HIST 101 Western Civilization to 1914 (3 credits) Syllabus Spring 2021		Prof. Pavlac
Section B: Campus Ministry Aud MWF, 11:15-12:05 pm	ConciseWesternCiv.com

I. Description:

Where did our culture come from and how does it matter? This course on Western Civilization can help answer those questions. We will survey the main stages of Western Civilization, with an emphasis on concepts, forces, ideas, events, and people that have shaped our society up through the 19th century. In other words, we will examine, through lectures and discussion of readings, how our ancestors and the creators of our culture handled nature, ordered government, structured society, produced wealth, expressed ideas in word and form, and conceived the ultimate meaning of life, the universe, and everything.  

II. Purpose:

A. Mission Statement:

This class is an important part of your education!  Civilization courses are designed to explore in some depth the complex dimensions of our world and the cumulative experience of the past, to provide an understanding of how yesterday influences today and the outlook for tomorrow. We study the major developments of Western peoples until the 20th century because most of the problems and institutions of contemporary society have distinguishable roots in the historical past. Moreover, because of the physical and material expansion of the West in the modern period, many of these forms  (capitalist industrial manufacturing, the nation-state system, etc.) have become global in nature.

We offer this course as part of your general education requirements because it is important for informed citizens to be familiar with the main stages of Western Civilization and recognize it as an expanding force which produced important forms of political, social, and economic organization. You should understand that most of the structures within which we order our lives are products of this evolution. Historians believe that past human behavior can be studied scientifically and that social scientists can improve our understanding of people in the present.

Further, whatever your major or career goals may be, throughout your lives you will be deluged with information, opinion, and interpretations about events which you should be able to evaluate critically. Answering questions and solving problems by critical analysis -- not just memorization of data -- is a basic goal of education. Information is just the raw material in this process and, though rational analysis must be based on factual data, memorizing tidbits of information is not an end in itself. Our real goal is to develop concepts which give order and meaning to the raw material of our recorded past. Doing this requires comprehension beyond minimal factual details of past events. Major emphasis will be on patterns, themes, and concepts against which the factual data must be understood.

We hope that upon successful completion of this course you will have improved your understanding of world civilizations and become a more perceptive judge of the data, opinions, interpretations, and explanations continuously offered to you. This process, indeed, should last your whole life, since (paraphrasing the observation of the distinguished professional historian Carl L. Becker from 1931) "Ultimately, every person is their own historian."

B. Objectives for the student:

Student Learning Outcomes

• To frame questions and formulate theses about historical problems.
• To compare, contrast, and evaluate the relative merits of historical arguments and interpretations.
• To organize and communicate thoughts effectively in verbal and written form

C. General Learning Outcomes for the student:

In addition, this course has some general liberal-learning goals. It is expected that successful completion of this course will help you improve:

• Competence in writing, speaking, critical reading and thinking, problem solving, and making effective use of library and information resources
• A critical understanding of history, civilization, art, and literature
• A critical understanding of the American experience
• A sophisticated awareness of global issues and a knowledge of foreign cultures
• An understanding of human behavior and social institutions through the application of the social scientific method
• A facility with the scientific method and knowledge of how it is applied to understand the natural world
• Mature, critical, informed beliefs and a facility with ethical reasoning.

III. Requirements

A. Academic Integrity:

Review the academic honesty policy concerning cheating and plagiarism, differing levels of violations, and your moral, ethical, and legal obligation, that assignments "submitted for credit as a part of a course in fulfillment of a college requirement are the original works of the student." (click here for more information from the Student Handbook).  Also see <Help stop Plagiarism!>.

B. Class Schedule:

Before class, consult the schedule, below and/or the Moodle listing for what is to be covered on any particular week or day. Regularly consult the sechdule to plan for assignments due. Every class as noted, make sure you print out the WebSOURCE (see below) and think about the "BIG question" as you do your readings. Although this syllabus present the basic content and requirements of the course, the professor reserves the right to change anything (e.g. assignments, point values, topics, due dates, grading policy, etc.), at any time, at his discretion.

