HIST 121 Section 055 (Honors), Fall 1998
12:30-1:45 TTh, Old Main 308
Mr Lehmann
Office Hours: 2:00-3:00 TTh
East Hall 210, 677-5573, clehmann@usd.edu, http://www.usd.edu/~clehmann
The first of a two-part survey of Western Civilization, this course introduces students to some of the leading figures, ideas, and events of the Ancient Near East and premodern Europe. It also exposes them to the concerns and methods of historical inquiry through the example of lectures, by analyzing and discussing selected texts, and by writing papers. Further, the course requires students to become familiar with the use of the World Wide Web and with historical resources available on it. Finally, the theme of this year's course, law and society, prompts reflection upon such issues as the nature, origin, and purpose of law, the development of judicial and penal institutions, and the social utility of law and legal institutions--all within historical contexts.
Students must read all assignments, attend every lecture, take notes, participate in discussions, and secure all handouts, which contain chronological and geographical background to the lectures and readings. In addition, students write papers and attend special discussion sessions four times during the semester. Material from the lectures may be incorporated into the papers and observations during discussions, but the main purpose of the papers is for students to treat in detail certain themes that appear only generally in the lectures, especially themes related to law and society. Three of the projects are based on assigned readings while the fourth involves service learning (see below).
Grades depend on written work, the service project, and participation in class and discussion sessions. Students who expect to miss more than three meetings should meet with the instructor in the first week. Each student writes three papers, completes a project in service learning, submits regular summaries of course content by part, and creates a home page on the World Wide Web. The papers count 50 points each, divided into 30 points for content, 10 points for style, and 10 points for discussion. The service-learning project counts 50 points and the summaries count an additional 50 points. The web pages are not graded, but are required for successful completion of the course. From a total of 250 points possible,
250-225 = A
224-200 = B
200-175 = C
174-150 = D
Most of these items are at the bookstore, and many of these items are on reserve at I D Weeks. Some are available on-line.
In consultation with the instructor and the student chairs of Students Enhancing Resources for Vermillion Enrichment (SERVE) in the Student Activities Center each student will undertake a project in service learning. The project will involve fifteen hours of community service. A copy of the plan describing the project and naming the supervisor who will validate the student's performance is due by 18 Sept. The completed plan and a journal describing the experience is due in the history office Monday 7 December. Students will meet in small groups in the Honors Program Conference Room to discuss these projects as follows.
Following the discussions students will prepare a short paper evaluating their experience. This paper, the plan, and the journal are due Friday 12 Dec. The project is worth 50 points as follows: 10 points planning, 10 points for the journal, 10 poins for discussion, and 20 points for the final paper.
At the end of each substantive part of the course (parts 2-6), students will submit short answers based on lectures and readings in the textbook to the respective study questions. Each summary should have about one short paragraph to answer each question. E-mail these to the instructor by the first Friday following the completion of each part of the course.
Each student will establish an internet account as soon as possible and send a message to the instructor so that he can establish a mailing list for the class. Go to the page on CoyoteNet to learn how to establish a user account. Be sure to ask for an account on the Sun/Unix system.
By midterm (24 Oct) each student will have written his or her own home page on the World Wide Web. Go to "Creating a Home Page" and InTEC's guide to publishing on the Web to learn how to write a home page. The instructor highly recommends the workshops on the Internet and the World Wide Web offered by the staff of I D Weeks Library. See their schedule and sign up right away. Each home page must have at least an email link to the student, a link to the Honors Program site, and a graphic image.
A panel of instructors and honors upperclassmen will judge the best of the home pages. The winner will have his or her books for Honors Western Civilization II paid for next term, courtesy of the Honors Program.
The instructor has set four problems based on several of the required books. Each student will write short papers (5-10 pp) addressing the problems, and join a small group to discuss the problem after completing each paper. Students will be assigned to one of these groups at an early meeting. The papers will conform to Chicago style and include title page and bibliography: see K L Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed (Chicago: Univ of Chicago Press, 1993), or The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed (Chicago: Univ of Chicago Press, 1993). The title page will indicate the appropriate discussion session.
