THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY ROME



THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF ROME

S Y L L A B U S

Course Title:  Survey of Western Civilization I Term: Fall 2008 Course Number: HST201 Time:  Two 1'25" sessions per week Monday and Wednesday: 10:30 am – 11.55 am Office hours: starting at 10 am on class days or by appointment Professor:  Alvaro Higueras (e-mail: alvarohig@)

Required Texts:

Judith Coffin, Robert Stacey. Western Civilizations. Vol. 1. New York, London: W.W. Norton and Co., 2005 (15th edition).

The textbook is on reserve in the library as well. Some readings will be announced during the course (see schedule).

Course Description: This course will cover the history of various civilizations that make up what we call Western Civilization for a time-span that stretches from the origins of human civilization till the Protestant Reformation. Although the course will focus on “Western” civilizations much attention will be given also to the contribution of Eastern Civilizations to European Civilization especially during and after the middle ages (specific hand-outs will be given along the course). In addition, each student will prepare a research paper on this topic referring to a civilization or period of history of his/her choice.

Credits:  Three hours. 

Course Objective: Students should become familiar with the most important civilizations that are believed to constitute the Western Civilization, including those of the Ancient Near East, Greece, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Islamic Middle East, Medieval Europe, the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation. Students should learn to distinguish between primary sources and secondary literature and use them critically for understanding historical events and for interpreting them.

Course Procedure: Students are given reading assignments prior to lectures on a given topic. This should enable them to participate actively in discussions after lectures (20% of the final grade for attendance, class participation and oral presentation). They are expected to keep up with the assigned readings. Each student will also be asked to give an oral presentation of the research paper topic (of his/her choice to be established with the instructor).

In order to get a “live” experience of a setting crucial in the history of Western civilization and take advantage of our Roman location, this course includes an obligatory visit to the Markets of Trajan and the Museum of the Imperial Fora (scheduled for Wednesday November 26 @ 10.00am).

Writing requirements: Students will be given two take-home exams consisting of essay questions. Take-home exam questions will focus on readings from primary sources and students’ answers will provide analysis of these primary sources. On the due date the questions of take-home exams will be analyzed in class in form of a general class discussion. Because of this procedure, it is imperative that students turn in their work no later than the due date. If a student is absent on the due date of the exam and has a reasonable excuse for doing so, s/he is encouraged to mail the answer electronically on the required day. In this case s/he is responsible for making sure that the e-mail arrives to me on time. If a student has a reasonable excuse for absence but does not e-mail the exam to me, the delay will affect the grade of each exam by 10 points. If an exam is more than a week late, it will be not accepted.

Each student should choose a topic of interest for an 8-10 page (double-spaced) research paper. The research paper should be based on at least three primary sources and at least eight secondary sources. Students are required to turn in an annotated bibliography and an outline of their paper prior to the final paper (see the due dates at the end of the syllabus). Failure to turn in the bibliography and the outline will result in subtracting 5 points for each from the final grade of the paper. Moreover, students are required to use electronic databases, such as J-STOR when doing research for the paper. We will have a short talk on the options available to the students to find both hard copies of literature as well as electronic sources.

Oral Presentation: Each student should present his/her research topic in a 10 min. oral presentation. Students will be graded based on the content of the oral presentation as well as the ability to communicate with the audience, e.g. lively talking and raising an interest in his/her topic as opposed to half-voiced reading without any eye-contact with listeners. Visual aids or hand-outs are a plus.

Exams: Mid-term and final exams will combine essay writing with short questions.

Attendance: Students are allowed two excused absences. More than five absences will provide sufficient ground for expulsion.

Grade tabulation

|Midterm Exam |20% |

|Class participation & attendance |10% |

|Take home exams |15% (2x7.5%) |

|Oral presentation |10% |

|Written research paper (see annex 1 - Grading Rubric for Research |20% |

|Paper) | |

|Final Exam |25% |

AUR grade values 94 – 100 points = A “Excellent”

90 – 93.99 pts = A-

87 – 89.99 = B+

83 – 86.99 = B “Good”

80 – 82.99 = B-

77 – 79.99 = C+

70 – 76.99 = C “Satisfactory”

60 – 69.99 = D “Poor”

59.99 – 0 = F “Failing”

Note: Each unexcused absence after the first two will result in a lowering of the weighted average by 3 percentage points. (see AUR attendance policy below)

Standards of academic conduct are set forth in the University's Academic Integrity Code which was provided in your registration packet. By participating in this program, you have acknowledged your awareness of the Academic Integrity Code, and you are obliged to become familiar with your rights and responsibilities as defined by the Code. Violations of the Academic Integrity Code will be taken seriously, and disciplinary actions will ensue should such violations occur. Please see me if you have any questions about the academic violations described in the Code in general or as they relate to particular requirements in this program.  

