Occidental College
“Antiquity to 1700: Europe and the Middle East” Hist.
121, Aug-Dec, 2022
Prof. Maryanne Horowitz
History 121
Instructor: Maryanne Horowitz, Professor of History
Classroom: Johnson
105. In-person class.
Class Hours:
8:30
a.m. Section Tue, Thurs 8:30-9:55
a.m. Break
9:15-9:25 45
minutes & 30 minutes
10:05
a.m. Section. Tues, Thurs. 10:05-11:30 a.m. Break
10:50--11:00 45 minutes
& 30 minutes
The 2
sections receive the same study sheet for the short questions on in-class
exams, but they receive different exams.
Course
Description: A survey of
multiple Western civilizations and their interrelationships. Among ancients, we
shall study Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Hebrews, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. In
medieval times, we shall examine Catholic Europe, Greek Orthodox Byzantium,
Islamic Civilization, and their interrelationships. We shall consider the
treatment of women and of minorities and shall highlight travelers between
civilizations. We shall conclude with the European Renaissance and Reformation,
Turkish hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the shift in trade from the
Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean, as modern science and enlightenment
challenge traditional civilizations.
Course
Requirements Satisfied: CORE Credit as Pre-1800 (CPPE) and Global Connections
(CPGC); History Dept. Pre-1800 and Survey; Elective in Classical Studies.
Required
Books: Occidental
College Bookstore and Amazon.com
Bell and
Grafton, The West: A New History (Norton) in bookstore, vol. 1 l
book on reserve via MOODLE (ask at Circulation Desk)
Wiesner, Evans,
Wheeler, and Ruff, The Discovering the Western Past, vol. 1, 7th edition
(orange cover), used available (cite your edition in your
paper to be accurate on page references) 1 book on reserve via MOODLE (ask at
Circulation Desk)
Office
Hours on Zoom. Register on google form at website: 15 or 30 minute appointments Mon. 3-4:30 and
Wed. 9-10:30. Some Wed. also 10:30-12.
https://www.oxy.edu/academics/faculty/maryanne-horowitz. Zoom invitations will be sent out at beginning of the
day’s appointments.
Prof. Horowitz prefers face-to-face
communication whenever possible and appreciates that students upload a profile
photo to MOODLE and to https://occidental.zoom.us/profile
Course
Objectives:
● To
gain familiarity with major events, people, and movements in the history of the
pre-modern Western Civilizations (lecture, textbook, discussions, review
textbook chapters via Key Terms--also in Glossary at back of book)
● To
learn basic methods of historical investigation, particularly analysis of
textual and visual sources. (Analysis of historical problems, discussions from
diverse points of view, and paper assignment) Start with Document Analysis
Form on class
MOODLE.
● To
experience the process of interpreting major movements in ancient, medieval,
and early modern European and Middle Eastern history (lectures, discussions,
arguing historical significance on exam questions).
● To
develop skills in historical argument, writing, and oral presentation. (oral
presentations in panels, questions and discussion, polished paper with endnotes
& bibliography.
● As
a pre-1800 CORE course, to develop a critical awareness of artistic
productions, social structures, organizational hierarchies, political
economies, or patterns of thought and practices that characterize historical
communities and the experiences of peoples of the past.
Course Outcomes:
● Students
can identify and present the significance of key individuals and movements in
the history of Europe and the Middle East from antiquity to 1700.
● Students
gain a critical awareness of social structures, organizational hierarchies,
political economies, artistic productions, and patterns of thought and
practices that characterize historical communities and the experiences of
peoples of the past.
● Students
gain a critical awareness of how the past informs the present, providing an
understanding of the conditions that made possible the break with or the
persistence of social structures, organizational hierarchies, artistic
productions, or patterns of thought.
● Students
will orally debate historiographical issues while evaluating the different
implications of specific primary sources: texts and visual sources.
● Students
will write a historical essay defending an interpretation on a
historiographical issue by properly citing and critically evaluating primary
and secondary sources.
