I. Description:

Where did our culture come from? This course on Western Civilization can help answer that question. We will survey the main stages of Western Civilization, with an emphasis on concepts, forces, ideas, events and people that have shaped our society up through the 19th century. In other words, we will examine, through lectures and discussion of readings, how our ancestors and the creators of our culture handled nature, ordered government, structured society, produced wealth, expressed ideas in word and form, and conceived the ultimate meaning of life, the universe and everything.  

II. Purpose:

A. Mission Statement:

This Core Curriculum requirement is a course in the Civilization category.

This class is an important part of your education!  Civilization courses are designed to explore in some depth the complex dimensions of our world and the cumulative experience of the past, to provide an understanding of how yesterday influences today and the outlook for tomorrow. We study the major developments of Western peoples until the 20th century because most of the problems and institutions of contemporary society have distinguishable roots in the historical past. Moreover, because of the physical and material expansion of the West in the modern period, many of these forms  (capitalist industrial manufacturing, the nation-state system, etc.) have become global in nature.

We offer this course as part of your general education requirements because it is important for educated citizens to be familiar with the main stages of Western Civilization and recognize it as an expanding force which produced important forms of political, social, and economic organization. You should understand that most of the structures within which we order our lives are products of this evolution. Historians believe that past human behavior can be studied scientifically and that social scientists can improve our understanding of people in the present.

Further, whatever your major or career goals may be, throughout your lives you will be deluged with information, opinion, and interpretations about events which you should be able to evaluate critically. Answering questions and solving problems by critical analysis -- not just memorization of data -- is a basic goal of education. Information is just the raw material in this process and, though rational analysis must be based on factual data, memorizing tidbits of information is not an end in itself. Our real goal is to develop concepts which give order and meaning to the raw material of our recorded past. Doing this requires comprehension beyond minimal factual details of past events. Major emphasis will be on patterns, themes, and concepts against which the factual data must be understood.

We hope that upon successful completion of this course you will have improved your understanding of world civilizations and become a more perceptive judge of the data, opinions, interpretations and explanations continuously offered to you. This process, indeed, should last your whole life, since (paraphrasing the observation of the distinguished professional historian Carl L. Becker from 1931) "Ultimately, every person is their own historian."

B. Objectives for the student:

1. To be familiar with the main stages of civilization as an expanding force that has produced important forms of political, social, economic and cultural organization which are our common heritage.
2. To identify major events, persons and ideas that contributed to the development of Western (including American) and non-Western attitudes and institutions.
3. To develop concepts which give meaning and order to the raw material of our recorded past.
4. To identify and analyze significant problems and situations as they relate to the continuing issues of contemporary life.

C. Goals for the student:

1. To improve understanding of the major events which have influenced the modern world.
2. To be an intelligent consumer and evaluator of information about world events.
3. To develop a global perspective which recognizes the political, economic and cultural interdependence of all nations.
4. To understand the influence of the past on contemporary events and problems or, in other words, to develop Historical Mindedness.

D. General Learning Outcomes for the student:

In addition to the more content-related objectives described above, this course has some general liberal-learning goals of developing academic skills. It is expected that successful completion of this course will help you improve your ability:

1. To manage information, which involves sorting data, ranking data for significance, synthesizing facts, concepts and principles.
2. To understand and use organizing principles or key concepts against which miscellaneous data can be evaluated.
3. To differentiate between facts, opinions and inferences.
4. To frame questions so as to more clearly clarify a problem topic or issue.
5. To compare and contrast the relative merits of opposing arguments and interpretations, moving between the main points of each position.
6. To organize your thoughts and communicate them clearly and concisely in written form.
7. To obtain practice in selecting and presenting information and arguments within a restricted environment, especially the limitations of time in exams.

III. General Requirements

A. Academic Honesty (click here for more information).

Be aware of the academic honesty policy concerning cheating and plagiarism, and your moral, ethical and legal obligation only to submit work completed by you yourself.  For more information see <Help stop Plagiarism!>.  

B. Reading:

Reading is still the best way to learn history.  We will read both a broad survey of history and specific sources in order to better understand the past.

First, for a broad survey, you will need to purchase a textbook, as explained by the professor in class.  The text provides you with important factual and background information to be read and worked on before class and to be used for review and reference afterwards.

