Section Overview / Theme

In the past few years, the phrase “fake news” has exploded into view and embedded itself deeply into political discourse across the globe. While there can be no debate that Donald Trump’s rise contributed mightily to this phenomenon, the label's success indicates what fertile ground had already been prepared for such seeds of doubt.   This version of Longwood's Historical Inquiry course has a twofold aim:  it surveys how falsehood has played out historically from the earliest days of the societies at the root of Western traditions, up through the eve of the modern world in the mid-1600s; it also looks at how historians themselves deal with falsehood, bias, and truth—in the documentary record, in the making of historical narratives, and not least, in themselves.

As a look at the Assignments Schedule below will show, we are going to rummage across several thousand years of history. Along the way, we will occasionally dive deeper into the primary sources to explore how historical narratives and understanding have been created, deformed/reformed, and eventually solidified (somewhat). By doing so we will explore how history is made... not so much by the man or woman who won a battle, as by the gate-keepers of memory and erstwhile truth. In other words, we are going to wallow in the complexities of distorted eyewitness accounts, the spin/blame/praise game, the suppression of evidence, the rediscovery of facts, and how it is that, eventually, we manage to establish a record of the past that we find reliable.

It’s a noble goal. The road to getting there, however, is a whole lot messier.

Section Goals/Objectives

The goals (or should I say fruits?) of a history course are as numerous as the books which historians produce. Some have already been hinted at above. At the broadest level, though, historical study encourages and hones critical analysis of the questions which most concern us. And these issues are themselves countless, but in the most generic terms, they mostly center on the relations of people with one another, with themselves, with their god(s), and (in this course) with the truth. We will be asking “why?” rather a lot:  Why did they think that? Why did they assume such a thing? Why does the past appear simultaneously alien and similar? Even as we ask these questions, others lie implicitly underneath: Why do I think what I think? What are my prejudices and assumptions? How does my culture sway my conclusions?

We will be asking the above questions all within the context of Longwood's Civitae Core Curriculum objectives (see below under the official verbiage).  In light of the outcomes envisioned by the Civitae pillar (Historical and Contemporary Insights), this course section has its own specific desired outcomes for students. Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

• Demonstrate a basic understanding of historical method as it pertains to identifying and interpreting evidence from primary sources and using that evidence to construct evidence-based arguments.
• Describe the role and context of public information/news in its ancient, medieval, and pre-modern settings, with historical understanding of the differences from contemporary presuppositions.
• Explain the differences between purposefully contrived lies, culture-specific misunderstandings, rumor, political spin, and similar permutations of truth and falsehood in the history of pre-modern societies.

Grading & Assignments

♦ EXAMS:  There will be two exams, whose form will be discussed in detail as they approach. Their basic structure, however, will be mostly essay and argument. The exams are weighted so as to give students the benefit of experience. Thus, the Mid-term is worth 15%, and the Final, 25% of the course grade. While the Final is not cumulative per se, it will presume that students actually remember material from the early half of the course. Failure to take the Final will result in failing the course.

♦ QUIZZES:  At six fixed dates—and four surprise ones—in the semester, I will give a small quiz (of the multiple choice and true/false variety) designed to make certain that you have not become a zombie—in other words, to ensure that you're doing the assigned readings. Thus, each quiz will focus only on the reading assigned for the day when the quiz occurs. The lowest of these ten grades will be jettisoned in the final computation of grades so that the remaining nine will be worth 15% of the final grade.

♦ PAPERS:  There will be two reviews. The first will be of a scholarly article, the second of either an article again or a scholarly monograph. These will be worth 20% each of the course grade. For full details on the nature of this assignment, and the canon of available choices, see the on-line guidelines linked immediately below or in Canvas. (The list of approved articles is still under construction.) For the book review (if we go that route): if your interests lie more in the earlier or later parts of the course's subject matter, look to either the 1st half list or the 2nd half list for books approved for review. Further instructions about how to do this assignment are available here.

