This three-quarter course sequence will examine the rise of Western Civilization to the twenty-first century. In Autumn Quarter it will look at its Hellenic and Hebraic roots, through the Roman Republic and Empire, on to the fall of Rome in the fifth century. Winter Quarter will explore the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, and the Early Modern period. Spring will move from the French Revolution to the present. It will emphasize two major themes: the political, social, and constitutional formation of Western culture, and how to think historically through a common and contested narrative framework. Rather than a survey, this class will use selected primary documents, supplemented by the works of modern historians, to illuminate the historic development of the West.

Students can take any or all courses in the sequence.