C. Reading:

The readings are intended to provide you with important factual and background information before class, a basis for discussion during class, and to be used as review and reference works afterwards.

1. Obtain the following textbook, in paper (not digital/electronic, as clean a copy as possible, whether new, used, or rented):
Pavlac, Brian A., A Concise Survey of Western Civilization: Supremacies and Diversities throughout  History. Combined Volume. Third Edition. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.; ISBN-13: 978-1-5381-1250-2.  
See the website for study guides and other learning aids: .

Before class, you will read the text according to the schedule, below being sure to relate it to each BIG question of the class topic. In all of your classes in college, you should prudently mark up, underline, highlight, and otherwise annotate your texts as you study. For this class, you are required to do so.  Thus it would be best if you purchased/rented/leased/borrowed a clean un-marked-up copy of the text (whether new or used).
You should critique the textbook as you study. While you are reading, use one or more highlighters or pens to mark up portions of the text. You might use marks similar to those used by the professor in his assessment of your own assignments, found here.  You might consider different colors for (a) historical facts, terms, dates, (b) important points or details, or (c) key explanatory phrases and sentences (d) significant quotes or lines.
You might write comments in the margins about the following points:

• key points of the page
• connections between themes, ideas, or subjects in different parts of the text
• ideas you agree with
• ideas you disagree with
• reactions provoked by the text
• points or subjects of particular interest to you
• points or subjects you would like to know more about.

Be sure to write a response to the review question at the end of each section in the Concise Western Civ text by writing in your book (or on a removeable note) in the space provided.
Carefully reading and noting texts is so important that the instructor applies two methods of evaluation:
First, quizzes will be given as assigned via Moodle. Quizzes are open book, so you may copy your answers from your notes into the Written Assignment module. Do not quote and do use your own words: language similar to the text may be plagiarism.
Second, you are required to turn in or show your textbook before or at each exam; then the instructor will evaluate how well you have marked it up and answered review questions.
Bring your Concise Survey textbook to every class. Ask questions about your text. We will discuss what is in it. After class, regularly through the semester, you should review your class notes and compare them with the text.
If you have a used textbook that has already been marked up, or an electronic version of the textbook, or you have some other problem with obtaining a textbook, see the instructor within the first two weeks of classes so that solutions can be found for your use of the textbook and subsequent evaluation.

2. Reading Primary Sources:

You will read modern versions of primary sources, or WebSOURCES, accessible on the internet.  Before class, you will PRINT OUT and read the sources according to the schedule, below. 

1. Obtain the sources and their questions either in the textbook for the Primary Source Projects or for online sources by clicking on the link according to the schedule, below or on Moodle. From this syllabus, new tab or page should open on the ConciseWesternCiv.com site with the appropriate link of the title for the WebSOURCE followed by suggested questions. 
2. Before class, click on that link and PRINT OUT each WebSOURCE.  (You might do all of them ahead of time to save yourself from last minute problems).
3. Read any introductory comments and the primary source itself, MARK IT UP or take careful notes in the margins or on a separate sheet.  Be sure to consider the question given below the source name on the schedule, below.  You might also answer the suggested questions from the ConciseWesternCiv.com page, or those general ones below here (writing perhaps in the margins or on the back of the page).  You might do more research on your own.
4.  Bring to class the marked-up printout of each WebSOURCE  (and note sheet, if applicable) for discussion.  You may be required to turn in for credit your printout and/or answer a relevant question in a quiz.

As you read each WebSOURCE and mark it, you may want to answer the following questions:

• Who produced the primary source (the author)? (Do not mistake a translator or editor for an author).
• What is its context? What else was going on at the time (as compared with the textbook)?
• What is the document's ostensible or intended purpose? What problem did it solve?  What issue did it explain?
• How reliable is it?
• What is the source about?  What does it say about a particular event?
• How is it significant? Why should we pay attention to it now? What can we learn from it?

For more on sources, see <http://staff.kings.edu/bapavlac/methods/sources.html>.

