Goals of the course: This course has two goals:

1) to give you a basic understanding of the major events and cultural developments within Europe and the Middle East from the invention of writing in Mesopotamia to the beginnings of European world domination in the seventeenth century CE. We will place a special emphasis on the interaction between western and non-western cultures, both because many aspects of what is considered "western" civilization originated elsewhere, and because by comparing other societies, we understand what is unique about our own.

2) to introduce you to the methods of historical analysis. In our discussions and in your papers, you will learn how to place evidence in its historical context, how to formulate historical problems, and how to make arguments based on primary sources.

Web page (for lecture notes and readings online): http://www.luc.edu/faculty/ldossey/

Required Texts (for purchase at Loyola University Bookstore):

Bulliet, R., et al. The Earth and its Peoples: A Global History, Vol. 1. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.

Kishlansky, M. Sources of the West. Vol 1. (5^th ed.).

Optional Texts (for purchase at Loyola University Bookstore) (choose one for your prepaper/paper, or use one of the recommended books at Cudahy Library):

Herodotus, History (Oxford World's Classics: 1999); Arrian, Campaigns of Alexander (Penguin: 1977); Apuleius, Golden Ass (Oxford World's Classics: 1999); Letters of Abelard and Heloise (Penguin: 1977); Travels of Marco Polo (Penguin: 1990); Ibn Munqudh, Arab-Syrian Gentleman (Columbia: 2000).

Requirements of the course: Each student's final grade will be calculated as follows:

Quizzes 30%

Pre-paper (Sept. 30) 10%

Paper (Nov. 25) 20%

Midterm exam (Oct. 14) 20%

Final exam 20%

1. Quizzes: There will be frequent unannounced quizzes (multiple choice, true/false) on the short primary sources (in Kishlansky and on the Web), so it is important to come to class prepared. The purpose of these quizzes is to encourage you to keep up with the readings, so that you can participate in class discussion. To prepare yourself, read the text(s) for the day (for example, Book of Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh in Kishlansky for Aug. 28), and answer the questions in the "How to Analyze a Source" hand-out. The topics to focus on are either indicated in the schedule, or will be announced at the previous class. You will normally be able to discuss these texts with fellow students before taking the quiz, though, be warned, if I get the impression that you haven't read the texts ahead of time, you will take the quiz before discussion.

There will also be occasional quizzes on the textbook. I will announce these quizzes during the previous class.

**NOTE: If you participate in the Museum Trip (Sept. 30), you will be allowed to drop your lowest quiz grade.

2. Final paper and Pre-paper: Both the pre-paper and the final paper will be based on one substantial primary source that you have selected either from the optional texts at the bookstore or from a list of recommended texts at Cudahy Library. The reason you have your choice of texts is so that you can pursue your particular historical interests (for example, military history, women’s history, the history of a particular ethnic group or religion). The pre-paper should be about 3 pages long (two pages of continuous text and one page of outline) and the final paper about 7 pages long (2 pages of revised prepaper; 5 pages on special topic). I will hand out a detailed description of these assignments and a list of recommended primary sources later in the semester. After you choose your text, you will need to go to the library and get the full translation, not just a selection.

Be sure to always keep a second copy of your papers in case I lose them!

3. Midterm and final exams.

These exams will consist of short identifications (who, when, why significant, etc.), essay questions, and text analysis (of passages from the primary texts you have already read). They will draw on both the readings and the lectures. You will get the pool of potential questions ahead of time to help you study.

Academic dishonesty: If you plagiarize in a paper, you will get no credit for that assignment - i.e. it will be factored in as a 0. Plagiarism is using other people's words and ideas as though they were your own, without citing your source. Even when you are paraphrasing (not quoting), it counts as plagiarism if you do not cite your source.

If I catch you cheating on a quiz, your overall quiz grade will be an F.

Policy on late papers and missed exams: Unless you get an extension from me ahead of time, late papers will lose a third of a grade for every day late (a B+ will become a B). If you miss an exam, you may take a make-up during my office hours, but will be penalized a full letter grade (A becomes B). The penalty does not apply in cases of documented medical or family emergency. There are no make-ups for missed quizzes (but see extra credit).

Extra credit: There are a number of extra-credit events you can attend to improve your quiz grade. Attending one of these lectures or museum exhibits will raise an individual quiz grade by a full grade (i.e. a B will become an A). Bring proof that you attended the entire event, and be able to describe it verbally. If you want to raise your grade more significantly or need to make up a missed quiz, you can write a two-paged, double-spaced paper, which describes the event and explains how it relates to broader themes in the course. Your grade on the paper will be your grade for the missed quiz. You can’t count more than three events. Events include:

Medieval Studies Lectures at Loyola (all at 3:30 pm, Crown Center Auditorium).
Free lunch sponsored by the Medieval Studies Committee (to attend this lunch, you will need to read a medieval play and write a one-page summary before the lunch)
Museum exhibits: Egyptian or Asian Art (pre 1700 objects) at The Art Institute; Egyptian section at the Field Museum; Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. Check the museums’ web sites for free days.
Other exhibits, concerts, or plays whose content is primarily pre-1700 (western or non-western). Send me proposals by email.

