COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE: EUH2000.002 Western Civilization I

TERM: Spring 2010

Instructor: Mr. Michael Deliz

Email: mdeliz@mail.ucf.edu (See Procedures Section below before emailing me)
Phone: 407-385-0016 (voice mail only) Website: www.michaeldeliz.com
Office: Colbourn Hall 413
Office Hours: Mon. & Fri. 11:45am - 1pm, Tue. & Thur. 12pm-2pm
(and by appointment)

TEXTBOOK:
A. Daniel Frankforter, et al. The West: A Narrative History Vol. 2, 2nd ed. Prentice Hall.
2009.

ABOUT THIS COURSE: Western Civilization I is the first of two courses designed to
familiarize students with the history of the “West”. This course will span the time period
from ancient times to 1600 C.E. and will focus upon the basic historical foundations
behind civilizations across the "West" and their connections.. The goal of this course is
for each student to master the following sets of skills:

Historic: Students must be able to identify and interpret the different events,
personalities, and ideas that contributed to the development and history of the
world.
Geographic: Students must understand the relationship between geography and
the development of civilizations in the “West”.
Cultural/Societal: Students must understand the dynamic nature of human society
as it is continuously evolving. Emphasis will be on mass migrations, international
relations, religious conflict, and ideological conflicts, which all greatly
contributed to the history of the modern world.

Scope and limits of this course: This course, like many others in the field of History,
draws extensively from other fields in the Social Sciences, including Religious Studies,
Sociology, Political Science, Geography, Cultural/Ethnic Studies, Anthropology, and
Linguistics. The course, despite its breath, is however limited by the time allotted in the
semester. Due to this limitation students may find that further reading, beyond the
assigned text, will be advantageous to acquiring a greater depth of understanding.

Success in this course: Students are expected to demonstrate a depth of understanding at

the collegiate level. Success in this course will be determined by the student’s analysis
and interpretation of historical topics, not memorization. If you are not willing to read
the assigned chapters, attend class, and follow class discussions, you most certainly will
fail this course.
Expectations: Students are expected to come prepared for class with a notebook and a
pen or pencil, or other means of note-taking. On Exam days, students will be required to
come prepared with whatever material (blue books, scantrons, etc) is requested for the
exam. Students are expected to have all assignments including reading assignments
completed by the beginning of each class.

Gordon Rule: EUH2000 is designated as a Gordon Rule course under the General
Education Program (GEP) of UCF. This means that under the requirements of Florida
State Rule 6A-10.30, students enrolled in this course will also be evaluated on their
ability to write at the collegiate level by way of essay assignments.

College-Level Writing: The University of Central Florida’s definition of “College-Level

Writing” is as follows:
1. The writing will have a clearly defined central idea or thesis.
2. It will provide adequate support for that idea.
3. It will be organized clearly and logically.
4. It will show awareness of the conventions of standard written English.
5. It will be formatted or presented in an appropriate way.

Gordon Rule Assignments: Each of the following Gordon Rule Assignments are
designed to fulfill the student’s requirement to the Gordon Rule. Failure to complete any
of these assignments automatically makes it impossible for the student to pass the course
with a grade of ‘C’ or better.

Assignment One: Essay Exam #1 - Narrative In-Class Essay-

Students will be presented with a question that must be answered in a manner that
details the sequence and causality of an overarching aspect of the covered
material. For full credit, students must demonstrate a command of the dates,
names of people, places, and significant events that are pertinent to the material in
question. Essay Length: 1,500 words

Assignment Two: Essay Exam #2 - Comparison In-Class Essay-

Students will be presented with a question that must be answered in a manner that
demonstrates the student’s ability to analyze complex ideas by comparing two
excerpts from selected historical sources. For full credit, students must also
demonstrate a command of the dates, names of people, places, and significant
events that are pertinent to the material in question. Essay Length: 1,500 words

Assignment Three: Research Paper - Historiographical Essay-

In consultation with the professor, students will first choose a historical event,
personality, or idea to research. Students will then research how their chosen topic
is conveyed and analyzed by historians who have published on that topic. For full
credit, students must also demonstrate a respect for proper research techniques,
judgment in source selection, and a command of the formatting standards for
writing in the field of History. Essay Length: 6 pages - Typed
Assignment Four: Essay Exam#3 - Argumentative In-Class Essay-
Students will be presented with a question that must be answered in a manner that
demonstrates the student’s ability to formulate and maintain an argument, support
that argument with evidence drawing from the historical record, and arrive at an
unambiguous conclusion. For full credit, students must also demonstrate a
command of the dates, names of people, places, and significant events that are
pertinent to the argument. Essay Length: 1,500 words

Grade Policy: Grades are determined by points earned in three exams, six quizzes, and
one Research Project.

Essay Exams 100pts/ea x (3) = 300pts

Quizzes 25pts/ea x (6) = 150pts
Research 50pts/ea x (1) = 50pts
Total Points = 500pts

Grading Scale: This course will be scored using the 10 point grading scale as follows:

By Points By Percentage Letter Grade

450-500 90%-100% A
400-449.9 89.9%-80% B
350-399.9 79.9%-70% C
300-349.9 69.9%-60% D
Less than 300 pts Less than 60% F

PROCEDURES:
Email: 1) All emails should contain the class prefix/number on the subject line (ie:
EUH2000, AMH2010, WOH2022). 2) All emails must be signed with your first and last
name. 3) Under no circumstances will any assignment be accepted by email.

