212 Fall 1998

Western Civilization II:
Renaissance to Enlightenment
Fall Semester 1998
Frank Luttmer
108 Classic Hall
M W F: 10-11, 12-1
866-7205
historians@hanover.edu

Course Description and Objectives
The second in a four-course sequence in Western Civilization, this course is an introduction to the history of Europe and European Empires during the early modern period. The purpose of the Western Civilization sequence is to provide students of history and the liberal arts with a solid foundation in the principal ideas, institutions, and events that have shaped Western civilization. It seeks to promote an understanding of historical context and perspective and to encourage the skills essential to historical inquiry, including the capacity to define historical questions, analyze primary documents, evaluate alternative interpretations, develop coherent arguments, and write clearly and effectively.

Readings
Jackson Spielvogel, Western Civilization, vol. B: 1300-1815
Joseph Klaits, Servants of Satan: The Age of the Witch Hunts
George Brown Tindall and David Shi, America, A Narrative History (on reserve in the Duggan Library)
Texts and Images from the Internet

Grades
Final grades will be based on an evaluation of the following.

1. Two mid-term exams (15% each) and a final exam (20%)

Exams will consist of short-answer questions and large essay questions. Each of the three exams will cover roughly one-third of the course; the third exam will also include a comprehensive section.
2. A Research paper submitted in two drafts (15% for the first draft and 20% for the second)

The research paper can be on any topic in Western Civilization during the early modern era. Papers are to be analytical and interpretive; they should present a thesis and develop an argument. You are encouraged to use primary sources, and you are expected to examine the historiographical context of your topic. First drafts may be limited to sources available in the Duggan Library, but you are expected to use Interlibrary Loan to obtain additional sources for the final draft. You should include with your first draft a bibliography based on a universal search for sources. The grade of each draft will be based on the quality of the thesis and argument, the quality of the evidence and logic, and the quality of the writing. The grade of the second draft will also reflect the improvement (or lack of improvement) shown between the first and second draft. You should consult with me about your paper at least a week before each draft is due.
3. Class participation and daily writing assignments (15%)

As a small seminar, the success of this class depends upon the quality of the dialogue in class. It is expected that you will attend every class and that you will be fully prepared to discuss the material assigned for that day. Class participation grades will reflect your attendance record, the frequency of your contributions to class discussions, and the quality of your questions, observations, and conclusions.
Each of you will submit a short writing assignment by 10 a.m. on class days. You are to write one or two paragraphs (but not more than one page) summarizing the most significant or revealing points in the day's readings. You are also to articulate questions you have of the material, including at least one substantive, open-ended question that lends itself to different interpretations and could serve as the basis of a discussion. The assignments are to be type-written and may be submitted through email or placed in my mailbox.

Schedule

The Italian Renaissance

Sept. 9:
Society and State in Renaissance Italy
Spielvogel, 412-426; Machiavelli

Sept. 11:
Humanism
Spielvogel, 426-434; Vergerius; Petrarch

Sept. 14:
Neoplatonism
Pico; Ficino

Sept. 16:
Renaissance Art
Spielvogel, 434-442; Vasari; Images of Renaissance Art

The Reformation

Sept. 18:
The Late Medieval Church and Northern Humanism
Spielvogel, 396-402, 442-460; Erasmus

Sept. 21:
Luther and Lutheranism
Spielvogel, 460-468; Luther

Sept. 23:
Calvin
Calvin

Sept. 25:
The Spread of the Reformation
Spielvogel, 469-482; Calvin, Preface (1587 edition in the Duggan archive}

Sept. 28:
The Catholic Reformation
Spielvogel, 482-487; Loyola; Council of Trent

Expansion and Crisis

Sept. 30:
Empire and Perceptions
Spielvogel, 490-499; Montaigne

Oct. 2:
Religious Wars, Rebellion, and Persecution
Spielvogel, 499-519; Complaint Against Servetus; Foxe

Oct. 5:
Culture in the Era of Crisis
Spielvogel, 519-525; Montaigne; Images of Art

Oct. 7:
FIRST EXAM

The Witch Hunts

Oct. 9:
The Witch Hunts
Klaits, 1-47

Oct. 12:
The Witch Hunts
Klaits, 48-103

Oct. 14:
The Witch Hunts
Klaits, 104-176

Money, Power, and Princes

Oct. 21:
The Rise of France
Spielvogel, 528-540; Bossuet; Domat; St. Simon

Oct. 23:
The Dutch and the Development of Commercial Capitalism
Spielvogel, 550-554, 560-564; Mun

Oct. 26:
Central and Eastern Europe
Spielvogel, 540-550; Peter the Great

Revolution and Political Theory

Oct. 28:
The Early Stuarts and the Civil War
Spielvogel, 554-56; James I; Charles 1; Puritans

Oct. 30:
The First English Revolution
The Trial of Charles I; The Execution of Charles I; Putney Debates

Nov.2:
Thomas Hobbes
Hobbes

Nov. 4:
The Glorious Revolution
Spielvogel, 556-560; Locke

British North America

Nov. 6:
The Founding of the Colonies
Tindall and Shi, 48-81; Winthrop
FIRST DRAFTS OF PAPERS DUE

Nov. 9:
The Colonies in the Revolutionary Era; Rowlandson
Tindall and Shi, 81-103;

Nov. 11:
SECOND EXAM

The Scientific Revolution

Nov. 16:
The Medieval Universe and the New Astronomy
Spielvogel, 570-581; Copernicus; Galileo

Nov. 18:
Philosophy and Method
Spielvogel, 588-592; Bacon; Descartes

Nov. 20:
Newton and Newtonian Science
Spielvogel, 581-588, 595-599; Newton

Nov. 23:
Science and Religion
Spielvogel, 592-595; Pascal

The Enlightenment

Nov. 30:
The Philosophes and Society
Spielvogel, 600-616; Voltaire

Dec. 2:
The Philosophes, the Church, and Religion
Spielvogel, 627-632; Voltaire; Hume

Dec. 4:
"The Science of Man"
Hume; Smith; Montesquieu

Dec. 7:
Culture in the Enlightenment
Spielvogel, 617-627; Images of Rococo and Classical Art

18th Century Europe and Its Colonies

Dec. 9:
18th Century Politics and Society
Spielvogel, 634-670; Frederick the Great

Dec. 11:
British North America
Tindall and Shi, 106-135; Equiano

Over the Break:
British North America
Tindall and Shi, 135-159; Franklin

Over the Break:
British North America
Edwards
FINAL PAPERS DUE

Dec. 14-18:
FINAL EXAM

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