History 101

History 101

Western Civilization to 1600
Northern Virginia
Community College

Dr. Doug Campbell, docampbell@nvcc.edu
Office Hours In LC-320: Mondays 11 am-12:30pm, Wednesdays, 10-11am ,or by appointment.
Office Hours via Zoom Appointment: Tuesdays, 12-1:30 pm, Thursdays, 6-7pm;
Email me at least 24 hours in advance to schedule an appointment if you need to consult during office hours.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, NOVA and the state of Virginia mandates everyone wear face coverings while indoors on campus for everyone's safety. Free masks are available at the campus Parking and NOVACard office. You are also encouraged to take advantage of one of the several safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 which help protect both you and those around you. NOVA also offers a $250 incentive for all vaccinated students, and a $75 incentive for booster vaccinations. Thanks for your help!

If the situation with the ongoing pandemic deteriorates, the in person class meetings may be moved to synchronous Zoom sessions at the professor's discretion.

Welcome

Themes

Readings

Grading and Due Dates

Expectations

Description of Course Elements

Course Schedule

Welcome to History 101

You just happen to be lucky enough to have enrolled in a class on the history of western civilization. Seriously. History is enormously interesting, and I love teaching it. If I do my job correctly, you will love learning about it. And of course, not only is history fascinating, but it's also valuable in an intellectual sense. Learning about how people lived in the past can help broaden your horizons, making your outlook less parochial and more cosmopolitan. It's sort of like traveling to a foreign country without the discomfort of a long, uncomfortable plane ride. History, of course, can also inform your understanding of the present by showing you the deeper roots of problems and trends in the contemporary world. And finally, a well-taught history course is chock full of practice in all sorts of useful skills that employers are interested in, such as critical thinking, analyzing documents, and crafting well-written arguments based on evidence. So history can be interesting, can enrich your intellectual life, and make you more money. What could be more awesome?

One thing to keep in mind with this course, however, is the fact that learning is not a spectator sport. You can't just sit back passively and expect to get anything near the full benefit of this class. You need to be actively engaged in your own education. I certainly have to play my part, and I promise to do my best to present an interesting and dynamic class which offers you all sorts of opportunities to learn cool stuff. The actual learning is your job, though. To put it another way, I can cook the most delicious banquet imaginable, and set the table in the most attractive way possible, piling it high with all sorts of fabulous delicacies. But in the end, you're the one who actually has to eat the meal. So if you're going to take this class, I'll ask you to make a conscious decision to engage in all of the opportunities available to you, and to commit to coming to all of the class sessions, to participating in an active and thoughtful manner in all of our class discussions, to completing all of the assigned readings, and to submitting all of the required assignments. If you do, I promise it will be worth your while. Your place at the table is set, and you are invited....

Stuff the College makes me include:

Course Description

Examines the development of western civilization from ancient times to the present. Part I of II. Lecture 3
hours per week.

General Course Purpose

Surveys the general history of the Western world from about 3000 BCE to 1600 CE and allows students to
reach a basic understanding of the characteristic features of the Western world's early historical development
in that span of time. Students will learn about some of the important political, economic, social, intellectual,
cultural and religious changes that shaped the development of the West from earliest times.

Course objectives

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

Establish a chronology of historical events in the Western world before 1600 CE.
Explain the changing geopolitical structures of the Western world up until 1600 CE.
Define the importance of key individuals and developments in Western civilization before 1600 CE.
Identify the social, economic and political forces at work in the evolution of early and medieval Western history.
Recognize and describe the significance of some of the cultural achievements of ancient and medieval Western civilization.
Analyze complex historical sources and materials and reach conclusions based on interpretations of those materials.

Course Prerequisites: None

Themes

Our primary goal is to investigate what it means to be human by looking at what humans were like in the past. To that end, this class is going to use several themes as "lenses" through which to examine the human past. The themes are:

Government: What are the origins of human governments? What are the various forms that government has taken over the centuries? Which forms work best? Which are worst?

Religion: What is religion? What role does it play in human societies? Is religion an essential part of being human?

Gender: Are different social roles for men and women essential or arbitrary? How have human opinions on gender, marriage, and sexuality changed over time?

Social Class: Are inequalities in wealth and power inherent, appropriate parts of human life or evils to be overcome? On what basis should wealth and power be allocated?

There are of course plenty of other lenses through which to look at the past, but these are a good start and should give plenty of interesting questions to examine for one class.

Readings

There are no books you need to purchase for this class. We will be making use, as much as possible, of Open Educational Resources (OER) which are available online for free.

