Haverford College

Department of History

Section 01: Prof. Gerstein (Mon/Wed.)

Section 02: Prof. Graham (Tu/Thurs.)

History 111: Introduction to Western Civilization

The readings for this course have been arranged in units of one or two weeks; since class meetings are designed as "discussions," you should have completed the readings in advance before each week's unit. (Your instructor will keep you posted.) You should get in the habit of bringing to class the relevant primary source materials for each unit. There will be a 90-minute mid-term exam on Wednesday/Thursday Nov. 2-3, two short papers (3-5 pages) due on Friday Sept. 30th and Wednesday Nov. 23rd, and a three-hour, self-scheduled final examination.

Unit 1: August 29-Sept. 8 Late Roman Empire and the Origins of Christianity
Hollister & Bennett, Medieval Europe: A Short History, 10th ed, pp. 5-20.
Tacitus, Introduction and Agricola (pp. 1-99)
The Bible: New Testament, "The Gospel According to St. Matthew"
"The Acts of the Apostles,” ch. 1, 2, 9, 11, 13, 15, 19.
"The Letter of Paul to the Romans"

Unit 2: Sept. 12-15 Conversion and Resistance
Hollister & Bennett, pp. 20-29
Sources on Medieval and Early Modern History (xerox packet), "The Christian Creeds"
St. Augustine, The Confessions, 1-70, 99-109, 120-132, 166-205
Herlihy, ed., Medieval Culture and Society , "Martin of Braga" (33-42)

Unit 3: Sept. 19-27 A Society of Warriors and Monks
Hollister & Bennett, pp. 30-49; 50-67; 194-214
Tacitus, Germania
Herlihy, "Beowulf," pp. 126-153
Herlihy, "Gregory the Great: Life of St. Benedict" (67-93)
"Rule of St. Benedict" (56-64)

Unit 4: Sept. 28-29 Early Christian Kingdoms
Hollister & Bennett, pp. 68-121
Sources, "Carolingian Documents"
Einhard, Life of Charlemagne and Notker, Life of Charlemagne, pp. 93-113

PAPER DUE AT 4 P.M. FRIDAY SEPT. 30th

Unit 5: Oct. 3-6 Militant Faith and Crusaders
Hollister & Bennett, 121-147; 215-239; [and pp. 203-212]
Sources, "Feudal Documents"
Song of Roland
Herlihy, "The Dulcitius of Hrotswitha of Gandersheim" (109-117)

(FALL BREAK: OCT. 7-16)

Unit. 6: Oct. 17-25 Economic Expansion and Social Change
Hollister & Bennett, 156-167; 167-185; 366-374
Sources, "Manorial Documents"
Herlihy, "The charters of Lorris and St. Omer" (177-185)
Sources, "Towns and Guilds"
Herlihy, "Chaucer: Prologue to The Canterbury Tales " (361-381)

Unit 7: Oct. 26-Nov.1 Monarchy and Representative Institutions
Hollister & Bennett, pp. 266-288 and 325-364
Sources, "Magna Carta"
Sources, “The Peasants Revolt, 1381”

90-MINUTE IN CLASS EXAM NOV. 2-3

Unit 8: Nov. 7-15 Literature, Romance, and Chivalry
Hollister & Bennett, 289-324
Herlihy, "Tristan and Iseult" (269-281)
Sources, “Lanval” and Gratian: “Canon Laws on Marriage”
Chrétien de Troyes, Ywain

Unit 9: Nov. 16-23 Renaissance State and Society
E.F. Rice, Jr. and A. Grafton, Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559 , 2nd. ed, pp. 1-109; 110-135
Machiavelli, The Prince
Sources, Castiglione: “Book of the Courtier”

PAPER DUE WEDNESDAY NOV. 24th at 5:00 PM
THANKSGIVING BREAK (NOV25- 28)

Unit 10: Nov. 28-Dec. 8 The Reformation Movements
Rice and Grafton, pp. 135-202
More, Utopia
Sources, The Northern Renaissance, Erasmus: "The Praise of Folly"
Sources, Luther, "Address to the Christian Nobility"; Luther, "On Christian Liberty"; Erasmus, "On Free Will"; Luther, "The Bondage of the Will"