CORE 131
Western
Civilization to 1914
Assistant
Professor N. Mares
Jump to
Instructor: Professor Nicole Mares
Office: Hafey-Marian 308
Email:
nicolemares@kings.edu
Phone: (570) 208-5900 ext. 5489
Webpage:
http://staff.kings.edu/nicolemares/
Course Webpage:
http://staff.kings.edu/nicolemares/Core131E.html
Section E: Wednesdays, 6-8:30, HM 301
Office Hours: Tues 9-12, Wed 11-1 or by appointment
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.
This Core Curriculum requirement is a course in the Civilization
category.
Studying humanity's past, its hopes and frustrations, failures
and triumphs, helps us both to understand our complex world and
to take responsibility for shaping its future. Vital to the
education of professional men and women of the 21st century,
historical literacy and methodology improve our ability to judge
and decide both private and public issues in a context of
respect for our own and other peoples' traditions. Only through
a critical examination of human experience can we hope to avoid
repeating mistakes and to build on successes, or assign meaning
to our condition. These courses will develop critical thinking
skills in an historical context, help students reflect on their
own historical heritage, and build the cultural knowledge that
unites many other areas of the Core.
In addition to the more content-related objectives described
above, successful completion of this course will improve your
ability:
·
To organize and synthesize data.
·
To differentiate between facts, opinions, and inferences.
·
To frame questions and formulate theses about problems.
·
To compare, contrast, and evaluate the relative merits of
arguments and interpretations.
·
To organize and communicate thoughts effectively in verbal and
written form.
History tells us who we are. This category of the Core develops
critical thinking skills in an historical context, helps
students reflect on their own heritage, and constructs the
cultural knowledge that unites many other areas of the Core.
These everyday tools of the historian, which build
historical mindedness or literacy, will also serve students well
in any field they choose to enter.
After taking this course students should be able to:
·
To be familiar with the main stages of history within cultures
and their particular forms of political, social, economic, and
cultural organization.
·
To identify and understand major events, persons, and ideas that
have changed or reflected the history of civilization.
·
To engage critically with historical thinking and methodologies
whose concepts and theories give meaning and order to the raw
material of our recorded past.
·
To evaluate actively a variety of sources while placing them in
context.
I. Description:
II. Purpose:
A. Mission Statement:
III. General Requirements
Our Responsibilities:
We are all responsible for the success of this course.
It is my responsibility to
guide you in learning the objectives of the course, to give clear
presentations and encourage your participation, to explain assignments
and grade them appropriately, to return assignments in a timely fashion
and to make myself available to you.
It is your responsibility to
read the material, reflect on it, and be prepared to ask critical
questions. Being familiar with the class policies and schedule,
reading, doing the homework, actively taking notes, and listening to the
ideas of others are your contributions to the success of this class.
Syllabus:
In order to adapt to our classroom’s needs and schedule, this syllabus
will remain subject to change. Assignments may be changed, added,
or deleted over the course of the semester.
I will always let you know when I make changes to the syllabus.
Assignments are to be
completed by the date listed on the syllabus.
Our Classroom Environment:
Please arrive on time and conduct yourself in the classroom as you would
in any professional environment. If you use a laptop to take
notes, please stay on task and only takes notes. Do not text
during class. I will ask you
to leave the class for the day and your attendance will be recorded as
an unexcused absence.
Finally, make sure the ringers on your phones are off.
There are no bad questions. Always ask if you have a question. If you are not
comfortable asking in class, you may always ask me after class or during
office hours. Or you may email me questions.
We must respect each other and our differences while in the classroom.
This class is an open forum, a place where every member of the class has
the opportunity and should feel comfortable raising questions, voicing
opinions, and engaging in debate. Disrespect will not be
tolerated. You are encouraged to voice your disagreement with my
interpretations or with the views of your classmates as long as you do
so in a scholarly, respectful and informed fashion.
We are all adults and I expect that we will all behave as such.
While I hope that we are able to engage in lively conversations about
the course topics and readings, please keep conversations focused on the
class. Please respect the
people with whom you share the class and be open to their ideas and
opinions. If you’re not
comfortable with a topic, or talking in class, please come talk to me at
my office. Finally,
remember this is a classroom; we are all here to learn.
In order to learn, we all need to be able to focus on the course
materials and the lecture or discussion.
