Class 1: Introduction; What is ‘Western’ History? Ancient Greece and the Ancient Hebrews

Class 2: Ancient Rome, from Republic to Empire

Readings:   

Plutarch, Life of Caesar, chapters 1, 2, 15-23, 32

Norman Davies, Europe, 149-160, 172-185, 192-206, “Crux”

note: with Davies, skip the capsules unless they are specifically mentioned. Read the capsules listed here, whether in the page-range or not.

Class 3: Early Medieval Europe

Readings:

Einhard – life of charlemagne 
St. Augustine, City of God, Book First, sections 7,8,9, 

Davies: Davies, 213-238, 251-258, 291-321, “Fiesta,” “Ghetto,” “Gothic,” 383-385, 409-423, “Vlad,”

note: these secondary readings are for both this class and the next one

Class 4: Late Medieval Europe

There will be a short test at the start of class. That test may include questions on the Boccacio and Anonimalle Chronicle readings. It will also cover the material of weeks 1-3, focusing on the primary source readings, the lectures, and the capsules from Davies.

Readings:

Boccacio     

Anonimalle Chronicle: English Peasants’ Revolt 1381 

Class 5: The Renaissance and the Reformation

Readings:

Luther, “95 Theses”

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre eyewitness descriptions 

Davies, 469-523,

(Lunar New Year break) 

Class 6: The Scientific Revolution and the Seventeenth Century

Readings:

Locke, Second Treatise of Government, Book II Chapter 1 (all), Chapter 7 sections 87-89,  Chapter 7 sections 95-98, Chapter 9 section 123, Chapter 19 sections 222-223 

Davies, 545-558, 563-569

Class 7: Colonial and Revolutionary America

Bacon’s Declaration in the name of the people

selected Virginia laws on slavery – read December 1662-ACT XII. Negro womens children to serve according to the condition of the mother. and September 1663-ACT XVIII. An act prohibiting servants to go abroad without a lycence. and October 1669-ACT I. An act about the casuall killing of slaves.

Declaration of Independence

Davies, 577-582, 596-605

Class 8: The French Revolution and Napoleon

Declaration of the Rights of man

Robespierre on Political Morality

Davies, 605-609, 675-679, 693-757, “Gauche,” “Noyades,” “Guerrilla,”

Class 9: Test.

This test will cover the material of weeks 1-8, focusing on the primary source readings, the lectures, and the capsules from Davies.

Class 10. Industrialization

Engels, The Condition of the English Working Class 

Davies, 679-682, 759-782

 NOTE: There will not be class on 30 March

Class 11: Nineteenth-Century Europe

Readings:

Baudelaire, The Flowers of Evil, selections:

http://fleursdumal.org/poem/156

http://fleursdumal.org/poem/215

http://fleursdumal.org/poem/202

http://fleursdumal.org/poem/321

Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto, Preface and Chapter 1

Davies, 812-821, “Famine,” 835-840, 842-848

Class 12: Nineteenth-century America

NOTE: your take-home exams are due this week.

Frederick Douglass, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?”

The Declaration of Sentiments
(no secondary readings this week)

Class 13: Colonization
There will be a short test at the start of class. That test may include questions on the Kipling and Orwell readings. It will also cover the material of classes 10-12, focusing on the primary source readings, the lectures, and the capsules from Davies.

Kipling, The White Man’s Burden

Orwell, “Shooting an Elephant”

Tutorial: 25%

Tests: there will be a short test at the start of class during the 4th class worth 10% of your final grade, and one during the final class worth 15% of your final grade. There will also be a test during the 9th class which will be worth 30% of your final grade.

Take-home exam: due on 9 April. Due 9 April. Questions sent out on 19 March. 20% of your final grade. 

(updated at 17:22 on 19 Jan, 2018)
Dates: 23/2, 9/3, 23/3, 13/4
Groups: A&B –10:30-12:00 (FRI); C&D — 16:30-18:00 (FRI)

The course will offer 4 groups (2 groups for each time slot, around 18-20 students per group). Enrollment is open from 19 Jan to 22 Jan, 17:00 on BLACKBOARD. Students have to sign up for one group and attend ALL tutorials classes as it accounts for 25% of the final grade.
Change of groups is not accepted after enrollment.

More details will be announced.

请注意大学有关学术著作诚信的政策和规则，及适用于犯规事例的纪律指引和程序。详情可浏览此处。

学生递交作业时，必须连同已签署的声明一并提交，表示他们知道有关政策、规则、指引及程序。

• 如属小组习作，则所有组员均须签署声明；所有组员 (不论有否签署声明及不论有否直接或间接撰写有问题的内容) 均须负上集体责任及受到惩处。
• 如作业以电脑制作、内容以文字为主，并经由大学「维诚」系统 (VeriGuide) 提交者，学生将作业的电子档案上载到系统后，便会获得收据，收据上已列明有关声明。
• 学生充分知悉到他们的作业可能会被人工智能内容检测软件审查，以确定其原创性。
• 学生充分知悉科目中采用人工智能工具的做法。在经允许下使用某些人工智能工具的情况下，学生已按照科目老师的指示明确注明出处和引文。

未有夹附签署妥当的声明的作业，老师将不予批阅。

学生只须提交作业的最终版本。

学生将作业或作业的一部份用于超过一个用途 (例如：同时符合两科的要求) 而没有作出声明会被视为未有声明重复使用作业。 学生重复使用其著作的措辞或某一、二句句子很常见，并可以接受，惟重复使用全部内容则构成问题。在任何情况下，须先获得相关老师同意方可提交作业。

由大学职员/老师制作的教学材料，包括课堂笔记、作业及考试题目等，其版权属香港中文大学拥有；学生可从大学采用的网上教学系统 (例如Blackboard) 下载由大学职员/老师制作的教学材料供其学习使用；惟未经相关职员/老师事先同意下，不得分发/分享/复制这些材料予第三者。