Even though we have left the more traditional paper textbook-oriented model of a history class behind, however, this course still requires you to do a great deal of reading, writing, and, above all, thinking. You should take the course readings seriously, and make sure to keep up with the reading assignments described below in the Class Schedule.

Course readings should be completed BEFORE you log into class session for which they are assigned. It is especially important to read the sources marked as "discussion readings" because we will be discussing them in class. Taking notes on them, marking the most important passages, and jotting down any questions you might have is highly encouraged.

Grading and Due Dates

Your overall grade for the class will consist of the following elements. No work for the course (other than the final exam) will be accepted after April 29-- No exceptions!

Scores will be posted on Canvas, and will be accompanied by general comments about the strengths and weaknesses of your work. If you would like a more detailed description of aspects of the assignment which could be improved, just ask me and I will be happy to provide one.

Course Element	Percentage of Course Grade	Due Date
Attendance and Participation	20%	Every Class Session
Discussion Group Leadership	5%	At least 2 times during the semester
Source Criticism Paper (2 pages)	10%	Source Proposal due February 4 Finished Paper due February 11
Autocracy and Democracy Paper (2 pages)	10%	February 25
Midterm Exam	5%	March 4
Annotated Bibliography Part 1	10%	March 25
Annotated Bibliography Part 2	10%	April 1
Final Project	25%	Project Topic Proposal Due January 28 Finished Project Due April 22
Final Exam	5%	May 6

Grading Scale

Percentage	Final Course Grade
Above 90%	A
80-89%	B
70-79%	C
60-69%	D
Below 60%	F

Expectations

Guidelines for Conduct During Class Meetings

You are responsible for being present and attentive during class. Late arrival to class may result in being marked as absent for the class session.

Disruptive Behavior: Please be considerate. Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Private conversations during lecture or class discussions all distract and disturb your instructor and your classmates, and will count against your participation grade. Repeated instances of rude behavior may result your removal from the classroom. If you have a question or a comment on the course material, please raise your hand.

Announcements: If there is something I need to communicate to the class, I will post an announcement to the course Canvas page. It is the your responsibility to check the course's Canvas page and your College email account in a timely manner in order to receive information on the substitute assignment and when it is due. You should adjust the settings of your Canvas account to make sure that you are promptly notified.

Abuse: Any student who seems to be under the influence of alcohol or intoxicating drugs, or who is abusive or violent will be referred to the appropriate College authorities.

Course Content Warning: Lectures and course materials may contain disturbing content, including, but not limited to: violence, sexual assault, war crimes, genocide, mental or physical illnesses or disabilities, discrimination or persecution on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, and/or sexual orientation, etc. If you have been personally impacted by one or more of these topics and suffer from PTSD, please email the professor if you would like prior notification of lectures containing discussions of the effecting topics.

Accommodations: Students requiring special accommodations for assignments or exams should have the appropriate forms from the Disability Support Service (DSS). Forms should be given to me no fewer than 7 days before the date the assignment or exam requiring the accommodation is due, and preferably at the very beginning of the semester.

Guidelines for Written Work

Formatting: Papers should be double spaced, using 12 point Tahoma font and one inch margins. All papers must be word processed and submitted through Canvas as files in .doc, .odt, .pdf, or .rtf format (No .pages format submissions, please!). E-mail submissions will not be accepted. See this rubric for a more detailed description of how you will be graded.

Style and Grammar: All of your work for this class must present a main argument or thesis which addresses the question(s) posed by the assignment, should support that argument with evidence, and should be written in grammatical and stylistically correct English. Make sure to proofread and use spell-check. For information on writing papers for this class, make sure to read my Tips for History Papers page. You also might want to consult the following handy websites:

        NVCC Loudoun's Writing Center
        Patrick Rael, "Avoid Common Mistakes In Your History Paper"
        Steven Kreis, "Writing the Short Essay"

Citations: You MUST include a formal citation any time you refer to a specific passage in a text, even if you do not quote the text directly. The required method for citing sources in this class is the Chigago Manual of Style's format, which is the standard for the discipline of history. According to this format, at the end of any sentence or paragraph drawn from a specific part of a source, you insert superscript number which corresponds to a footnote at the bottom of the page with the appropriate bibliographic information. Number your footnotes consecutively. Consult the previous web link for more detailed information on citations in this format. You also might find this video on "Inserting Chicago Style Footnotes and Endnotes Using Microsoft Word" helpful. EVERY PAPER you complete for this class should include a bibliography at the end listing all of the sources you consulted (even if the list includes only one source). Your bibliography page does not count toward the page length of your assignment.