Before class, you will read the text according to the schedule, below. I all of your classes, you should prudently mark up, underline, highlight and otherwise annotate your texts as you study.  For this class, you are required to do so.
You are required to critique the textbook as you study.  While you are reading use one or more highlighters or pens to mark up portions of the text.  You might consider different colors for (a) historical facts, terms, dates, (b) important points or details, or (c) key explanatory phrases and sentences.
Circle any words that are misspelled.  With a pen , underline with a squiggled line any sentences or phrases that you consider to be poorly written , whether through grammatical error or unclarity.  You might use other marks as used by the professor in his assessment of you assignments, found here.
Write comments in the margins about the following points;

• connections between themes, ideas, or subjects in different parts of the text
• ideas you agree with
• ideas you disagree with
• reactions provoked by the text
• points or subjects of particular interest to you
• points or subjects you would like to know more about

Bring the textbook to class.  Ask questions about it.  We will discuss it.  After class, regularly through the semester, you should review your class notes and compare them with the text's versions of the material.  

You are to turn in your textbooks at each exam to evaluate how well you have marked it up.  After the final, if you would like to pick up and keep your text, write "KEEP" on the front cover.  Then return at the beginning of the next semester and get your book from the professor in his office. 

Second, you will as read modern versions of primary sources.  Before class, you will read them according to the schedule, below.  Print out the source, mark it up as you read, bring it to class for discussion.

As you read and mark it, you may want to answer the following questions:

• Who produced the primary source (the author)? (Do not mistake a translator or editor for an author).
• What is its context? What else was going on at the time (as compared with the textbook)?
• What is the document’s ostensible or intended purpose? What problem did it solve; what issue did it explain?
• How reliable is it?
• What is the source about?  What does it say about a particular event?
• How is it significant? Why should we pay attention to it now? What can we learn from it?

For more on sources, see <http://staff.kings.edu/bapavlac/sources.html>.

The instructor will give quizzes to test your reading and comprehension and for review.  The quizzes will be open book and will usually require you to respond to either of three problems: 

1. In one short paragraph, sum up the answer to the BIG Question of the day. 
2. For each of three people or events you choose from that day's reading, write one sentence describing why they are important in history.  
3. Write one short paragraph, describe how one of the sources required for today illustrates problems people faced in the time in which the source was written.

C. Class Participation & Attendance:

Participation and attendance are necessary because lecture and discussion provide the essentials for achieving class goals and objectives. Thus a portion of your grade (about 10%) will depend on your in-class performance and presence, aside from graded quizzes, exams and papers.  You are required to attend each class, arrive on time, remain attentive, maintain proper classroom decorum, respond to questions and participate in discussion and small-group activities. You are encouraged to take notes and ask questions.

Several minor written assignments (a paragraph to one page in length) will also be required as reflections and reactions to class discussion and projects (10 points each).

The professor will regularly take attendance. Absences due to college activities, emergency or extended illness may be excused by the appropriate college official. You should consult with the professor about making up missed work in advance or as soon as possible after your return.  Other absences are unexcused and will lower the class participation and quiz portions of your grade. After any absence, you are responsible for requesting hand-outs and already returned assignments from the professor or borrowing notes from other students. If you miss an exam, contact the instructor as soon as possible. You may take a missed exam only at the discretion of the instructor. Whether absences are excused or not, you may not get a higher grade than the percentage of classes attended.

A student who arrives at class late, after attendance is taken, must personally request that the absence be turned into a tardy mark. Students who need to leave a class session early, except for medical emergency, should notify the instructor before class begins.

All students who have a learning disability, physical handicap and/or any other possible impediment to class participation and requirements should schedule an appointment with the instructor within the first two weeks of classes to discuss available accommodations.  Only with the instructor's permission may class be recorded, only to be used for your own study and the recordings must be erased after the exams.

If at some point during the semester you must discontinue the course, due to poor performance, illness or some other cause, be sure to follow proper procedures for withdrawal. 

