Transcript Document

The American University of Rome
HSM 201 - Survey of Western Civilization
Professor: Alvaro Higueras
E-mail: [email protected]
Two 1'25" sessions per week
Monday and Wednesday: 10:35 am – 12.00 pm
Office hours: starting at 10 am on class days or by appointment
Required Texts: Judith Coffin, Robert Stacey. Western
Civilizations. Vol. 1. New York, London: W.W. Norton and Co.,
2005 (15th edition).
The textbook is on reserve in the library. Some readings will be
announced (TBA) during the course.
http://www.tiwanakuarcheo.net/swc1
I
Course Description
This course will cover the history of various civilizations that make up what
we call Western Civilization for a time-span that stretches from the origins
of human civilization until the Protestant Reformation. Although the course
will focus on “Western” civilizations much attention will be given also to the
contribution of Eastern Civilizations to European Civilization especially
during and after the Middle Ages (specific hand-outs will be given along
the course).
Course Objective
Students should become familiar with the most important civilizations that
are believed to constitute the Western Civilization, including those of the
Ancient Near East, Greece, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Islamic
Middle East, Medieval Europe, the Renaissance and the Protestant
Reformation. Students should learn to distinguish between primary
sources and secondary literature and use them critically for understanding
historical events and for interpreting them.
Course Procedures
Participation
Students are given reading assignments prior to lectures on a given topic.
This should enable them to participate actively in discussions after
lectures (20% of the final grade is for attendance, class participation and
the oral presentation of the paper).
Students are expected to keep up with the assigned readings. Each
student will also be asked to give an oral presentation of the research
paper topic (of his/her choice to be established with the instructor).
In order to get a “live” experience of a setting crucial in the history of
Western civilization and take advantage of our Roman location, this
course includes an obligatory visit to the Markets of Trajan and the
Museum of the Imperial Fora (scheduled for Wednesday November 26 @
10.00am).
Writing I
Students will be given two take-home exams consisting of essay
questions. Take-home exam questions will focus on readings from
primary sources and students’ answers will provide analysis of these
primary sources. On the due date the questions of take-home exams
will be analyzed in class in form of a general class discussion. Because
of this procedure, it is imperative that students turn in their work no later
than the due date. If a student is absent on the due date of the exam
and has a reasonable excuse for doing so, s/he is encouraged to mail
the answer electronically on the required day. In this case s/he is
responsible for making sure that the e-mail arrives to me on time. If a
student has a reasonable excuse for absence but does not e-mail the
exam to me, the delay will affect the grade of each exam by 10 points.
If an exam is more than a week late, it will be not accepted.
Writing II
Each student will prepare a research paper on this topic referring to a
civilization or period of history of his/her choice, for an 8-10 page
(double-spaced) research paper. The research paper should be based
on at least three primary sources and at least eight secondary sources.
Students are required to turn in an annotated bibliography and an
outline of their paper prior to the final paper (see the due dates at the
end of the syllabus). Failure to turn in the bibliography and the outline
will result in subtracting 5 points for each from the final grade of the
paper. Moreover, students are required to use electronic databases,
such as J-STOR when doing research for the paper. We will have a
short talk on the options available to the students to find both hard
copies of literature as well as electronic sources.
Writing III
Mid-term and final exams will combine essay writing with short
questions.
Oral Presentation
Each student should present his/her research topic in a 10 min. oral
presentation. Students will be graded based on the content of the oral
presentation as well as the ability to communicate with the audience,
e.g. lively talking and raising an interest in his/her topic as opposed to
half-voiced reading without any eye-contact with listeners. Visual aids
or hand-outs are a plus.
Midterm exam
20%
Class participation &
attendance
10%
Take-home exams
15% (2 x
7.5%)
Oral presentation
10%
Written research
paper*
20%
Final exam
25%
*see annex 1 - Grading Rubric for Research Paper
3 questions guiding the course:
(What is this course about? Or,)
Why do we study political organizations in an
International Relations program,
and what is their relationship?
●
How is ancient history assessed today? How do
we evaluate modern political systems?
●
Is there an evolution in human political systems?
How to assess change/progress/evolution?
Session
Topics
Readings
Tasks
No reading
M8
Sep.
Introduction: The
evolution of political
systems and
international relations.
Time and scale.
W 10
Sep.
The Beginnings of
Civilization: The
Advent of the State
and Empire.
Chapter 1: The
Origins of Western
Civilizations
M 15
Sep.
The International
Bronze Age and its
Aftermath. An early
process of
globalization.
Chapter 2: Gods and
Empires in the
Ancient Near East,
1700–500 B.C.E.
W 17
Sep.
Building the Classical
World: Hebrews,
Persians, and Greeks.
Chapter 3: The Greek
First Take-Home
Experiment
Exam handed
M 22
Sep.
Classical Greece :
Politics, Science and
Philosophy
Reading: TBA
Session
Topics
Readings
W 24
Sep.
The Hellenistic Age:
Chapter 4: The
Expansion of Greek
Expansion of
Ideals. Globalization of the Greece
Mediterranean World.