Attendance and Participation: Attendance is mandatory. Please arrive to class on time out of respect for your classmates and myself. If you arrive more than 10 minutes late, your attendance for the day will be recorded as an unexcused absence. Excused absences, according to the instructor’s discretion, fall into the category of severe illness, family emergency, or official school events that conflict with our meeting time. All other absences will be considered unexcused, except in special circumstances. If you know you will have to miss a class, be sure to speak with me. After one unexcused absence, your participation grade will be reduced by 1% for each subsequent unexcused absence. Likewise, if you are not in class you are unable to submit work or participate in group discussions and exercises.
Educational Services:
If at any point in the semester you feel you need extra help, more
explanation, etc., do not hesitate to ask me.
There are many great resources on campus, too, that can help.
The Academic Skills Center and the Writing Center are available
to you.
For students with diagnosed, documented learning disabilities, please be
sure to check in with the Academic Skills Center.
They can help you establish “appropriate plans to meet your
educational needs” here at King’s College.
The Center is located on the lobby floor of Mulligan.
Late Assignments:
If you are not in class the date an assignment is due, I strongly
encourage you to turn in the assignment as soon as possible.
If your absence is considered excused, you may turn in your
assignment at the next class meeting without penalty.
If your absence is unexcused, you must turn in a paper copy of
the assignment. Every day
the assignment is late, the letter grade will be reduced by one-third.
For example, if the assignment earns an 87%, but is three days
late the final grade will be an 80%.
Do not e-mail assignments to me unless you have previously
arranged to do so.
Late assignments will be accepted up to 1 week after the assignment’s
original due date, but not after, except in specific,
instructor-approved circumstances.
Exams must be made up within one week of the original exam date.
Academic Honesty and
Integrity:
Please read and
understand the college’s Student
Conduct Code. Within
this code is contained the college’s and therefore this class’s policies
on cheating and plagiarism.
http://www.kings.edu/student_handbook/studentregulations_rights/conductcode.htm
Further explanation of cheating and plagiarism can be found here:
www.kings.edu/history/honesty.html
and here:
Help stop Plagiarism!.
The policy on plagiarism for this course is as follows:
First offense:
assignment receives a failing grade and an academic integrity
violation form will be submitted to the Academic Integrity
Officer.
Subsequent offenses:
student will receive a failing grade for the class and a
subsequent academic integrity violation form will be submitted
to the Academic Integrity Officer.
Wikipedia and the
Internet:
While the internet has become an invaluable research tool, there are
respectable, scholarly websites that one should use, and others that are
haphazardly constructed, or intended for elementary school students.
Be discerning when it comes to the web.
For instance, Wikipedia: don’t use it.
It has been shown, time and again, that Wikipedia is a seriously
flawed, often incorrect online resource.
I encourage you to use real encyclopedias and other reference
materials in the place of Wikipedia.
Wikipedia should never be used as a source for any of your
assignments.
If you are unsure of a websites credibility, email the link to me
and I’ll evaluate it.
Communication:
If you find yourself
in need of assistance, clarification, or general dialogue about the
course please visit me during my office hours.
My office is Hafey-Marian 308.
If I am not available in my office, email me at
nicolemares@kings.edu.
All communications regarding Core 131 will be sent through King’s email.
Make sure you check this email regularly—you do not want to miss
any announcements or assignments.
Use email as you would a letter; include a salutation other than “hey,”
and be clear and concise.
Note, however, that I may not be able to respond to your email
immediately, so do not procrastinate when it comes to getting in contact
with me. You should not
expect email responses after 9PM, so make sure you are clear on the
parameters of assignments well in advance of the due dates.
Facebook: I can’t be your friend while you are a student at King’s.
A (93% and above)
A- (90%-92%)
B+ (87%-89%)
B (83%-86%)
B- (80%-82%)
C+ (77%-79%)
C (73-76%)
C- (70%-72%)
D (69%-60%)
F
(59% or below)
Grades
will be determined by the following:
Participation—10%
Source
Analyses—20%
Exams
—30%
Long
Essay —20%
Final—
20%
Participation:
Active, substantive participation is 10% of your overall grade; if you
are not in class, you cannot earn any participation points for that day.
After three unexcused absences your participation grade will be reduced
by one percent for each unexcused absence.
