor: Katherine Smith
Email:
Office phone: (253) 879-3906 (ext. 3906)
Office hours: Wyatt 142 / Tues. 11:00-1:00 and Fri. 12:00-1:00
(and other times by appointment)
Course Description: Regardless of whether we as individuals identify ourselves as “Westerners,” we live in a cultural environment informed by the historical development of Western civilizations in premodern Europe and neighboring areas. By studying the origins of human civilization and tracing the historical trajectory of the West up to modern times, we can gain a better understanding of the political, social, and legal world in which we live, and hopefully gain the wisdom that comes from historical perspective.
This course will introduce you to the Western historical traditions that trace their roots back to the earliest human settlements in the Near East approximately six thousand years ago. We will take a chronological and thematic approach to the history of Europe and its neighbors from the ancient world through the medieval and early modern periods, ending in the mid-sixteenth century. The class will focus on identifying key social, political, economic, and religious attributes of each culture we encounter, so that we will able to make meaningful comparisons. To this end, we will consider a number of themes throughout the semester, including models of political organization and rulership, perceptions of individual rights and responsibilities, the definition of oneself or one’s own community in relation to outsiders or ‘others,’ and conceptions of deities and divine power.
Course Objectives:All students will have the opportunity to
- improve their analytical skills by engaging with a variety of historical sources in class discussions and through written assignments;
- become familiar with the chronological development of the West from the beginnings of recorded history through the mid-sixteenth century, and be able to identify and compare key elements of past cultures;
- andgain a better understanding of the historical origins of the institutions, ideologies, and conflicts that shape the world of the present.
Requirements and Evaluation:
Participation (including attendance): Class discussion is not a spectator sport! In order to do well – and, just as importantly, get something out of the course – it is crucial to keep up with the readings, and to come to class with the assigned texts in hand, ready to discuss them. For each day’s readings, I have included questionsthatwill help you prepare for our discussions. As you read, jot down possible responses, note relevant passages in the assigned sources, formulate new questions of your own, and you will be well prepared for class.
Quizzes: We will have one regularly scheduled quiz, a map quiz during the second week of class which constitutes 5% of your course grade, plus five pop quizzes on assigned reading, to be given over the course of the semester at my discretion. Assuming you take all five pop quizzes, I will discount your lowest quiz grade and average your best four quizzes for 10% of your final grade. There will be no make-up pop quizzes. If you miss one pop quizz, your quiz grade will be the average of the five quizzes you took.
Two Formal Essays: Each of thetwo essay assignments (of 4-5 double-spaced pages each) will ask you to do a sustained close reading of at least two primary sources we have read and discussed as a group, and to use your knowledge of the historical contexts in which the sources were produced to present and support a thesis. Please note that the schedule of classes lists three essay assignments, each with a firm due date. Choose two of the three questions to write on. I will provide you with more detailed guidelines on the essay assignments before the first question is due.
Two Exams: The midterm and final exam will ask you to synthesize a great deal of material, reflecting on the various civilizations we’ve studied and considering the relationship between different time periods and cultures. Both exams will contain short essays, as well as identifications of primary source quotations and key terms. The short essay questions will be taken directly from the prep questions listed in the schedule of readings, and the term IDs will likewise come from the terms listed below each class. I will also expect you to know the dates listed in the syllabus, as well as the approximate dates (e.g., late 14th century) of select primary sources. Make-up exams will not be given. If you require additional time, you must provide me with documentation early in the semester so we can make arrangements for you to take the exams at the Center for Writing, Learning, & Teaching.
Texts: The texts listed below are required for the class and may be purchased at the bookstore. With the exception of the first two titles, copies of these texts are available on two-hour Library Reserve, though note that some of the reserve editions are different.