Papers are due in the History office (207 East Hall) by 4:00 pm on the scheduled days; discussions follow accordingly at the Honors Lounge. Papers submitted on time may be rewritten for up to five additional points. Papers submitted after the Monday following the due date will be penalized by ten points and an additional ten points every twenty-four hours thereafter.
Paper 1, due Fri 2 Oct. Discussions:
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Read Ahrendt's book first and keep it in mind as you prepare all your written work. Among the issues you should keep in mind as you read these books and prepare your papers are what social purposes legislation and judicial and penal institutions fulfill and how people's understanding of these issues vary by region and time. More specific issues include where law or different kinds of law come from and why we should (or should not under some circumstances) obey it; how judicial procedures work to display truth and power as well as to discover truth; and how punishment affects or is understood to affect the body politic as well as the body and soul of the criminal. Always you will use an investigation of particular legal, judicial, or penal issues to investigate their historical contexts. Follow the suggested questions as a guide to your thinking, not the final organization of your paper. In the second semester you will continue the theme of law and society by reading such authors as Kafka and Foucault. Each paper throughout the year should build on what you have learned by writing the previous papers.
Part 1: Introduction
1 Sept | How We Know About the Past, and Why We Study It |
Part 2: The Ancient Near East [Civilization ch 1]
3 Sept | Disc: Ancient Historians and the purpose of history (read and bring handout; also read Walt Whitman's "Starting from Paumanok"); Part 2: Chronology and Geography (bring chronology sheet) |
8 Sept | Prehistory and the Earliest Civilizations |
10 Sept | Mesopotamian Religion |
15 Sept | Israel, Jahweh, and History; Slides: The City of Jerusalem |
Part 3: Greece [Civilization ch 2]
17 Sept | Chronology and the Bronze Age (bring chronology sheet) |
18 Sept | Summaries to Part 2 due; Service-Learing Plan due |
22 Sept | The Homeric World |
24 Sept | Early Sparta and Athens |
29 Sept | Athenian Democracy and its Crises |
1 Oct | No class; work on paper |
2 Oct | Paper 1 due |
6 Oct | Discussions on Paper 1 |
8 Oct | Slides: The City of Athens |
9 Oct | Summaries to Part 3 due |
Part 4: Rome [Civilization chs 3-4]
13 Oct | Chronology and Rome's Origins (bring chronology sheet) |
15 Oct | The Roman Constitution (bring handout on Polybius) and the Senatorial Aristocracy |
20 Oct | Roman Imperialism |
22 Oct | The Roman Revolution |
27 Oct | Rome and the Christians |
Part 5: The Middle Ages [Civilization chs 7-14]
29 Oct | Chronology (bring chronology sheet) |
30 Oct | Paper 2 due; summaries to Part 4 due |
3 Nov | Discussions on Paper 2 |
5 Nov | Byzantium and Islam |
10 Nov | Medieval Society and Feudalism |
12 Nov | Medieval Renaissances |
13 Nov | Summaries to Part 5 due |
15 Nov | Opera Omaha: Eric Hermannson's Soul |
Part 6: Renaissance and Reformation [Civilization chs 16-19]
17 Nov | Chronology (bring chronology sheet) |
19 Nov | Renaissance Humanism |
24 Nov | The Church and Its Reformers |
30 Nov | Service-learning plan and journal due |
1 Dec | Discussions on Service Learning |
3 Dec | Slides: The City of Florence |
4 Dec | Paper 4 due |
8 Dec | Discussions on Paper 4 |
10 Dec | Film: The Return of Martin Guerre (plan on meeting until 2:45 this day). |
15 Dec | Conclusion to fall semester: catch-up and evaluation Service-Learning Paper due; Summaries to Part 6 due |
18 Dec | All required work must be submitted by the end of this day |