HIS 104: History of Europe to the Mid-Seventeenth Century

Course Description:

Course Objective:

1. read and evaluate historical resources critically.
2. demonstrate an understanding of cultural, economic, literary, political, religious, and social values related to the period covered by this course.

Course Outline

Cross Disciplinary Theme I -- WAR, HEROES, AND CIVILIZATION: This unit will focus on the shaping of the Western individual and society. We will explore the ancients' quest for identity; explore how the individual both shapes and is shaped by society, and discuss Greek explanations for certain phenomena, e.g., chaos, death, injustice.

Ancient Origins of the Western World: Africa's Egypt & the Middle East's Mesopotamia

The Hellenes

Alexander and the Hellenistic Era

Cross Disciplinary Theme II -- PAX ROMANA: LAW, TRADITION, CHANGE AND CORRUPTION: We will examine the place of Roman ideals and ideas in Western culture, the continuity and change that Christianity entailed, and the falling away from or corruption of both Roman and Christian values.

The Roman Republic

The Roman Empire

Cross Disciplinary Theme III -- LOVE AND DEATH: The focus in this unit will be to study the effects of great change in feudal societies, societies which highly valued stasis in class structure and the chivalric ideal. This change was effected by chaos (resulting from wars, plagues), by commercialization, and by changing ideals.

The Byzantine Empire and Kiev

The Early Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages

Cross Disciplinary Theme IV -- A QUESTION OF POWER: .... who's got it? This unit will explore early modern Europe in cultural and socio-economic upheaval. We will question the role of the individual and the community in establishing the modern state.

The Renaissance

The Reformation

Rise of the Modern State

Western Expansion

SAMPLE WRITING ASSIGNMENT:

 ASSIGNMENT OBJECTIVES:

 
1. To give HISTORY 104 a chance to come alive by reading about how people lived and thought in pre-industrial Europe.
2. To research and summarize different perspectives that historians have on any one particular historical personality (whether legendary or real) or of a  historical community.
3. To write a meaningful essay that shows the amount of research and original thought you have given this assignment, giving your own assessment of how that person or community reflected or affected the contents of this course. You should show at least two sides of controversy you have found in your research.
4. To produce an impressive looking monograph of 3-5 pages with complete sentences, correct grammar and syntax, a proper list of references, and a thoughtful title. (You decide if it should be typed! Presentation will be graded.)

 STEPS TO FOLLOW
As you skim through your text before class, try to imagine being there or seeing a particular individual react to the problems around him or her. Listen in class and participate by questioning or discussing issues you about which you have read. Start to skim ahead by several chapters (or at least look through the Table of Contents) for a topic or an individual that catches your eye -- something about which you want to learn in more detail. Talk with your instructor, a friend, or relative about the issues in the book that seem interesting to you. Then, STEP 1, choose an individual or a community of like individuals on which you want to do further research. Think about the Unit Topic under which this individual fits chronologically -- I recommend you try to find one of the following:

• a hero in the Ancient World and compare/contrast your definitions of heroism with that of the ancient civilization in which he or she was a part.
• a peacemaker in the Roman World who got caught in the complexities of the great legacy of "Pax Romana."
• a social outcast during the time of keeping to one's station in life in the Middle Ages.
• a humanist who worries about how to balance the need for individual excellence with the greater development of his or her nation.

STEP 2 -- By the 4th week of classes, you must turn in to my mailbox the following information:

 
1. The name of the individual you will be researching
2. Citations (author, title, publisher, date) of at least 3 texts and/or articles that are available to you -- this does not include encyclopedias!

 Don't stop working on your project now! Go on to STEP 4 and learn more about the time period around your chosen excerpt and writings on it by contemporaries as well as historians. Put the bibliographical information on index cards with notes to yourself as to how you can use each resource (e.g., for basic information about the individual, or for a contrary interpretation to argue against). Bring at least three of these cards with you to the conference with me. This step of the process will also be graded on a pass/fail basis and will count as 3 points towards your final grade. Your cards should include the following parts:

• author, title (pub. place: publisher, date of pub.)
• page # and general ideas/data you plan to use from the resource (never use complete sentences!

