Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648

The material covered in the CLEP exam in Western Civilization I (which is reflected in the lecture notes and study guide which follow) is generally considered equivalent to a one semester lower division college course.

Exam type:
CLEP: 100 multiple choice questions in two 45-minute sessions
Typical credit: 3 units
GRE: Material covered in this course is part of that found on the GRE in History 220 multiple choice questions
Typical credit: 3 - 30 units

For more details about the GRE click here.

The CLEP Exam

NOTE: There is at least two on-line courses and many readings that appear to relate directly to the CLEP Exam. I have drawn from several of these as well as some guest lectures. Faculty home pages can be found at the end of this page.
(I didn't promise you a rose garden. See disclaimer.)

The topics in bold face are those The College Board indicates will be found on the exams.

The arrangement of the topics presented may be slightly different from that indicated by The College Board so the percentages given after the main topic headings are only approximate. Always contact The College Board for latest information.

Getting Started

Here is one way that you can begin. (If you haven't read a general step-by-step guide, this might be a good time. See also How to Budget Your Time)

This is one course where a good encyclopedia can be your best friend. To help orient yourself to the subject start by reading quickly through the topics in the study guide below. Then read the history section of Europe in the encyclopedia though events of 1648. Note cross references as you will want to read these just before you read the lectures at each study session.

In addition to cross references, you will also find a history section under each country (England, France, Germany, Italy, etc.) And you will want to incorporate these as part of your study sessions. You will also want to read the biographies of the major historical figures as they appear.

Using the Free University Project Study Guide

We are fortunate to have an excellent series of lectures from Prof. Gerhard Rempel (Rempel) of Western New England College which form the core of this study guide. For purposes of the examination the subject matter is divided into six major sections of unequal length. You can probable best pace yourself by devoting the equivalent of two 1-1/2 hour study sessions per lecture.

Prof. Jack Owens (Owens) of Idaho State University has also posted a set of lectures that covers many topics. Prof. E. L. Skip Knox (Knox) of Boise State University has a series of lecture notes in outline form which can be used for review and to establish a list of keywords to look up in an encyclopedia. Another series that contains keywords, suggested study question, an occasional quiz, and good reference links comes from Dr. Tom Costa -- currently unavailable) of Clinch Valley College. In addition, Prof. Samuel Goldberger (Goldberger) of Capital Community Technical College has posted some notes that provide an overview of several time periods covered by the CLEP exam.

Professors at Washington State University, notably Paul Brians (Brians) and Richard Hooker (Hooker) have an extensive number of lectures and annotated readings as part of courses in World Civilizations and World Culture. While many of these readings might be considered more in the area of humanities, and cover broader geographic areas, they provide excellent enrichment for this Western Civilization course.

Plan of Action

The Study Guide is divided into six major topic areas.

Ancient Near East

Ancient Greece and Hellenistic Civilization

Ancient Rome

Medieval History

Renaissance and Reformation

Early Modern Europe, 1560-1648
Relevant lectures, grouped by professor, follow each topic Depending upon your own method of study you can either read one group of lectures in sequence, or alternate among the groups, reading lectures by subtopic.

For each lecture:
A) Read the lecture. In order to stay focused, only follow those links within the lectures that seem to be directly related to the subject matter at hand. Take your own notes. If you print out the material, highlight key definitions and concepts for review. Add your own marginal notes.

B) Read corresponding material in a textbook of your choice. Look up key words in an encyclopedia.

C) Follow additional links covering the same time period.

D) Take any on-line quizzes and/or write a draft response to suggested essay questions

Periodically take time to review; do suggested exercises; take a practice CLEP exam and review areas of weakness.

Remember to keep your diary up to date.

