Spring 2016: MWF 10:00-10:50 (Weyerhaeuser 217)

History 101: The Rise of European Civilization

Spring 2016: MWF 10:00-10:50 (Weyerhaeuser 217)

Professor Katherine Smith

email:

phone: (253) 879-3906 (ext. 3906)

office hours: Wyatt 142, Mon. 1:00-2:00, Thurs. 9:00-11:00

*and by appointment (please email me to set up a time)

Course description: This course serves as an introduction to European history from the fourth to seventeenth centuries. Rather than offering a year-by-year account of historical events, the course introduces students to the political structures, socioeconomic developments, and belief systems that shaped people’s lives, and aims to convey a sense of the texture of lived experience during the late antique, medieval, and early modern periods. Themes we will address include: the transformation of the Roman world in Late Antiquity; interactions between Rome’s three heirs (the Latin West, Byzantium, and the Islamic world); the relationship between secular and religious authorities in various periods; and the intellectual revolutions of the Renaissance and Reformation. Satisfies the Humanistic Approaches core.

Goals of the course: All students will have the opportunity to

·  cultivate the basic skill-set of the historian: reading primary sources closely, using them to make historically-minded arguments, and identifying and engaging with the claims of other historians;

·  improve their analytical skills by engaging with a variety of sources in class discussions and written assignments;

·  become familiar with the history of Europe from the fourth to seventeenth centuries, and be able to identify and compare key elements of past European cultures;

·  and gain a better understanding of the historical origins of the institutions, ideologies, and conflicts that shape our world in the present.

Texts: The required books listed below are available at the bookstore. Some additional readings will be found on our course’s Moodle site and on the web, as noted in the schedule of classes.

·  Michael Burger, The Shaping of Western Civilization, Vol. 1: From Antiquity to the Mid-Eighteenth Century (University of Toronto Press, 2014)

·  Sources of the Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, Vol. 1: To 1750, 4th edn, ed. Katharine Lualdi (Bedford-St Martin’s, 2012)

·  Giusto Traina, 428 AD: An Ordinary Year at the End of the Roman Empire, trans. Allan Cameron (Princeton University Press, 2009)

·  Beowulf: A New Verse Translation, trans. Seamus Heaney (W.W. Norton & Co., 2001)

·  Einhard and Notker, Two Lives of Charlemagne, trans. David Ganz (Penguin, 2008)

·  Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, trans. Bernard O’Donoghue (Penguin, 2006)

·  Gene Brucker, Giovanni and Lusanna: Love and Marriage in Renaissance Florence, 2nd rev. edn (University of California Press, 2004)

·  Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, ed. and trans. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan (Bedford-St Martin’s, 2005)

·  History 101 Course Reader (= CR in schedule of readings)

Assignments and Evaluation:

1) Class Participation and Preps: 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 reading, and come to class with the assigned texts in hand, ready to discuss them. To prepare for discussion, read assigned sources actively, jotting down notes and questions that you can refer to in class. In addition, each student will be assigned to one of four participation groups (designated by the letters A, B, C, and D on the schedule of classes). On 4 out of your group’s 6 designated dates, you will turn in a typed, paragraph-long response to one or more of the ‘PREP’ questions of the day. You may choose to turn in preps for any 4 of your group’s 6 dates, but please note that late preps will not be accepted, since the preps’ purpose is to enhance in-class discussion. I will not give the preps formal grades, but will mark them with ✓, ✓+, or ✓- and count them towards the class participation grade.

*Note on Attendance: Regular attendance is essential to your success in the course, and I take attendance each class. I understand that illness and emergencies can occur in the course of the semester, and will not penalize you for missing up to two classes. Be advised that I will deduct 1/3 grade from the participation grade for each additional absence. I reserve the right to withdraw any student from the class for excessive unexcused absences, normally defined as more than 6 over the course of the semester. If you are ill or have an emergency that will take you out of class for several days, please contact me so I can excuse these absences and we can arrange for you to stay on track.