Plagiarism: Any student caught plagiarizing or cheating in this course will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, including at a minimum no credit whatsoever for the assignment or exam in question (No exceptions!!!).   Particularly flagrant instances of cheating or multiple instances of plagiarism will result in a grade of "F" for the course. Procedures for disciplinary measures and appeals are outlined in the NOVA Student Handbook.

Please note that even copying a sentence or two from another source without citing it is enough to trigger a plagiarism penalty. Likewise, changing a word here or there from content which you copy is still plagiarism. Your work should be entirely in your own words except for the passages which you quote and appropriately cite.

For a bit more discussion on why you will probably get caught if you try to use the web to plagiarize, see "How Dumb Do They Think We Are?" by Jonathan Malesic. All of your papers for the class will be checked for plagiarism by Turnitin software.

Late Work: Late papers and assignments will receive a one letter grade late penalty. The Attendance and Participation activities associated with our class meetings depend on your active interaction with your classmates, and cannot be completed late. No late assignments will be accepted after April 29.

Guidelines for E-Mail Communication

The easiest way to contact me outside of class is through e-mail. In order to receive a response to your message, however, your e-mail must contain the following elements, which are all part of the basic etiquette for professional correspondence:

Your full name, the name of the class, and the day and time when it meets in the title of your message.
Appropriate salutations and signatures (for example, you should begin your message "Dear Professor," or "Dr. Campbell," and conclude with your name).
Correct grammar and punctuation.

Messages sent using "text-ese" or rude or abusive language will be ignored (b/c it makes u look ignorant d00d)!

I have on average between 150-200 students a semester, so you need to provide me with as much information as possible if you want a timely answer to your message. Please allow at least 48 hours before following up. If you haven't received a response within a couple of days, however, feel free to nag me.

Description of Course Elements

Attendance and Participation

Your attendance and active participation is expected at every class meeting.Given the fact that participation is part of your grade, your attendance is expected at every class meeting. You are allowed two unexcused absence for the semester. You will only receive credit for attending a class session if you are present when I take roll at the beginning of class. Please note that you should definitely not come to class if you suspect you may have an infectious illness. Let me know and I can excuse the absence-- thanks!Preparedness: You should make sure that you have completed the assigned readings and any required assignments BEFORE you attend the class session for which they are assigned, especially the readings labelled as "Discussion Readings." You may be asked to discuss both readings and assignments, so you should have access to them during class.

You are expected to treat your fellow students with respect and a spirit of generosity and good-will. If you have a problem with one of the other students that you are unable to resolve on your own, please contact the professor for guidance and assistance.

Group Leadership

Discussions in smaller groups will be a frequent feature of the class. At least 2 times over the course of the semester, each student will serve as the leader of their group for class discussions. The group leader is responsible for noting which group members are present and participating in the discussion, and should help guide the group's conversation so that the form associated with that particular discussion has been completely filled out. The group leader will also share the group's findings with the rest of the class, if applicable, for that particular class session. Finally, the group leader should also turn in the appropriate completed form through Canvas at the end of the class session.

Autocracy and Democracy Comparative Analysis Paper

Read the translation of the Cyrus Cylinder and Aristotle’s description of the Athenian Constitution, and then write a paper at least two double-spaced pages long (approximately 500 words) which answers the following questions: How did the Persian King Cyrus portray the benefits or advantages of his system of one-man rule (autocracy)? Why did the Athenians reject rule by one man, and what specific ways did their system allow citizens to participate in the management of Athenian society? How did this Athenian democracy change over time, according to Aristotle?

You should make sure to refer to or quote specific examples from the documents in order to support your arguments, and to cite them using Chicago-format footnotes. When citing the Cyrus Cylinder, your footnotes should include the line number. When citing Aristotle on the Athenian Constitution, your footnotes should include the part number.

Please follow the guidelines for written work in this class. See this rubric for a more detailed description of how you will be graded.

Source Criticism Paper

You should select a website dealing with the topic you are using for your Final Project and compare it to an article on the same basic subject written during the past 50 years from a history-focused scholarly journal (see below for more detailed information on how to find a scholarly journal article). Websites should contain orignal content, and cannot be primary source documents, encyclopedia/Wikipedia articles, or reprints of articles published elsewhere. These two sources must be approved by the professor before you can proceed any further with this assignment. Your proposed sources for the Source Criticism Paper should be uploaded for approval using this form. Make sure to check the professor's feedback to see if your sources were approved, or if you need to resubmit the form.

Once your sources are approved, you should read them and then, in a paper at least two double-spaced pages long, write a comparative analysis with a main arguement which answers this major question: "Which of these two sources would be most useful to scholar researching this topic?" Your analysis also ought to consider the following secondary questions:

Is the author of each source identified? If so, what is his or her level of expertise with the subject matter?
What is the main argument of each source?
Does each source specify its evidence or sources of information? If so, what sorts of evidence are cited?
Given what you know about the subject matter from the rest of your research, how reliable and accurate is each source?
What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of each source?