Start with a couple of introductory lectures:

• 01. Why Study History (Rempel)
  
• 3000 BCE to 1450 CE (Goldberger)
  

Ancient Near East (8-11%)

Political evolution

Religion, culture, and technical developments in Egypt,

Mesopotamia, Palestine

Lectures

• 02. Garden of Eden (Rempel)
  
• 03. Akhenaton Revolution (Rempel)
  
• 04. Minos and Agamemnon (Rempel)
  

Lecture Outline Review

• Civilization and Superiority (Owens)
• The Ancient Near East (Costa -- currently unavailable)
  
• The Hebrews (Costa - - currently unavailable)

Additional Lectures are aslo available from The History Guide by Steven Kreis:
(NOTE some of these are incomplete)
Lectures on Ancient and Medieval History

Lecture 1: What is Civilization?
Lecture 2: Ancient Western Asia and the Civilization of Mesopotamia
Lecture 3: Egyptian Civilization
Lecture 4: The Akkadians, Egyptians and the Hebrews

Ancient Greece and Hellenistic Civilization (15-17%)

Political evolution to Periclean Athens

Periclean Athens to Peloponnesian Wars

Culture, religion, and thought of Ancient Greece

The Hellenistic political structure

Culture, religion, and thought of Hellenistic Greece

Lectures:
928 BC to Medieval Cities (Goldberger)

• 05. Moses and Homer (Rempel)
  
• 06. Greeks vs. Persians (Rempel)
  
• 07. Democracy in Athens (Rempel)
  
• 08. Age of Pericles (Rempel)
  
• 09. Alexander the Great (Rempel)
  
• 10. Hellenism (Rempel)
  

The Persian Wars (Knox)

The Peloponnesian War (Knox)

Alexander the Great (Knox)
Lecture Outline Review

• The Rise of the Greeks (Costa - - currently unavailable)
• Classical Greek Civilization (Costa - - currently unavailable)

Review Session(s): Allow one or two study sessions to review the first two main topics.

Ancient Rome (15-17%)

Political evolution of the Republic and of the Empire (economic and geographical context)

Roman thought and culture

Early Christianity

The Germanic invasions

The decline of Rome

Lectures:

Introduction (Knox)

• 11. Roman Republic (Rempel)
  
• 12. Romans Everyday (Rempel)
  
• 13. Rise of Christianity (Rempel)
  
• 14. Why Rome Fell (Rempel)
  
• 15. Tribal Migrations (Rempel)
  
• 16. Byzantine Empire (Rempel)
  
• 17. Islam on Warpath
  
• 18. Charlemagne (Rempel)
  

The Punic Wars (Knox)

The Roman Revolution (Knox)

The First Emperors (Knox)

Lecture Outline Review

• Ancient Civilizations Study Questions (Knox)
  
• The Roman Republic (Costa - - currently unavailable)
• The Roman Empire and Early Christianity (Costa - - currently unavailable)

Related Online Resources

Additional Reference and Resources (Knox)

Reading About the World, Vol. I (Brians)

Review and Sample Exam Sessions: Allow at least one session to review Ancient Rome and another to review everything to this point. Take a sample exam, but enter your answers on a separate sheet of paper as you will retake this exam later. Take your time. Don't worry about quesitons in subject areas you haven't covered. Analyze your answers and review areas of weakness.

Medieval History (23-27%)

Early medieval politics and culture through Charlemagne

Fedual and manorial institutions

The medieval Church

Medieval thought and culture

Rise of the towns and changing economic forms

Fedual monarchies

The decline of the Church

Lectures:

• 19. Feudalism (Rempel)
  
• 20. Cross versus Crown (Rempel)
  
• 21. The Crusades (Rempel)
  

The Dark Ages (Knox)

The Carolingian Era (Knox)

The Tenth Century (Knox)

The Development of the Papacy (Knox)

William the Conqueror (Knox)

The First Crusade (Knox)

Lecture Outline Review

• Heirs of Rome (Costa - - currently unavailable)
• Civilization and Superiority (Owens)
• The Coronation of Charlemagne and the Beginnings of Western Civilization (Owens)
• The Emergence of Christian Monasticism (Owens)
• Ecclesiastical Culture in the West (Owens)
• Feudalism and the Warrior Tradition (Owens)
• Manorialism and Western Economic Development (1000-1300) (Owens)

Additional Lectures are aslo available from The History Guide by Steven Kreis:
(NOTE some of these are incomplete)
Lectures on Ancient and Medieval History

Lecture 20: Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance

Review Session(s):Allow one or two study sessions for review through the Crusades.

