WESTERN
CIVILIZATION SURVEY:
As the main text for this class, I used Chodorow's Mainstream of
Civilization for years. There are still copies around on
campus, and, I’d recommend you get a copy of you can.
Chodorow will give you a different perspective on the figures
and events discussed in class and serve as an excellent
supplement to your lecture notes as you prepare for your midterm
and final exams.
Brooks organizes his material differently than I organize my own
course, but that’s really a good thing. Please remember
that you should never get your history from only one source—no
matter how good that source! Without multiple perspectives, you
are very likely to stumble.
The primary sources readings for the course (The Epic of
Gilgamesh, etc.) must be done before class on the day
assigned. We will be discussing these works in class, and
you will be lost and confused if you haven't done the reading.
There are online versions of many of the assigned texts, but
most students will do better with the “hard copy” versions of
these books available in the bookstore. I’ve tried to keep
the cost of books to a minimum
The
main text for this class, Chodorow's Mainstream of Civilization,
will
give you
a different perspective on the figures and events discussed in
class
and serve
as an excellent supplement to your lecture notes as you prepare
for
your
midterm and final exams.You will
probably find the maps, charts, and time lines in the Chodorow
book
particularly
helpful.You do not need to bring
the
Chodorow book to class, and it doesn't really matter whether you
do the
Chodorow readings before or after the associated lectures. It is
important that
you *do* read the Chodorow chapters. Never get your history
from
only one
source—no matter how good that source! Without multiple
perspectives,
you are
very likely to stumble.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES AND
READINGS:
1/13 Introduction
1/15 Old Kingdom Egypt
1/17 Middle Kingdom Egypt
1/20 ***
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—No Class ***
1/22 New Kingdom Egypt
1/24 Mesopotamia I—Sumer
1/27 Mesopotamia II—the Babylonians (The Epic of
Gilgamesh)
1/29 Mesopotamia III--Assyrians and Chaldaeans
1/31 Ancient Israel I (Mainstream, p. 25-26)
2/3 Ancient Israel II (Gen. 1-3; Deut.
5-6; Isaiah 1, 53; any Psalm)
2/5 Ancient Israel III (Daniel 1-7,
12)
2/7 Ancient India I (Mainstream, p.
145-155)
2/10 Ancient India II
2/12 Ancient China
2/14
**** MIDTERM I ****
2/17 ***
President's Day: No Class ***
2/19 Ancient Greece I
2/21 Ancient Greece II
2/24 Greek Drama I (Antigone)
2/26 Greek Drama II (The Trojan Women)
2/28 Philosophy (The Last Days of Socrates: The
Apology)
3/2 Philosophy (The Last Days of Socrates:
Euthyphro)
3/4 The Roman Republic
3/6 The Roman Revolution
3/7-15 *** Spring Break: No
Class ***
3/16 Imperial Rome I
3/18 Imperial Rome II
3/20 Christianity in the Roman Empire
3/23 Christianity in the Roman Empire (The Gospel
of Matthew)
3/25 Christianity in the Roman Empire (The Gospel
of John)
3/27 *******
MIDTERM II *********
3/30 Byzantium
4/1 Islam I
4/3 Islam II
4/6 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages
4/8 The High Middle Ages
4/10 **** Good
Friday: No Class ****
4/13 The High Middle Ages II
4/15 The Late Middle Ages I
4/17 The Late Middle Ages II
4/20 The Renaissance
4/22 The Renaissance (The Prince)
4/24 The Renaissance
4/27 The Reformation I
4/29 The Reformation II
5/1 The Exciting Conclusion to this
Course!
FINAL EXAM:
All Sections: Tuesday, May 5, 4:30-6:30 P.M., JFAC 117
(Red Room) GRADING:
Your
grade for this course will be based primarily on your midterm and
final
exams,
each of which will count approximately 25% when I determine your
final
grade.In addition, I will take into
account attendance, participation, and quiz scores.
My
grading method allows from improvement, and I frequently have
students
who fail
the first exam who nevertheless end up earning "A" or "B"
grades in the course. Please note, though, that I factor
"improvement" into your course grade *only* if you demonstrate
your
commitment to the course through good attendance and other
evidence of
hard
work.
READINGS AND
QUIZZES:
In
order to make sure students are keeping up with the readings (and
to
encourage students to come to class!) I give quite a few surprise
quizzes during the semester. Often, these surprise quizzes
involve short essays on the reading assigned for that day.
Very
frequently, I use one of the "primary source" study questions as
the
surprise quiz question. If you keep up with the readings,
and
(especially) if you are prepared to answer the study guide
questions,
you should do well on these quizzes. Remember that “A”
students in my class are *always* prepared for a surprise quiz at
any
time.
NOTES:
There
are online notes available for all the lectures. However, you
should be
sure to
take good notes for yourself. You almost certainly will not
remember
the
material if you don’t take extensive notes. You will also find
that the
time
goes much more quickly if are taking notes rather than just
sitting and
listening.
Generally,
a good student will have about four pages of notes for each
lecture.
It is a good idea to record the title and
date of each lecture. Also, it is a good idea to review and
annotate
your notes
soon after each lecture while the material is still fresh in your
mind.