- Joshua Cole, Carole Symes, Judith Coffin and Robert Stacey, Western Civilizations: Their History and Culture, Vol. 1, 3rd brief edn. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2011)
- Marvin Perry, ed., Sources of the Western Tradition, Vol. 1: From Ancient Times to the Enlightenment, Brief Edition (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
- Gilgamesh: A New English Version, trans. Stephen Mitchell (Free Press, 2006)
- Plato and Aristophanes, Four Texts on Socrates, rev. ed., trans. Thomas G. West and Grace Starry West (Cornell University Press, 1998)
- Tacitus, The Agricola and the Germania, rev. ed., trans. H. Mattingly (Penguin, 1970)
- Beowulf, trans. Seamus Heaney (Norton, 2000)
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, trans. Bernard O’Donoghue (Penguin, 2007)
- Petrarch, Selections from the Canzoniere and Other Works, trans. Mark Musa (Oxford, 1985)
Doing the Reading:The Western Civilizations textbook is intended to give you a basic understanding of the different cultures and periods the course covers. Daily assigned readings are not usually long, but they are dense and difficult to skim, since even short sections cover a lot of ground. Textbook readings are not a substitute for attending class; lectures and discussions may use material covered in the textbook as a point of departure, but will typically introduce a substantial amount of new information.
The Sources of the Western Tradition is a collection of primary sources (sources written in the periods under study in the course) that will introduce you to the wide range of materials employed by historians of early European history. We will read at least one –often more than one – primary source per class, and these texts will serve as the basis for class discussion and written assignments. In addition to the Sources of the WT, we will read several primary sources in their entirety. Primary sources are historians’ bread and butter, and we will spend a great deal of time learning how to read primary sources with a critical and historically informed eye.
Other Policies:
Attendance:Regular attendance is essential to your success in this course, and you will find that I take attendance every day. I understand that illness and emergencies do occur in the course of a fourteen-week semester, and will not penalize you for missing three (or fewer) classes. If, however, you miss more than this generous allotment, be advised that I will deduct ½ letter grade from your participation grade for each additional absence. If you become gravely ill or have a family emergency that takes you out of class for several days, please provide me with documentation (or have the Office of Advising contact all your professors) so I can excuse these absences. Be advised that I reserve the right to withdraw any student from the class for excessive unexcused absences, normally defined as more than 6 absences over the course of the semester. The last day to withdraw from class with an automatic ‘W’ is Monday, Oct. 8th; students who withdraw after this date will normally receive a ‘WF.’
Academic Honesty: All students are expected to abide by the guidelines concerning academic honesty outlined in the Logger (at Violations of honesty in research (i.e., inventing or falsifying sources or data) or writing (i.e., borrowing the arguments or words of others without attribution), or the defacing or destruction of library materials will result in a grade of ‘0’ for the assignment in question and, at the instructor’s discretion, dismissal from the course.
Emergency Information: Please review university emergency preparedness and response procedures posted at There is a link on the university home page. Familiarize yourself with hall exit doors and the designated gathering area for your class and laboratory buildings. If building evacuation becomes necessary (e.g., earthquake), meet your instructor at the designated gathering area so she/he can account for your presence. Then wait for further instructions. Do not return to the building or classroom until advised by a university emergency response representative. If confronted by an act of violence, be prepared to make quick decisions to protect your safety. Flee the area by running away from the source of danger if you can safely do so. If this is not possible, shelter in place by securing classroom or lab doors and windows, closing blinds, and turning off room lights. Stay low, away from doors and windows, and as close to the interior hallway walls as possible. Wait for further instructions.
Schedule of Classes_(NB:readingsare listed belowthe dates on which they are due)___
(Mon) Aug. 27th – Introduction: What is Civilization? What is ‘the West’?
- There’s no assigned reading for today, but for additional background on material covered in class you may wish to consult Western Civilizations, 3-7.
Q: What factors may have influenced the creation of the first permanent human settlements? Can
we see this shift from an unsettled to a settled way of life as progress? Why or why not?
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Unit 1: The Ancient Near East
(Wed) Aug. 29th – Mesopotamia: The Cradle of the Bronze Age
History 101 syllabus!
Western Civilizations, 7-16
Sources of the WT, xv-xvi
Sources: Sources of the WT, ch. 1, no.2: Code of Hammurabi
Gilgamesh, trans. Mitchell, 1-7 (intro) and69-90 (text)
terms: lugal, ziggurat, cuneiform
dates: c.2000, c.1750 B.C.E.
Q: Are the social and political structures and values described by the Code of Hammurabi reflected
inthe epic of Gilgamesh, and vice versa?
(Fri) Aug. 31st – Close Reading: The Epic of Gilgamesh, cont.
Source: Gilgamesh, trans. Mitchell, 91-199
Q: What is the meaning of life, as expressed in the second half of Gilgamesh? Do you see this as an
optimistic or a pessimistic view? Why?