SCHEDULE

1. Aug. 26, 28 The beginnings of civilization: the Sumerians

Tuesday: The Code of the Assyrians (hand-out)

Thursday: Kishlansky, No. 1. The Epic of Gilgamesh; 3. The Book of Genesis (topics: Noah's flood; differences in Mesopotamian and Hebrew expectations of God; differences in subsistence patterns)

Bulliet, Ch. 1 (1-25)

2. Sept. 2, 4 The ancient Near East 2000 – 1200 BCE. Egyptians, Transformation in Western Asia

Tuesday: Kishlansky 6. The Book of the Dead (ca. 16th century B.C.) (topics: belief in the afterlife; Egyptian morality)

Thursday: Tiglath Pileser I, King of Assyria: Inscription (Web) (topics: Assyrian methods of warfare; Assyrian morality; sources of wealth)

Bulliet, Ch. 2 and beginning of Ch. 3 (28-73)

3. Sept. 9, 11 Beginnings of the Greeks; Athens

Tuesday: Kishlansky 9. Homer, Iliad (topics: differences and similarities between Greek and Assyrian warfare; differences between Greek and Hebrew attitudes towards the gods)

Thursday: Xenophon, How to Train a Wife (web) (topic: differences and similarities between Greek and Mesopotamian treatment of women)

Olynthus house (hand-out)

Bulliet, end of Ch. 3 and Ch. 4 (73-111)

**Sept. 9: (Tuesday): Bibliographic reference for paper due

4. Sept. 16, 18 Persian Wars and Athenian Golden Age; Alexander the Great

Tuesday: Herodotus (web) (topics: hoplite vs. Persian warfare; Greek relativism)

Thursday: Arrian (web) (topics: Alexander's motives for conquest; Macedonian warfare)

Bulliet, Ch. 5

5. Sept. 23, 25 Hellenistic Civilization and the Rise of Rome; From Republic to Empire

Tuesday: Julius Caesar, Gallic War (web) (topics: Roman motives for conquest; method of warfare; engineering)

Thursday: Kishlansky 20. Juvenal's Satires (topic: differences between Greek and Roman attitudes towards women)

Houses of Pompeii / Herculaneum (hand-out)

Bulliet, Ch. 6

6. Sept. 30, Oct. 2 Rome and China in 1^st through 3^rd centuries CE

**Tuesday: Art Institute Trip: 1 pm (replaces class. If you attend, your lowest quiz grade will be dropped)

Thursday: Sun Tzu, Art of War (Web) (topic: differences between Roman and Chinese warfare and imperialism)

Chinese Accounts of Rome (Web) (topics: extent of contact between Roman Empire and Han China; political differences between China and Rome)

Bulliet, Ch. 8 (203-210)

**Sept. 30 (Tuesday): Prepaper due

7. Oct. 7, 9 Religious change: Late Antiquity; Islam

Tuesday: Passion of Perpetua (Web) (topics: Roman punishment; reasons why peoples - esp. women - converted to Christianity)

Thursday: Sayings of the Prophet (Web) (reasons why people converted to Islam; Arab methods of warfare; Arab treatment of women)

Bulliet Ch. 8 (221-222); Ch. 9 225-247; Ch 7 (173-183 on religious change in India)

8. ** Oct. 14 MIDTERM

Oct. 16: Early Middle Ages

Thursday: early medieval house (hand-out)

Bulliet, Ch. 10 (250-268)

9. Oct. 21, 23 Carolingians and; Islamic learning and economy

Tuesday: Kishlansky 32. Einhard, The Life of Charlemagne (ca. 829-836);

Thursday: Al-Andalusi, Categories of Nations (web; better to use the shortened version that I emailed out or that is on Course Connect site)

Islamic house (hand-out)

Bulliet, Ch. 13 (336-338); Ch. 7 (188, for "Arabic" numerals); Ch. 8 (210 - 218), and Ch. 15 (370-386), for spread of Islam into Africa and Indian Ocean)

10. Oct. 28, 30 The age of the Crusades; Scholasticism

Tuesday: Kishlansky 40. Song of Roland;

Usamah Ibn Munqidh, Excerpts on the Franks (web)

Thursday: Kishlansky 44. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica

Bulliet Ch. 10 (268-273); Ch. 13 (325-338), Ch. 14 (353-354)

11. Nov. 6 (Nov. 4 no class due to Fall Break) Black Death;

Thursday: Confession of Agimet of Geneva (web)

Kishlansky 49. Witchcraft Documents

Bulliet Ch. 16 (394-408).

12. Nov. 11, 13 Hundred Years’ War and Renaissance

Tuesday: Trial of Joan of Arc (Web)

Thursday: Kishlansky 53. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince;