CORE 131 Syllabus Summer07

Western Civilization to 1914

King’s College

Summer 2008

Cristofer Scarboro

Botticelli, La Primavera, 1477-1478 (Uffizi Gallery, Florence)

Course Site: http://courses.kings.edu/SCRIPT/CORE131_Summer/scripts/serve_home

Office: Hafey-Marian Hall 312

E-mail: cristoferscarboro@kings.edu

Phone: 208-5900 ext. 5637 (o)

735-4762 (h)

Sharepoint: https://sharepoint.kings.edu/sites/Scarboro-CORE131/default.aspx

I. Course Description:

How are we to interpret and understand Western Civilization? Can we speak of it as a single unified entity? How did the concept of “western civilization” come into being? What are its attributes and what impact had it had on the world in which we live? We will survey the main stages of Western Civilization, with an emphasis on concepts, forces, ideas, events and people that have shaped western society through the 19th century. Through close readings of primary texts, discussions of readings, and written commentary we will investigate how those in the west handled nature, ordered government, structured society, produced wealth, expressed ideas in word and form, and conceived the ultimate meaning and meaninglessness of life and the universe.

II. Purpose:

A. Mission Statement:

This Core Curriculum requirement is a first course in the Civilization sequence.

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. How we understand and experience the past does much to make us who we are.

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.

B. Objectives for the student:

To be familiar with the main stages of civilization as a series of expanding forces that has produced important forms of political, social, economic and cultural organization which have shaped the modern world.
To identify major events, persons and ideas that contributed to the development of Western (including American) and non-Western attitudes and institutions.
To develop concepts which give meaning and order to the raw material of the recorded past.
To identify and analyze significant problems and situations as they relate to the continuing issues of contemporary life.

C. Goals for the student:

To improve understanding of the major events which have influenced the modern world.
To be an intelligent consumer and evaluator of information about world events.
To develop a global perspective which recognizes the political, economic and cultural interdependence of all nations.
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:

To manage information, which involves sorting data, ranking data for significance, synthesizing facts, concepts and principles.
To understand and use organizing principles or key concepts against which miscellaneous data can be evaluated.
To differentiate between facts, opinions and inferences.
To frame questions so as to more clearly clarify a problem topic or issue.
To compare and contrast the relative merits of opposing arguments and interpretations, moving between the main points of each position.
To organize your thoughts and communicate them clearly and concisely in written form.
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. Course Readings:

The textbook for the course, Brian A. Pavlac, Supremacies and Diversities: A Review of Western Civilization, Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania: Zelbstdrook Press, 2006, is intended to provide you with important context and background information before class and to be used as a review and reference work afterwards. You will be responsible for reading the assigned sections of the textbook according to the schedule listed below and come prepared to ask questions and contribute to class discussion on-line.

B. Course Readings, Primary Sources:

Each week you will also be expected to examine a series of primary sources consisting of texts, visual art and/or short video clips. These sources will either be websites (links are provided in the syllabus) or files found on the course sharepoint site:

https://sharepoint.kings.edu/sites/Scarboro-CORE131/default.aspx

These primary sources are to supplement the readings in the textbook and place you in dialogue with another time and place. You will need to examine these sources as a historian. What can they tell us about the past and the worldview of past cultures? How do they help us understand the historical theme of the week and the class as a whole? Further, these documents will be the source upon which you will base your microthemes and paper for the class.

C. Microthemes:

Every two weeks you will be responsible for writing a 1-2 page microtheme on the assigned primary source material covered during that time. (Over the course of the semester you will write a total of five). These microthemes consist of two parts: first, you should summarize the argument of the sources—you should ask and elucidate what the author, director or artist was trying to say. Second, you should place the piece and argument within the larger context of the 20^th century. What themes and trends is the artist or author tapping into? How does it relate to larger issues in the class? How are we to make sense of the work historically?

D. Reading Quizzes:

Each week you will take a short quiz through WebCT on the readings assigned. This is both to assess comprehension and point you to important trends in the chapter. These exams must be completed within the week assigned and must be completed before 11:00 p.m. on Saturday evening. You will have an hour to complete the quiz once you have begun. Late quizzes will only be allowed with prior permission of the instructor. Note: there are no quizzes for weeks 7 and 12.

E. Exams:

There will be two exams in this course a midterm taken during the seventh week and a final taken during the twelfth week. All exams will consist of short identifications quizzing knowledge of detail and significance, geographical content and essays demanding your understanding of the course material through logical presentation of facts and explanation of historical trends. The exams will cover both the material from the textbook and the primary sources. You may take a missed exam only at the discretion of the instructor.