D. Exams:

You will take various types of exams:

• on WebCT, a quiz about this syllabus
• on WebCT, three map quizzes; in these quizzes you will simply be asked to identify on a map several locations, from those listed map location guide to be posted.
• in class, quizzes on your readings. Please write legibly, in ink.
• in class two major exams as scheduled during the term and one during finals week.  The exams are comprehensive: each exam may cover material since the beginning of the course.   All exams will consist of objective questions testing recall based on historical geography and maps and essays demanding your understanding of the course material through logical presentation of facts and explanation of historical trends.  Only paper from the instructor is to be used.  Please write legibly, in ink.  

To study for the exams you should regularly, at least once a week, review your class notes, and refer to the study questions linked below. You should also compare and contrast these notes with your textbook and with the issues and trends emphasized in the class description.  To avoid common exam errors, check this page.  

Study Questions for Exam 1;  Study Questions for Exam 2;  Study Questions for Final Exam

D. Major Written Assignments:

CONTRIBUTORS TO CIVILIZATION
You are to write two five-to-seven page essays, each of which presents the life of an important person who contributed to Western Civilization. (25+75 points each)

Purpose:
Biography remains a popular and useful way to understand history. People’s lives, especially those who play a major, positive role in change, illustrate the possibilities and constraints which affect humanity. You will manage information, evaluate different historical opinions, analyze arguments, organize your thoughts and present them in a clear written form in order to better understand an historical process.

Procedure:
1. Choose any two important figures who significantly and contributed to the improvement of Western Civilization. Your first subject must have lived before A.D. 1500 and the second must have lived between A.D. 1500 and 1900. No figures from the New World (the Americas) are permitted. This person may have been involved in fields such as science, politics, economics, social change, culture or religion.
You will submit your choice on the date listed in the schedule, in the proper presentation format (no points). The professor may require you to choose another person.

2. Carefully research the person. Note how the person made positive contributions to civilization.

3. Refer to at least one printed (not electronic from the internet or CD-ROM) tertiary source (encyclopedia, handbooks, dictionaries, but not the textbook); three printed secondary sources (scholarly, biographical, detailed works, books and/or journal articles written by professional historians and which closely examine the person); and one primary source (which you may access via electronic or printed republished versions). If you have any doubts about the appropriateness of your sources, please see the professor early.
You must turn in, in proper presentation format, after a cover page,
(1) one page with a thesis written as one full complete sentence followed by an outline (at least three main points and a supporting detail or two for each) of your key points;
(2) a page with a pre-bibliography of your sources, in proper format; with
(3) a photocopy for each source in order as listed in the pre-bibliography. Each source you should turn in one photocopied page: of tertiary sources the first page of the article; of secondary sources the title page of a book or first page of an article; for primary sources the first page of a book, website, or the source itself.
Due as listed in the schedule (25 points).  This assignment will be evaluated both on the quality of references and the accuracy of bibliographic formatting.

4. Write a careful essay whose thesis argues how the person changed history for the better. The quality and use of your research from historical books will substantially influence the evaluation of your essay – be sure to use them in the body of your paper. The professor is largely interested in the historical role of the person, so childhood and personal life material is probably less relevant to your paper than adult and public activities and achievements. Do not write a standard biography. Most major points should be devoted to specifics about positive contributions, showing significant influence or impact on history. At least one paragraph should cover weaknesses, flaws, or possible criticisms about the person which you need to rationalize, justify or excuse. Be sure to place the person in historical context, focusing on how things used to be before the positive things brought about by this person, the historical process of change, challenges faced by this person, and/or how this person’s life still affects us today. Support all your assertions with proper reasoning and/or details drawn from your sources, properly cited.

5. Rest, review, and revise repeatedly. You might use the Writing Center.  Include a revised bibliography as the last page (do not include the thesis page or outlines from previous assignments. Then write a final draft to be turned as listed in the schedule (75 points). 

For more on evaluation of your papers see <http://staff.kings.edu/bapavlac/grading.html#writt> and to avoid common errors in written assignments, check this page: <http://staff.kings.edu/bapavlac/grading.html#error>.   

About quotations in your writing assignments, see more information here <http://staff.kings.edu/bapavlac/presentation.html#quote>.

Be sure to conform to the instructor's presentation guidelines, and use Turabian/Chicago Manual of Style format (see Corgan Library <http://www.kings.edu/frames/tb_frames/library.html> and click on "Citing Sources" Or go to the Corgan Library Study Guide #11  for bibliography and citations.  