2) Quiz(zes): Because knowledge of geography is crucial for historians, we will have a map quiz on Wednesday, Jan. 27th at the start of class. On the first day I will hand out a sample map and list of landmarks to be covered. Following the map quiz, we’ll have 4 additional, non-cumulative quizzes that will test your understanding of key themes, events, and texts. Each of these quizzes will have five questions: term IDs (choose 2 out of 3) and short answer questions (choose 1 out of 2). Short answer questions on the quizzes will be taken from the PREP questions in the schedule of readings below. The best way to prepare for quizzes is to keep up with reading, take good notes, and ask questions as we go along. Quiz dates: Jan. 27th, Feb. 10th, March 4th, April 4th, and May 2nd.

3) Short Essay on 428AD: This short essay (~3-4 pages), due Friday, Feb. 5th asks you to develop a close reading of a primary source we have read together, using Giusto Traina’s monograph 428AD: An Ordinary Year at the End of the Roman Empire to situate your source in its historical context. No outside research will be required for this assignment.

4) Mini research paper: For this project, due March 11th, you will carry out a modest amount of research on a primary source of your choice listed our syllabus between Feb. 5th and March 9th, locating at least two new relevant scholarly secondary sources (such as subject encyclopedia articles, journal articles, or books). Using this research, you will write a short essay (~3-4 pages) using your secondary sources to situate the source in its context. On March 11th we’ll have a symposium where everyone will have a chance to share highlights from their research.

5) Final project: In lieu of a final exam, you will complete a final project using the Atavist program to create a multimedia lesson plan for a class on a particular theme or series of events related to European history between c.1100 and c.1600. For this project, you will need to do some research to identify three new relevant primary sources, including at least one non-textual source (e.g., a map, building, work of art or music), and two new secondary sources. We’ll have workshops dedicated to learning the Atavist program on April 6th and 8th. The final project, consisting of an essay of ~1,500 words with accompanying media and timeline, will be due on May 9th via Moodle.

Help with Research and Writing: I am available to discuss readings, assignments, writing and research strategies during office hours and by appointment. I encourage you to make use of two additional resources: the staffs of Collins Library and the Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching. We will have multiple workshops with our liaison librarian, Peggy Burge, but consider making an individual appointment with her to discuss your mini research paper and/or final project. I guarantee she will help you find sources you would have otherwise missed! She may be reached at or via our course’s library page.

The Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching (Howarth 109) is another excellent resource for anyone who wants to become a better writer, is learning to write in a new discipline, or needs help with an assignment. You can make an appointment with one of the peer writing advisors by email () or phone (ext. 3404). If you’re new to the writing in the discipline of History, consider making an appointment with the Center’s resident History major, Alex Plant.

University Policies:

Disability-Related Accommodations: If you have a physical, psychological, medical or learning disability that may impact your course work, please contact Peggy Perno (Howarth 105, ext.3395). She will determine with you what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation is confidential.

Academic Honesty: All students are expected to abide by the guidelines on academic honesty outlined in the Logger (at http://www.pugetsound.edu/student-life/personal-safety/student-handbook/academic-handbook/academic-integrity/). 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 www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/. Familiarize yourself with hall exits and the designated gathering area for your class and lab 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 an 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.

CLASS SCHEDULE (readings listed below classes for which they are due, and in suggested order)

Unit 1: The Late Roman World

(W) Jan. 20 Introduction to the course

(no reading today!)

(F) Jan. 22 The ‘decline and fall’ of Rome as a historical problem

Hist101 syllabus (read it carefully, please!)

Burger, Western Civilization, pp. 131-154

Lualdi, Sources, pp. 1-3 (Intro) and docs. 6.2 (Graffiti) and 6.4 (Paul of Tarsus)

IDs: crisis of the third century, dominate, apostolic succession, martyrdom

PREP: What internal crises confronted the late Roman Empire? What challenges did Christianity pose to traditional Roman institutions and values?

(M) Jan. 25 Constantine changed everything (or did he?)

(CR 1-8) The Conversion of Constantine, acording to Eusebius, Edward Gibbon, and Peter Brown, in Makers of the Western Tradition, ed. J. Kelley Sowards (Boston: Bedford-St Martin’s, 1997), 117-131.

