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When taking your first Western Civ college course, generally where does it usually start? Does it start with the Mesopotamian civilization or is it earlier/later? And are the early Egyptians considered a part of WC studies?
Thinking back the almost 40 years to Western-Civ 1A; seems like both are in the mix as they are nominally “western” and the beginnings of “Civ” after the hunter/gatherers invent (or discovery according to some) agriculture and can (or have to) settle down.My Prof was widely traveled in Europe (WWII) and our resident Middle Ages guy so we got mostly that. as an aside I have a 6th grade Ancient History class with uses this line also. granted we are less western than used to be... India, China and Meso America are included too. No Child Left Behind and no culture left out. ;DWally
I think it might generally cover nomadic peoples (the “hunter-gatherers”) who eventually settled down to form villages, some of which grew in strength and/or power. This might be more for context than anything, since Western Civ courses aren't paleontology classes, and since the whole word “Civilization” implies people in settled areas. So basically I agree with Wally here.I'm not sure if you'd study Egypt as well. It did have influence and interaction with the traditionally-"Western" civs, but for some reason I think it's not included in traditional Western Civ classes, or perhaps only slightly. I could be wrong, though.
You will start with the hunters and gatherers briefly then quickly get into Sumer, Akkadia, and the Neo-Babylonians, while also touching upon the Indus River Valley cultures. Then onto Egypt, the Hittites, and the Phoenicians. Then you will hit the Israelites and the Dorian Greeks. Then you will have the Mycenaeans and the Minoans. Then you will get into Athens and Sparta and the Persian Wars. Then Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age. Then You will study Rome and Carthage with the 1st and 2nd Punic Wars with Hannibal. Then you will study Rome under the Caesars and the Civil Wars leading up to the Christian Era initiated by Constantine. Then you will study Rome divided East and West and the codification of law under Justinian. The Patristic Fathers of the Early Church slip into this period as well. Then you will study the Fall of Rome and the rise of the Germanic tribes culminating in the Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne (The so called Carolingian Dynasty). Then you will study the (Wrongfully Labeled) Dark Ages and the transition into the Low Middle Ages. Alfred the Great, The Battle of Hastings and the Crusades with emphasis on Medieval economic structure including feudalism, vassalage, and the chivalric code of the knights. The Bubonic Plague and the rise of Trade Guilds will be discussed. You should end your course with the invention of the printing press, the 100 Years War, and the expulsion of Islam from Spain in 1492.Then you will have the second semester that will start with the Age of Expansion all the way through the Cold War and whatever else your instructor has time to squeeze in. 🙂
Good list, Don! I look forward to learning all that. The first courses is before the 30 Yr War and the second one is after.