You should mention the title of the website and the title of the article, the name of the journal, and the name of the author of the scholarly journal article in the introduction of your paper. You should also include the full bibliographic citations for each in a bibliography page.

Please follow the guidelines for written work in this class. You do not need to include footnotes for this assignment unless you quote either of your two sources directly, or you consult some source other than the sources you are analyzing. See this rubric for a more detailed description of how you will be graded.

How To Find A Scholarly Journal Article:

This video walks you through the process of finding a scholarly journal article using the NOVA Library and JSTOR: How to Find a Scholarly Journal Article

A scholarly journal is a periodical which contains research-based articles and reviews by established scholars in a given field. These sorts of journals are geared towards a professional or academic audience, and are intended to serve as an intellectual resource rather than to earn a profit for the publisher. In order to have an article published in a scholarly journal, an author must submit it to the editorial board of the journal first. The editors then will have the prospective article reviewed by other scholars in the field. Only an article which passes through this process of evaluation by recognized experts ("peer review") can be published in a scholarly journal. All scholarly journal articles meticulously document their sources of information and contain ample foot or endnotes. While some scholarly journals make some or all of their content available on the web, a genuine scholarly journal is also always published in paper form so it can become part of the collections of research-oriented libraries. Consult the NOVA Library's page on scholarly journal articles for more information on what distinguishes a scholarly journal from other sorts of periodicals.

Just a few examples of some of the most prominent scholarly journals dealing with ancient or medieval history include The American Historical Review, The Journal of Ancient History, The Journal of Roman Studies, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, Classical Antiquity, Clio, The Medieval Review, Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies, Renaissance Quarterly, The Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, and Past and Present (This is not a complete list-- there are many, many more!). Please note that magazines like History Today, National Geographic Magazine, and American History certainly contain interesting material, they are intended for a popular audience rather than a professional academic one, and hence do not qualify as scholarly journals.

Not too terribly long ago, the only place one could go to access a scholarly journal was an academic library. These days, however, many journals allow readers to access their contents online. The best place to start is JSTOR, a service which provides the full text of articles from several hundred different scholarly journals. You can use JSTOR for free by accessing it through the NVCC Library's site.

You can access JSTOR from the NOVA library's homepage. Log into My NOVA and then go to http://www.nvcc.edu/library/

Click on "Research Databases by Subject";
the click "History (HIS)";
then click "JSTOR"

Once in JSTOR, you should select the "advanced search" option, scroll down to "Narrow by Item Type" and click the "Articles" box, and then scroll down again to "Narrow by discipline and/or publication title:" and click the "History" box.

Then plug in your search topic and see what comes up.

Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources. It differs from a straightforward bibliography in that each reference is followed by a paragraph length annotation. The Annotated Bibliography is part of your Final Project. You should provide annotations for the sources that will then be used in the Final Project. Sources should be directly related to the Final Project’s topic. Annotations should be a brief paragraph (about 100 words) long.

Part 1 of your Annotated Bibliography should include:

At least 5 Primary Sources (either online or in print). For primary sources, you should be looking for documents which were originally written during the time period you are trying to study. While architectural or archaeological remains certainly do qualify as primary sources which can be used by scholars to reconstruct the past, they are problematic for an assignment like this. Written documents from the past should be your focus!

See the description of the Final Project below for a list of sites to begin finding relevant primary sources.

For each of the Primary Sources in Part 1 your annotation should include:

Bibliographic information according to Chicago style.
The name and background of the author, if known.
The date the document was originally written, if known.
The author’s purpose in writing the document and its historical context.
Any bias displayed by the author.
The significance of the document (ie, why should anybody in the present care?).

Part 2 of your Annotated Bibliography should include:

At least 5 Secondary Scholarly Sources, including:

At least 1 Scholarly Journal Article (you learned about these in your Source Criticism Paper)
At least 1 Scholarly Monograph (A book length scholarly study by one author)
For the other 3 secondary sources, you should use high quality scholarly sources, and avoid using the textbook, encyclopedia articles, or anonymously authored websites.

For each of the Secondary Sources in Part 2 your annotation should include:

Bibliographic information according to Chicago style.
The name and scholarly background of the author (education, publications, university appointments, etc.)
The author’s main argument (note, this is not the same thing as a simple description of the subject matter-- what is the author trying to say about this subject?).
The specific types of evidence used to support the author’s main argument (are they primary sources? Scholarly secondary works?)
How successful/convincing is the author’s argument?

