HIS101: The Foundations of the West
THE Foundations of the West is a course on the history of western civilizations from late antiquity to the beginning of the seventeenth century. The focus of the course will be on the methods and sources used by historians to uncover the history of this period, with special emphasis on such issues as the development of language, culture, political institutions, and social structures. Students will read from primary sources as well as some secondary works and then be asked to attempt to reconstruct a workable vision of the past through careful analysis of the available evidence. This analysis may take the form of written assignments, class discussions or group projects.
All too often, a student's experience with history has been shaped by old-fashioned survey courses that were organized around a basic set of facts. The goal of the course was to make students memorize these facts in order to internalize a body of knowledge, determined to be necessary for providing each student with a basic level of "cultural literacy." That is not the goal of this course. In the spirit of the Oglethorpe Core curriculum, the goal of this course is to "inculcate and nurture in Oglethorpe students a taste for and skill at intellectual inquiry." In order to whet students’ appetite for inquiry and hone their skills, The Foundations of the West is intended to expose students to the methodology of history as practiced by working historians.
History is not a service discipline; its function is not merely to provide the narrative "background" for the study of art, literature, or philosophy. Rather, history is the most eclectic of disciplines. Historians read the broadest range of texts, exploit the most extensive body of sources possible, and apply myriad methodologies, from literary criticism to organic chemistry, in their search for historical truth. Above all, the goal of the historian is to reconstruct, as accurately as possible, a clear picture of the past in all its complexity. At times that complexity may appear overly intimidating. As Sir Steven Runciman has noted, " a historical canvas is necessarily crowded." At the same time, finding an ordering principle in the chaos of the past is among the greater tests of human perception and creativity, and one of the most rewarding.
The major theme of this course will be the elusiveness of historical truth. When in the past I have asked students to distinguish history from the study of past works of literature, philosophy, or political theory, they respond that history -- unlike these other disciplines -- deals with "facts," or even "concrete facts." Fact, however, is not necessarily truth. Moreover, determining what actually happened is no simple feat. Sources are often fragmentary, often inaccurate, sometimes comprised of outright lies. But even if our sources lie about the "facts" the lies, inaccuracies, lacunae, and inflations can often reveal essential "truths" about the culture or society under the microscope. Extracting the truths embedded in the sources is a difficult business, but the ultimate reward of historical research. It is a task that brings to bear all the skills of the historian; it is a task where memorization is of less importance than intuition and imagination.
Required Readings.
THE following works are required for this class and are available at the Oglethorpe Book Store:
Garth Fowden, From Empire to Commonwealth
Howell Chickering, trans., Beowulf
Robert Bartlett, Conquest, Colonization and Cultural Change
Hans Hillerbrand, ed., The Protestant Reformation
I will also be handing out various excerpts from primary and secondary sources during the course. You will need to use these materials as well as the books for writing papers. You might also wish to consult Foundations of the West, an on-line textbook prepared for this course. Please note that all required readings should be completed by the date indicated on the syllabus. Be certain to bring the assigned works or notes on the readings, in the case of reserve books, on the dates that they appear on the syllabus
Grading and Attendance Policies
GRADES will be assessed based on student performance on a final examination (20%), four short papers (60%), geography (10%), and general class participation (10%).
Examinations: The final examination will be given on the last day of class (June 15). It will comprise short answer and essay sections.
Papers: Students will write four short papers (3-4 pp.) on assigned topics during the semester. Paper topics are listed below. Please select one of the questions for each assignment and write a well-reasoned essay using the materials assigned in the course. Please do not use outside sources. The goal is to see how well you can interpret the materials at hand. Completed papers should be typed, double-spaced, and free from spelling and grammatical errors. Any papers that do not conform to the standards outlined in my on-line style sheet or in section VI of the printed version of the syllabus will be accepted at the instructor's discretion. The instructor reserves the right to mark papers down for errors in composition as well as content.
Geography: A working knowledge of geography is essential for understanding history and current events. There will hence be a series of map quizzes throughout the semester.
General Class Participation: A portion of the grade in this course is based on general participation. Here there is one general rule: in order to gain points for participation, you must be in class. Beyond that, I expect students to regularly pose questions, answer questions, offer interpretations of evidence, and otherwise indicate that they have thought about the material.
All written assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date. Any work turned in after that point will be marked down one letter grade. No assignments will be accepted after 5:00 on the due date, except in extraordinary circumstances. Please note that computer or printer trouble does not constitute a valid excuse. If you use a computer or word processor, you should plan to have your assignments completed well enough in advance to avoid these problems. If you are unable, for any reason, to turn in your paper in person, make sure that the person delivering the assignment either brings the paper to me or otherwise contacts me before class. Remember, you are still responsible for seeing that the assignment has been turned in, regardless of who hands it to me. If you plan on missing class the day an assignment is due, you must be prepared to turn it in early.
While I do not plan on taking daily attendance, it will be necessary to attend class on days when there are quizzes or discussions scheduled. Medical excuses without doctor's notes, personal troubles, car trouble, family crises, boyfriend/girlfriend troubles, "broken alarm clocks," vacations, hangovers, etc., will not be considered valid excuses for absence unless so treated by the University. Should you miss class, you are responsible for getting notes and assignments given out on that day. Any student who misses more than five classes without a valid excuse will receive an F in the course.
