See also my related world literature courses and DBQ writing.  

This course is an 8 week exploration of the Roman Republic through the early Renaissance.  Students can begin with my Ancient Civilizations course and follow with my Renaissance course for a further chronological study of Western Civilization.

In this course, we will explore the development to the fall of Rome, as well as how this legacy affected the development and thought of the Middle Ages.  We will look at social, political, and economic life in the European Middle Ages through the early Renaissance.  In class, we will actively discuss and evaluate primary sources related to the time periods.  I love to teach students to "do" history, so we will discuss how to evaluate primary documents and then practice these skills in the context of the class discussion.  I also enjoy integrating literature into history, so for this course we will use a few pieces of literature from the time period to develop the student's understanding of the time period, as well as how to evaluate, analyze, and discuss literature.  

Students will be expected to complete primary document and literary reading outside of class, as well as to complete writing assignments related to the topic.  All texts will be provided for the students.

Week 1--The foundations of Rome
Week 2--The Roman Republic
Week 3--The creation of the Roman Empire
Week 4--The Fall of Rome
Week 5--The beginnings of the Middle Ages
Week 6--Society and Economics of the Middle Ages/feudalism and manorialism
Week 7--Politics and worldview of the Middle Ages
Week 8--The decline of the Middle Ages