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Brief Description Mid-Term Exam Term Paper Final Exam Required Texts

On Plagiarism vs Quoting On Disruptive Behavior On Endnote Form

Weekly Schedule MIDTERM EXAM QUESTIONS FINAL EXAM QUESTION

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 a lot of 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.

The Final Grade in this course is based upon: a Mid-Term Exam (35 percent); a Term Paper (20 percent); and 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 statement regarding plagiarism

Regarding Disruptive Behavior in the classroom: 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.

Required Texts: All books are required.

Coffin, et al., Western Civilizations: Their History and Their Culture, Vol. 1, 14^th Edition (New York: Norton, 2002).

Wessley, Study Guide for Coffin (et al), Western Civilizations Volume 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)

ON-LINE TUTOR WEBSITE: Norton, the publisher of the Coffin textbook, provides an "on-line tutor" program for the course text. It is called the "Western Civilizations Online Tutor," by Steven Kreis of Wake Technical College. The website for the on-line tutor is www.wwnorton.com/wciv . To use this website, your computer must have a "flash player" version 5 and use Explorer version 5 (or higher) or Netscape version 4.7 (or higher). The publisher's website provides free downloads of upgrades for these programs. I encourage you to use this on-line tutor program, but it is not required for the course.

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 (please read the directions at the linked page on quoting and on source citations). In grading the exam my primary concern will be your accuracy, clarity, and logic (although I will also take into consideration "technical" matters such as grammar.

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 (please read the directions at the linked page on quoting and on source citations).

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).

I will grade your paper on the basis of its accuracy, clarity, and logic (although I will also take into consideration "technical" matters such as grammar).

The term paper is due by Tuesday of Week 15.

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Pick one of these questions:

1. Much of the advice Machiavelli gives in The Prince regards the difference between successful and unsuccessful means of ruling over "conquered" peoples.

A) What arguments does Machiavelli make about the "right" and "wrong" way to rule over peoples whom a prince has conquered (or subjugated);
B) Explain the specific evidence that he uses to prove his point.

2. The Prince was a product of the Renaissance, a period in which European thinkers "rediscovered" the history of the ancient world; how does Machiavelli's interpretation of ancient history (written in 1514) compare to what we have read in the Coffin textbook (circa 2000)?

A) Explain Machiavelli's interpretation of at least two aspects of ancient history. You could, for example, explain his comparison of the ways in which the Persians, the Spartans, and the Romans dealt with dissent in their empires, or of how the Romans and the Greek city-states organized their armies, or of how various ancient states organized their governments, etc.;
B) Explain how Machiavelli's interpretation of these issues compares to the interpretation in the Coffin textbook.

3. Although when it was first published The Prince did not get a great deal of attention, critics soon denounced the book; Catholic critics saw the book as an attack on the Catholic Church, Protestant critics saw the book as justifying Catholic rule, and both groups condemned Machiavelli's arguments as "immoral."

A) Based upon what you have read in Coffin (etc), explain the specific arguments in The Prince that people in the 1500s would have been interpreted as attacks upon or defenses of the Catholic church and why;
B) Based upon what you have read in Coffin (etc), explain the other specific arguments in The Prince that people in the 1500s have considered generally immoral and why.

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Tips:

Be sure that you paper has an introductory paragraph that lets the reader know what your main question is and what your main point is. (Your main point is also called your thesis.) The main point should be a logical statement that answers the question. The reader should know what your thesis is by the end of your introductory paragraph.

To explain and prove your main points, break it down into several "sub- ideas" and provide evidence to prove these ideas. That is the function of the body paragraphs in your paper. Be sure that each paragraph in the body of your paper is devoted to explaining a single main idea (one main idea per paragraph). That main idea should help us understand your thesis. Each paragraph needs to include evidence about that main idea (to illustrate or prove your point), and you must explain what the evidence means (don't assume that it is obvious).

Be sure that you end your paper with a concluding paragraph that sums up you main ideas and makes clear how all of these ideas add up to your main point (thesis), and how your main point answers the main question of your paper.

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Final Exam: (40 percent of final grade.) You will take an in-class Final Exam, which will be essay format. The exam will be on 11 Dec. 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. In grading your essays my primary concern will be your accuracy, clarity, and logic (although I will also take into consideration "technical" matters such as grammar).

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 : Near Eastern Origins of "Western" Civilization

Coffin, chapter 1; Wessley, chapter 1

Brophy, chapter 1: Key documents