Quizzes will be given as assigned via Moodle. Quizzes are open note, so you may copy and adapt your answers from your notes into the Written Assignment module. Do not quote and do use your own words: language similar to the text may be plagiarism.

D. Class Participation & Attendance Policy:

1. Traditional in-person classes: Participation and attendance are necessary because lecture and discussion provide the essentials for achieving class goals and objectives. Thus a portion of your grade (about 20%) will depend on your in-class performance, aside from graded quizzes, exams, and papers. You are required to attend each scheduled class meeting, arrive on time, remain attentive, maintain proper classroom decorum, respond to questions, and participate in discussion and small-group activities. If you are using a personal computer, you are not to use any other apps or programs other than necessary to take notes or access study materials.

You are encouraged to take notes and ask questions. Since mature engagement with our society's past and present problems and controversies requires knowledge of current events, students are expected to be informed about significant current events.

During class, electronic devices may only be used for tasks and information relevant to the classroom activity and may not distract you or other students. Only with the instructor's permission may any aspect of class or its participants be recorded, only to be used for your own study, and the recordings must be erased after the final exam.

Disabilities, Accessibility, and Inclusive Learning: King’s College is committed to ensuring that all students can participate fully in the King’s experience, and therefore to creating an inclusive learning environment for all students. King’s views disability as an aspect of human diversity, and continually works with students, faculty, and staff to identify environmental and attitudinal barriers and to improve accessibility on campus and in our online platforms. Therefore, if you have physical, sensory, psychological, or learning disabilities, we would like to support your access to course materials through reasonable accommodations. Please contact the Disability Services Coordinator, in the Academic Skills Center, at the beginning of the semester regarding King’s policies and procedures for documenting and accommodating differing abilities (see Services for Student with Disabilities in the Student Handbook or the King’s College Academic Skills Center website, <https://www.kings.edu/academics/support/skills_center>, for more information). King’s respects your right to keep disabilities confidential and requires faculty to maintain confidentiality while they work with you and other offices to ensure these accommodations.
Any student who has any possible impediment to class participation and requirements should meet with the instructor within the first two weeks of classes to establish available accommodations. 

If, at some point during the semester, you must discontinue the course, whether due to poor performance, illness, or some other cause, be sure to follow proper procedures for withdrawal through the Registrar.

2. Zoom classes: If necessary, the college or instructor may switch tto all online format, or each individual student may request to attend class virtually. Participation and attendance All of the above expectations sitll apply with the following changes: use your computer from a quiet, stable, distraction-free space; leave your camera on; mute your microphone unless requested to unmute by the instructor or you have a question. Connection information for Zoom will be provided when necessary on Moodle.

E. Absence Policy:

Since participation and class attendance are necessary, if you miss a class you must complete an Absentee Assignment (see below) so that the instructor may evaluate whether some learning has taken place (see below)..
If you arrive at class late, after attendance is taken, you must personally request that the absence be turned into a tardy mark; otherwise an Absentee Assignment (see below) may be required. Students who need to leave a class early, except for an emergency, should notify the instructor before class begins.
Missing a class falls into two categories, excused or unexcused, either of which requires submission of an Absentee Assignment (see below).

1. Excused absences are due to college activities, an emergency, or extended illness. They require a notification by the appropriate College official (coach, director, etc.). If you know in advance, you should consult with the instructor about making up/turning in missed work; otherwise contact the instructor as soon as possible after your return. They have no negative impact upon your grade.

2. All other absences, for whatever reasons, are unexcused, and do not require any written documentation. If you are sick or potentially contagious definitely do not attend class in person.

After any absence, you are also responsible for requesting any hand-outs and already-returned assignments from the professor or borrowing notes from other students.
If you miss an exam, you do not need to complete an Absentee Assignment, but contact the instructor as soon as possible to schedule a make-up for the exam. You may take a missed exam only at the discretion of the instructor.

If you turn in Absentee Assignments, absences or a make-up exam should not significantly affect your grade.  Always, your health is your first priority. If you are sick, stay away from class, and seek proper treatment and rest before returning to class.