Schedule of Topics and Readings
May 15: Introduction: Origins of Civilization in the West
May 16: City-States and Empires
Readings: Fowden, chapters 1-2; Foundations of the West, chapter 1, chapter 2; François de Polignac, Cults, Territory, and the Origins of the Greek City-State, conclusion.
May 17: The Origins of Christianity
Readings: Fowden, chapter 3; Foundations of the West, chapter 3; selections from John, Acts, Ephesians, I Clement, St. Ignatius, Irenaeus of Lyon, Tertullian, Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, Nicene Creed
May 18: Christian Rome
Readings: Fowden, chapter 4; Selections from Eusebius, Life of Constantine; Lactantius; Sulpicius Severus, Life of St. Martin; Raymond Van Dam, Leadership and Community in Late Antique Gaul, chapters 2 and 6.
First Paper Topics (due May 22)
(1) Describe the office of bishop as it developed in the early church. What is the nature of episcopal authority? To what extent do figures such as Constantine and St. Martin reflect the early conception of bishop? To what extent do their careers mark a departure from earlier models?
(2) Discuss the relationship between religion and politics in the ancient world up to the fourth century. How did religions ideas provide a focal point for political identity? To what extent did Christianity create an alternative form of political community?
May 22: The Roman Empire: Crisis and Tranformation
Readings: Foundations of the West, chapter 4
May 23: The Barbarian Invasions
Readings: Selections from Ammianus Marcellinus, Zosimus, Socrates Scholasticus, Sozomen, and Gregory of Tours
May 24: From Invaders to "Kings"
Readings: Fowden, chapter 5
May 25: The Byzantine, Islamic, and Barbarian Commonwealths
Readings: Fowden, chapter 6; Foundations of the West, chapter 5; J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, "Romania and Gothia."
Second Paper Topics (Due May 30)
(1) Describe the course of the barbarian invasions in the fourth and fifth centuries. Did the invasions constitute a radical break with Rome’s past or might they be seen as a continuation of traditional Roman economic and military policies?
(2) Discuss the role of religion in the transformation of Late Antiquity. In particular, how did monotheism provide a means for constructing the successor states to the Roman Empire? What was the relationship between heresy and orthodoxy in the creation of the new states?
May 29: Memorial Day Holiday
May 30: The Barbarian Milieu
Readings: Beowulf; Foundations of the West, chapter 6; Selections from Gregory of Tours and Snorri Sturlusson; Henri Pirenne, Economic and Social History of Medieval Europe, Introduction.
May 31: Beowulf (continued)
June 1: The Carolingian Achievement and the Crisis of the Ninth Century
Readings: Bartlett, chapters 1-2; selections from Gregory the Great, Fredegar and the Royal Frankish Annals
Third Paper Topics (Due June 5)
(1) What can the tale of Beowulf tell us about the nature of lordship in the early Middle Ages? How would you compare the images of leadership portrayed in the poem with those presented by Gregory of Tours and Gregory the Great? Is Beowulf a Christian ruler in the late antique sense of the term?
(2) To what extent does Beowulf provide a window into the political dynamics of the early Middle Ages? More specifically, what does the poem offer by way of proving or disproving the Pirenne Thesis? How does Beowulf, considered alongside other contemporary sources, provide background for explaining the origins of Carolingian rule and the crisis of the ninth century?
June 5: Aristocratic Society in the High Middle Ages
Readings: Bartlett, chapters 3-4; Foundations of the West, chapter 7
June 6: The Transformation of the Landscape
Readings: Bartlett, chapters 5-7; Foundations of the West, chapter 8
June 7: Towns and Villages from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance
Readings: Bartlett, chapters 8-9; Foundations of the West, chapter 9; Peter Blickle, "Communal Reformation and Peasant Piety: The Peasant Reformation and its Late Medieval Origins."
June 8: Race and Religious Conflict in the Later Middle Ages
Readings: Bartlett, chapters 10-12; Howard Kaminsky, The Hussite Revolution, chapter 1
Fourth Paper Topics (Due June 12)
(1) What is "communalism"? How do developments in the High Middle Ages provide the foundations of communalism in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries? What social group was ultimately responsible for the development of urban and rural communes?
(2) Was the Hussite Revolution the logical conclusion of the aristocratic diaspora and the missionary activity described by Bartlett" How might the Hussite critique of the church have articulated racial tensions in Eastern Europe? Or, to put it another way, was the Hussite Revolution a nationalist movement?
June 12: The Origins of the Reformation
Readings: Luther, "Freedom of a Christian" (in Hillerbrand)
June 13: Revolution and State Formation
Readings: Luther, "On Governmental Authority," "Friendly Admonition"; Twelve Articles; Heinz Schilling, "The Reformation and the Rise of the Early Modern State."
June 14: The Second Reformation and Resistance
Readings: Calvin: "Ecclesiastical Ordinances," "Institutes of the Christian Religion"; Philip Mornay, "Defense of Liberty."
June 15: Final Examination