Please follow the guidelines for written work in this class.

Final Project

The capstone assignment for this class is the Final Project. For this assignment you should select one of the following option. No matter what option you choose, you will need to produce the equivalent of 6 double spaced pages worth of text (approximately 1250 words), and to draw upon at least 5 primary source documents (text, not images) and 5 scholarly secondary sources. See below for more detailed descriptions of what each option requires:

A Research Paper

A “Day In The Life” Video

A Travel Log Website

Do Your Own Thing (If You Can Convince Me): You can also propose your own format for a Final Project, but you will need to explain why you think this particular format is interesting and a good way to discuss your particular topic. If I agree, I will approve the proposal; if not, you will need to pick one of the other Final Project formats. The format also will need to meet the same requirements as the others in terms of both page length/word count and number and types of sources used. Power Point or other slide-based presentations are extremely boring, and definitely will not be approved.

Sources:

In terms of evidence, you should feel free to draw from sources you have already considered for your other course work. At a minimum, however, your paper must refer to and correctly cite:

At least 5 Primary Sources (either online or in print). Your primary sources should be roughly evenly divided between the two societies which you are examining.
At least 1 Scholarly Journal Article (you learned about these in your Source Criticism Paper)
At least 1 Scholarly Monograph (essentially a book by a scholar focused on one narrow historical subject relevant to your research topic)
At least 3 Other Secondary Sources (either online or in print)

For primary sources, you might consult the following resources (some of these sites also contain secondary sources as well):

Directory of World History Primary Sources

World History Sources. Browse by region or time period, or type your topic in the Search box. When viewing results of your search, the "F" icon represents primary source documents. From George Mason University.

Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature. A selection of nearly 400 literary compositions recorded on sources which come from ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and date to the late third and early second millennia BCE.

Perseus Digital Library. Includes Greek, Roman and Renaissance materials. From Tufts University.

Ancient History Sourcebook (Fordham University). A "classroom usable" sourcebook of copy-permitted primary sources and material for Ancient history and civilization courses.

Medieval History Sourcebook (Fordham University). This is an online source book of copy-permitted, primary source material for Medieval Studies. It is the largest online resource of medieval and Byzantine textual sources.

The Avalon Project. A variety of primary documents from 4000 BCE to the modern era. From Yale University Law School.

World Digital Library - Library of Congress. The World Digital Library (WDL) is a project of the U.S. Library of Congress, and makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from all countries and cultures.

Hanover Historical Texts Collection

The relevant due dates and point worth of the various elements of the Final Project are as follows:

Final Project Element	Description	Due Date
Proposal	You should submit a Final Project Proposal using the relevant link in Canvas which describes the option and topic. You may not turn in an Annotated Bibliography or a finished Final Project without getting your Topic Proposal approved in advance.	Jan. 28
Annotated Bibliography, Parts 1 and 2	You should submit a bibliography of the sources which you intend to use for your Final Project. The bibliography should include at least 5 primary sources (historical documents from the past) and 5 scholarly secondary sources (including at least one scholarly journal article and one scholar monarch). Each source should be accompanied by a brief paragraph of analysis (See the Annotated Bibliography assignment description for more detailed information).	Part 1: March 25 Part 2: April 1
Finished Final Project	You should submit a Final Project using the appropriate link on the course Canvas page. See below for complete descriptions of the various Final Project Options.	April 22

Research Paper Option:

For this option you will write a Research Paper which is 6 double spaced pages (approximately 1250 words) long, and which draws upon and correctly cites at least 5 primary source documents (text, not images) and 5 scholarly secondary sources.Your paper should attempt to answer a specific question relevant to the subject matter of the course which deals with one or more of the themes of the course (religion, government, gender, and social class) and discuss how it/they have changed over time.

You should make sure to refer to or quote specific examples from the sources in order to support your arguments, and to cite them using Chicago-format footnotes. Please follow the guidelines for written work in this class. See this rubric for a more detailed description of how you will be graded.

The themes themselves are too broad to be the focus or your paper, so your topic should narrow the focus down in some way (For example, the topic, "Religion in Western Civilization" is too broad). On the other hand, I would like you to pick a topic that allows you to examine changes over a considerable span of time. Here are some sample research questions as examples. You are free to pick one of these, to modify one (for example to change the region on which the question focuses), or to suggest your own entirely new topic.