Furthermore, If you are not present to hand in your short paper
assignments, your assignment will not be graded for points, reducing
that portion of your overall grade.
All
Assignments:
Specific
assignments and requirements will be distributed to the class well
before the due date. I must
receive hard copies of all assignments.
Do not email me the assignment
if you cannot come to class. Please submit a paper copy to my
office or to my mailbox in the history department office, and ONLY do
this if you have pre-arranged it with me.
Source
Analyses:
Every week you will compose a
source analysis, comparing at least two primary source documents from
the week’s assigned readings.
These analyses should be at least two pages in length.
In the analysis you should discuss the key themes of the sources
and how they connect to the readings from the Pavlac text.
Things to consider: do the sources have similar views?
Are they connected chronologically?
Do they offer opposing viewpoints?
Do they show different sides of a particular subject
(Renaissance, Industrialization, etc)?
Source analyses are not
due on the following dates:
22 February (Midterm #1 Due)
28 March (Midterm #2 Due)
25 April (Long Essay Due)
Exams:
This
course will have two midterm exams and a final. Exams are to be
taken on the dates indicated on the syllabus. If you believe you must
miss an exam, you must see the instructor in advance regarding a
re-take. If you miss an exam without having previously spoken with me,
you must talk with me as soon as possible after the exam date. Re-takes
will only be allowed under extreme circumstances and with evidence of
the reason the exam was missed (e.g., Health Center receipt).
Midterm Schedule:
28 March
Final Exam: To be announced
Longer
Essay:
Later in the semester you will
be assigned a six-page essay on a topic to be distributed in class.
You will be asked to use not only primary sources I have assigned
to you, but also to find some additional primary texts.
I will ask you to use the sources you’ve compiled to form an
argument (thesis) about the assigned theme.
You will turn in a bibliography of your sources with short
descriptions of each text you are using.
After that, I will ask for a detailed outline of your paper that
includes your proposed thesis statement.
A full description of the paper topic will be distributed in
class as we near the assigned lecture day.
Long Essay Schedule:
Bibliography Due: 4
April
Outline Due: 11 April
Essay Due: 25 April
Course Schedule of Readings and
Assignments
18 January
Introduction
Reading Primary Sources
The Discipline of History
25 January
Chapter II: Wanderers and Settlers
pp. 13-38
Chapter III: The Chosen People
pp. 39-48
Epic of Gilgamesh, “The Flood”
http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab11.htm
Book of Genesis 6:5-9:17
http://web.archive.org/web/19990508211006/puffin.creighton.edu/theo/simkins/handouts/Gen6-9.html
Code of Hammurabi
http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/hammurabi.htm
Book
of Exodus, Chapter 20
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20&version=NIV
1 February
Chapter IV: The Trial of the Greeks
pp. 49-70
Thucydides, The Funeral Oration of Pericles
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/pericles-funeralspeech.html
Plato, The Apology of Socrates
http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/apology.htm
8 February
Chapter V: Imperium Romanum
pp. 71-90
The Twelve Tables
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/12tables.html
Cicero, from On the Republic
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/cicero-republic1.html
Suetonius,
The Life of Augustus, Sections 27-43
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/suetonius-augustus.html
15 February
Chapter VI: The Revolutionary Rabbi & The Fall of Rome
pp. 91-108
Christian Beginnings
http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/xtians.html
Procopius of Caesarea, Alaric’s Sack of Rome, 410 CE
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/410alaric.html
Sozomen, Constantine Founds Constantinople, 324 CE
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/sozomen-constantinople1.html
22 February
**MIDTERM #1 DUE IN CLASS**
Chapter VII: The Medieval Muddle
pp. 109-126
Conversion of Clovis
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/496clovis.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/gregory-clovisconv.html
Ibn Ishaq, Selections from the Life of Muhammad
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/muhammadi-sira.html
Einhard, Life of Charlemagne, extracts
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/einhard1.html
29 February
Chapter VIII, continued: The Medieval Muddle (Popes and Plagues)
pp. 127-162
Charter of Homage and Fealty
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/atton1.html
Magna Carta
http://www.constitution.org/eng/magnacar.htm
Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron, “Introduction”
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/boccacio2.asp
The
Black Death and the Jews
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/1348-jewsblackdeath.html
**7
March—Winter Recess**
14 March
Chapter IX: Making the Modern World (The Renaissance)
pp. 163-177
Petrarch, Letters
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/petrarch1.html
Niccolo Machiavelli The