E. Deadlines:

Completing assignments on time is an important aspect of your course work.  You yourself must hand in each written assignment at the beginning of class on the dates assigned on your paper syllabus.

The grade of any paper you turn in late will lose at least 10% after the beginning of the first class, 20% after the second, and 35% after the third. No late papers will be accepted after the last day of classes.  If you miss any quizzes and/or class projects, you may only make them up if you have a legitimate excuse and with the explicit permission of the instructor, who may require any equivalent assignment. 

IV. Grading Policy:

You earn your grade through work done for this course.  It is your responsibility to understand why you have achieved a certain grade, and what steps you can take to maintain or improve your grade.  You are encouraged to consult with the professor during office hours or by appointment both before and after exams and written assignments.  Click here for more information on the parameters of evaluation and grading.

Your final grade will be based on a percentage (above 90%=A, 89-80%=B, etc.) of the sum of the assignments. Different assignments will be worth certain point values.   The following is the weight given to your various learning tasks:

75 for the first exam;
100 for the second exam; and 125 for the final exam;
10 each (30 total) for three map quizzes;
10 each for any in-class quizzes or class project statements;
15 points for each textbook evaluation at each exam;
25 each (50 total) for your written assignment thesis statements, outlines, and pre-bibliographies;
75 each of for your written assignments;
75 for your class attendance & participation.

For your protection, in case of errors of recording, you should keep copies of all exams and assignments until you have received official notice of your final grade.  Any and all materials done for this course may become the property of the professor, who may use them for assessment, evaluative, scholarly, or research purposes.  Although the syllabus presents the basic content and requirements of the course the professor reserves the right to change anything (e.g. assignments, and topics, due dates) at his discretion.  

V.  Map Locations

Unless you know where things are, you cannot understand how they are related to each other.  Therefore portions of exams and quizzes of this course require knowledge about historical geography:  how peoples and countries develop significant spatial relations over time. Each exam will have a map portion, but you will also take a map quiz by computer using WebCT.

You are responsible at all times for the general topography of Europe, but as we move through history some geographic locations become newly significant.  For each exam, covering each part of the course, the new locations are listed, but you are still responsible for the earlier ones. 

For study and practise, you can find a map at <http://departments.kings.edu/history/europemap.html>.  Also go to WebCT <http://courses.kings.edu/> for study paths, self-tests and the quizzes, and a list of all the specific locations you must know.

For help with computer issues on WebCT, contact Ms. Bonnie Scutch at (570) 208-5900, telephone extension 5814 or email at webct@kings.edu.

You may take the quizzes any time after they are posted, before their respective due dates and times (usually before 9 am).  If you miss taking one, you cannot take a replacement. 

VI. Class Topics and WebSOURCES:

The sources required for each class are in the right hand column in boldface along the left edge of that column.  Those links [in small type] within [brackets] are not required, but may be valuable for further information. 

PART I The Study of History and the formation of the Ancient West

PART IIa The Medieval West

PART IIb Early Modern Europe

PART III The Modern World

All topics are tentative; the instructor may change them at his discretion.   

Some general sites that have valuable information, if you want to learn more on many subjects in Western Civilization:  

Hyperhistory <http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html> has many maps, timelines, and brief historical overviews.

Richard Hooker, World Cultures, <http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/110/110RES.HTM> has various learning modules, atlases and other resources.

Stephen Kreis, The History Guide <http://www.historyguide.org/index.html> contains lots of lectures on Western Civilization.

World History at Frank Smitha.com <http://www.fsmitha.com/index.html> contains timelines, maps, descriptions, some opinions.  

History of Costume <http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/history.html>.

History at Bedford St. Martin's: <http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/history/> contains maps, textbook supplementary material, useful information about studying history and links to other sites.  

Articles, books, and links at <http://historicaltextarchive.com/>. 

Paul Halsall, Internet History Sourcebooks Project <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/>.

Although this syllabus presents the basic content of this course, the professor reserves the right to change anything (e.g. requirement, topics, assignments, due dates, grading policy, etc.) at his discretion.

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URL: http://staff.kings.edu/bapavlac/WestCiv/core131p.html Site built, maintained & Copyright © MMIX by Brian A. Pavlac Last Revision: 5 January 2009