How did religion influence government and vice versa in the Roman Empire? (themes: religion and government)
What did marriage customs reveal about gender roles in ancient Egypt? (theme: gender)
What role did slavery play in the social and economic system of classical Athens? (theme: social class)
How did religion transition from polytheism to monotheism in ancient Israel? (theme: religion)
What were the lives of peasants like in medieval England? (theme: social class)
What were the lives of the upper class like in the Byzantine Empire? (theme: social class)
How did government work in the Roman Republic, and from where did its authority derive? (theme: government)
What were women's lives like in medieval England, and how much say did women have in how those lives were lived? (theme: gender)
What role did religion play in justifying the institution of slavery in ancient Greece? (theme: social class and religion)
How accepted were same-sex relationships in medieval Europe (theme: gender)
What role did the military play in government in ancient Mesopotamia? (theme: government)
What did athletics reveal about ideals of masculinity in ancient Greece? (theme: gender)
What role did women play in religion in ancient Egypt? Was religion liberating or restrictive for women? (theme: religion)
How much of an impact did wealth have on government in the Persian Empire? Did the wealthy rule, or good the poor also have some power? (theme: social class)
How did religion and philosophy interact in ancient Rome? Were they in competition or did they compliment one another? (theme: religion)

“Day In The Life” Video Option:

For this version of the Final Project you will need to choose a time period and region relevant to some aspect of the subject matter of this class. Then select three different people to portray. They can be either specific individuals from history, or different types of people (ie, from different social classes, professions, nationalities, ethnicities, genders, etc.).

Once your characters have been approved, you should craft a video of approximately 5 minutes (so 15 minutes total), where each character introduces themselves and discusses what their daily life is like. Consider discussing topics such as the character’s work, living conditions, family relationships, food, political and social opinions, etc. The idea is to provide as vivid, interesting, and historically accurate portrayal as possible. Feel free to use appropriate accents or slang if you like. You can use friends or family members in your videos if you like, as long as you are the one who writes the script.

Important stuff that you shouldn’t forget:

Your video should advance a clear, specific argument or thesis about what the lives of the three people portrayed reveal about the particular era in which they lived.

You also should include a list of all of your sources at the end of the video.

All final project videos must be posted on YouTube or Vimeo. You must upload the link for the instructor to grade. Do not set your video to “private” or select any other access restrictions. It must be public for the instructor to grade.

In order to receive a grade for the Final Project, you must submit your written script and a link to the video using the appropriate link in Canvas.

Here are some suggestions for software to use when editing your videos:

iMovie

Movie Maker

Final Cut Express

Camtasia

WeVideo

Travel Log Website Option:

For this version of the Final Project you will need to choose a time period and region relevant to some aspect of the subject matter of this class. Then select at least five specific geographic sites or events to discuss. These can be specific buildings or monuments, neighborhoods, dwellings, shops, taverns, battles, revolutions, speeches, spectacles, festivals, ceremonies, etc.

Once your choice has been approved, you should craft a written narrative in which you visit each of the sites in turn, describing what you witness at stop along your journey. Make sure to mention what you see, hear, small, taste, do, etc. The idea is to provide as vivid, interesting, and historically accurate portrayal as possible. It is up to you whether you adopt the persona of a traveler from the time period in question, or travel back in time in some manner. You’ve got a lot of leeway here-- be creative!

Your finished product should be in the form of a website which is posted online, and which is viewable by anyone. The website should be a visually interesting as possible, and should include a variety of (correctly sourced and cited) images and/or maps.

Important stuff that you shouldn’t forget:

Your Travel Log website should advance a clear, specific argument or thesis about what the sites visited and/or events witnessed reveal about the nature of life at that particular place and time in history.

You also should include a list of all of your sources somewhere in the website.

The website should be publicly viewable, and should not require a password to access.

In order to receive a grade for the Final Project, you must submit the weblink for your Travel Log website as well as a .pdf, .doc, or .rtf file containing the text of your Travel Log (so it can be checked for plagiarism) using the appropriate link in Canvas.

Here are some suggestions for free public web hosting for your website:

Google sites

Blogger

Wix

Weebly

WordPress

TravelDiaries

Exams

There are two unproctored exams for this course which are to be completed at home and submitted through Canvas. You can use any notes, course readers, or other resources you wish as long as you cite them (simply listing the bibliographic information or web address at the end of the question is sufficient-- no need to include footnotes). All of your responses should be in your own words rather than quoted from other sources. If you use any additional sources without citing them, you will not receive any points for the exam.

Midterm Exam. You should submit a file through Canvas with your responses to the following questions:

1) Provide a Time Line which lists in chronological order what you think are the ten most important events in the history of Western civilization from pre-history through the 1st century CE. Each item on your Time Line should contain the following information:

What happened.

When it happened (approximate dates are okay).

Why it happened.

The major Consequences of the event.

How the event helps us understand what life was like in the past.