NOTE:  In formal writing assignments, there will be little tolerance for grammatical errors and all other transgressions which a simple proofreading should catch. Remove these yourself so I won’t have to remove hard-earned points. Remember, the spell-checker is not your friend! For further guidance, consult my General Policies, plus the Writing and Plagiarism Guides. Also, beware my list of Homonym Crimes. These are multiple, automatic grade deductions, and they can add up viciously. Students who demonstrate a clear disregard for good advice and the basic requirements of the assignment will have their work returned to be redone, minus a letter-grade. And of course, plagiarism (as I apparently cannot emphasize enough) is an automatic failure for the entire course.

♦ IN-CLASS WORK:  I have a number of activities and assignments scattered throughout the course (in no small part so you don’t have to listen to me drone on forever). They will account for 5% of the course grade, so don’t treat them lightly. In a sense, this works partially as a participation grade.

♦ AND THE REST... Be certain to read my “General Policies” page as well for further information on how your performance in the course will be assessed (late work, absences, etc.).

♦ GRADE CALCULATION:  Because of the complexity of how I weight grades, plus the omitted pop quiz, I do not use Canvas’ grade function for HIST 150. If you want to keep track of your grade, it is easy enough since I return all your work. Simply plug your grades into the linked worksheet, and it will give you an idea of your progress. Be wary, though, of relying on this too much. The great majority of the points to earn in this class arrive in the final weeks, making early calculations susceptible to large swings.

Schedule of Lectures/Assignments

You will need to read at the times indicated below for the maximum benefit during our lectures and discussions. Readings are to be done before you come to class. The information provided by that text will do much to color in the background of the points I will be stressing either by lecture or posing questions to you. If the indicated readings are not one of our 4 required books, or active links to the Web, then look for them in the course Canvas site.

Date	Topic	Reading Assignment
20 Aug	Introduction: Go over course syllabus	Study the professor's policies.
22 Aug	Historical On-Boarding:  ♦ Terms, Principles, & Skills to Review  ♦ Historical Confessions	♦ Lewis Excerpt: 1-7 (in Canvas)  ♦ Vocabulary Links
24 Aug	Ancient Near East I: Egypt	Santassuoso, “Kadesh Revisited...”
27 Aug	♦ Ancient Near East II: Mesopotamian Cultures  ♦ Quiz	♦ Extracts from the Code of Hammurabi (Appendix A, Part 2)  ♦ Porter, “Politics and Public Relations Campaigns in Ancient Assyria”
29 Aug	Ancient Near East III: Israelite/Hebrew History	McCarter, “The Apology of David”
31 Aug	Homer: Myth & History	Homer, Iliad (bk. 16)
5 Sept	Herodotus: Myth & History	Herodotus, 1-27
7 Sept	♦ Greece: Impact of the Wider World  ♦ Quiz	♦ Herodotus, 39-41, 49-56  ♦ Lloyd, “Herodotus’ Account of Pharaonic Egypt”
10 Sept	Greece: Internal Paradigms	Herodotus, 90-98
12 Sept	Persian Wars & Herodotus	Herodotus, 99-118
14 Sept	Persian Wars & Herodotus	Herodotus, 134-161
17 Sept	Propaganda, Art, and Spin	Thucydides, 1-13
19 Sept	♦ Rivalries of the Greek World  ♦ Quiz	Thucydides, 15-36
21 Sept	♦ Rise of Rome; development in Italy  ♦ Article Review Due!	Hammond, “Introduction,” xxv-xxxvi, in The Gallic Wars
24 Sept	Roman Values	Caesar, Book I (pp3-34)
26 Sept	Crisis of the Republic	Caesar, Books III-IV (54-88)
28 Sept	Crisis of the Republic	Caesar, Book V (89-118)
1 Oct	From Republic to Empire	Caesar, Book VI (119-33); Book VII (142-67)
3 Oct	Culture & Political Economy of the Pax Romana	Caesar, Book VII (167-94); Book VIII (219-22)
5 Oct	Mid-Term Exam
8 Oct	Rome and Christianity
10 Oct	Invasions: End of the Empire?	Prokopios, xlix-lix
12 Oct	(Lost Class-Hurricane Michael)
17 Oct	Byzantium: Politics & Faith	Prokopios, 1-36
19 Oct	Byzantium: Rome/Not Rome?	Prokopios, 36-86 (71-88 may be skimmed--not skipped)
22 Oct	Muhammad & the Advent of Islam	See 3 excerpts in Canvas: Theophanes, Battle of Badr, Shi'a Accounts
24 Oct	The Carolingian Achievement	Four accounts of Charlemagne's coronation
26 Oct	(No Class: Haskins Conference)
29 Oct	♦ Feudal Society and its Values;  ♦ Quiz	Feudal Agreement: at the Internet Medieval Sourcebook or alternately at Paul Hyam's pages at Cornell.
31 Oct	Manorialism and the Church
2 Nov	Expansion of Latin Christendom	Accounts from the Siege of Antioch (excerpts #9 and #11 only)
5 Nov	Capetians and Plantagenets	The Matter of Britain: Geoffrey and the HRB (Secs. 1-3); plus, some of Monmouth's critics
7 Nov	Feudal Families	The Matter of Britain: Arthurian Excerpts from Book VIII (chaps. XVII-XXIV) and Book IX (chaps. I-XX)
9 Nov	Crises I: In the Church
12 Nov	Crises II: In Society at Large	Three excerpts from the Trial of Joan of Arc: ♦ First Public Examination ♦ Second & Third Private Examination ♦ Second Process: Relapse, Adjudication and Death Sentence
14 Nov	♦ Renaissance: Humanism and Politics  ♦ Quiz	Valla: On the False Donation of Constantine, 21-29, 109-117 Assessment of Valla’s Arguments
16 Nov	Renaissance: Art and Culture	Davis, The Return of Martin Guerre: vii–x, 1–34
19 Nov	Reformation: Magisterial	Davis, 35–61
26 Nov	Reformation: Radical Book Review Due!!
28 Nov	♦ Reformation: Catholic  ♦ Quiz	Davis, 62–93
30 Nov	Wars of Religion and New Rivalries	Davis, 94–125
	Final Exam	See LU Exam Schedule for time / date