Lualdi, Sources, 7.1 (Arius and the Nicene Creed)

IDs: Constantine, Arianism, Nicene Creed

PREP: How did Constantine’s official support for Christianity change the Christian Church and the Roman world more broadly? Why did third- and fourth-century Christians perceive heresy to be such a serious problem, and how did the ‘war on heresy’ impact the Church?

(W) Jan. 27 Rome’s final century

Traina, 428AD, introduction & chapters 1-4

(CR 9) Evagrius, Life of St. Simeon Stylites, from Readings in Ancient History, ed. William S. Davis (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1912), Internet Medieval History Sourcebook, at https://legacy.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/evagrius-simeon.asp

Lualdi, Sources, 7.3 (Benedict of Nursia)

IDs: Sassanid Empire, Theodosius II, monasticism

PREP: What political, cultural, and religious transitions were in progress on the eastern borders of the Roman world in 428, and what roles did monks and bishops play in these changes? Did Romans believe their empire was in terminal decline or not?

*Quiz 1 (Map Quiz) Today*

(F) Jan. 29 Rome’s final century, cont.

Traina, 428AD, chapters 5-7

(CR 10-12) Sidonius Apollinaris, “A Civilized Barbarian and a Barbarous Roman,” from The Letters of Sidonius, trans. O.M. Dalton (Oxford: Clarendon, 1915), Internet Medieval History Sourcebook, at http://legacy.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/sidonius2.asp

IDs: foederati, Galla Placidia, bishops

PREP: How did government, society, and daily life change in the Western Empire with the settlement of barbarian groups like the Goths and Vandals?

(M) Feb. 1 Rome’s final century, cont.

Traina, 428AD, chapters 8-10 & epilogue

Lualdi, Sources, 7.2 (Augustine of Hippo)

(CR 13-16) Augustine, The City of God, excerpted in Sources of the Western Tradition, Vol. 1, 9th edn, ed. Marvin Perry (Boston: Wadsworth, 2014), 190-93.

IDs: Vandals, Augustine of Hippo, pilgrimage

PREP: How did paganism continue to inform late Roman life? How was intolerance of religious difference justified by fifth-century Christians? What were the characteristics of the Christian worldview as exemplified by Augustine?

Unit 2: The Three Heirs of Rome

(W) Feb. 3 From Western Empire to barbarian kingdoms

Burger, Western Civilization, pp. 154-61

Lualdi, Sources, 6.3 (Tacitus) and 7.4 (Burgundian Code)

IDs: wergeld, Visigoths, Theodoric

PREP: What institutions and customs (or lack therof) distinguished Germanic groups as non-Roman? What changes did the Germanic peoples institute in the Western Roman Empire, and what aspects of Roman government and society did they embrace?

(F) Feb. 5 The Islamic world as a post-Roman civilization

Burger, Western Civilization, pp. 161-165

Lualdi, Sources, 8.1 (Qur’an) and 8.2 (Terms of Peace)

(CR 17-22) Hugh Kennedy, “The True Caliph of the Arabian Knights,” History Today 54, no. 9 (2004): 31-36.

IDs: dhimmis, caliph, Abbasids

PREP: What factors enabled Muhammad’s heirs to rapidly conquer much of the former Roman Empire? In what ways were the early Islamic caliphates the heirs of Rome?

*Short essay on 428AD due*

(M) Feb. 8 From Romans to Byzantines

(CR 23-29) Stephen Williams and Gerard Friell, “The Survival of the Eastern Roman Empire,” History Today 48, no. 11 (November 1998): 40-46.

Lualdi, Sources, 7.5 (Procopius) and 8.3 (St Theodore)

IDs: Justinian, themata, iconoclasm

PREP: Was the Eastern Roman Empire fundamentally backward- or forward-looking in the sixth to eighth centuries? What can the Life of St. Theodore tell us about provincial life in seventh-century Byzantium?

Unit 3: The Early Medieval West