F. Absentee Assignment:

For an Absentee Assignment, you are to write one paragraph of between 200 and 325 words, discussing the topic of the day answering the Big Question for that day using the assigned textbook reading AND the relevant WebSOURCE.  Use some specific details.
Write the paragraph in a Microsoft Word document using proper presentation format. At the top of the page put your name and the date of the class missed. Send the document as an attachment by e-mail to the instructor (bapavlac@kings.edu), using "Absentee Assignment" as your subject line. These papers are ungraded, without points, and not returned; yet failure to complete Absentee Assignments will significantly lower your grade, perhaps resulting in failure of the course. You must write the Absentee Assignment in addition to any assigned quiz on the textbook reading or WebSOURCE of the day, but if you miss that assignment, a submitted Absentee Assignment will qualify for a grade of the average of other students completing the assignment.
Deadlines: The assignment(s) should be sent to the instructor by the beginning of the next class after you return or feel better. None will be accepted after the last day of classes.

G. Regular Quizzes and In-class projects

The instructor as assigned on Moodle will give quizzes or brief written assignments to test your reading and comprehension and to review (worth between 5 and 20 points).  The quizzes will be open book/note and will usually be one of these types: 

• a quiz about this syllabus
• a quiz about instructions for written assignments
• quizzes about the textbook readings: summing up the answer to the BIG Question of the day 
• quizzes tied to that day's WebSOURCE based on your reading of those primary sources
• three Map Quizzes in which you must identify on a map several locations

You may take the quizzes on Moodle any time after they become active, before their respective due dates and times (before 11 am).  If you miss taking one, you cannot take a replacement.  For help with computer issues on Moodle, contact Ms. Bonnie Scutch at (570) 208-5900, telephone extension 6036, or email at moodle@kings.edu. 

About the Map Quizzes:  Unless you know where things are, you cannot understand how they are related to each other.  Therefore portions of exams and quizzes of this course require knowledge about historical geography:  how peoples and countries develop significant spatial relations over time. Each exam will have a map portion, but you will also take map quizzes by computer using Moodle.

You are responsible at all times for the general topography of Europe, but as we move through history some geographic locations become newly significant.  For each exam, covering each part of the course, the new locations are listed, but you are still responsible for the earlier ones. 

Maps are also available on the ConciseWesternCiv site: under the "Extras" link.

For study and practice, use the map at <http://www.concisewesternciv.com/images/mapEUROPb.jpg>.  Also go to Moodle for study paths, self-tests, the quizzes, and a list of all required specific locations to know. 

We may through the term have in-class discussions and projects. You are required to have read before class the appropriate material (as listed on the class schedule , or otherwise assigned by the instructor) and be prepared to discuss and write about it with the instructor or in small groups.

H. Exams

In class, you will take two major exams as scheduled during the term and one more during finals week, for a total of three exams.  The exams are comprehensive: exams cover material since the beginning of the course (although most of each exam will focus on the portion most recently covered).   All exams will consist of both objective questions testing recall based on historical geography and maps and essays demanding your understanding of the course material through logical argument of facts and explanation of historical trends.  Only paper from the instructor is to be used.  Please write legibly, in blue/black ink (no pencils).  

Taking an exam online may only be done with permission of the instructor, and should be requested as soon as possible.
To study for the exams you should regularly, at least once a week, review your class notes, and refer to the study questions linked below. You should also compare and contrast these notes with your textbook and with the issues and trends emphasized in the class description.  To avoid common exam errors, check this page.  

The pages located on the web are for you to look at and study ahead of exams: Study Questions for Exam 1;  Study Questions for Exam 2; The Final Exam will consist of several questions to be posted later dealing with questions of history and primary sources.

I. Major Written Assignment:

Outside of the classroom you will research and write a major written assignment, PLAGUES, culminating in a four-to-five page essay which deals with the Black Death and another plague from history.  You will evaluate, through comparing and contrasting, facts, opinions, and myths of history.

Purpose:
Considering the present pandemic, an understanding of the impact of disease on Western civilization is essential. You will manage information, evaluate different historical opinions, analyze arguments, organize your thoughts and present them in a clear written form in order to better understand an historical process.