COURSE CHRONOGRAM

|Session |Topics |Readings |Tasks |

|M 8 Sep. |Introduction: The evolution of political systems and |No reading |  |

| |international relations. Time and scale. | |  |

| | | |  |

|W 10 Sep. |The Beginnings of Civilization: The Advent of the State|Chapter 1: The Origins of Western Civilizations | |

| |and Empire. | | |

|M 15 Sep. |The International Bronze Age and its Aftermath. An |Chapter 2: Gods and Empires in the Ancient Near | |

| |early process of globalization. |East, 1700–500 B.C.E. | |

|W 17 Sep. |Building the Classical World: Hebrews, Persians, and |Chapter 3: The Greek Experiment |First Take-Home Exam |

| |Greeks. | |handed |

|M 22 Sep. |Classical Greece : Politics, Science and Philosophy |Reading: TBA | |

|W 24 Sep. |The Hellenistic Age: Expansion of Greek Ideals. |Chapter 4: The Expansion of Greece | |

| |Globalization of the Mediterranean World. | | |

|M 29 Sep. |The Early Roman Empire. From Republic to Empire and the|No reading |First Take-Home Exam |

| |Shaping of a Continental Power. | |is DUE |

|W 1 Oct. |Roman Empire and the Strategies of an Imperial Power |Chapter 5: Roman Civilization | |

| |Discussion on take-home exam 1 | | |

|M 6 Oct. |Late Antiquity: Demise of the Management of the Empire |Chapter 6: Christianity and the Transformation of | |

| | |the Roman World | |

|W 8 Oct. |Rise of Christianity: From Peter to the Official Church|Reading: TBA |Second Take-Home Exam |

| |in hand with the Greatness of the Empire. | |handed |

| |Discussion on selection of paper topic. | | |

|M 13 Oct. |Byzantium, Islam and the Latin West: The Foundation of |Chapter 7: Rome's Three Heirs: The Byzantine, | |

| |the Diversity in Cultural Traditions. |Islamic, and Early Medieval Worlds | |

|W 15 Oct. |Byzantine Empire: The Short Life of the Eastern Roman |No reading |Second Take-Home Exam |

| |Empire | |is DUE. |

|M 20 Oct. |Review Session for the Mid-term Exam. |No reading |  |

| |Selection of paper topics - Guidelines for the | |  |

| |bibliography and research. | |  |

| |Discussion on take-home exam 2 | | |

|W 22 Oct. |Mid-term Exam | |

|M 27 Oct. |The Early Middle Ages. |Reading: TBA | |

|M 29 Oct. |The High Middle Ages. |Chapter 8: The Expansion of Europe: Economy, |  |

| | |Society, and Politics in the High Middle Ages, | |

| | |1000–1300 | |

|FALL BREAK 31 Oct. - 9 Nov. |

|M 10 Nov. |The High Middle Ages. |Chapter 9: The High Middle Ages: Religious and |  |

| | |Intellectual Developments, 1000–1300 | |

|W 12 Nov. |The Late Middle Ages |No reading |Annotated Bibliography|

| | | |of Papers DUE |

|M 17 Nov. |The Renaissance: How Money, Trade, Artistic Influences |Chapter 10: The Later Middle Ages, 1300–1500 |  |

| |and Humanistic Interest create the Revival of European | | |

| |Culture | | |

|W 19 Nov. |The Renaissance (Cont.) |Chapter 11: Commerce, Conquest, and Colonization, |Paper Outline DUE |

| | |1300–1600 | |

|M 24 Nov. |The West and the World. |Chapter 12: The Civilization of the Renaissance, |  |

| | |1350–1550 |  |

|W 26 Nov. |Visit to Markets of Trajan & Museum of Fori Imperiali @|Chapter 13: Reformations of Religion | |

| |entrance of Via Nazionale 33. | | |

| |Classroom debate 1: How do learn / use the Past? | | |

| |History and Politics. | | |

|M 1 Dec. |The Protestant Reformation. |Chapter 14: Religious Wars and State Building, | |

| |Classroom debate 2: the meaning of “Civilization” and |1540–1660 | |

| |today's scenarios of political organization in light of| | |

| |ancient models. | | |

|W 3 Dec. |Presentations by students (8-10 minutes each) |No reading | Paper DUE |

|M 8 Dec. |HOLIDAY - class held on Friday 12 Dec. |  |

| | |  |

| | |  |

| | |  |

|W 10 Dec. |Politics, Religion and the Creation of the New |Reading: TBA | |

| |Nation-States in Europe | | |

|F 12 Dec. |Review Session for the Final Exam |No reading | |

|W 17 Dec. |FINAL EXAM: 1pm- 3pm | |

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