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Brief Course Description MID-TERM EXAM QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS

Grade Scale FINAL EXAM QUESTION AND DIRECTIONS

Required Texts

Mid-Term Exam

Term Paper

Final Exam

Warning re. plagiarism!!!!

On using endnote citation form

Weekly Schedule

Link to Hickey's European and Jewish History Resources Page

Brief Description: This course is a survey of "Western Civilization" to the mid-1600s. We will begin with societies in the ancient Near East, then focus on societies that arose around the Mediterranean, and finally focus almost exclusively on regions of Europe. In addition to the specifics of particular societies at particular times, we also will examine "themes" that cut across the chronology of events.

Here is a short list of some of the themes we will follow:

Geographic and other factors contributing to the rise of ancient civilizations
Transformations in ancient economic life
The nature and evolution of ancient state systems
The fundamentals of ancient Religious cultures
The role of warfare and imperialism in the ancient world
The influence of classical Greek and Roman civilizations on other societies
The origins and evolution of monotheism (i.e., Judiaism, Christianity, Islam)
The Collapse of Roman Hegemony and the the Emergence of Medieval Society
The Evolving Cultural and Political Role of the Catholic Church
Feudalism and the Emergence of National Monarchies
The Significance of Inter-Continental Cultural and Economic Exchange (including Warfare)
The Significance of the Renaissance and of the Reformation
Religious Conflicts and the Emergence of the Nation State

Most of our class sessions will be in lecture format, but I will be asking you questions during the lectures (about the readings, about your interpretation of ideas and events, etc.), and I hope that your answers will lead us into class discussions.

Grade Scale:

Your Grade in this course is based upon:

a Mid-Term Exam (35 percent)
a Term Paper (20 percent)
a Final Exam (40 Percent)
and attendance (5 percent).

Your attendance grade will fall in direct ratio to unexcused absences.

In grading all of your written work, my primary concern will be your accuracy, clarity, and logic (although I also will take into consideration "technical" matters, such as grammar and proper citation form).

Regarding Cheating and Plagiarism: I will enforce university policy on cheating and plagiarism. Please read the linked warning re. plagiarism.

Regarding disruptive behavior: I will enforce university policy regarding disruptive behavior. Please read the linked statement regarding disruptive behavior in the classroom.

Absence Policy: I will consider as "excused" absences only those medical, family, or activity related events (etc.) that the student has discussed with me in advance and/or that are documented by the university administration. I will give no "make up" assignments unless the student has an excused absence.

An "A" in the course means that you have a total of 920 or more out of 1000 possible points
A- = 900-919
B+ = 880-899
B=820-879
B-=800-819
C+=780-799
C=720-779
C-=700-719
D+=680-699
D=600-679
E= fewer than 600 points

Required Texts:

The following books are required.

Coffin, et al., Western Civilizations: Their History and Their Culture, Vol. 1, 14^th Edition (New York: Norton, 2002).
Brophy, et al., Perspectives from the Past, Vol. 1 (New York: Norton, 2002)
Machiavelli, The Prince (New York: Bantam, 1984)

You are strongly encouraged to purchase:

Wessley, Study Guide for Coffin (et al), Western Civilizations Volume 1 14^th Edition (New York: Norton, 2002).

Mid-Term Exam: (35 percent of final grade.) You will have a take-home mid-term exam that will be in an essay format. The exam will be due in the 8th week of class, and the questions will require that you weave together information from the assigned readings (in Coffin, Wessley, and Brophy) and in the lectures from the previous seven weeks. I will not accept late exams.

The question will be posted as a link to this on-line syllabus. You must cite the source of all quotations and well as all specific paraphrased or summarized information from the readings using endnotes (see linked directions).

My primary concern is the accuracy, clarity, and logic of your answer, which will account for 90 percent of your grade. I also will base 10 percent of your grade on use of proper grammar, punctuation, and endnote form.

Term Paper: (20 percent of final grade.) You will write a short paper (4-5 pages typed, double-spaced, 12 point font, with 1-inch margins) using as your main source Machiavelli's The Prince..

In The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli offered "humble advice" to Lorenzo (Giuliano) de Medici, the ruler of Florence. According to Machiavelli, a successful Prince must rule as an autocrat and sometimes must behave ruthlessly for the best interests of the State, but he must never act as a tyrant. To defend his arguments, Machiavelli made many references to the history of the ancient world as well to recent events of the late 1400s and early 1500s. As you know from your readings, Machiavelli was writing at a time of foreign (French and Spanish) dominance over the Italian city-states. He himself had been as supporter of a republican form of government (and not of the rule of a prince), and he had served as a government official in the Florentine Republic. He wrote The Prince after the Medici family had overthrown the Florentine Republic and restored themselves to princely power.

Your paper must be based upon detailed analysis of the evidence in The Prince. That means that you must refer to specific evidence in The Prince that supports your answer. You must cite the source of all quotations and well as all specific paraphrased or summarized information from the readings using endnotes.

To write a good paper, you must consider how evidence in The Prince is related to information in Coffin, the lectures, and any related documents from the Brophy reader. But you do not have to read any additional essays or books; if you do read any additional sources, you must list these in a bibliography at the end of the paper (this includes any internet sites).

Link to Term Paper questions.

The term paper is due by Tuesday of Week 15.

Final Exam: (40 percent of final grade.) You will take an in-class Final Exam, which will be essay format. The final exam will cover all of the reading and lecture material since the Mid-Term Exam. I will not schedule "make-up" exams unless I receive notification from the University administration that your absence is excused for the day of the exam.

Weekly schedule:

Note:

Coffin refers to Western Civilizations. For each week, I indicate the reading assignments that should be finished by Tuesday (the exception, of course, is our first class session). Be sure to read the chapter introductions and the "document boxes" as well as the chapter text. At the end of each chapter, you should be able to answer that chapter's study questions

Wessley refers to Study Guide for Coffin (et al). For most students, the best way to check to see if you have understood the textbook is to answer the questions in this study guide. Also, each chapter in Wessley includes a few documents, some of which I might expect you to use in writing your exams.

Brophy refers to Perspectives from the Past. It is best to do the readings in Coffin each week before you do the readings in Brophy. When you read Brophy each week, be sure to begin with the chapter introductions. Before you read each assigned document, be sure that you read that document's introduction. When you finish reading each assigned document, be sure that you can answer the review questions. Although all of the documents in each chapter are important, I indicate the documents that I particularly want you to read consider each week as "key" documents.

This is a provisional schedule--I may find it necessary to change the dates of some assignments during the semester, and I may at times run a bit ahead or behind the syllabus.

Week I (11-13 Jan.): Near Eastern Origins of "Western" Civilization

Coffin, chapter 1; Wessley, chapter 1

Brophy, chapter 1: Key documents