Mr. Kunz                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Room 101

Course Description:

Western Civilization is a year-long course which primarily focuses on the development of western culture but also addresses the influences from, and upon, other world cultures.  The course will begin with the classical roots of western society with the ancient Greeks and Romans and will journey through time to the present day, stopping along the way to visit important events, eras, and people that have shaped western culture.

As part of the course, each student will satisfy the Inquiry and Research Graduation Standard, World History and Cultures.  After choosing a historical theme of Western Civilization, each student will create a timeline, create a research question based on this timeline, investigate, and report their findings in an oral or visual product.

Students will:

1. examine historical themes concerning the development of western civilization;

2. critically examine primary and secondary sources relating to the growth of western civilization;

3. link past events to the impact on present events in western civilization and speculate on future impacts;

4. demonstrate understanding of key people, events, concepts, and themes in the historical development of western civilization;

5. investigate and analyze cause and effect relationships among issues, events, and major historical developments in western civilization;

6. investigate and describe the impact of one theme on western civilization.
 

Grades weighted by the following percentages:

50% - Tests and quizzes
20% - Graduation Standard project
20% - Assignments
10% - Participation
 

Grading Scale*:

90 - 100%  A
80 - 89%  B
70 - 79%  C
60 - 69%  D
59% and below F

* ANY PERCENTAGE LESS THAN 60% IS AN AUTOMATIC FAILURE.

* Must complete Graduation Standard project in order to receive a passing grade.

* NO EXTRA CREDIT, however, you may resubmit assignments and project with corrections for partial additional credit (one half of additional score).
 

Course Outline:
 

Week 1:  The Present State of Western Civilization

Weeks 2 & 3:  The Building Blocks:  Ancient Greece and Rome

Week 4 & 5:  The Dark Ages, or when Western Civilization took a long nap.
 

----Exam----
 

Week 6 & 7:  Western Civilization Wakes up:  Rebirth and the start of the Renaissance

----Begin Graduation Standard Project Assignment----

Week 8 & 9:  Kings, Queens, and Pawns:  Nation Building
 

----Exam----
 

Week 10 & 11:  In Search Of:  Europe Sails the Seas

Week 12 & 13:  Absolute Monarchs, Absolute Religion

Week 14:  Hey, wait a minute:  The Reformation
 

----Exam----
 

Week 15 & 16:  The Light Bulb Burns Brighter:  The Enlightenment

Week 17 & 18:  Turning Points:  The American and French Revolutions
 

----Mid-term Exam----
 

Week 19:  The Little Corsican:  How the “little man” changed the face of Europe

Week 20:  Smokestacks by the Dozens:  The Industrial Revolution

Week 21 & 22:  Changing Politics:  Nationalism and Democracy
 

----Exam----
 

Week 23 & 24:  Around the World:  Imperialism and Manifest Destiny

Week 25 & 26:  Entanglements and Entrapments:  WW1

Week 27:  Out of the Ashes and back in the Fire:  The Depression
 

----Exam----
 

Week 28 & 29:  Lessons Unlearned:  WW2

Week 30:  A cool new beginning, A cold new war

Week 31 & 32:  Third World Politics:  Building Nations?
 

----Exam----
 

Week 33:  Graduation Standard Project Presentations

Week 34:  The Big Divide:  The West and Communism

Week 35:  Instantaneous Information:  Globalization

Week 36:  From there to here:  wrap up and review
 

----Last Exam----
 

Appendix:

Minnesota Graduation Standards:

Minnesota Standard Five, Inquiry and Research, World History and Cultures - Survey of World History - Understand the significance of events and themes across culture and time.

Standard Specification:

A student shall:

A) demonstrate understanding of the significance of key people, events, places, concepts, and themes in the historical development of one or more world cultures by:

1) a survey of world history including early civilizations, classical traditions, major empires and institutions; expansions of exchange and encounter, intensified hemispheric interactions and the first global age; the age of revolutions; and the twentieth century;

B) investigate and analyze cause and effect relationships among issues, events and major historical developments in at least one culture, nation, movement or time period; and

C) investigate and describe the impact of at least one theme on other cultures, nations, movements or time periods.

National Council for the Social Studies:

Strand I. Culture - Experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity

d. compare and analyze societal patterns for preserving and transmitting culture while adapting to environmental or social change.
g. construct reasoned judgments about specific cultural responses to persistent human issues.

b. apply key concepts such as time, chronology, causality, change, conflict, and complexity to explain, analyze, and show connections among patterns of historical change and continuity.
c. identify and describe significant historical periods and patterns of change within and across cultures, such as the development of ancient cultures and civilizations, the rise of nation-states, and social, economic, and political revolutions.

b. make judgments about how science and technology have transformed the physical world and human society and our understanding of time, space, place, and human-environment interactions.

b. explain conditions and motivations that contribute to conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among groups, societies, and nations.
 

National Standards for United States and World History (5-12), Standards in Historical Thinking:

Standard Two: Historical Research

B. Obtain historical data from a variety of sources including library and museum collections, historic sites, historical photos, journals, diaries, eyewitness accounts, newspapers, and the like; documentary films, oral testimony from living witnesses, censuses, tax records, city directories, statistical compilations, and economic indicators.

F. Support interpretations with historical evidence in order to construct closely reasoned arguments rather than facile opinions.

Standard Three: Historical Analysis and Interpretation

C. Analyze cause and effect relationships bearing in mind multiple causation including (a) the importance of the individual in history; (b) the influence of ideas, human interests, and beliefs; and (c) the role of chance, the accidental, and the irrational.

D. Draw comparisons across eras and regions in order to define enduring issues as well as large-scale or long-term developments that transcend regional and temporal boundaries.
 

Go back to Dave's Portfolio

Go back to Dave's Webpage