History 101  and Clare 103.   Europe to 1815                                     
Fall 2009
Dr. Thomas J. Schaeper

General Goals and Objectives of the Course

The particular subject matter for this course is European history roughly from 1500 to 1815.  Students should benefit from this course in many ways.  For example, they will gain much practice in reading, analyzing information, and writing.  These are skills that are practical--that is, they will be necessary for success in a wide variety of professional careers.  Students will also learn much about the development of western civilization.  They will learn how people and countries in the western world came to be how they are today.  Such information can not only be interesting but also useful, for one can understand a person or a society only by knowing its past.  Even though this course does not deal with the twentieth century, students will learn many things that will help them (as human beings, as citizens, or as business and political leaders) to react more wisely to present-day problems.  Every issue that confronts us today has also confronted people in the past.  Thus one can learn lessons for today's world by seeing how persons in the past handled similar situations.  Examples include the following:  What makes a person or a country "great"? What conditions usually contribute to tolerance or intolerance (in race, in religion, etc.)? What sorts of factors often lead to wars or help to preserve peace? What are the advantages or disadvantages of different kinds of governments? What factors tend to be good or bad for social justice and economic prosperity?

What Will Be Expected from Students

You should prepare yourself for each class by reading the assignments as noted in this syllabus or as indicated in class.   Some classes will be all lecture, some will be all discussion, and some will be a combination of these two formats.  Feel free to ask questions and to voice your thoughts concerning matters being discussed.  
            During the course of the semester you will see at  least a couple of films (in part or in entirety) plus numerous illustrations.  Students should pay as much attention to the movies and illustrations  as they do to the lectures and discussions.   
            All students are required to have SBU computer network accounts.  Roughly once each week I will send an email to all students in the class.  I will send these messages to your sbu.edu addresses.  
          The Internet will also be featured in this course in other ways.  Nearly every week you will be asked to read materials on the Internet.  To read these materials you will have to go to the syllabus for this course that is listed on my homepage: http://web.sbu.edu/history/tschaeper).  Nearly every week I will ask you to read short documents.  You will be able to find these materials only by clicking on the relevant links on the online version of the syllabus.  
            There will be one one-hour midterm examination and a two-hour final examination. These examinations will consist of essay questions and short answer questions (identifications, multiple choice, true/false).  The final examination will be comprehensive--that is, it will cover material going back to the beginning of the semester.   
            In order to encourage students to become active participants in the class, and reward those who keep up with the readings, there will be a brief quiz nearly every week.   Each quiz will have three short questions.  There will be no make-up quizzes.  However, at the end of the semester I will drop your lowest three quiz grades.  Thus, if you miss a quiz, that will count as one of the three that I don't use at the end of the semester. There will be approximately 11 quizzes altogether.  In general, the quizzes will occur on days when we will spend part of the class discussing weekly readings--usually Thursdays..  Giving a quiz on that day is one way to ensure that students come to class having done the readings!   I will always let you know in advance the date of the next quiz and the material that it will be based on. 
            My basic advice regarding class attendance is simple: Don't miss any classes.   If you miss more than three classes (for any reason) I will deduct one point from your final grade for each additional absence.  You do not need to give me excuses for absences.  Just remember the penalty for missing more than three classes.          
             Each week in class and/or via email I will make clear what the reading assignments are.
            Any types of cheating or plagiarism will be punished severely, certainly  with a failing grade for a particular paper or exam and possibly with a failing grade for the entire course.  For more discussion of plagiarism, consult the  student handbook and History Department online writing guide:  http://web.sbu.edu/history/guide/intro.html .  Reading an Internet summary of a book and then paraphrasing that source rather than reading the book and writing your own paper is plagiarism.

Course Readings:

       Spielvogel, Western Civilization.  Volume B: 1300-1815.  7th edition.
        Various Internet readings posted in the online version of this syllabus.

Grading and Important Dates  

Your final grade will be based (approximately) on the following:   
                        Midterm exam              25 %,   Thursday, 8 October
                        Four one-page papers based on Internet readings   15%
                        Class participation        10%  
                        Quizzes                        25%  
                        Final Examination         25%      All exams will take place in our regular classroom.
                                 11:30 class, 1:10 pm on Monday, 14 December  
                                 1:00 class,  1:10 pm on Tuesday, 15 December
                                 2:30 class,  1:10 pm on Wednesday, 16 December
Disabilities
Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Disability Support Services Office, Doyle room 26, at 375-2065 as soon as possible to  ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Contacting Dr. Schaeper