HIS 101 The Foundation of the West

Fall/Spring

This course explores the concepts, practices, and methods of the discipline of history using the history of the western world, or what is called Western Civilization, from the earliest civilizations in the contemporary Middle East, through the aftermath of the religious and political ruptures associated with the Reformation. This course will allow students to develop critical thinking skills associated with analyzing the historical sources used to reconstruct and interpret the past. The following topics will be discussed: early civilizations; the ancient world, including Greece and Rome; the rise of Christianity; Europe after the decline of the Roman Empire; the Middle Ages; Western interaction with the non-West; the Renaissance; the Reformation. Political, economic, cultural and social developments will be explored.

3 credit hours