Laptops and WORD
available to registered students: Laptops are available for loan at
Library Information Desk at the Academic Commons. Form for
requesting laptop: https://oxy.freshservice.com/support/catalog/items/108
Typed papers and exams are to be
emailed to horowitz@oxy.edu in
Word.doc or .docx. Please request WORD for your use: “You may use Office365 which is an online version of the
Microsoft Office suite on your personal machine at home or on campus for the
duration of your career at Oxy. Simply visit https://www.office.com and sign in with your OXY login credentials. Please
email the Technology Helpdesk to let us know if you have any questions.”
Requirements:
each 25%
· In-class
Exam on student’s charged laptop Tues Oct 4. Identify
and state the significance (ID questions) Who or What, When, Where and
Significance (items to study distributed ahead) 45 minutes & 30
minute essay
· Paper’s 2 paragraphs with M.L.A notes and Works Cited due
noon Fri. Oct.28; complete paper due
noon Fri. Nov. 11. Instructions after Weekly
Schedule in section on Grading
· In-class Exam
2 on student’s
charged laptop Tues Nov. 22 (Tues. before
Thanksgiving; be sure to plan to be at class that day. There is no exam in
Final Week.) Who or What, When, Where and Significance (items to study
distributed ahead) 45 minutes & 30 minute essay
· Participation, especially panel
leadership, panel participation, class discussion of documents & images,
citation by another student who borrowed your class notes or who discusses your
argument on a controversy.
Panels: Check your
schedule and sign up on Tues. Sept. 6
Tues. Sept 15, The Ideal and the
Reality in Classical Athens
Thurs. Sept. 29, Life at a Medieval University
Thurs. Oct. 20, Infidels and
Heretics: Crusades in the Middle Ages
Tues Nov. 2 Renaissance Man and Woman
(only section 2 at 10:05)
Grading Policy at end of Syllabus, followed by Link to
Occidental College Policies, 2022-23
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Tuesday-Thursday Weekly Schedule for Fall 2022. Regular
lecturing, showing some of ppt of Bell and Grafton textbook. Unique
lectures by Prof. Horowitz are titled and bolded on syllabus.
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1) The
West, The West, ch. 1
starting at p 27 (around 1250 BCE) Origins:
the Near East and Ch. 2 Ancient Greece pp. 45-52
Tue.,
Aug. 30, 2022 Introduction to
Course Ancient Near East
Thurs., Sept. 1, 2022 Ancient Greeks
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2) The West, ch. 2 pp. 53-75
and ch. 3 Hellenistic World, only pp. 77-79
and 83-87 and 101-107. As background to lecture on philosophical choice, read
on Plato and Aristotle,pp. 78-80. Epicureans and Stoics p.
96. Discovering the Western Past, ch. on
“Ideal and Reality of Classical Athens”
Tue.,
Sept. 6, 2022 Sign up for panels (opportunities for a chair and a
visual presenter) Lecture
“Hellenistic Schools of Philosophy” (outline on MOODLE)
Defend orally your preference for Plato’s Academy, Aristotle’s Lyceum, the
Stoics, or the Epicurean Garden.
Thurs..,
Sept. 8, 2022 Discovering the Western Past: read to
discuss “Ideal and Reality of Classical Athens” in Wiesner, et al.
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3) The
West, ch. 4 Roman Republic, Read
in Discovering the Western Past, “Achievements of Augustus”
Discuss Pompeii’s Villa p. 125, Graffitti, 130,
slavery p. 126
Tue.,
Sept. 13, 2022 Rise of Rome
****Thurs.,
Sept. 15, 2022 Panel l “The Ideal and the Reality of
Classical Athens’ Discuss Roman graffiti. Lecture continues on
Rome, chs. 4 and 5 Roman Empire and Rise of
Christianity.