Prince (read XV-XXVI)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/machiavelli-prince.html
21 March
Chapter VIII, continued: Making the Modern World (The Reformation)
pp. 177-198
Martin Luther, Letter to the Archbishop of Mainz, 1517
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/lutherltr-indulgences.html
Luther Against the Peasants
http://www.historyguide.org/earlymod/peasants1525.html
Ignatius Loyola, Spiritual Exercises
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/loyola-spirex.html
Christopher Columbus, extracts from journal
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/columbus1.html
Hernan Cortes, Second Letter to the Emperor Charles V, 1520
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1520cortes.html
28 March
**MIDTERM #2 DUE IN CLASS**
Chapter IX: Liberation of Mind and Body
pp. 199-225
The Crime of Galileo: Indictment and Abjuration of 1633
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1630galileo.html
Adam Smith, On the Wealth of Nations, 1776 excerpts
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/adamsmith-summary.html
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, chapters 13 and 14
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/hobbes-lev13.asp
John Locke, Second Treatise on Government, excerpts
http://www.thenagain.info/Classes/Sources/Locke-2ndTreatise.html
Jean Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract,
excerpts
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/rousseau-soccon.asp
4 April
**RESEARCH BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE**
The French Revolution
pp. 225-236
Abbe Sieyes, What is the Third Estate?
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/sieyes.html
National Assembly, The Declaration of the Rights of Man
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp
Maximilien Robespierre, The Cult of the Supreme Being
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/robespierre-supreme.html
Maximilien Robespierre, On the Principles of Political Morality
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1794robespierre.html
Maximilien Robespierre, Justification of the Use of Terror
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/robespierre-terror.html
The Napoleonic Code
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/code_nap.html
11 April
**RESEARCH OUTLINE AND THESIS DUE**
Chapter X: Mastery of the Machine
pp. 237-247
Physical Deterioration of the worker
http://www.victorianweb.org/history/workers2.html
Thomas
Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population (Read Preface and
Chapter
5)
http://www.edstephan.org/malthus/malthus.0.html
Robert
Owen, Observations on the Effect of the Manufacturing System
http://orion.it.luc.edu/%7Esjones1/owen.htm
Charles Fourier, Theory of Social Organization, 1820
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1820fourier.html
Prince Peter Kropotkin, Anarchism: Its Philosophy and Ideal, 1896
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1896kropotkin.html
18 April
Chapter X, continued: The Ideologies of Industrial Society
pp. 247-266
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto excerpts
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/mancont.asp
Karl Marx, Scientific Socialism, 1844-1875, excerpts
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/marx-summary.html
Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, excerpts
Herbert Spencer, Progress: Its Law and Cause
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/spencer-darwin.html
Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Die Weltanschauung, 1918
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1918freud-civwelt.html
25 April
**RESEARCH ESSAY DUE**
Chapter XII: The Westerner’s Burden
pp. 267-280
John Stuart Mill, On Colonies and Colonization, 1848
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1849jsmill-colonies.html
British Missionary Letters: Urging the Annexation of the South Sea
Islands, 1883
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1883hebrides.html
Kaister Wilhelm II and German Interests in China
http://h-net.org/~german/gtext/kaiserreich/china.html
The Platt Amendment, 1901
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1901platt.html
R. L. Bullard, Preparing Our Moros for Government, 1906
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1906bullard.html
Francisco Garcia Calderon, Imperialism of Decadence, 1913
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1913calderon.html
2 May
Chapter XII, continued: Nationalism & War
pp. 280-296
Joseph Mazzini, On the Duties of Man, “Duties Towards Your Country”
http://history.hanover.edu/texts/mazzini/mazzini5.htm
Max
Schneckenburger, The Watch on the Rhine, 1870
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1870wachtrhein.asp
The Young Turks, Proclamation for the Ottoman Empire, 1908
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1908youngturk.html
The Dual Alliance Between Austria-Hungary and German, 1879
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/dualalli.asp
The Three Emperors League, 1881
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/empleagu.asp
The Anglo-Russian Entente
http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/The_Anglo-Russian_Entente
The Zimmerman Telegram
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/zimmermann/#documents
FINAL EXAM
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