ELECTRONIC
DEVICE POLICY:
Please
make sure all electronic devices are turned off and put away
before
class
begins.Cell phones, laptop
computers,
MP3 players, and similar devices are all distracting to other
students.I do *not* allow the use of
electronic
dictionaries during exams.
EXAM FORMAT:
Midterms
and Final exam--8 ID's, 1 essay
ID's
will be selected from the terms put on the board at the beginning
of
each
lecture.You will be asked not only
to
identify the terms, but also to explain their historical
significance.
I am
impressed when students can include plenty of detailed
information, but
I am
even more impressed when students can show how the ID terms relate
to
important
themes discussed in this class.
Essay
questions will deal with major themes discussed in the lectures.Most often, the exam question will be a
generalization I have made in class with the additional word,
"comment."
A
student who studies hard and does the required reading should have
plenty to
say in response to each of these questions. You will be given 50
minutes for
each midterm and two hours for the final exam. Most students will
need
the full
time to do a good job.
What is
a good job?I tell students over and
over again that a good essay consists of a series of good
generalizations based
on the exam question and backed up with specific support from the
lectures and
the readings.I am particularly
impressed when students include in their essays references to
primary
source
material.
PREPARING
FOR MARMORSTEIN EXAMS: 1. Think! Do not just memorize facts. 2. Prepare the essay
questions
first. 3. Come up with a fairly
detailed outline for each essay. 4. Think of good topic
sentences for each paragraph of your
essay. 5. Use the key words of the
exam question in your topic sentences. 6. Choose good supporting
evidence for your topic sentences. 7. Use the appropriate ID
terms
in your essays. 8. Learn the ID's in
context. Do not use a "flash card"
approach. 9. Do not wait until the
last
minute to study. 10. Do spend extra time studying
the
week of the exam. 11. Do not just memorize
facts. Think!
EXAM DAY
INSTRUCTIONS:
Taking
the exam:
Bring
a blue book. Make sure there are no pages torn out.
Use
pen—blue or black ink preferred.
Don't
sit by anyone with whom you studied.
Plan
on spending the full time writing your exam.
Always
do the ID terms first.
If
you run out of time on the essay, include an outline of the
material
you would have covered.
If
you have extra time (very unlikely), go back and add extra info
to your
ID and essay responses.
Be
sure to discuss the significance of each ID term. Why is
the
figure/term important? How does that figure tie in to
major
themes discussed in class?
Do
not put all your essay information into one long paragraph.
Shorter
paragraphs with good topic sentences work best.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY STATEMENT
Cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty and misconduct run
contrary to the purposes of higher education. Cheating
includes the
use of any notes during the midterm or final exam. Please
place
no
marks of any kind on or in your blue book before I give the signal
to
begin taking the exam. All exams must be taken on blank
bluebooks. On
at least one exam, bluebooks will be checked before the
exam.
Bluebooks that have not been checked, have missing pages, or pages
with
large erasures will not be accepted.
It is not cheating to study with another student, to share notes,
or to
prepare essays or ID's together. However, if you do study with
another
student, be sure you do not sit next to each other during the
exam.
Please be especially careful to observe academic integrity
standards on
the take-home quizzes. The quizzes are intended to make sure you
have
done the primary source readings, and your comments should be
based on
your own observations, not someone else’s ideas. Plagiarism (e.g.
copying material from the internet or recycling work done by
another
student) is not allowed. I do sometimes allow “group work”
on
quizzes,
but unless I have specifically indicated that you are allowed to
work
with other students, make sure your quiz comments are entirely
your
own.
Northern State University's official policy and procedures on
cheating
and academic dishonesty as outlined in the Northern State
University
Student Handbook applies to this course. Students caught cheating
will
receive a zero for the assignment, and, since zeros are worse than
F[‘s, they are likely to fail the course as a whole.
NSU DISABILITY POLICY:
Northern State University recognizes its responsibility for
creating an
institutional climate in which students with disabilities can
thrive.
If you have any type of disability for which you require
accommodations, please contact Karen Gerety at the NSU Office of
Disability Services (626-2371, Student Center 217) as soon as
possible
to discuss your particular needs.
BOARD OF REGENTS ACADEMIC FREEDOM POLICY:
Under Board of Regents and University policy student academic
performance may be evaluated solely on an academic basis, not on
opinions or conduct in matters unrelated to academic standards.
Students should be free to take reasoned exception to the data or
views
offered in any course of study and to reserve judgment about
matters of
opinion, but they are responsible for learning the content of any
course of study for which they are enrolled. Students who believe
that
an academic evaluation reflects prejudiced or capricious
consideration
of student opinions or conduct unrelated to academic standards
should
contact the academic dean administratively in charge of the class
to
initiate a review of the evaluation.
NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY DIVERSITY STATEMENT:
Northern State University strives to build an academic community
of
people from diverse backgrounds and experiences who are committed
to
sharing diverse ideas in a mutually respectful environment. We
value
open discourse and consideration of multiple perspectives on
issues of
regional, national, and international importance, in which
individuals
are free to express their points of view. Our goal is a diverse
learning community with equal opportunity for all.