HIST 1350 Western Civ to 1500   Fall Term, 3 credit hours, M/W/F, 8:30 – 9:20

HIST 1350 Western Civ to 1500 1 Penner
HIST 1350 W Introduction to the History of Western Civilization to 1500
Fall Term, 3 credit hours, M/W/F, 8:30 – 9:20
Sep 05, 2013 - Dec 04, 2013
Class Room: Isbister 235
Instructor: Robert Penner
Office: 455 FLA
Office Hours: Tuesdays 10:30-11:30 or by appointment
E-mail: [email protected]
Voluntary Withdrawal Date: November 13th
The purpose of this course is to provide you with a very broad overview of Western Civilization up to
1500. In addition to learning the basic outline of its history, of key events and figures, this course will
also help you to think critically about how that story has been told. What are the different ways one can
tell the story of Civilization and the West? Who, or what, gets left out of the story depending how it is
told? Which variations do different people prefer? Why?
Classes will consist of formal lectures, at least once a week group work on the primary source readings,
and some video and film work. You will be responsible for all the material we cover and your mastery of
that material will be evaluated on the basis of short writing projects, a mid-term and a final exam.
Course Textbook:
Civilization in the West, Volume 1 (to 1715), Kishlansky, Geary & O'Brien
Course Evaluation:
In-class Primary Source Group Work: 10%
Class Participation 10%
Two Primary Source Research Papers (each 6-8 pages, 1500-2000 words long): 2x10% for 20%
Midterm: 30%
Final 30%
Note: Since this is a course that meets the University Senate's W requirement, students must complete all
essay assignments with a passing grade to pass the course.
Policy on Late Submissions: With the exception of those with documented medical reasons and in cases
of family emergency late assignments will be penalized one-half a letter grade for every 24-hour period
they are late. An A becomes a B+; a B+ becomes a B; and so on. Extensions may be granted upon
submission of a written request received at least one week prior to the due date. I do not consider broken
printers; incompatible file formats; irresponsible pets, family members, or friends; poor time
management; or car troubles to be sufficient reasons for last minute extensions.
Academic Integrity:
All University policies concerning plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be enforced. It is your
responsibility to know these policies. If you have any questions or concerns, ask. See the University’s
regulations re plagiarism, cheating and impersonation found in Section 8 of the General Academic
Regulations in the online Academic Calendar and Catalog and the Faculty of Arts regulation (online at
http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/student/student_responsibilities.html) which reads:
HIST 1350 Western Civ to 1500 2 Penner
The common penalty in Arts for plagiarism on a written assignment is a grade of F
on the paper and a final grade of F (DISC) (for Disciplinary Action) for the course.
For the most serious acts of plagiarism, such as purchase of an essay and repeat
violations, this penalty can also include suspension for a period of up to five (5)
years from registration in courses taught in a particular department/program in Arts
or from all courses taught in this Faculty.
The Faculty also reserves the right to submit student work that is suspected of being
plagiarized to Internet sites designed to detect plagiarism or to other experts for
authentication.
The common penalty in Arts for academic dishonesty on a test or examination is F for the paper,
F (DISC) for the course, and a one-year suspension from courses acceptable for credit in the
Faculty. For more serious acts of academic dishonesty on a test or examination, such as repeat
violations, this penalty can also include suspension for a period of up to five years from
registration in courses taught in a particular department or program in Arts or from all courses
taught in or accepted for credit by this Faculty.
Grading
A+
A
B+
B
C+
C
D
F
90-100
80-89
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
50-59
49 >
Exceptional work
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Satisfactory
Adequate
Marginal
Failure
Evaluative feedback will be provided prior to the Voluntary Withdrawal deadline of November 13th,
2013.
Students who wish to appeal a grade given for term work must do so within 10 working days after the
grade for the terms have been made available to them. Uncollected term work will become the property of
the Faculty of Arts and will be subject to confidential destruction.
Course Outline:
Introduction
Week 1: What is History?
Video: The Barbarian West (Legacy series)
Part I: What is Civilization?
Section Media: Rome
Week 2
Chapter 1: The First Civilizations
Primary source text: Selections from Assyrian and Babylonian Legal Codes
Week 3
Chapter 2: Early Greece
Primary source text: Selections from Homer
HIST 1350 Western Civ to 1500 3 Penner
Week 4
Chapter 3: Classical and Hellenistic Greece
Primary source text: Selections from Plato, Aristotle and the pre-Socratics
Week 5
Chapter 4: Early Rome and the Roman Republic
Primary source text: Selections from The Golden Ass and Satyricon
Week 6
Chapter 5: Imperial Rome
Primary source text: Selections from Tacitus and Caesar
Week 7
Review and Midterm Exam
Part II: What is the West?
Section Media: Name of the Rose
Week 8
Chapter 6: The Transformation of the Classical World
Primary source text: Letters of Pliny, Letter to Arsacius, Symmacgus Relation 3, Ambrose Epistle 17
Week 9
Chapter 7: The Classical Legacy in the East: Byzantium and Islam
Primary source text: Selections from John Chrysostom on the Jews, Professions of Faith Extracted from
Jews on Baptism, the Quran and the Hadiths on the People of the Book
Week 10
Chapter 8: The West in the Early Middle Ages, 500-900
Primary source text: Selections from Njals Saga
Week 11
Chapter 9: The High Middle Ages, 900-1300
Primary source text: Selections from Bernard Gui, Caeserius of Heisterbach, Fourth Lateran Council:
Canon 3 on Heresy
Week 12
Chapter 10: The Later Middle Ages, 1300-1500
Primary source text: Selections from the Peasant Rebellions
Week 13
Review and Final Exam