SYLLABUS
History 10a – Fall 2005
Western Societies, Politics and Cultures: From Antiquity to 1650
Emerson 105 – M W at 12 with weekly sections TBA
Profs. Alan Cooper, James Hankins, and Eric Robinson
Head TF: Elizabeth Mellyn (ewrussel@fas)
Course schedule:
Sept
19
Course Introduction: Modernity and the Pre-Modern West (J. Hankins)
Graeco-Roman Antiquity
21
Who Were the Greeks? (E. Robinson)
No section this week. Reading: KGO, ch. 1-3; The Western World, pp. 1-16
(Herodotus); Interpretations, pp. 1-24 (“The Greek Way of War”).
26
28
Were the Greeks Free? (E. Robinson)
The Glory that was Greece (E. Robinson)
Reading and Discussion: Thucydides, On Justice, Power and Human Nature, pp. 1-109;
Interpretations, pp. 25-92 (“How Democratic was Athenian Democracy?”).
Oct
3
5
How Great Was Alexander? (E. Robinson)
Who Were the Romans? (E. Robinson)
Reading and Discussion: Plato, Gorgias.
10
12
COLUMBUS DAY HOLIDAY
Republic and Empire (E. Robinson)
Reading and Discussion: KGO, ch. 4-5; The Western World, pp. 17-108 (Livy, Polybius,
Cicero); Interpretations, pp. 93-161 (“The Motives Behind Roman Expansion”).
17
19
Are Two Caesars Better Than One? (E. Robinson)
The Grandeur that Was Rome (E. Robinson)
Reading and Discussion: The Western World, pp. 114-138 (Sallust, Appian, Cassius Dio,
Suetonius); Interpretations, pp. 162-213 (“The Fall of the Roman Republic”); Res gestae
divi Augusti (online at: www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/14resgestae.html).
The Middle Ages
24
26
The Rise of Christianity (A. Cooper)
The Fall of Rome (A. Cooper)
Reading and Discussion: Augustine, Confessions (Books I-IX); Interpretations, pp. 214291 (“The Conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity”).
Nov
31
2
MIDTERM
The Medieval Church (A. Cooper)
Reading and Discussion: KGO, ch. 6-7; The Rule of St. Benedict; The Western World,
pp. 139-157 (Hildegard of Bingen, Gregory VII, and Calixtus II – Henry V).
Note: Western World, pp. 153-157, should be read before the Nov. 2 lecture.
7
9
The Carolingians (A. Cooper)
The Feudal Revolution (A. Cooper)
Reading and Discussion: KGO, ch. 8-10; The Western World, pp. 158-191 (Einhard,
Gregory of Tours, Galbert of Bruges); Interpretations, pp. 292-346 (“The Feudal
Revolution”). Note: Western World readings should be read before the Oct. 7 lecture.
14
16
Islam and the West (A. Cooper)
The Crusades (A. Cooper)
Reading and Discussion: The First Crusade, ed. Peters, sections I, II, III, VIII and IX;
Interpretations, pp. 347-386 (“Motives of the Crusaders”).
21
23
The Crises of the Fourteenth Century (A. Cooper)
NO CLASS - THANKSGIVING DAY HOLIDAY
No section this week. Readings: KGO, chapters 11-16; The Western World, pp. 192-200
(Boccaccio), the latter to be read for Nov. 21 lecture.
The Prehistory of the Modern World
28
30
The Italian Renaissance (J. Hankins)
The Military Revolution and Development of the State (J. Hankins)
Reading and Discussion: Machiavelli, The Prince, pp. 39-123 (introduction
recommended); Interpretations, pp. 387-442 (“The Military Revolution”).
5
7
Exploration and the New Seaborne Empires (J. Hankins)
The Revolt against the Medieval Church (J. Hankins)
Reading and Discussion: Martin Luther, Three Treatises, pp. 1-112, 262-316; The
Western World, pp. 201-207 (Luther); Interpretations, pp. 443-493 (“What was the
Reformation?”).
Dec
12
14
Skepticism, Science and Religion (J. Hankins)
The Prehistory of the Modern Economy (J. Hankins)
Reading and Discussion: Galileo, Discoveries and Opinions, pp. 1-58, 145-216;
Interpretations, pp. 494-553 (“Science and Religion from the Middle Ages to the
Renaissance”).
Jan
19
The Emergence of Modernity (J. Hankins)
21
3
Winter Recess begins
End of Winter Recess
18
Final Exam
Course Requirements:
(1) Attendance at lectures and informed participation in discussion sections. (10 %)
(2) Completion of assigned readings (averages about 200 pages per week, not counting reading
period).
(3) Mid-term Examination. Covers required readings and material presented in class (25%).
You will be responsible for all lectures, sections and readings through the week of October 24.
A review sheet will be distributed before the exam and posted on the course website. Students
who are entitled to special accommodations should contact the head TF at least two weeks in
advance.
(4) Responses. Each week you will be given four or five discussion questions for the following
week’s section. You will be required to prepare 1-paragraph responses to two of these discussion
questions (50 words each). You should thus expect to prepare a total of 22 responses, 2 for each
section. No late responses will be accepted. (10%)
(5) Papers. On two occasions of your own choosing during the course of the semester you
should expand one of your responses into a short paper (6 page = 1800 word). At least one of
these papers should be handed in before the Thanksgiving break, and the other should be handed
in before the Winter Recess. In these short papers you may elaborate on the responses at greater
length, or you may develop a different idea, but in any case you should focus on one or more of
the primary sources assigned for the course. Consult your TF if you wish to write a paper on a
topic unrelated to the responses. Papers should consist of argument or textual analysis, not
summary. You may submit as many drafts as you like, but no rewrites are permitted after the
paper has been graded. 1/2 grade will be deducted from the paper grade for every day it is late,
unless the late paper is accompanied by a medical excuse signed by your senior tutor or by UHS.
(Two six-page papers: 12.5% each).
(6) Final Examination. Covers all the readings and lectures, though the emphasis will be on
material covered in the latter half of the course. (30%) Students who are entitled to special
accommodations should contact the head TF at least two weeks in advance.
Reading list (All items available from the COOP and at Lamont)
The textbook for the course is Mark Kishlansky, Patrick Geary, and Patrician O'Brien,
Civilization in the West, 5th ed. (Longman), vol. I, known as “KGO”. 0-321-23624-6.
The custom sourcebook designed for this course is: The Western World, ed. Kishlansky,
Hankins, Brown and Blackbourn (Penguin Custom Editions)
The custom secondary reader designed for this course is: Interpretations of the Western World,
ed. Kishlansky, Hankins and Gordon (Pearson Custom Publishing).
(Several copies of these sourcebooks are available at Lamont Library.)
Thucydides, On Justice, Power and Human Nature, ed. Woodruff (Hackett). 0-87220-168-6
Plato, Gorgias, tr. Hamilton (Penguin). 0140440941
Augustine, Confessions, tr. Pine-Coffin (Penguin) 0-140-44114-X
The Rule of St Benedict , ed. T. Fry (Vintage) 0-375-70017-X
The First Crusade: The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials, ed.
Edward M. Peters (U Penn) 0812216563
Machiavelli, The Prince, tr. William Connell (Bedford St Martins) 0312149786
Martin Luther, Three Treatises (Fortress). 0800616391
The Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo, tr. Stillman Drake (Anchor) 0385092393