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4) The
West, ch. 5 Roman Empire Discuss petition
of peasants 176, discuss images 157, 158,160, 163,164,165,166,167,171.
Tue.,
Sept. 20, 2022 Lecture on Controversy on Causes for the Decline and
Fall of Rome (outlines of special
lectures are on MOODLE)
Thurs., Sept. 22, 2022 Student discussion of documents on p. 140
Suetonius vs. Tacitus on Augustus. Some students show examples of prejudice in
Wiesner et al. unit on “Invading Barbarians”
Lecture starts on Ch. 6.
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5) The
West, ch. 6 Late Roman Empire and
Growth of the Latin Church Wiesner, et al., chapter on
“Invading Barbarians” or less biased term “Germanic Culture”
Tue.,
Sept. 27, 2022 Bring in example of
prejudice in documents on “Invading Barbarians” Study list
for Exam l, Oct. 6, posted on MOODLE and emailed to class.
Thurs.,
Sept. 29, 2022 Discovering the Western Past, 6th edition: Panel
2 on “Life at a Medieval University”
Fri. Sept. 30, 2022 Noon Email
your Choice for paper on one of these 3 units:
Wiesner, et al., “The Achievement of Augustus”
“Social
and Economic Conflicts in the Late Medieval Cloth Trade”
“Pagans, Muslims, and Christians in the World
of Columbus.”
In
email, state first your Last Name, First Name, Section 1 or Section 2, and your
topic choice.
(Section
l meets at 8:30; Section 2 meets at 10:05)
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6) The
West, ch. 7 Making of
the Middle Ages, Byzantium, and Islam. Discuss different styles of
Ravenna mosaics, Haga Sophia (Christian,
then Moslem, then secular, now a mosque again), Kaaba, Dome of the Rock, Book
of Durrow. Lecture on “Calliphate of Córdoba.”
Tue.,
Oct. 4, 2022 First In-Class Exam
on Laptops
Thurs.,
Oct. 6, 2022 Intro. to class feature film
on peasant life: The Return of Martin Guerre
Byzantium,
Growth of Greek Orthodox Church, and Islam.
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Fall
Break Tue., Oct. 11, 2022 No Class.
Fall BREAK
Thurs., Oct. 13, 2022 Full feature film showing The Return of Martin Guerre . Opportunity to identify with a peasant
community. Students to consider the diverse viewpoints of the
accused, the diverse witnesses, and the judges for discussion on Tues. Oct. 18.
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7) The
West, ch.8 Europe Revived, 900-1200 Discuss Domesday book, p. 259, courtly
love p. 265, Hildegard’s vision, p. 274, stained glass, p. 275, Romanesque vs.
Gothic, p. 276, medieval Paris p. 281, mosque of Córdoba (now a Cathedral), p.
282, Abelard and Heloise p. 284. Wiesner, et
al., “Life at a Medieval University”
Tue.,
Oct. 18, 2022 Discussion of the case of Martin Guerre, peasant life,
demonology, legal procedures, and sensational pamphlet writing (after invention
of printing press). Student discussion of visual images mentioned above.
Thurs., Oct. 20, 2022 Panel 3
on “Infidels and Heretics: Crusades
in the Middle Ages”
Romanesque
and Gothic Architecture
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8) The
West, ch.9 High Middle Ages 1200-1400 Discuss urban
scenes, pp. 294-7, St. Francis and St. Dominic p. 309, Marco Polo p. 317-8,
revolts p. 321
Tue.,
Oct. 25, 2022 First discuss items mentioned for ch.9.
Thurs., Oct. 27, 2022 Go directly to
the Academic Commons to the top floor for our special class meeting in Special
Collections: Experiencing a Renaissance Library.
Fri. Oct. 28 Noon—2 internal paragraphs of paper formatted in Word.doc
due by email. Email Word.doc or .docx containing 2 paragraphs about your
interpretation on the historical controversy. Include MLA parenthetical notes
to a secondary source and to a primary source and your Works Cited. Label
Word.doc Last Name First Name and either Augustus, Trade, or Columbus
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9) The
West, ch.10 Renaissance Europe: A World Transformed.