(Mon) Sept. 3rd – Labor Day (no class)
(Wed) Sept. 5th – Ancient Egypt *MAP QUIZ TODAY*
Western Civilizations, 17-33
Sources: Sources of the WT, ch. 1, nos. 3-4: hymns to the Pharaohs & Akhenaten
terms: pharaoh, ma’at, Hyksos
dates: c.1550 B.C.E.
Q: How did the pharaonic model of rulership develop and change over the course of the Bronze
Age? Was Egyptian civilization fundamentally inward- or outward-looking?
(Fri)Sept. 7th – The Ancient Hebrews and their Neighbors
Western Civilizations,42-55
Sources: Sources of the WT, ch. 1, nos. 6-8: excerpts from the Hebrew Bible
Assyrian inscriptions (Western Civilizations, 48-49)
terms: Neo-Assyrian Empire, Zoroaster, Babylonian Captivity
dates: c.1000, 586 B.C.E.
Q: Was the Neo-Assyrian Empire inherently strong or weak? To what extent did the Hebrews’
sustained contacts with other Iron Age cultures shape their religion and related social values?
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Unit 2: The Ancient Greeks
(Mon) Sept. 10th – The Rise of the Polis
Western Civilizations,56-68
Sources: Sources of the WT, ch. 2, no. 1: excerpts from the Iliad
Poetry by Tyrtaeus and Sappho (Western Civilizations, 65 and 67)
terms: polis (pl. poleis), Panhellenism, hoplites
date: 776 B.C.E.
Q: Describe the relationship between inter-polis warfare, military service, and citizenship in Archaic
Greece. Might the concept of citizenship would have developed differently (or at all) in a peaceful land with unlimited natural resources?
(Wed) Sept. 12th – Greece in the Fifth Century B.C.E.: Crisis and Innovation
Western Civilizations, 68-81
Sources: Sources of the WT, ch. 2, nos. 2: Critias (p.33 only),4 and 6: Thucydides
terms: Persian Wars, Peloponnesian War, Sophists
dates: 490, 480, 411 B.C.E.
**Emergency Evacuation Drill Today from 11:40-11:55am**
Q: How did the Persianinvasionsset the stage for the Peloponnesian War? What can Thucydides’
work tell us about the relationship between rhetoric and politics in Golden Age Athens?
(Fri) Sept. 14th – Close Reading: Plato, The Apology of Socrates
Source:Plato, Apology of Socrates, in Four Texts on Socrates, 16-24 (intro) and 63-97 (text)
date: 399 B.C.E.
Q: How does Plato shape our perception of Socrates’ character and mission in his Apology? If you
were a citizen of Athens in 399, do you think you would have seen Socrates as Plato did?
(Mon) Sept. 17th – Close Reading: Aristophanes, The Clouds
Source:Aristophanes, The Clouds, in Four Texts on Socrates, 29-37 (intro) and 115-76 (text)
Q: In what ways does the Socrates of The Cloudsresemble the Socrates of Plato’s Apology? Can you
discern any serious messages behind Aristophanes’ bawdy humor?
(Wed) Sept. 19th – The Hellenistic World
Western Civilizations, 88-105
Sources:Sources of the WT, ch. 2, no. 10: Plutarch and Epicurus
Arrian on Alexander (Western Civilizations, 93)
terms: Alexander the Great, Epicureanism, Stoicism
date: 323 B.C.E.
Q: How would you define Alexander’s model of rulership? How might it have evolved had he lived
longer? What roles did Hellenism, syncretism and philosophy play in the creation of new cultures throughout Alexander’s empire after his death?
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Unit 3: Rome
(Fri) Sept. 21st – The Rise of the Roman Republic
Western Civilizations, 106-117
Sources: Sources of the WT, ch. 3, nos.1 and 4: Polybius, Livy, and Quintus Lucretius Vespillo
Polybius on ancestor-worship (Western Civlizations, 113)
terms: Struggle of the Orders, Punic Wars, latifundia
date: 287, 146 B.C.E.
Q: How did republican values shape Romans’ approach to civic duty and family obligations? What
challenges did Rome’s expansion pose to the government and society of the Republic?