Attendance: Although attendance will not be regularly taken, it is mandatory and

extremely important to your grade. Students who miss class for whatever reason will
NOT be excused from assigned work and its due dates. Missed lectures are also the
responsibility of the absent student.

Make-Up Work: There are no make-ups for quizzes. A missed quiz automatically earns
ZERO points. If you should happen to miss an exam, a make-up exam can be scheduled
with prior arrangement.

Extra Credit: From time to time an extra credit assignment may be extended to the class
at the discretion of the professor. By policy, all extra credit assignments will be made
available to the entire class, there will NOT be any extra credit given to individual
students.
History Majors: Every student majoring in History is required to hand in a portfolio of
their cumulative works in all history classes before graduation. Therefore History
majors, and those who think they may later switch disciplines to History should take care
to preserve their written graded work.

Academic Dishonesty: All forms of academic dishonesty are obviously prohibited at

UCF. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, cheating,
furnishing false information, forgery, alteration or misuse of documents, misconduct
during a testing situation, and misuse of identification with intent to defraud or deceive.
Students shall take special notice that the assignment of course grades is the
responsibility of the professor. When the professor has reason to believe that an act of
academic dishonesty has occurred, and before sanctions are imposed, the student shall be
given informal notice and an opportunity to be heard by the professor. Any student
determined by the professor to have been guilty of engaging in an act of academic
dishonesty shall be subject to a range of academic penalties as determined by the
professor. These penalties may include, but may not be limited to, one or more of the
following:
--loss of credit for an assignment, examination, or project;
--reduction in the course grade;
--or a grade of “F” in the course.
Students guilty of engaging in a gross or flagrant act of academic dishonesty or repeated
instances of academic dishonesty may also be subject to administrative and/or
disciplinary penalties that may include a warning, probation, suspension, and/or
expulsion from UCF and the State of Florida University System.

Disclaimer: Changes to this syllabus may be made at the discretion of the professor.

DATE WEEK ASSIGNMENT LECTURE

1/11/2010 Monday Course Intro
1/13/2010 Wednesday What is the “WEST”?
1/15/2010 Friday Myth and Fantasy versus History
1/18/2010 Monday NO CLASS NO CLASS - MLK Jr. Day
1/20/2010 Wednesday The Birth of Civilization - Mesopotamia Ch. 1
1/22/2010 Friday Quiz 1 The Birth of Civilization - Egypt
1/25/2010 Monday The Rise of Empires and the Iron Age Ch. 2
1/27/2010 Wednesday The Rise of Empires and the Iron Age
1/29/2010 Friday The Rise of Empires and the Iron Age
2/1/2010 Monday Review
2/3/2010 Wednesday EXAM #1 EXAM #1 Ch. 1 - 2
2/5/2010 Friday Minoans and Myceneans Ch. 3
2/8/2010 Monday The Greek Dark Age Ch. 3
2/10/2010 Wednesday Quiz 2 Sparta and Athens
2/12/2010 Friday Persian Empire
2/15/2010 Monday The Greco-Persian Wars
2/17/2010 Wednesday The Peloponnesian War Ch. 4
2/19/2010 Friday Alexander's Empire
2/22/2010 Monday The Origins of Rome Ch. 5
2/24/2010 Wednesday Quiz 3 The Roman Republic
2/26/2010 Friday Class and Society in Rome
3/1/2010 Monday Civil War in the Republic
3/3/2010 Wednesday Review
3/5/2010 Friday EXAM #2 EXAM #2 - Chapters 3 - 4 - 5
3/8/2010 Monday NO CLASS Spring Break
3/10/2010 Wednesday NO CLASS Spring Break
3/12/2010 Friday NO CLASS Spring Break
3/15/2010 Monday The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire Ch. 6
3/17/2010 Wednesday The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire
3/19/2010 Friday Quiz 4 The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire
3/22/2010 Monday The Rise of Christianity
3/24/2010 Wednesday The Rise of Christianity
3/26/2010 Friday The Rise of Christianity
3/29/2010 Monday The Rise of Islam
3/31/2010 Wednesday Quiz 5 The Rise of Islam
4/2/2010 Friday The Rise of Islam
4/5/2010 Monday The Medieval Period Ch.7 - 10 selected
4/7/2010 Wednesday The Medieval Period
4/9/2010 Friday The Medieval Period
4/12/2010 Monday Quiz 6 Renaissance and Exploration Ch. 12
4/14/2010 Wednesday Renaissance and Exploration
4/16/2010 Friday Research DUE Renaissance and Exploration
4/19/2010 Monday Reformation and the Wars of Religion Ch. 13
4/21/2010 Wednesday Reformation and the Wars of Religion Ch. 13
4/23/2010 Friday Enlightenment
4/26/2010 Monday Review
4/28/2010 Wednesday Final Exam Starts at 1pm