Discuss catasto (first graduated income
tax) p. 328, poverty and the state p. 322, portolan chart
p. 345, Africans in Europe p. 349, Cortés and Aztecs, Ghirlandaio’s portrait of
a lady, p. 359, , Christine de Pizan, p. 360,
Florence p. 363, image pp. 364-367. Wiesner, et al., “The Renaissance Man and
Woman”
Tue.,
Nov. 1 Panel 4 Wiesner, et al., “The
Renaissance Man and Woman” (8:30 a.m. session will have a general
discussion)
Thurs., Nov. 3, 2022 First discuss
items listed above. Lecture “The Burckhardtian
Renaissance”
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10) The
West, ch. 11, Reformations, Protestant and
Catholic, 1500-1600 Study Diet of Worms, p. 379, Luther and
Peasants’ War p. 382, Burning Witches, p. 403, Montaigne p. 405
Tue.,
Nov. 8, 2022 Discussion of
Wiesner, et al., “The Spread of the Reformation”
Thurs., Nov.
10, 2022 Study list for second in-class exam Tues. Nov. 22 posted on Moodle and
emailed to class.
Fri. Nov. 11, 2022 Noon. Email your paper to horowitz@oxy.edu. Label your attachment Last Name First Name
and either Augustus, Trade, or Columbus.
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11) On
Moodle reserve, Wiesner, et al., “Staging Absolutism” and from Louis
XIV and Absolutism: A Brief Study in Documents: pp. 156-161 documents of
social unrest and pp. 206-214 Louis XIV’s “Mémoires for
the Instruction of the Dauphin”
Tue.,
Nov. 15, 2022 Lecture on Louis
XIV
Thurs.,
Nov. 17, 2022 Full class discussion on Moodle pdf of Wiesner, et al., 6th ed. “Staging
Absolutism” and scan on Louis XIV (Any questions for your study for
exam?
12) Tue., Nov. 22, 2022 Second In-Class Exam
on Laptops
Thanksgiving
holiday
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
13)Tue.,
Nov. 29, 2022 Growing Awareness of the Globe and its Peoples pp
345-348, 351-355. How to consider visual
evidence? Sample of images in Bodies and Maps and
forthcoming Controversial Monuments: Personifying the Continents
Lecture “Virtues
expected for a pre-modern Western ruler (4 cardinal virtues and 3 Christian virtues)
vs. Machiavelli’s new politics for The Prince.”
Thurs.
Dec. 1, 2022 Last Class Lecture on “Early Modern
Diplomacy—for what lands are ambassadors recognized?”
Student
Evaluations
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Grading Policies, Hist. 121, Spring 2022
Paper: Pick one of the following 3 units in Wiesner et
al. and add other primary and secondary sources:
7th or
6th ed. “The Achievement of Augustus”
7th ed. “Social
and Economic Conflicts in the Late Medieval Cloth Trade” (6th ed.
Titled “Capitalism and Conflict in the Medieval Cloth Trade”)
7th or
6th ed. “Pagans, Muslims, and Christians in the Mental World of
Columbus”
On unit
in Wiesner, et al. 6-8 page paper in Word.doc, paginated, including
M.L.A. parenthetical notes. List word count at end of last paragraph
of paper. Then continue pagination to include Works Cited divided
into the Primary and Secondary Sources. Times Roman, 12 point, 1 inch margins, paginated in Word.doc or
.docx. Please start early to find additional primary and secondary sources
via the library in the Academic Commons. Students are encouraged to share books
and articles, to discuss the challenges of interpreting primary sources with
other students, and to directly cite another student’s interpretation on the
historical question you ask (credit to both students).