Lectures:

• 22. Medieval Manor (Rempel)
  
• 23. Mystics and Heretics (Rempel)
  
• 24. Guilds & Commerce (Rempel)
  
• 25. Medieval Universities (Rempel)
  
• 26.Gothic Cathedral
  
• 27. The Black Death (Rempel)
  

Medieval Society (Knox)

The Black Death (Knox)

Avignonese Papacy (Knox)

Lecture Outline Review

Medieval Study Questions (Knox)

• Church Reform and the Struggle for the Leadership of Western Civilization (Owens)
• The Tradition of Christian Empire (Owens)
• A Model of the Traditional Monarchy (Owens)
• Universities and the Scholastic Method (Owens)
• Mendicant Monasticism (Owens)
• The Crisis of the Late Middle Ages (Owens)
• The Crisis of Religious Leadership (Owens)
• The Early Middle Ages (Costa - - currently unavailable)
• The High Middle Ages (Costa - - currently unavailable)
• The Late Middle Ages (Costa - - currently unavailable)

Additional Lectures are aslo available from The History Guide by Steven Kreis:
(NOTE some of these are incomplete)
Lectures on Ancient and Medieval History

Lecture 20: Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance

Review session: Review the first part of Medieval History.

Review and Sample Exam Sessions:Allow at least one session to review materials from the beginning of the course. Take the same sample exam as you did earlier, but put yourself under more time pressure. Analyze your answers and review areas of weakness. Now challenge yourself by taking half of another sample exam.

Renaissance and Reformation (13-17%)

The Renaissance in Italy

The Renaissance outside Italy

The New Monarchies

Protesanism and Catholicism reformed and reorganized
Lectures:

• 28. Joan of Arc (Rempel)
  
• 29. The Renaissance (Rempel)
  
• 30. Leonardo da Vinci (Rempel)
  
• 31. Martin Luther (Rempel)
  
• 32. Catholic Reform (Rempel)
  
• 33. Thirty Years War (Rempel)
  

The Renaissance (Knox)

Lecture Review Outline

• Renaissance Humanism and the Roman Tradition of Citizenship (Owens)
• The Spread of Renaissance Humanism (Owens)
• Rennaisance Humanism - 2 (Owens)
• Christianity in Trouble (Owens)
• The Early Middle Ages (Costa - - currently unavailable)
• The High Middle Ages (Costa - - currently unavailable)
• The Late Middle Ages (Costa - - currently unavailable)

Related Online Resources

Reading About the World, Vol. I (Brians)

Reanaissance Timelines (Knox)

The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy full text of book by Jacob Burkhardt (Knox)

Early Modern Europe, 1560-1648 (10-15%)

The opening of the Atlantic

The Commerical Revolution

Dynastic and religious conflicts

Thought and culture

Lectures:
New Technology & the "New Imperialism" (Goldberger)

Introduction (Knox)

• 04. A New Europe (Rempel) (from his lectures on Western Civilization II)
  

The Reformation (Knox)

English Civil War (Knox)

Scientific Revolution (Knox)

Lecture Outline Review

• Catholic Revival (Owens)
• Ooze, Mystery and Machines: The Emergence of Modern Science (Owens)
• The New World System Emerges (Owens)
• War and Changing Political Institutions (Owens)
• Conclusion: Toward an Age of Revolutionary Change (Owens)
  Early Modern Europe Study Questions (Knox)

  The Renaissance (Costa - - currently unavailable)

  The Reformation (Costa - - currently unavailable)

  Medieval to Modern (Costa - - currently unavailable)

Resource Online:

References and Resources (Knox)

Reading About the World, Vol. 2 (Brians)

Review Session(s): Review the period from the Rennaisance to the end of the course.

Review and Sample Exam Sessions: Review the entire course and take a full sample exam but don't put yourself under too much time pressure. After an analysis of your answers and further review of areas of weakness, take a third full exam under full test conditions.

Related On-Line Texts:
Contents page for World Cultures lectures and readings from Washington State University (Hooker)
Texts and Documents: Europe from the Hanover College Historical Texts Project.
Online Medieval and Classical Library from the library at the University of California, Berkely
Eurodocs: Primary Historical Documents from Western Europe from the Library at Brigham Young Univerrsity

Internet Resources:
European History Resources at the University of Mississippi.

Links to faculty home pages

Paul Brians Washington State University
Thomas M. Costa - - currently unavailable Clinch Valley College
Samuel Goldberger Capital Community Technical College
Richard Hooker Washington State University
Gerhard Rempel Western New England College
E. L. SkipKnox Boise State University
Jack Owens Idaho State University

Good Luck!

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