Academic Honesty

Sadly, every year a few students attempt to submit work which is not their own. This act is, of course, the crime of plagiarism. Do not test your luck in this arena. The eventual odds are against you, and the penalties are unpleasant. Any student who submits plagiarized work will automatically fail the entire course. Previous students have found that I do not negotiate this point. If you're not sure what constitutes academic dishonesty, consult the student handbook, ask your instructors, or see my links to the problem.

All other forms of cheating will be penalized to the fullest extent of university policies.

Required Textbooks

We have four major readings for this course. They are all required, and yes, I actually expect students to read them (along with all the other assignments).

• Herodotus,
• Julius Caesar, The Gallic War
• Prokopios, The Secret History
• Davis, The Return of Martin Guerre

Contacting Dr. Isaac

• Office: Ruffner 226A
• Telephone: 395-2225
• e-mail: isaacsw@longwood.edu
• Office Hours:  MW 3:00–3:50; TR 12:30-2:00
• Feel free to drop in at anytime; if I can’t see you during the set office hours, I will gladly set up an appointment at your convenience. I am available most afternoons as well if you just want to come by.

Official Verbiage

Catalog Description
HIST 150. Historical Inquiry I. Historical inquiry into cultural continuity and change from prehistory to 1500 CE. Topics will vary by section. 3 credits. WI
Note: Satisfactory completion (earning a C- or better) of this course and each of its requirements is required of all history majors in order to graduate.

Core Foundation Objectives
This course fulfills the Historical and Contemporary Insights pillar of the Foundations requirements. In this course students will:
• Engage in creative inquiry and cultivate curiosity.
• Develop foundational knowledge and skills in the discipline (e.g. how to communicate, study, read, etc.)

Historical and Contemporary Insights Course Outcomes
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
• Describe and analyze historical and cultural continuity and change over one or more periods of time.
• Identify and interpret evidence from primary sources (such as historical documents, works of art and literature, material artifacts, or oral traditions and interviews) and/or scholarly sources.
• Construct evidence-based arguments that connect specific historical and cultural changes to regional, national, and/or global processes.
• Create and deliver writing appropriate to audience, purpose, and context (Writing Infused).