H 114
Western Civilization
1500 – circa 1945
Fall 2008
3 Credit Hours
Instructor: Anja Petrakopoulos
Office Hours: After class and by appointment, CA 504P
Email: asaak@iupui.edu
TLC Section 29377
T R 1:30-2:45
Goals and Objectives
History H114 is a survey of Western Civilization from 1500 to the World War II era.
Major historical events and developments such as the Reformation, the Scientific
Revolution, the French Revolution, Industrialization, and nationalism will be studied by
means of lecture and readings of primary and secondary sources. Students will develop
their ability to critically analyze sources and historiography. Students will learn to assess
evidence and evaluate historical interpretations. As such, this course conforms to
IUPUI’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning. For more information, please see
http://www.iupui.edu/~history/ugmain.html.
Required Texts
Jackson J. Spielvogel, Western Civilization. Volume II: Since 1500, 7th Edition.
Martin Luther, Three Treatises, Fortress Press, 1970.
Descartes, A Discourse on Method, Oxford World’s Classics, 2006.
Denis Diderot, The Nun, Penguin, 1974.
Lynn Hunt, The French Revolution and Human Rights. A brief Documentary History.
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1996.
Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto, Signet Classic, 1998.
Henri Barbusse, Under Fire, Penguin, 2003.
Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own, Harcourt, 1989.
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Grading and Course Requirements
The grade will be based on three exams, attendance and class participation, with the
following breakdown:
Attendance
Class Participation
Source workshop
Exam #1
Exam #2
Final Exam
5%
5%
10%
25%
25%
30%
I grade on a strict percentage scale:
A:
A-:
B+:
B:
B-:
C+:
C:
C-:
D:
F:
93% and above
90-92%
87-89%
83-86%
80-82%
77-79%
73-76%
70-72%
60-69%
59% and below
A basic requirement of this course is that you will actively engage with your peers and
instructor during class and conscientiously prepare for and complete all the assignments.
If circumstances prevent you from devoting the necessary amount of time and effort to be
successful in this course, please drop the class as early as possible. For drop/add
procedures, go to http://registrar.iupui.edu/drop.html.
Other Important Information
Attendance at every lecture is mandatory. You are allowed up to three excused absences.
Because lecture material not covered in the textbook is tested on exams, attendance is
important. Reading the textbook is not an adequate substitute for attending lecture. For
the same reasons tardiness and leaving class early will also be noted. More than five
unexcused absences will result in a failing grade for the course.
Timely notification of emergencies that force you to miss class, source workshops, and
exam dates is required. Unavoidable absences are negotiable, provided that you keep me
informed reasonably in advance of circumstances that will force you to miss lectures and
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that you provide documentation demonstrating legitimate reasons for being absent. You
cannot reschedule the exams for reasons of convenience. If you miss an exam, you will
be allowed to take a make-up exam if you have given me timely notification of a major
emergency or medical reason and if you have documented proof of a major emergency or
medical reason.
I expect students to do the assigned readings each week. The exams are based on the
lectures, the textbook, class handouts, and the assigned readings, and will consist of
identifications, multiple choice questions and essay questions. Identifications will
primarily test your knowledge of the primary sources analyzed in source workshops;
multiple choice questions will cover factual information covered either in lecture or the
textbook; essay questions will deal with broad themes and issues. The exams will also
include extra-credit questions drawn from the music and slide presentations.
Source workshops will take place weekly in the second half of the designated class
period: be prepared to participate. We will discuss and analyze sources in order to assess
their value as evidence and their role in historical interpretation. If a primary source has
been assigned for that week, that source will be the topic of discussion. Otherwise, the
class will focus on the yellow boxed sources in the textbook reading of that week or a
handout distributed the previous lecture period. To prepare for source workshops
adequately, it is essential to read the primary source actively, using the reading focus
questions as an analytical framework. It will also be necessary to do the textbook reading,
as the textbook provides historical background. A key section of the exams will be based
on your knowledge of these documents, so you must be diligent in reading them.