The criteria for
evaluating the paper are as follows:
● Provides
thesis and logical structure of paper
● Considers
alternate historical interpretations, the secondary sources (with M.L.A
parenthetical notes to scholars or students in the class)
● Argues
for thesis via detailed analysis of primary sources and differences between
them
● Writes
in proper sentences and paragraphs (each with one topical sentence)
● Provides
parenthetical notes for quotations and summaries, leading reader to author and
page.
● Works
cited divided into Primary Sources and Secondary Sources M.L.A. Style (See
Turabian from First Year Seminar)
· As
in Oxy’s first year writing proficiency
portfolio, this paper assignment is thesis-driven, utilizes features of
conventional expository essays, and demonstrates integration of evidence from
academically credible scholarly sources.
Grading: Prof.
Horowitz she seeks to work with you so that the final grades range only from B-
to A. Final course grades in this class
have the following meaning: (Prof. Horowitz is aiming to assign only grades B-,
B, B+, A-, A)
A Outstanding performance. You
have demonstrated very thorough knowledge and understanding of all the
material, truly superior critical thinking, and expressed insightful and
original thoughts clearly. You have completed all required assignments, and
they have been among the best in the class.
B Good performance. You
have demonstrated solid knowledge and understanding of the material and good
critical thinking. You have also shown the ability to express your ideas
clearly. You have completed all required assignments, and they have been of
good quality.
C Satisfactory performance. You
have demonstrated basic knowledge and understanding of the major concepts
taught in the class and some critical thinking. You have completed all or most
of the required assignments, and they have routinely been free of significant
problems.
D Deficient performance. You
have only acquired a limited understanding of the class material. You have
failed to complete all the required assignments, and they have routinely had
serious problems.
F Failure. You have
failed to learn a sufficient proportion of the basic concepts and
ideas taught in the class. You have failed to complete many required
assignments, and they have routinely had serious problems.
Resources in Academic Commons:
● The
Writing Center offers opportunities to work on all forms of writing for any
class or other writing tasks such as personal statements, senior
comprehensives, etc. We offer peer-to-peer consultations with knowledgeable
Writing Advisers and sessions with Faculty Writing Specialists. See the Writing Center website for more information about our fall
hours and how students can sign up for appointments. Please contact the Writing
Programs-Center Director, Julie Prebel (jprebel@oxy.edu)
for more information on how the Center can work with you.
Jackson Andrew, who attended our class on Sept. 6, is the History
Tutor.
● The
college offers library research consultations and discipline-specific peer tutoring for
coursework
● Attendance Policy and Participation
Definition. Quotations come from official Occidental College fall 2021 policy suggestions:
“Participation is expected as the
work that we do in class is critical to your understanding of the material and you
will be giving feedback to your peers on many occasions. However, if
there is a medical issue or family emergency please let me know; I recognize
that other life issues can sometimes arise unexpectedly. If you must miss class
due to an official Oxy event, or due to reasons of faith or conscience,
please let me know as early in the semester as possible.”
“We are still in a public health emergency, and students may have
difficulties beyond their control that prevent their attendance on a given day (e.g.,
symptoms that are consistent with COVID-19, or a positive COVID-19 test). Your health and well-being, and that of our community, are
essential. If you are feeling any symptoms of illness, even if they are slight,
please refrain from attending class until explicitly cleared by Emmons.
Similarly, if you have a known exposure to someone who has tested positive for
COVID-19, please do not return to class until Emmons confirms that you are
cleared to participate in your usual activities.”
Students are expected
to wear masks at all times during all indoor classroom activities. Students may
eat or drink in class; however, you should step outside if you need to remove
your mask for even a brief period of time. Prof.
Horowitz hopes the scheduled 10-minute break is of help.
● Late Assignment Policy. Please
inform Prof. Horowitz ahead if you are not able to meet the deadline for a
paper assignment or an exam. She will try to accommodate your
re-scheduling. Meanwhile, please utilize the many Resources
offered by Occidental College Student Affairs.
Link to Occidental College Policies 2022-23: