King's  Logo

COURSE NUMBER: HIST 202
COURSE TITLE: Western Civilization: European History from the Classical Age to 1715
NAME OF INSTRUCTOR: Dr. William Van Arragon
CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION: credits 3(hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course deals with the decline of medieval Christendom, the transition to the period of the Renaissance and Reformation, and the emergence of a humanistic civilization. This course includes specific seminars on the arts, music and literature of the historical periods being studied. (Note: Ancient and medieval backgrounds will also be reviewed.)
REQUIRED TEXTS:
  • Clifford R. Backman, The Cultures of the West: To 1750 [Vol. 1] (Oxford)
  • Linda Woodhead, Christianity: A Very Short Introduction (2nd ed., Oxford)
  • Karin Maag, Does the Reformation Still Matter? (Calvin College Press)
MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:
Essay 1 (1500 words)30%
Essay 2 (1500 words)30%
Attendance and Participation10%
Final exam30%
100%
COURSE OBJECTIVES: This course will proceed by way of lectures, in-class discussions, and other activities and will use a range of media (primary documents, art, films, music).  Upon completion of this course students will have:
  1. gained an understanding of the main contours of the history of Western civilization from the classical age to 1648 and of the ways in which our culture has been shaped by classical, Judeo and Christian ideas and practices;
  2. learned to appreciate the importance and complexity of human agency in history, learned to think about cultures from a worldview and Christian perspective and begun to think of themselves as historical persons; 
  3. been introduced to some of the methods which historians use in order to reconstruct the past, and improved their skills in oral and written communication.
COURSE OUTLINE: September 5-28 (chaps. 1-7)  
Christian Origins:  Course Introduction, What is Christianity?, Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Israel, Ancient Greece and Rome, The Early Church, Fall of the Roman Empire

October 3-31 (chaps. 8-10)
Medieval Christianity: Feudalism, War and Politics, Medieval Christendom, Rise of Islam, The Crusades, Global Christianity, The Crisis of the Fourteenth Century

November 2-December 7 (chaps. 11-14)
The Reformation Era: The Renaissance in Italy and Northern Europe, the Protestant, Catholic, and Radical Reformations, Wars of Religion and the Thirty Years’ War, the Scientific Revolution


Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult the course instructor for up to date details.

© The King's University
Maintained By Institutional Research