HSTR101 WESTERN CIVILIZATION

Topic 3 – Darkness Falls: The Medieval Period

Topic 4 – From Death to Rebirth: The Renaissance

Manchester, Dante, Williams, and Hunt

Short Answer Questions

*Directions – After reading each of your assigned reading packets and your textbook from this topic, provide a short answer using details from your reading. Answer the questions with the following in mind:

  • You answers should be 1-2 fully developed paragraphs for short answers and 5-7 fully developed paragraphs for longer essays
  • Your short answer should begin with a THESIS statement that summarizes your answer to the question.
  • You should use at least one short quote attributed to the source to which you are responding. (EX: Colton and Palmer said, ‘quote quote quote, quote quote.”)
  • Your short answer should contain numerous, SPECIFIC examples from the reading assignment.
  • You should include a discussion of the source’s thesis or its impact and importance.
  • You should conclude your response with a closing statement.
  • Submit your responses as a PDF document on Moodle

Dante (Original & Graphic Novel) – In Longer Essay Format (5-7 fully developed paragraphs with at least TWO quotes and source citations)

  1. What does Dante’s epic poem about the Inferno reveal about the late Medieval period? (What does it reveal about Dante’s political surroundings, what does it reveal about the Medieval mindset on religion and spirituality, and what does it reveal about art and literature of the time period?)

Manchester (Pt. 1, pp 3-28) - In Longer Essay Format (5-7 fully developed paragraphs with at least THREE quotes and source citations)

  1. How does Manchester perceive the medieval period? Give at least 3 examples and quotes from the book supporting his viewpoint that the Middle Ages was in a world lit only by fire?

Manchester (Pt. 2, pp31-110) - In Longer Essay Format (5-7 fully developed paragraphs with at least THREE quotes and source citations)

  1. How does Manchester prove that humanism and the Church laid the foundations for the shattering of the Medieval Worldview? Give at least 3 examples and quotes from the book supporting his viewpoint that the Middle Ages was in a world lit only by fire?

Downs, Books that Changed the World – Machiavelli - In ShortAnswer Format (1-2 fully developed paragraphs with at least ONE quote and source citations)

  1. Describe Machiavelli’s thesis in the Prince, and what was its impact upon European history?

Williams, Days that Changed the World- In ShortAnswer Format (1-2 fully developed paragraphs with at least ONE quote and source citations)

  1. Choose one of the assigned chapters from Williams’ Days that Changed the World (Death of Muhammad, The Battle of Tours, the Coronation of Charlemagne, or The Fall of Constantinople) and describe in detail why the event you have chosen had the most dramatic impact upon history and WHY. Be sure to support your argument with evidence and quotes.