2) An analysis of what you think are the most important developments or changes in the history of Western civilization from pre-history through the 1st century CE for each one of the four class themes. Refer to specific primary sources we have read for the class which back up your arguments. Write a substantial paragraph for each theme:

Government

Religion

Gender

Social Class

Final Exam. You should submit a file through Canvas with your responses to the following questions:

1) Provide a Time Line which lists in chronological order what you think are the ten most important events in the history of Western civilization from between 1-1600 CE. Each item on your Time Line should contain the following information:

What happened.

When it happened (approximate dates are okay).

Why it happened.

The major Consequences of the event.

How the event helps us understand what life was like in the past.

2) An analysis of what you think are the most important developments or changes in the history of Western civilization from between 1-1600 CE for each one of the four class themes. Refer to specific primary sources we have read for the class which back up your arguments.Write a substantial paragraph for each theme:

Government

Religion

Gender

Social Class

Course Schedule

Week 1

Wednesday, January 19: Course Introduction	Discussion Readings on Cognitive Biases: Confirmation Bias, The Backfire Effect (This contains salty language. Feel free to read the classroom version if you prefer to avoid that), The Texas Sharpshooter Fallac y, The Dunning-Kruger Effect. Watch "Is History B.S.?"
Assignments to Complete:	Read through the entire syllabus, and submit the Introduction Assignment by January 21 using the appropriate link under "Assignments" in the class Canvas page.

Week 2

Monday, January 24: Sources, "Civilization," and Narratives	Discussion Readings: The Ceramic Venus of Dolni Vestonice; Prehistoric Venus Figurines (30,000-20,000 BC) Watch Is Western Civilization B.S.? Watch What's The Difference Between Primary & Secondary Sources? Brooks, "Introduction"
Wednesday, January 26: A Neolithic Revolution?	Discussion Reading: Read Andrew Curry, “Gobekli Tepe: The World’s First Temple?,” Smithsonian Magazine, Nov. 2008, and then look at the site yourself by taking the Göbekli Tepe Virtual Tour Watch Was the Invention of Agriculture B.S.?
Assignments to Complete:	Final Project Proposal Due January 28

Week 3

Monday, January 31: Authority and Hierarchy in the Bronze Age	Discussion Reading: Gilgameš and Aga (c. 2600 BC); Excerpts from the Code of Hammurabi (c. 1780 BC) Brooks, "Chapter 1: The Origins of Civilization"
Wednesday, February 2: Gender, Sexuality, and Family Life in the Bronze Age	Discussion Reading: Enki and Ninmah (early 2nd millennium BC) Read Brown, "Third Gender Figures in the Ancient Near East;" Brustman, "The Third Gender in Ancient Egypt" Brooks, "Chapter 2: Egypt"
Assignments to Complete:	Source Proposal for Source Criticism Paper due February 4. Make sure to read the directions for the Source Criticism Paper in the syllabus CAREFULLY before filling out the form. Also, you might want to watch this video: How to Find a Scholarly Journal Article Last day to withdraw with refund is February 3.

Week 4

Monday, February 7. Ancient Paganism	Discussion Readings: Enheduanna, "The Exaltation of Innana" (c.2300 BC); Penitential Prayer to Every God; Gilgamesh Flood Narrative Watch Was Ancient Paganism B.S.?
Wednesday, February 9. Empire and Religion	Discussion Reading: Excerpts from the Annals of Ashurnasirpal II (9th c. BC) Brooks, "Chapter 3: The Bronze Age and The Iron Age" Watch How Can You Tell If A Website Is B.S. Or Not?
Assignments to Complete:	Source Criticism Paper due February 11 (Your sources MUST be approved by the professor before you turn this in).

Week 5

Monday, February 14. Yahwism and the Origins of Monotheism	Discussion Readings: Excerpts from The Book of Genesis (1-3, 6-8, 22); Excerpts from the Book of Deuteronomy (5, 9, 12-13, 21-22). Campbell, "Ancient Religion," "Evolution Toward Monotheism, "Israelite Religion;"
Wednesday, February 16. Greek Democracy	Discussion Readings: Aristotle on the Athenian Constitution (c. 320s BC) Brooks, "Chapter 4: The Archaic Age of Greece"

Week 6

Monday, February 21. Polis to Cosmopolis	Discussion Reading: Excerpts from the poetry of Sappho of Lesbos, c. 630 BCE; Aristotle on the Good Wife BCE Watch Was The Iliad B.S.? Watch Is Democracy B.S.? Brooks, "Chapter 5: Persia and the Greek Wars" "Chapter 6: The Classical Age of Greece"
Wednesday, February 23. Slavery in the Classical Mediterranean	Discussion Readings: Aristotle on Slavery (c. 350 BC); Diodorus Siculus’ Account of the First Servile War (c. 135–132 BC) Watch Was Ancient Slavery B.S.? Watch Evidence, Citations, and Plagiarism: Who Cares? Brooks, "Chapter 7: The Hellenistic Age"
Assignments to Complete:	Autocracy and Democracy Paper due February 25