(Mon)Sept. 24th – Civil War and the End of the Republic
Western Civilizations, 117-125
Sources: Sources of the WT, ch. 3, no. 5: Plutarch, Cicero, and Sallust on Republican crises
Two Views of Augustus (Western Civilizations, 122-23)
terms: Gracchi,triumvirate, principate
dates: 122, 44, 27 B.C.E.
Q:Why did Augustus succeed where Caesar and others had failed? How much was his success due to
his personal approach to one-man rule, and how much to external factors?
(Wed) Sept. 26th – Close Reading: Tacitus,Agricola
Western Civilizations, 125-31
Source: Tacitus, The Agricola, 13-24 (intro) and 53-73, 79-99 (excerpts of text)
terms: Pax Romana
date: 84 C.E.
Q: What qualities does Tacitus admire in his father-in-law, Agricola? As a celebration of a Roman
conqueror, can the Agricola give us any insights into how Rome’s conquered peoples
experienced the Pax Romana?
(Fri) Sept. 28th –Close Reading: Tacitus, Germania
Source: Tacitus, The Germania, 24-34 (intro) and 101-41 (full text)
Q: How does Tacitus define the Germanic tribes in terms of civilization and barbarism? To what
extent is Tacitus concerned with Roman, as well as Germanic, culture in the Germania?
(Mon) Oct. 1st –The Beginnings of Christianity
Western Civilizations, 132-141
Sources:Sources of the WT, ch. 4, no. 1: excerpts from the Gospels
Excerpt from Acts of the Apostles (Western Civilizations, 138)
Letters between Pliny the Younger and Trajan (Western Civilizations, 140-41)
terms: Pharisees, martyrdom, ekklesia
dates: c.30, 67 C.E.
Q: In what ways did early Christianity challenge Roman values and the social and political order of the
Roman world? What factors might account for the appeal of Christianity to particular groups?
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Unit 4: Late Antiquity
(Wed) Oct. 3rd– Pagans and Christians in a Changing World
Western Civilizations, 142-150
Sources: Sources of the WT, ch. 4, nos. 2-3: Tertullian, Clement, and Jerome
Symmachus defends traditional Roman religion (Western Civilizations, 149)
terms: tetrarchy, Edict of Milan, Visigoths
dates: 293, 313, 410 C.E.
Q:To what extent did the Christian Church accommodate itself to Roman values in the third through
fifth centuries? Conversely, how did the triumph of Christianity transform Rome?
(Fri) Oct. 5th – The End of the Western Empire
Western Civilizations, 150-155
Sources: Sources of the WT, ch. 3, no. 9: Salvian, Jerome, and Gregory Ion the fall of Rome
ch. 4, nos. 3: Benedictine Rule6: Augustine, The City of God
terms: monasticism, Vulgate,Augustine
date: 476 C.E.
Q: Did the Western Roman Empire fall, or was it pushed? How did the invasions of the fourth and
fifth centuries shape the worldview of learned Christians?
(Mon) Oct. 8th –Rome’s Survival in the East: Byzantium
Western Civilizations, 156-64
Sources: Sources of the WT, ch. 5, no. 1: Theophylact Simocattes, Reason and History
Debating the power of icons (Western Civilizations, 162-63)
terms: Justinian, Corpus Iuris Civilis, Iconoclastic Controversy
dates: 527, 717 C.E.
Q: How did the consciousness of being Roman shape Byzantine culture and imperial policy in the
sixth through eighth centuries?
(Wed) Oct. 10th– Midterm Review
There’s no assigned reading today, so use this time to begin reviewing for the midterm!
(Fri)Oct. 12th – Midterm Exam
(Mon)Oct. 15th – Fall Break (no class)
(Wed) Oct. 17th – The Rise of Islam
Western Civilizations, 164-69
Sources: Sources of the WT, ch. 5, nos. 2-3:surasfrom the Qur’an & Avicenna, On Learning
Sura 81 (Western Civilizations, 165)
terms: Hijrah, umma, Umayyad caliphate
dates: 622, 632 C.E.
Q: What factors enabled Muhammad’s heirs to conquer much of the former Roman Empire in under
a century? In what ways were the early caliphs the heirs of Rome?
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Unit 5: Early Medieval Europe
(Fri) Oct. 19th –Rome’s Heirs in the West: the Roman Church and Germanic Kingdoms
Western Civilizations, 169-74