F. Written Assignment:

Your written assignment is due any time before the final week of class. Here you are to take any two of your microthemes and expand it into a 6-8 page paper placing the documents and authors in both historical context and with one another. Like the microtheme, you should seek to answer the meaning of the primary sources: what argument or worldviews were the authors/artists seeking to put forward? How was this a product of the time and place in which they were living? Importantly you are also to relate the sources to one another. How do these sources help us understand western civilization? What problems and opportunities do they articulate? What larger issues are they wrestling with. You are free to chose any two sources from the course—you may find it easiest however, to chose two within a similar theme (i.e. "the place of religion and society," "the growth of the individual," "voyages of discovery," etc.)

G. Class Discussion

Each week you will participate in a threaded class discussion on two to three topics from the weekly readings. I will have posted discussion questions at the beginning of the week and you will be expected to contribute to the class discussion at least twice during the week (once before Wednesday and once before Saturday). Your contributions to the class discussion must be substantive and should be in response to both my comments and the observations of your classmates. You will be expected to read all the posts each week and material from the class discussion will appear on your exams.

H. Grading:

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 should consult with the

instructor during office hours or by appointment before and after exams and written

assignments.

For your protection, in case of errors in record keeping, you should keep copies of all

exams and assignments until you have received official notice of your final grade.

**Your final grade will be based on the following percentages

100-98 A+

97-95 A

94-92 A-

91-89 B+

88-85 B

83-84 B-

80-82 C+

77-79 C

75-78 C-

74-70 D

69< F

**Your grade distribution for assignments is as follows:

Microthemes: 15%

Reading Quizzes: 15%

Midterm Exam: 15%

Class Discussion: 15%

Final Exam: 20%

Written Assignment: 20%

I. Academic Integrity:

The Department of History adheres to guidelines on academic integrity outlined in the Student Conduct Code in the Student Handbook:

http://www.kings.edu/student_handbook/studentregulations_rights/conductcode.htm

Cheating and plagiarism will be penalized in accord with the penalties and procedures indicated in that source. All students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the definition of these infractions of academic honesty.

J. Dissabilities:

King’s College and I will make every effort to accommodate students with a bona-fide disability that impacts on their ability to learn the course material. Please meet with me privately so that appropriate arrangements can be made to help in the learning process.

IV. Course Schedule

Week 1: History’s Story and Wanderers and Settlers

May 20^th – May 24^th

***Readings: Pavlac, 1-26

***Primary Sources:

1) The Code of Hammurabi:

http://www.wsu.edu/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/hammurabi.html

2) The Caves of Lascaux:

http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/

Week 2: The Chosen People

May 25^th – May31^st

***First Microtheme Due, Saturday 5:00 p.m.

***Readings: Pavlac, 27-34

***Primary Sources:

1) Exodus 20, “The Ten Commandments”

http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Exodus+20

2) Genesis 15, “The Covenant of Abraham,”

http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Genesis+15:1-12,17-18

3) Genesis 11: 1-9, “The Tower of Babel”

http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=42785207

Week 3: Trial of the Greeks

June 1^st – June 7^th

***Readings: Pavlac, 35-51

***Primary Sources:

1) Thucydides, “The Melian Dialogue,” from the Peloponnesian War:

http://www.wellesley.edu/ClassicalStudies/CLCV102/Thucydides--MelianDialogue.html

2) Thucydides, “Pericles’ Funeral Oration” from the Peloponnesian War:

http://www.wsu.edu/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/pericles.html

3) Sharepoint: "Greek Statuary"

Week 4: Imperium Romanum

June 8^th – June 14^th

***Second Microtheme Due, Saturday 5:00 p.m.

***Readings: Pavlac, 51-64

***Primary Sources:

1) Tacitus, Book I of the Annals, 14-15 A.D.

http://www.uvawise.edu/history/wciv1/tacit.html

2) Sharepoint: “The Fayoum Portraits”

3) Sharepoint: "Roman Architecture"

Week 5: The Revolutionary Rabbi

June 15^th – June 21^st

***Readings: Pavlac, 65-79

***Primary Sources:

1) The Gospel According to John

http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=44941529

2) The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene

http://www.gnosis.org/library/marygosp.htm

3) Early Church Councils (excerpts): The Nicene Creed 325, A.D.; The Definition of the Council of Chalcedon, 451 A.D.; and the Second Council of Constantinople, 553 A.D.

http://www.uvawise.edu/history/wciv1/councils.html

Week 6: The Medieval Muddle

June 22^nd – June 28^th

***Third Microtheme Due, Saturday 5:00 p.m.

***Readings: Pavlac, 79-116

***Primary Sources:

1) Excerpts from the Book of Margery Kempe, late 1430s

a) "The Birth of her first Child and Her Vision"

http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/kempe1.htm

b) "Her Pride and Attempts to Start a Business"

http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/kempe2.htm

c) "Margery and her Husband Reach a Settlement"