Week 7

Monday, February 28. Authority in the Roman Republic	Discussion Reading: Polybius, "An Analysis of the Roman Government (Excerpt from Histories) Brooks, "Chapter 8: The Roman Republic"
Wednesday, March 2. Imperium: Peace or Domination?	Discussion Reading: Introduction on Boudicca and Description by Tacitus of the Rebellion of Boudicca (60-61 CE) Brooks, "Chapter 9: The Roman Empire"
Assignments to Complete:	Midterm Exam, due March 4.

March 7 and 9, Spring Break- NO CLASS

Week 8

Monday, March 14. Imperium: Peace or Domination?	Discussion Reading: Introduction on Boudicca and Description by Tacitus of the Rebellion of Boudicca (60-61 CE) Brooks, "Chapter 9: The Roman Empire"
Wednesday, March 16. Early Christianity: Monotheism Transformed	Discussion Reading: Excerpts from the Gospel According to Luke; Watch: Was The Spread of Early Christianity B.S.? Campbell, "Early Monotheism;" Brooks, "Chapter 10: The Late Empire and Christianity"

Week 9

Monday, March 21. Conversion: Rome Christianized or Christianity Romanized?	Discussion Reading: Excerpts from the Letters of St. Paul; Excerpts from the Gospel of Thomas;
Wednesday, March 23. The Fall of Rome: Collapse or Continuity?	Discussion Reading: Procopius, The Plague (542); Procopius on Theodora (c. 550) Watch Was The Fall of Rome B.S.? Brooks, "Chapter 11: Byzantium"
Assignments to Complete:	Annotated Bibliography Part 1 due March 25 Last day to withdraw from the class without grade penalty is March 26

Week 10

Monday, March 28. Islam: Monotheism Transformed Again	Discussion Reading: Excerpts from the Qu'ran (c. 7th century) Brooks, "Chapter 12: Islam and the Caliphates"
Wednesday, March 30: The Islamic "Golden Age"	Discussion Reading: Excerpts from the poems of Abû Nuwás (757 - 815)
Assignments to Complete:	Annotated Bibliography Part 2 due April 1

Week 11

Monday, April 4. The Dark Ages?: Authority and Hierarchy in Medieval Europe	Discussion Reading: Excerpts from Beowulf, (c. 11th c. CE) Brooks, "Chapter 13: Early Medieval Europe"
Wednesday, April 6. Religious Culture In Medieval Europe	Discussion Reading: Excerpts from The Rule of St. Benedict, c.530 CE

Week 12

Monday, April 11. Gender and Sexuality in the European Middle Ages	Discussion Reading: Excerpts from The Book of Margery Kempe (15th c.): The Birth of Her First Child and Her First Vision; Her Pride and Attempts to Start a Business; Margery and Her Husband Reach a Settlement. Brooks, "Chapter 1: The High Middle Ages"
Wednesday, April 13. Holy War	Discussion Readings: Urban II Call the First Crusade at Council of Clermont, as reported by Fucher of Chartres (1095); Usama ibn Munqidh, Excerpts from The Book of Contemplation (12th c.)

Week 13

Monday, April 18. Medieval Towns and Universities	Discussion Reading: Self-Government in Medieval Ipswich (1200) Brooks, "Chapter 2: The Crises of the Middle Ages"
Wednesday, April 20. The Black Death	Discussion Reading: Boccaccio's Decameron on the Black Death in Florence, 1348; The Statute of Laborers; 1351 Watch Was The Black Death B.S.? Brooks, "Chapter 3: The Renaissance"
Assignments to Complete:	Final Project due April 22

Week 14

Monday, April 25. Rebirth?	Discussion Reading: Dante Alighieri, Excerpt from The Inferno (1320) Brooks, "Chapter 4: Politics in the Renaissance Era"
Wednesday, April 27. Reformations	Discussion Reading: Martin Luther, Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation (1520) Brooks, "Chapter 6: Reformations"
Assignments to Complete:	No late assignments will be accepted after April 29

Week 15

Monday, May 2: Invasion	Discussion Reading: Bartolemé de Las Casas, Excerpt from A Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies (1542) Watch Was Columbus B.S.? Brooks, "Chapter 5: European Exploration"
Assignments to Complete:	Final Exam due May 6