This course examines the development of Western history from the rise of the ancient Greek polis to the discovery of the New World, circa A.D. 1500. We will discuss how ancient Greece and Rome created large spheres of influence in the Mediterranean world and beyond during ca 500 B.C to 500 A.D. The developments of political social, and cultural structures will be analyzed.

The course then moves on to examine Medieval Europe from a variety of angles. First we will study the transition from the Graeco-Roman world into the new medieval structures of kingdoms. The rise of Christianity and its importance as a bedrock for the new medieval societies will be discussed. Different phases of medieval development will be studied. We will discuss structures that were common to the West as a whole, and regional variations that created a dynamic and sometimes conflict-riddled region. One lecture is devoted to a comparison between medieval Scandinavia and the rest of Western Europe.

The course ends with a discussion on the Late Middle Ages, a period that saw interesting developments in Western societies as well as the beginnings of the discovery of the New World. Both developments proved crucial on a global as well as a local level.

Learning outcomes:

By the end of the course, students will:

1. Be able to have a better understanding of the history and culture of ancient and medieval Europe
2. Be able to critically think about related issues of ancient and medieval Europe
3. Be able to gain basic understanding of the ancient and medieval history and development of the world as a whole

NB: The schedule gives lecture topics and suggested key references. The entire literature list is posted under References. 

1. 30 % tutorial
2. 20 % mid-term quiz
   (The mid-term quiz will take place during a class and students need to answer two questions out of three)
3. 50 % final paper (ca. 3000 words)

Time and Venue (Group A Wed 2:30-4:15p.m/Group B6:30-8:15p.m., will be confirmed after the add-drop period)

1. Film – see, review and discuss
2. The medieval origins of the modern state (Group Discussion and 500 words review)
3. Present suggestions for final paper – work in progress to be discussed (Part 1)
4. Present suggestions for final paper – work in progress to be discussed (Part 2)

Ancient Greece:

Forrest, W.G.: A History of Sparta

Fox, Robin Lane: Alexander the Great

Frost, Frank: Greek Society

Jones, A.H.M., Athenian Democracy

Kagan, Donald: Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy

Kitto, H.D.F.: The Greeks

Starr, Chester: A History of the Ancient World

Starr, Chester: The Ancient Greeks

Tarn, W.W.: Alexander the Great

Greek historical writing:

Herodotus: The Writings

Thukydides: The History of the Pelopponesian War

Greek plays:

Homer: The Illiad

Homer: The Odyssey

Sophocles: Antigone

Plato: The Republic

Plato: The Last Days of Socrates

Virgil: The Aeneid

Ancient Rome:

Gibbon, Edward: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Kagan, Donald> Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Why Did it Collapse?

Kagan, Donald: The End of the Roman Empire: Decline or Transformation?

Starr, Chester: The Ancient Romans

Starr, Chester: The Roman Empire, 27 B.C.-A.D. 476

Roman historical writing:

Caesar, Julius: The Conquest of Gaul

Medieval history:

Barraclough, Geoffrey: Medieval Papacy

Behringer, Wolfgang: Witches and Witch-Hunts: A Global History

Ferruolo, Stephen: The Origins of the University

Haskins, Charles H.: The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century

Havinghurst, Alfred F.: The Pirenne Thesis

Hollister, C. Warren: Medieval Europe

Hollister, C. Warren: Roots of the Western Tradition

Hollister, C. Warren: The Making of England

McNeill, William: The Rise of the West

McNeill, William: Europe’s Steppe Frontier, 1500-1800

McNeill, William: The Global Condition: Conquerors, Catastrophes, and Community.

McNeill, William: The Pursuit of Power: Technology, Armed Force, and Society since A.D. 1000

McNeill, William: The Shape of European History

McNeill, William: A World History

Painter, Sydney: French Chivalry

Russell, Jeffrey B.: A History of Medieval Christianity

Russell, Jeffrey B.: A History of Heaven

Russell, Jeffrey B.: Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages

Russell, Jeffrey B.: Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians

Southern, R.W.: The Making of the Middle Ages

Southern, R.W.: Western Society and the Church in the Middle Ages

Strayer, Joseph: On the Medieval Origins of the Moderns State

Also:

Jacobsson, Sverrir: “The Emergence of the North”, in Scandia 75.2, 2009:2. Provided as PDF.

Medieval authors:

Einhard (ca 770-840 S.D.): The Life of Charlemagne (Vita Karoli Magni)

More, Thomas (1478-1535 A.D., Saint): Utopia

Machiavelli: The Prince

On the conquest of the New World:

Hart, Jonathan L.: Columbus, Shakespeare and the Interpretation of the New World

Kadir, Djelal: Columbus and the Ends of the Earth: Europe’s Prophetic Rhetoric as Conquering Ideology.

Sale, Kirkpatrick: The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy

Washington, Irving: The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus

Phillips, William: The Worlds of Christopher Columbus

請注意大學有關學術著作誠信的政策和規則，及適用於犯規事例的紀律指引和程序。詳情可瀏覽此處。

學生遞交作業時，必須連同已簽署的聲明一併提交，表示他們知道有關政策、規則、指引及程序。

• 如屬小組習作，則所有組員均須簽署聲明；所有組員 (不論有否簽署聲明及不論有否直接或間接撰寫有問題的內容) 均須負上集體責任及受到懲處。
• 如作業以電腦製作、內容以文字為主，並經由大學「維誠」系統 (VeriGuide) 提交者，學生將作業的電子檔案上載到系統後，便會獲得收據，收據上已列明有關聲明。
• 學生充分知悉到他們的作業可能會被人工智能內容檢測軟件審查，以確定其原創性。
• 學生充分知悉科目中採用人工智能工具的做法。在經允許下使用某些人工智能工具的情況下，學生已按照科目老師的指示明確註明出處和引文。

未有夾附簽署妥當的聲明的作業，老師將不予批閱。

學生只須提交作業的最終版本。

學生將作業或作業的一部份用於超過一個用途 (例如：同時符合兩科的要求) 而沒有作出聲明會被視為未有聲明重覆使用作業。 學生重覆使用其著作的措辭或某一、二句句子很常見，並可以接受，惟重覆使用全部內容則構成問題。在任何情況下，須先獲得相關老師同意方可提交作業。

由大學職員/老師製作的教學材料，包括課堂筆記、作業及考試題目等，其版權屬香港中文大學擁有；學生可從大學採用的網上教學系統 (例如Blackboard) 下載由大學職員/老師製作的教學材料供其學習使用；惟未經相關職員/老師事先同意下，不得分發/分享/複製這些材料予第三者。