You are graded and evaluated according to my evaluation and judgment of your
participation in class, your willingness to ask questions during lectures, the quality of
your preparation for, and participation in source workshops, your exam performance, and
your willingness to think analytically.
Please note that any cheating, including plagiarism, may result in expulsion from the
course and an automatic F, with possible further consequences as detailed in the IUPUI
Guidelines for Academic Misconduct. For the student Code of Conduct, see:
http://life.iupui.edu/help/code.asp.
Please note that all cellphones must be turned off in the classroom.
This syllabus is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion. Adjustments will be
announced in class and posted on Oncourse.
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Week 1
R
August 21
Introduction: From Medieval to Modern
Week 2
T
August 25
Rome
R
August 28
Martin Luther and the Reformation
Source workshop: “Address to the Christian Nobility”
Spielvogel, Chapter 13, 373-385
SOURCE: Martin Luther, “Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation,”
Three Treatises, 7-112
Week 3
T
Sept 2
Development and Spread of the Reformation
R
Sept 4
The Wars of Religion
Source workshop: Spielvogel sources
Spielvogel, Chapter 13, 386-409
Week 4
T
Sept 9
European Expansion
Th
Sept 11
Slavery
Source workshop: Spielvogel sources
Spielvogel, Chapter 14, 410-442
Week 5
T
Sept 16
The Scientific Revolution
R
Sept 18
The Scientific Revolution
Source workshop: A Discourse on Method
Spielvogel, Chapter 16, 483-508
SOURCE: René Descartes, A Discourse on Method, 5-63
5
Week 6
T
Sept 23
Exam #1
R
Sept 25
The English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution
Source workshop: Spielvogel, “The Bill of Rights,” 474
Spielvogel, Chapter 15, 468-475
Week 7
T
Sept 30
Absolutism
R
October 2
Absolutism
Source workshop: TBA
Spielvogel, Chapter 15, 443-468; 475-482
Week 8
T
Oct 7
Enlightenment
R
Oct 9
Enlightenment
Source workshop: Diderot, The Nun
Spielvogel, Chapter 17, 509-537
SOURCE: Denis Diderot, The Nun
Week 9
T
Oct 14
French Revolution
R
Oct 16
French Revolution
Source workshop: Hunt, The French Revolution
Spielvogel, Chapter 19, 571-603
SOURCE: Lynn Hunt, The French Revolution and Human Rights
Week 10
T
Oct 21
Napoleon
R
Oct 23
Congress of Vienna
Source workshop: Spielvogel sources
6
Spielvogel, Chapter 21, 632-664
Week 11
T
Oct 28
Exam #2
R
Oct 30
Industrialization
Source workshop: Spielvogel sources
Spielvogel, Chapter 20, 604-631
Week 12
T
Nov 4
Urbanization
W
Nov 6
Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto
Source workshop: The Communist Manifesto
Spielvogel, Chapter 23, 699-730
SOURCE: Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto
Week 13
T
Nov 11
Imperialism
R
Nov 13
World War I: Origins
Source workshop: Spielvogel sources
Spielvogel, Chapter 24, 731-767
Week 14
T
Nov 18
World War I: The Trenches
R
Nov 20
World War I: The Aftermath
Source workshop: Barbusse, Under Fire
Spielvogel, Chapter 25, 768-802
SOURCE: Henri Barbusse, Under Fire
Week 15
T
Nov 25
Women’s Rights
Source workshop: Woolf, A Room of One’s Own
7
Spielvogel, Chapter 26, 803-838
SOURCE: Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own
R
Nov 27
THANKSGIVING RECESS NO CLASS
Week 16
T
Dec 2
World War II
R
Dec 4
Night and Fog
Source workshop: Film “Night and Fog”
Spielvogel, Chapter 27, 839-874
FINAL EXAM
Tuesday, December 9 3:30-5:30 PM