No reading
M 29
Sep.
The Early Roman Empire.
From Republic to Empire
and the Shaping of a
Continental Power.
W1
Oct.
Roman Empire and the
Strategies of an Imperial
Power
Discussion on take-home
exam 1
Chapter 5: Roman
Civilization
Late Antiquity: Demise of
the Management of the
M 6 Oct. Empire
Tasks
First Take-Home
Exam is DUE
Chapter 6:
Christianity and
the
Transformation of
the Roman World
Session
Topics
Reading: TBA
W8
Oct.
Rise of Christianity: From
Peter to the Official Church
in hand with the Greatness
of the Empire.
Discussion on selection of
paper topic.
Byzantium, Islam and the
Latin West: The Foundation
of the Diversity in Cultural
Traditions.
Chapter 7: Rome's
Three Heirs: The
Byzantine, Islamic,
and Early Medieval
Worlds
W 15
Oct.
Byzantine Empire: The
Short Life of the Eastern
Roman Empire
No reading
M 20
Oct.
Review Session for the Mid- No reading
term Exam.
Selection of paper topics Guidelines for the
bibliography and research.
Discussion on take-home
exam 2
M 13
Oct.
Readings
Tasks
Second TakeHome Exam
handed
Second TakeHome Exam
is DUE.
Session
Topics
W 22
Oct.
M 27
Oct.
M 29
Oct.
Readings
Tasks
Mid-term Exam
The Early Middle
Ages.
Reading: TBA
The High Middle
Ages.
Chapter 8: The Expansion of
Europe: Economy, Society, and
Politics in the High Middle
Ages, 1000–1300
FALL BREAK 31 Oct. - 9 Nov.
M 10
Nov.
W 12
Nov.
The High Middle
Ages.
Chapter 9: The High
Middle Ages: Religious and
Intellectual Developments,
1000–1300
The Late Middle
Ages
No reading
Annotated
Bibliography
of Papers
DUE
Session
M 17
Nov.
Topics
W 26
Nov.
Tasks
The Renaissance: How Money, Chapter 10: The
Trade, Artistic Influences and
Later Middle Ages,
Humanistic Interest create the 1300–1500
Revival of European Culture
The Renaissance (Cont.)
Chapter 11:
Commerce,
Conquest, and
Colonization, 1300–
1600
The West and the World.
Chapter 12: The
Civilization of the
Renaissance, 1350–
1550
W 19
Nov.
M 24
Nov.
Readings
Visit to Markets of Trajan &
Chapter 13:
Museum of Fori Imperiali @
Reformations of
entrance of Via Nazionale 33.
Religion
Classroom debate 1: How do
learn / use the Past? History
and Politics.
Paper
Outline
DUE
Session
Topics
M 1 Dec.
The Protestant Reformation.
Classroom debate 2: the
meaning of “Civilization”
and today's scenarios of
political organization in light
of ancient models.
Chapter 14: Religious
Wars and State
Building, 1540–1660
W 3 Dec.
Presentations by students
(8-10 minutes each)
No reading
M 8 Dec.
Readings
HOLIDAY - class held on Friday 12 Dec.
W 10
Dec.
Politics, Religion and the
Creation of the New NationStates in Europe
Reading: TBA
F 12 Dec.
Review Session for the Final
Exam
No reading
Week 1519 Dec.
FINAL EXAM: 10 am-12 noon
Tasks
Paper
DUE
The issue of political evolution
How do we study it? What fields are involved?
Is it an worthwhile / interesting topic?
Synthesis : models of human-political
evolution & exploring living societies
in the 19th century.
The study of living societies in the world
Primitive Culture:
Researches Into the Development of Mythology,
Edward Tylor (1832-1917)
Philosophy, Religion, Art, and Custom (1871)
Ancient Society or
Researches in the Lines of Human Progress from
Savagery through Barbarism to Civilization (1877)
Lewis Morgan (1818-1881)
Frederich Engels (1820-1895) The Origin of the
Family, Private Property and the State (1884)
Tylor, Primitive Culture … (1871)
“…an attempt is made to sketch a theoretical course of
civilization among mankind… By comparing the various
stages of civilization among races known to history, with the
aid of archaeological inference from the remains of prehistoric
tribes, it seems possible to judge in a rough way of an early
general condition of man, …regarded as a primitive
condition… This hypothetical primitive condition corresponds
in a considerable degree to that of modern savage tribes,
who, in spite of their difference and distance, have in common
certain elements of civilization, which seem remains of an
early state of the human race at large. If this hypothesis be
true, then, notwithstanding the continual interference of
degeneration, the main tendency of culture from primeval up
to modern times has been from savagery towards civilization.”
Morgan, Ancient Society… (1877)
“The latest investigations respecting the early condition of the
human race are tending to the conclusion that mankind
commenced their career at the bottom of the scale and
worked their way up from savagery to civilization through the
slow accumulations of experimental knowledge.
