Ateneo de Manila University

HI 18: Western History History Department

Intersession 2015 Dr. Hidde van der Wall

A. Course description
This course studies the history of the West, and can take several forms. Although it
generally is a survey course, it can focus on a particular geographical area of the West,
time period, or theme. The general survey discusses Ancient Greece and Rome, the
Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Protestant reformation, the Industrial Revolution, and
Napoleonic Wars, the making of Modern Europe, the two world wars, and developments
in the West from the end of World War II to the modern period.

B. Course Objectives
At the end of the course, the students are expected to be able:

- to competently enumerate, chronologically arrange, and satisfactorily

elaborate on major political, social, cultural, economic, and intellectual events
that occurred in the West over the past 3 millennia
- to re-construct and discuss historical narratives based on rigorous research,
critical thinking, and proper historical research methods.
- to critically analyze historical events and the various sources historians use to
examine them.
- to evaluate the various theoretical concepts historians use in examining and
writing history.
- to identify and analyze patterns in historical narratives and draw conclusions
from them.
- to formulate and articulate their own theories of what forces drive human
history, not only in the macro-level, but also in the stories of individuals who
both shaped and are shaped by history.
- to relate insights from the study of Western history in their own specific
disciplines and towards the development of the Philippine nation within the
global community.

C. Course outline

June 8: Introduction to the course

June 9-10: Ancient Greece
June 11: Rome: the Republic
June 15: The Roman Empire
June 16-17: The Middle Ages: Feudalism and the origins of the states
June 18-19: The Renaissance
June 22: the Reformation
June 23: Religion Wars
June 24: long test 1
June 25: The age of discoveries
June 26: the Scientific Revolution
June 29-July 2: no classes
July 3: ‘Dare to know’: the Enlightenment
July 4/6: The French Revolution
July 7: Napoleonic Wars and the Restoration
July 8: long test 2
July 9: The Industrial Revolution
July 10: Nationalism, Imperialism and the origins of World War 1
July 11: The First World War
July 13-14: Nazism and The Second World War
July 15: The Cold War: Europe divided

July 16-18
Final examination

D. Reading list
A collection of required reading materials will be provided during class to be
photocopied. Most of the set readings for the survey will be from the following textbook:
Kidner, Frank L. et al., Making Europe since 1300: The Story of the West (Boston:
Cengage, 2009).
Students are furthermore encouraged to do research online or search for other
books available in or outside the university library for supplementary information on the
topics covered in class. For the research papers, it is a requirement to find your own
secondary literature. The following list is therefore incomplete and expandable; it serves
as a suggestion for general reading.

Cantor, Norman, The Civilization of the Middle Ages (New York: Harper Perennial, 1994).
Evans, Richard, The Coming of the Third Reich (London: Penguin, 2003).
- , The Third Reich in Power (London: Penguin, 2005).
Freeman, Charles, Egypt, Greece, and Rome: Civilisations of the Ancient Mediterranean
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999).

Israel, Jonathan, Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity,
1650-1750 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).
Judt, Tony, Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945 (London: Penguin, 2006).
Kennedy, Paul, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military
Conflict from 1500-2000 (New York: Vintage Books, 1987)
Kishlansky, Mark (ed.), Sources of world history: Readings for World Civilization (Boston:
Cengage, 2012).
Mazower, Mark, Dark Continent: Europe’s Twentieth Century (London: Penguin, 1999).
Pollard, A.J., Imagining Robin Hood: the late medieval stories in historical context
(Routledge 2004).
Pomeroy, Sarah B., Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1999).
Whittock, Martyn J., A brief history of life in the Middle Ages (Philadelphia, PA: Running
Press, 2009).

E. Course Requirements
Long tests (35%)
Class assignments and Participation (10%)
Papers (30%)
Final test (25%)
F. Grading System
92-100 A
87-91 B+
83-86 B
79-82 C+
75-78 C
70-74 D
69-down F

G. Classroom policies
Students are encouraged to take part in the discussions; there are no wrong answers,
any thought and idea can help us understand the historical topics covered. Pay attention
when your classmates speak.
Do your readings and do them in time! Repeated failure to complete readings of set
texts may lead to a reduction of your participation grade.
Cell phones etc. are not allowed in class.
You are encouraged to take notes by hand, not on a laptop computer or tablet.
Eating is not allowed in class, but you may drink water if needed.
Students who fail to sign the attendance list are marked absent. Each student is allowed
a maximum of 3 cuts and will automatically receive a W when overcut.
Assignments and papers must be handed in on time, for late assignments there is a
penalty of 5 points per day.

F. Consultation
D 10:30-12:00 and by appointment. E-mail: hvanderwall@ateneo.edu