"Anyone can be a barbarian; it requires a terrible effort to remain civilized."

—Leonard Sydney Woolf

Dr. Brent Riffel

Office: VILL 114

Email: Brent.Riffel@Canyons.edu

Phone: (661) 259-7800 x.3151

Office Hours: M, W 11:00-2:00; T, Th 2:00-5:00, and by appointment

This course examines the major historical trends of the western world since the fifteenth century, with particular emphasis on the cultures and societies of Europe and the regions within Europe’s historical spheres of influence. This course also explores the most significant developments that helped shape the modern era, including the emergence of the European nation state, beginning in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Protestant Reformation, the rise of capitalism, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and its aftershocks, Romanticism, and the onset of twentieth century Europe—with particular including the two World Wars I and II, the Cold War, and the end of the twentieth century. We will also examine how western society has expressed itself through political theory, social and cultural history, and the relationship between ordinary westerners and the state.

• Analyze particular individuals, periods and events of Western Civilization, as well as evaluate their social, political, and economic ramifications on historical outcomes.

• Describe the major cultural, economic, social, and political events that shaped western civilization.

• Recognize the effects of historical events on people of varying ethnic, socio-economic, cultural, and gender backgrounds.

• Identify, explain, and discuss multiple causes and effects in western history.

• Describe the changing role played by government in the west, from the end of the Middle Ages to the present-day.

• Coffin, Western Civilizations, vol. 2 (New York: W. W. Norton & Co.), 2005.

• Assigned Web Resource (Archival videos, speeches, and assorted primary source materials. Copy and paste the web addresses below to access these readings.)

Each week’s reading assignment is listed below in the class schedule section. Students are expected to have read the assignment prior to the first class of each week.

There are two required writing assignments for this course. The first involves student response essays, which ask you to read and analyze primary source materials and to write five (5), two-page essays over the course of the semester that summarize the arguments made in the selected piece. These essays will be based on primary sources that you find on your own. This might include newspaper articles, interviews you conduct yourself, or primary documents you find in area libraries. You may also write on any of the assigned web readings (see class schedule below). We will discuss in class what constitutes a primary source, but, if you are unsure if your essays are based on a primary source, consult with your instructor beforehand. The goal here is to learn how historians and journalists analyze documents. You will then summarize and form your own evidence-based argument. All of the two-page essays are due on November 20.

The second writing assignment is a 5-8 page book review of any book—fiction or nonfiction—that directly deals with the topics covered in this course. I will distribute a book list in the first two weeks of the semester from which you may choose a book to review. You may write a review of a book that is not on the list, but it must be approved by me beforehand. For instance, if you are interested in World War I, you could review Robert Graves' memoir Goodbye to All That, or Gunter Grass’s post-World War II novel, The Tim Drum. Your task is not simply to review and summarize the book, but to argue what this book has to say about some of the issues we will have discussed in class.

Detailed instructions on the five, two-page student response essays and the book review will be provided in class, but if you have question about these assignments, please don't hesitate to contact me.

The book review is due December 4.

When you write essays for this course--both for the assigned writings as well as on exams—you will be required to write your essays in complete paragraphs. When calculating your essay grade, proper spelling, punctuation, grammar, and organization will count toward your grade. If you have any concerns about your writing, or about how to organize your thoughts, please don't hesitate to contact your instructor for other ways you might improve your writing, or seek the advice from COC’s tutorial program. I am happy to look over an essay prior to its due date and offer constructive tips on how to improve your essays. Again, do not hesitate to ask for help if you think you need it.

The grades in this class break down as follows:

• Three exams: The first two exams are worth 100 points each; the final exam is a two-day exam that will be worth 200 points. Each exam will have fifty multiple choice questions along with short essay answer identification, and at least one longer essay question. We will have a brief, in-class review session the session before the exam. Students will also be given the essays a week before the exams.

• Five, two-page student response essays (see above), based on primary source documents of your choosing: 100 points (20 points each).

• One 5-8 page book review: 100 points.

Late assignments will be accepted, but one letter grade will be deducted for each week after the due date.

As Woody Allen once said, "half of life is just showing up." In this course, you are allowed three excused absences (illness, family emergency, etc.). After that, each absence will lead to points being deducted from your attendance grade, which comprises 10 percent of your final grade. If you miss more than eight classes during the semester, you will receive an "F" for the course. Excessive tardiness will not be tolerated, and may result in deduction from your attendance grade. Besides, this class is held just two days a week in the middle of the day—what could be more important than learning about western civilization?

Should you miss an exam, it is your responsibility to contact your instructor and arrange to make it up. Makeup exams will cover the same material as the regular exam, but with no choices as to which short answer and essay questions you may answer. Thus, makeup exams are more difficult.

Unfortunately, cheating and plagiarism is an everyday part of college life, and as such, must be addressed. Cheating of any sort will not be tolerated, and cheaters will fail the course automatically. If you are unclear as to what constitutes academic dishonesty, consult the College of the Canyons student handbook, or ask your instructor.

Please be courteous to your classmates and refrain from talking during lectures. Also, turn cell phones and beepers to vibrate (or—dare I say it?—OFF), and please don’t answer your phone in class. Please arrive on time, and if you are late, then quietly enter without causing a disturbance.

Please feel free to contact me. Email is probably the best way to actually get in touch with me. I’m also in my office a great deal, and my door is always open.

Week 1

8/26: Class welcome, general introduction to the course

8/28: The Roots of Modern Western Civilization
Coffin, Introduction

9/16: The Enlightenment and the Age of Reason

9/23: The Industrial Revolution