…portions of the human family have existed in a state of
savagery, other portions in a state of barbarism, and still other
portions in a state of civilization, … these three distinct
conditions are connected with each other in a natural as well
as necessary sequence of progress. Moreover, that this
sequence has been historically true of the entire human
family, up to the status attained by each branch respectively,
is rendered probable by the conditions under which all
progress occurs…”
Engels, The Origin… (1884)
Civilization is…the stage of development in society at which the
division of labor, the exchange between individuals arising from
it, and the commodity production which combines them both,
come to their full growth and revolutionizes the whole of
previous society… At all earlier stages of society production
was essentially collective, [with] direct distribution of the
products within larger or smaller communistic
communities…inherent in it was the producers' control over
their process of production and their product... But the division
of labor slowly insinuates itself into this process of production...
Gradually commodity production becomes the dominating form.
Unilineal evolution
Savagery  Barbarism  Civilization
… human's appropriation of products in their natural state
predominates; the products of human art are chiefly
instruments which assist this appropriation.
…human learns a more advanced application of work to the
products of nature, the period of industry proper and of art.
… human learns to breed domestic animals and to practice
agriculture, and acquires methods of increasing the supply
of natural products by human activity.
Unilineal evolution
In Morgan scheme, periods are divided by technological
inventions. Fire, bow, pottery, in “savagery” stage.
Domestication of animals, agriculture, metallurgy, in “barbarian”
stage. Alphabet and writing in “civilization” stage. Thus Morgan
introduced a link between social progress and technological
progress.
Engels will introduce the factor of human relations, to be more
precise class relations.
bands  tribes  chiefdom  state  (empire)
In this sequence, where is “civilization”?
Multilineal evolution
Savagery  Barbarism  Civilization…always
Savagery  Barbarism  Civilization  Barbarism
Savagery  Barbarism
 Savagery
(historical events, collapse, defeat, stagnation…)
Leslie White & Julian Steward, in a trend called
neo-evolutionism rejection the opposition
primitive : modern; reject progress, focus rather
on “cultural” adaptation (Darwin).
> energy/technology/environment
> adaptation & energy determine social
differentiation and hierarchy.
Stages of Social Organization
Pre-State (kin-based societies):
Bands and tribes: small-sized (10s to 100s autonomous
social groupings, egalitarian, division of labor and
status based on age, sex, and personal characteristics
Chiefdoms: medium-sized social formations (1000s to
10,000s), ranked kin-groups based on hereditary
status (incipient classes), regionally-organized,
integrated (non-autonomous) communities.
State (territory and class-based societies):
societies divided into various social classes, with
centralized government, a ruling elite class, able to
levy taxes (tribute), amass a standing army, and
enforce law.
Empires states in territorial growth and military control.
The Rise of Social Inequality and
Complexity
The “Rank Revolution”.
• What led to the emergence of social stratification
(rise of classes) and complexity (regional
integration and institutional differentiation within
communities)?
• How was personal and social autonomy and
egalitarian social structures transformed into
societies in which people were subordinate to
others based on birth and social position, at both
community and regional levels?
Agriculture and Settled Village Life
Fertile Crescent
• In the Near East, the use of
domesticated plants and animals
appears at roughly the same time.
• Seemed to support (neoMalthusian interpretation) that food
production provided technological
base for population growth
• Now it seems that settled villages
appear slightly earlier than
domesticated plants and animals:
indicates a more complicated
process of technological change
Farming Towns
Food production and
more sedentary ways
of life resulted in
growth in settlement
size and provided
foundation for
numerous cultural
innovations outside of
subsistence.
Chiefdoms I
simple “two-tiered” hierarchy: people are either
elite or commoner, in part related to
hereditary (incipient classes)
• generally based on intensive economies
• various communities integrated into regional
society, typically showing a “bi-modal” or
ranked-order settlement pattern: one or a few
large (first-order) settlements, with smaller
(second-and third-order) satellite settlements
linked to these
• formal, even full-time specialists: religious
specialists, warriors, chiefs, artisans
Chiefdoms II
Transitional form between pre-state and statelevel societies, whereby status and access to
resources are still determined by age, sex,
and personal characteristics and
achievements, and societies with institutional
social hierarchy, whereby status and access
to resources are also tightly tied to hereditary
status.
• What leads to the dissolution of personal and
social autonomy? coercion (individualoriented strategies) vs. management or
voluntaristic (group-oriented strategies).
(From Price & Feinman 1993, p399)
Political evolution
The first events, timeline
© Timeline, Encarta 2005
© Timeline, Encarta 2005
Mesopotamia
Egypt
The origins: from East to West… diffusion of ideas, technologies
Rome
Greece
Mesopotamia
Egypt
What do you know about these societies?
Barbarians
Aryans, Slavs, Germans
Christianized
Europe
Rome
Byzantium
Greece
Mesopotamia
Egypt
The new societies of the North, the educated Barbarians take over
Barbarians
Aryans, Slavs, Germans
Christianized
Europe
Renaissance
Rome
Byzantium
Greece
Mesopotamia
Egypt
The power of trade, traders to power, and new inventions