To properly guide you through the research process, the assignment is divided into several parts, as follows.

Part ONE: Written Assignment Quiz (10 points)
As preparation for writing, you must take a quiz on Moodle about your writing assignments.  The links below should provide you with all the information necessary to answer the quiz questions.

• Overall issues of proper procedure for using sources is at the Citing and Footnoting page: <http://brianpavlac.org/teach/thCiting.html>.
• About requirements about how your papers should look, go to this page:  <http://brianpavlac.org/teach/thPresentation.html>.
• For more on evaluation of your papers and avoiding common errors see the page on "Evaluation and Grading,"  <http://brianpavlac.org/teach/thEvaluation.html>.   
• For basic information on sources see <http://staff.kings.edu/bapavlac/methods/sources.html> and for evaluating and using those sources, see <http://staff.kings.edu/bapavlac/methods/sourceeval.html>.
• For more information about how to cite properly using Turabian/Chicago Manual of Style format see the page at the Corgan Library <http://kings.libguides.com/citation> and click on "Chicago," links.  Or go to the Corgan Library Study Guide #6.  

Part TWO:  Choice of Topic (10 points)
Procedure:
1. Choose a Topic from the list at <http://brianpavlac.org/teach/101PlagueC.html>. Topics are either a specific epidemic event or a disease you can follow through several events. [You may choose another event or disease not on this list with written permission of the professor]. Before committing yourself to your selection, you should learn something about it through tertiary sources such as the textbook, research in print sources or online, or Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica Online search. 
2. Submit your assignment at the beginning of class on the date listed in the schedule, in the proper presentation format (page number location, margin size, Times Roman 12-point font throughout line spacing, etc.) with (1) a title page; followed by (2) a page numbered #1 with the your topic selection and correct Turabian/Chicago format for citation of an article from either Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Part THREE:  Primary and Secondary Source Research (25 points)
Procedure:
1. Consult at least four of the scholarly books on the Black Death on reserve in the Corgan Library or scholary books and articles from some other library. For your own special topic, find at least three relevant peer-reviewed books and scholarly articles. These secondary sources must be from printed books and journals, namely scholarly, biographical, detailed works, written by professional historians and which closely examine the rulers or their times). [Journal articles may be full-text versions from an appropriate database, such as Academic Search Premiere/EBSCOhost.  N.B. make sure you use full articles, not abstracts or book reviews.]
2. Take notes on the secondary sources you have consulted. You can use either a word processor or take notes by hand on paper.  Notes information should include the pages from which you took the information. Be sure to use quotation marks for exact quotes; otherwise you should paraphrase (for more on paraphrasing, see <http://brianpavlac.org/teach/thParaphrase.html>)
3.  Find at least one primary source for each the Black Death and your own special topic.
4.  Create a pre-bibliography listing each of your sources, in proper presentation format, with the appropriate sources you have collected so far listed under the following subheadings:  "Tertiary Sources," "Secondary Sources," and  "Primary Sources." You will get some extra credit for having more than the required minimum sources (one tertiary, seven secondary, two primary), depending on their quality.  The tertiary source from your previous assignment of the "PART TWO: Choice of Topic."
5. Submit your assignment at the beginning of class on the date listed in the schedule in the proper presentation format of (1) a title page followed by; (2) the Turabian/Chicago format pre-bibliography (for a sample click here), and then; (4) one sample page of notes for each secondary source (either word processed or photocopied from hand written notes.
This assignment will be evaluated both on the quality of references, the accuracy of bibliographic formatting, and the quality and detail of your notes.