Write a phrase or potential paper title describing your individual to start you off in STEP 6. Begin to sketch out your ideas (and I recommend literally "sketching") on a big piece of paper (maybe graph paper?). Under your descriptive phrase, write a few words under "WHO-WHERE-WHEN" "SIGNIFICANCE TO UNIT THEME" "OTHER THEORIES" and "SO WHAT DO I THINK?" so that you can get something out of your head and onto paper to look at. This is called an "idea-map." Then begin to stack your resource cards in their proper places on the paper. Now let it sit for a while (maybe a week or two). Put it in a safe place!

In STEP 7 find your idea-map and make sure that you still agree with your initial reactions to the topic. Also, check to make sure that you have adequate research information for each section. Now you begin to write on paper (or machine). Don't pay any attention to grammar or style yet, just get the points down in some fashion so that you can begin to manipulate them into something readable. Write a couple of drafts by Thanksgiving and get my feedback on your ideas. STEP 8 is polishing and refining. The goal of your writing should be to introduce the theme clearly, support it effectively in the body or central development, and then draw meaningful conclusions about it. As you construct each section of your paper, ask:

 
• Does this section follow logically from the one before it?
• Does it support and develop the central theme?
• Does it establish the necessary background for the section that follows?

Plagiarism: "To steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one's own; to use a created production without crediting the source."
     The only thing worse than misquoting from your sources is plagiarizing from them. It is easy to get into the habit of using someone else's words instead of your own, so just don't start! First of all, I can tell the difference between the language of someone who has spent years researching a topic and that of the average history student. Second, and more important, is the fact that thinking is learning -- if you think about something and then put it into your own words instead of copying it, you have begun the rewarding task of learning. Anything else and you're just cheating yourself out of a college course, already bought and paid for.

Footnotes: Footnotes give the source of the facts and opinions that appear in your paper. If you quote, paraphrase, or summarize from your research materials, you must say where the original information can be found. The following three types of statements should be footnoted:

 
1. all direct quotations
2. controversial facts or opinions that not all of your sources agree on
3. statements of fact or opinion that directly support your main points. HOWEVER, if your resource in this case is the encyclopedia DO NOT FOOTNOTE (unless it is a controversial issue) -- the whole purpose of an encyclopedia is to have at hand general knowledge that most scholars agree on as accurate to that date.

Bibliography: A bibliography is an alphabetical list of the resources you used in writing your paper and should be placed at the end of your paper. It must include all those sources that appear in footnotes, and all those works that gave important background information. However, do not list every source you looked at in the course of your research, only those that influenced your final product. For example, if you used an encyclopedia to learn general knowledge about your topic, it does not need to be included in your bibliography. Again, use Turabian or Chicago Style.

Now check for the following:

 
• Does the paper have a strong theme and do its parts follow logically from one to the other?
• Is there adequate support for the major facts and interpretation?
• Are the points of your paper made clearly and forcefully?
• What about the mechanics of your paper, especially spelling and grammar? typographical errors?

 Final Form: Leave at least an inch margin on all sides (sometimes 1.5 inches on the left margin is preferable). Double-space the text except for long quotations, footnotes, and bibliography which should be single spaced. Number each page in the upper right-hand corner. Prepare a separate title page that includes the title, your full name, the course name and number, my name, and the date. Make a copy of your work in case the original is lost.

Your paper will be evaluated and graded with the following checklist. NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED!

HIS104 WRITTEN PROJECT CHECKLIST
Presentation (2 points)
References: quality/type & format (4 points)
Title Describing Your Thesis (1 point)
Your Thesis & Conclusions (3 points)
Content (10 points)
   - PRO (your thesis' supporting evidence)
   - CON (contrary theories)
= 20 pts possible
+ 2 pts (Pass/Fail, Summary Bio Outline)
+ 3 pts (Pass/Fail, Resource Cards & Conference)

Posted May 1996; Revised June 2003

http://www.bluegrass.kctcs.edu/LCC/HIS/104