Syllabus

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Course description:
    We are Western Civilization. We are not merely influenced or shaped by that civilization. We are products of it. Our nation's tradition of civil rights, our ideas of virtue, the good life, affluence, music, and fashion are the culmination of events and ideas that have been shaped over three thousand years. It is important to understand who we are, what we assume about ourselves and others, and why we think what we think. This course attempts to sort out these aspects of our individual and collective identity.
    From Babylon to Baghdad this course surveys the values and identities of European civilization. Who did these peoples think they were? Who did they think they were not? What was the relationship between humanity, God (or the gods), and Nature? What were the ideals of male and female virtue? We will explore these ideas and more through religion and philosophy, literature and art from the different ages and societies spanning three millennia.

Requirements:

Procedure:
    Lecture on Monday and Wednesday mornings; discussion in smaller break-out groups once per week. Attendance is your responsibility. Please plan to attend all lecture and discussion sessions. Skipping classes will ruin your ability to do well in this course. Announced assignments and other obligations may not be made up after the fact.
    * Bring the relevant readings to all class meetings.

Books:
Lynn Hunt, et al., The Making of the West
Aeschylus, Oresteia
Beowulf, S. Heaney, trans.
Marx and Engels, Communist Manifesto
Christa Wolf, Cassandra

Grades and other hassles
    Short Papers - On each of the three supplemental books. Two-pagers are worth 14% of the course grade; the one-pager is worth 12%. Specifications forthcoming under Study Guides.
    Midterm Exam - In-class. One long essay, plus map and chronology. Covers Antiquity and the Middle Ages. A study guide will be provided.
    Final Exam - In-class. Comprehensive. Details coming in April.
    Discussions - Quizzes and other interrogative devices will be used to encourage you to keep up with the reading.  Participation in the weekly discussions is crucial to success in this course.

Special Needs:
    Any student who has special needs, including but not limited to documented disabilities, is encouraged to identify himself or herself to the instructor so that those needs can be accommodated. If appropriate, such students might wish to contact Disabilities Services, which can provide assistance beyond this immediate course.

Fair Play:
    Plagiarism - failing to give credit for words or ideas that are not your own - is considered a crime in the university. Plagiarism constitutes theft of intellectual property. Even worse is the dishonesty of submitting someone else's work as your own.
    Plagiarism is easier to spot than one usually expects. To those of us who routinely read scholarly writing, phrases and ideas that do not sound like the ones we expect from students practically leap off the page. Continuing advances in Internet search capabilities make it as easy for faculty to locate the plagiarized source as it is for students.
    The consequences of being caught cheating are severe: immediate failure of the course. Appeals can be filed through the Office of Student Conduct & Academic Integrity. See pp. 14-18 of the Old Dominion University Catalog for 2010-2011 (under “Academic Dishonesty Procedures”) for further information.