Part FOUR:  Pre-Writing Thesis and Outline(20 points)
Procedure:
1. Formulate a thesis for your topic.  Basically your thesis will state briefly your view on how your plague or epidemic affecting Western Civilization compares to the Black Death.  For more on writing theses, click here. 
2. Formulate an outline using bullet points for your paper (limited to one page). For more on outlines in general, click here.  For a sample of how the outline should look for this assignment, click here.  See also this page on Essay Structure.  Write out your thesis as one complete sentence only, followed by your outline.  Outline points should reflect the main topics you have researched about your sources such as their authorship, accuracy, contradictions, points-of-view, perspective on major historical and social issues (scientific and technological sophistication, distribtion of wealth, violence and power, social hierarchy, creativity, and belief systems). Your conclusion should clearly restate the main idea of comparison and contrast.
3. Submit your assignment at the beginning of class on the date listed in the schedule for each paper, in the proper presentation format of (1) a title page, followed by; (2) a page with your thesis and outline (page 1--no more than one page long), then; (3) your current pre-bibliography (page 2-etc.).

Part FIVE:  FINAL DRAFT (75 points)
Procedure:
1. Rest, then review and revise your written work repeatedly. You might use the Writing Center. 
This assignment will be evaluated on the quality and use of your research from your sources your thinking about how information can be rationalized.  Support all your assertions with proper reasoning and/or details drawn from your sources. Your citation of sources will substantially influence the evaluation of your essay.  Check out this information on "How to write Essays."
2. Submit your final draft by Moodle at the time listed in the schedule in the proper presentation format of (1) a title page followed by (2) your four-to-five pages of original text of your essay, and underline your thesis sentence in the first introductory paragraph, (3) your revised and final bibliography, and (4) print out the checklist here <staff.kings.edu/bapavlac/methods/format.html> fill it out to make sure you have formatted your paper correctly, and attach the checklist at the back of your assignment.  (Do not include any pages with thesis, outlines, or photocopies from previous assignments).

IV. Grades:

You earn your grade through work done for this course.  You are responsible to understand why you have achieved a certain grade and what you can do to maintain or improve your grade.  You are encouraged to consult with the professor during office hours or by appointment both before and after exams and written assignments. 
Click here for a Grading Policy with more information on the parameters of evaluation and grading. For more information on grades, see your Student Handbook and the College catalog.

For your protection, in case of errors of recording, you should keep copies of all exams and assignments until you have received official notice of your final grade.  Any and all materials done for this course may become the property of the professor, who may use them for assessment, evaluative, scholarly, or research purposes. 

Your final grade will be based on a percentage (above 90%=A, 80-89%=B, etc.) of the sum of the assignments. Different assignments will be worth certain point values, as follows:

75 points for the first exam; 100 for the second exam; and 125 for the final exam;
10 points each (30 total) for three map quizzes; 20 for the syllabus quiz;
5-20 points each for any in-class quizzes or class project statements;
5-15 points for each textbook evaluation at each exam;
150 points for all the parts of your major written assignment;
150 points for your class attendance & participation.

DEADLINES:

Completing assignments on time is an important aspect of your course work.  You yourself must hand in each written assignment at the beginning of class on the dates as listed in the schedule, or, if directed, submit the assignment electronically in Moodle.
If you have not submitted the assignment on time, do so as soon as possible. The grade of any assignment you turn in late will lose at least 10% after the beginning of the first class, 20% after the second, and 35% after the third. No late assignments will be accepted after the last day of classes.  You may not earn credit for a part of these written assignments until the previous part(s) have been submitted. 

Most important, this course and your entire education should be about learning to be a better human being, not merely earning grades and fulfilling requirements.  The grades and requirements, however, are imperfect means toward that noble end.  Please consult with the professor about how you can succeed. 

V. Schedule of Class Topics and WebSOURCES:

The schedule below or on Moodle inform you of work expected to be done for this course. Should the College cancel classes, still do work according to the schedule, until otherwise instructed by the professor. If classes are online they meet according to the regular schedule.
Should the College have a compressed or half-day schedule as announced by the college, still do the work according to the schedule below, including turning any required work in at the next class, until otherwise instructed by the professor. Compressed class time is 12:30-1:05pm.

The list below of WebSOURCES and their questions required for each class are hyperlinks shown in the right hand column.   Clicking on a hyperlink on the schedule will take you a page at ConciseWesternCiv.com, where you can click on the appropriate link to get to online resources.

PART I The Study of History and the formation of the Ancient West

PART IIa The Medieval West